Massachusetts Marijuana Licensing

What Type of Licenses Exist in Massachusetts?

There is only one business license available for businesses interested in participating in Massachusetts’ medical marijuana program. This is the Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MTC) license. This license allows its holder to cultivate, manufacture, and sell marijuana and marijuana products intended for medical use and solely for their MTC.

For the state’s adult-use marijuana industry, the Massachusetts' Cannabis Control Commission issues 11 types of marijuana establishment (ME) licenses to qualified entities registered in the state to facilitate the legal supply of marijuana. These license types are:

Type 1 - Retailer

This type of license authorizes an entity to purchase and transport marijuana and marijuana products from other marijuana establishments and sell these products to other marijuana establishments and consumers.

Type 2 - Product Manufacturer

This type of license authorizes an entity to obtain, manufacture, process, and package marijuana and marijuana products. It also enables the holders to transfer the marijuana and marijuana products to other marijuana establishments but not to consumers.

Type 3 - Cultivator

This license authorizes the cultivation, processing, and packaging of marijuana for transfer to other marijuana establishments, but not to consumers. A cultivator license allows for canopy space of no more than 100,000 square feet and is available in a tier system that determines the application processes and licensing fees. There are 11 cultivator license tiers, based on the size of the available canopy space:

Tier 1 - up to 5,000 square feet
Tier 2 - 5,001 - 10,000 square feet
Tier 3 - 10,001 - 20,000 square feet
Tier 4 - 20,001 - 30,000 square feet
Tier 5 - 30,001 - 40,000 square feet
Tier 6 - 40,001 - 50,000 square feet
Tier 7 - 50,001 - 60,000 square feet
Tier 8 - 60,001 - 70,000 square feet
Tier 9 - 70,001 - 80,000 square feet
Tier 10 - 80,001 - 90,000 square feet
Tier 11 - 90,001 - 100,000 square feet

Type 4 - Craft Marijuana Cooperative

This is a type of marijuana establishment license that enables different growers to combine their resources and grow up to 100,000 square feet of marijuana plants between themselves.

Type 5 - Transporter

This license authorizes an entity to solely transport marijuana and marijuana products for other marijuana establishments.

Type 6 - Marijuana Courier

This type of license authorizes the license holder to deliver marijuana and marijuana products from marijuana establishments and treatment centers directly to consumers or patients at their residential addresses. The courier must have an existing delivery agreement with the licensed marijuana establishment or marijuana treatment center. This license is only available for municipalities that opted in for residential deliveries.

Type 7 - Marijuana Delivery Operator

This type of license authorizes the license holder to purchase marijuana and marijuana products from licensed cultivators and product manufacturers and sell/deliver to consumers at their residential addresses. It is only available in municipalities where residential deliveries of marijuana are allowed.

Type 8 - Marijuana Research Facility

This license is issued to academic institutions, non-profit organizations, domestic corporations, and other such research facilities to authorize the cultivation, purchase, and acquisition of marijuana and marijuana products solely for research purposes.

Type 9 - Independent Testing Laboratory

This license is issued to laboratories that have been properly accredited to perform tests on marijuana and marijuana products in accordance with the requirements of the protocols established by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH).

Type 10 - Standards Laboratory

This type of license is issued to laboratories that are certified to verify the results of Independent Testing Laboratories by performing blind tests.

Type 11 - Microbusiness

This type of marijuana license identifies the license holder as a co-located marijuana establishment that can be either a tier-1 cultivator or a product manufacturer, or both. Product manufacturer microbusinesses are restricted in the amount of marijuana they can purchase from other marijuana establishments (no more than 2,000 lbs) and can also offer delivery services.

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