Latest This Week In Weed headlines

Massachusetts Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz has proposed amendments to the state’s pending budget that would create a “Cannabis Social Equity Loan Trust Fund.”

Total spending on recreational marijuana in Massachusetts since the debut of sales in November has topped $100 million in the run-up to the traditional “4/20” stoner holiday.

The Cannabis Control Commission had two epic meetings last week. We can’t possibly cover everything that went down, but here are some key takeaways.

Why are people driving so far to a Massachusetts store when you can have pot easily delivered in NYC?

So far, only five economic empowerment applicants have submitted applications to the commission, and none have opened for business.

Essex County Superior Court Judge Timothy Feeley has agreed that state law does not grant the commission explicit power to review host community agreements.

Life as a cannabis worker isn’t all free bud and chillaxing.

Even among public health experts who harbor serious reservations about doing so, the legalization (or at least decriminalization) of marijuana at the federal level is increasingly seen as an inevitability.

Even among public health experts who harbor serious reservations about doing so, the legalization (or at least decriminalization) of marijuana at the federal level is increasingly seen as an inevitability.

In Massachusetts, there have been a number of developments in the world of weed. We sum them up for you.

Activists now believe there’s only one last chance for meaningful equity in the state’s cannabis industry: reserving delivery and social consumption (pot cafe) licenses exclusively for small, locally-owned businesses and participants in the equity and economic empowerment programs.

Dan Adams took a look at the predictions he made for the industry in 2018. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t pretty.

A senior Cannabis Control Commission official, Title argues the benefits of legalization aren’t limited to pot.

Five years ago, Marine Corps veteran and marijuana advocate Sean Azzariti made history by buying an eighth-ounce of Bubba Kush cannabis flower and a packet of pot-infused truffles.

Somerville’s Board of Aldermen on Thursday unanimously passed a dramatic equity ordinance.

For years, the US House’s Rules Committee was where proposed marijuana laws went to die. That’s about to change.

Marijuana advocates and marijuana companies frequently clash over cannabis policy in Massachusetts. So it’s worth paying attention when the two camps actually agree on something.

The alcohol industry’s push into pot isn’t about freeing the plant or social justice or anything feel-good. This is about money.

Massachusetts State Representative Mark Cusack has had enough.

Under state law, social consumption licenses are banned by default at the local level.

At each meeting of the Cannabis Control Commission, officials show a map of how many completed applications for recreational marijuana licenses have been submitted from each county in the state. Lagging behind? Suffolk County.

This week, we got our first look at the details of New Jersey’s proposed marijuana legalization legislation.

The vote on whether to legalize marijuana in Massachusetts happened nearly two years ago — but that doesn’t mean cannabis is receding as a political issue here.

Of the 19 provisional licenses issued by the commission to date, at least 18 are connected to host community agreements with legally questionable provisions.

Here at TWIW headquarters, we’ve been fielding a steady stream of complaints about municipalities from marijuana operators and advocates.

One of the biggest obstacles to the state’s marijuana industry equity programs is the local licensing process facing cannabis companies. But officials in Somerville seem determined to forge a different path.

As you may know, Massachusetts pot industry executives have been freaking out about labs. To them, we’d like to offer this calming news: There’s a lab.

It now seems Healey’s definition of “unconstitutional” is fluid, at least when it comes to marijuana. Her office told me Friday that it has given the OK for Mansfield, Mass. to keep a moratorium in place through June, 2019.

With Andrea Cabral as its chief executive, startup Ascend Cannabis plans to open a retail shop in Boston and growing facility in Athol.

Maor Alex Morse says he’s overseeing a renaissance of Holyoke, with new businesses and artists setting up in its long-blighted downtown.

Steve Crosby knows a thing or two about starting up an agency to regulate a previously illegal business.

Is the salary for the state’s top marijuana regulator too low?