21 questions answered about legal marijuana in Massachusetts
Massachusetts voters said “yes” to legal marijuana in November 2016. Now, a year-and-a-half later, one might reasonably wonder, Where’s the weed at? Short answer: It’s already all around you. Marijuana consumers and patients are your colleagues, relatives, friends, and neighbors. But we get it, you want to know when you can walk into a store and buy some without a medical recommendation. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has started processing completed applications from would-be marijuana businesses and the first stores should open sometime in July. You probably have some other questions, too. Let’s get you up to speed.
1. Where can I buy it?
At first, it’s likely that the only places selling cannabis will be a few of the existing medical dispensaries that obtain recreational licenses, too. That makes sense?—?they already have crops growing and stores set up. A few new retailers selling marijuana sourced from those medical cultivators might also pop up, but the difficulty of winning local permission remains a significant bottleneck for pot companies.
2. How much will marijuana cost? Is there a limit on how much I can buy?
Right now, an eighth of an ounce of cannabis flower goes for about $50 at a medical dispensary. Recreational demand will be higher, though, and it remains unclear how many suppliers will get licenses in the early going. So it’s possible prices will spike this summer if demand is high; in other states, prices have subsequently crashed as the industry matured and supply and competition increased. You’ll be allowed to buy up to an ounce at a time.
3. How high is the tax on marijuana?
Recreational marijuana will be subject to a total state tax of 17 percent. Communities can tack on a local tax rate of up to 3 percent, so let’s call it 20 percent in total. Marijuana sales to registered patients at medical dispensaries or hybrid recreational-medical stores will remain untaxed.
Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2018/06/21/questions-answered-about-legal-marijuana-massachusetts/s82i7NCEQvHO9oYY7Hh4GO/story.html
