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A group of cannabis delivery company owners are again pushing for regulatory changes they see as key to their success.
On Wednesday, a group of business owners sent a letter to the Cannabis Control Commission, ahead of a public meeting on Thursday. In the letter, they listed seven proposed changes to regulations they would like to see happen.
The cannabis board has finished most of the regulatory changes required by the Legislature, allowing them to move on to other issues. Delivery company owners want to ensure their issues are addressed.
“For years, delivery companies have expressed to the Cannabis Control Commission’s staff and commission the problems with the delivery regulations,” the letter read. “These issues are hurting social equity delivery companies, preventing the commission from achieving its equity mandate, and are having real short term and long term impact on the entire industry.”
The letter was signed by Devin Alexander, CEO, Rolling Releaf, Ryan Cohen; founder of Kind Run; Sebastian Pollack, president of Little Dog Delivery; Christopher Fevry, CEO and co-founder of Your Green Package; Gabe Vieira, CEO of Zyp Run; Gyasi Sellers, founder of Trevit; Rhonda LaFlamme, owner of Bracts & Pistils; and Benjamin Virga, founder of Frozen 4 Corp.
“It is crucial that Massachusetts continues to adapt its cannabis regulations to align with the needs of consumers, the business community, and the evolving legal landscape,” the letter read. “We urge the commission to take action on these issues as they are critical to having a successful industry with participation from individuals who were disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.”
The two-to-one driver rule is one of the issues mentioned in the letter, which requires two employees to be in the vehicle for every delivery. This rule has long been called over-burdensome, costly and limiting.
But they didn’t stop there. Among other issues, the business owners also asked the CCC to allow recreational deliveries to towns that do not allow for adult-use retail. These are typically referred to as “no towns” or places where people voted against cannabis businesses opening. In the letter, businesses pointed to how medical deliveries are allowed anywhere in Massachusetts.
“Consumers in ‘banned towns’ are allowed to go to any dispensary and should have the same freedom when it comes to delivery. In addition, Massachusetts is the only state that prevents deliveries into municipalities that do not allow for adult use deliveries,” the letter read.
There is currently an exclusivity period on who can obtain a delivery licenses to only allow social equity and economic empowerment applicants, two license types meant to uplift people of color or others harmed by the war on drugs, to enter into the industry. In the letter, business leaders asked the CCC to extend this exclusivity period by two to four additional years.
“It is clear that the current delivery regulations have failed the social equity and economic empowerment applicants.There are only a handful of retailers offering delivery and the vast majority of delivery companies are struggling to stay afloat,” they wrote.
In order to protect the owners in the space, delivery leaders said that a longer period would give them an opportunity to continue establishing their businesses before other big companies step in.
Companies also asked the CCC to change rules that require them to text or call dispatch every 30 minutes, as they said it is distracting for drivers, and asked the cannabis board to allow them to repackage products, so they can buy in bulk, repackage and sell at higher margins. Deliverers also asked to be allowed to hold three licenses instead of two so that they can grow larger and asked to be able to deliver to hotels, saying it would benefit tourists as well as industry growth.
At a public meeting on Thursday, the CCC had a lengthy discussion on these issues facing delivery companies. Staff presented facts about how other states do delivery, on security for drivers, license caps, no towns, and repackaging. The board decided to continue the discussion at its next public meeting on Monday, and in the meantime, asked staff to gather more information on the topics.
Following the discussion, Commissioner Nurys Camargo thanked the board for a productive discussion.
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Cannabis delivery companies say regulatory changes are key to 'a successful industry' – Boston Business Journal – The Business Journals
