It’s been a year since Massachusetts voted in legal cannabis, but legal sales of the plant are still more than a few months away. Regulations are still being put in place and lawmakers just produced a new law that changes the one voted in by the People in 2016.
Here’s a list of the top four things you need to know about Massachusetts adult use cannabis law in its current state:
You Can Give The Gift Of Cannabis
Although there’s still nowhere to buy it, it is legal under state law to gift someone up to an ounce of cannabis, there must be no compensation, however. Once actual sales start, between local and state taxes, there will be up to a 20 percent sales tax. That is if you don’t end up in a dry area: in towns and cities where the majority of voters voted against legalizing pot, the municipal council can prohibit cannabis sales. In the same vein, if an area that voted for legalization still wants to prohibit cannabis, they’ll need a popular referendum.
Don’t Light Up In Public
Once you’ve got your hands on some good, beast coast nuggets, where can you smoke them? Not in public, that’s for sure. You can go home or to a friend’s house to smoke, but renters beware: the landlord can explicitly ban tenants from smoking or growing cannabis onsite. They can’t, however, say “no edibles” or keep you from ingesting smokeless products.
You Can Grow Your Own
As long as you own or have a hip landlord, you can grow your own. Six plants is the maximum per adult over 21, and twelve is the max for a household. The grow must be locked and not visible to those on the outside, including by aircraft. If the plan is to use homegrown to make concentrates, remember that there’s a law about that, too. The only liquid or gas able to be used is alcohol and it must have a flashpoint of under 100.
Your Going To Wait A While For Recreational Sales
While possessing small amounts of cannabis has been legal since December, according to South Coast Today, actual sales of the plant aren’t expected to go into effect until July 2018. As of now, adults 21 and over may possess up to an ounce of flowers or five grams of concentrate on their person. Nicely enough, one can have up to 10 ounces in the home, but it must be locked away in a secure place.
Grassachusetts may have a little ways to go before they’re a viable recreational marketplace, but as the laws get shaken out, it sounds like they’ll have a robust cannabis program, soon(ish).
