The Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday laid out the framework for the creation of the social consumption industry in the state, including the license types they expect will be available.
Social consumption as a general license type was approved in 2019, but at the time it was in conflict with other state regulations. Those conflicts were resolved in 2022.
Social consumption, as defined by the CCC, is a marijuana establishment with a commission-issued license where consumers can both buy and consume cannabis on site. Currently, all marijuana establishments that sell cannabis cannot allow patrons to consume on site.
Entrepreneurs in cannabis have envisioned cafes where customers could buy and eat a gourmet pot brownie or go through a tasting-room style foray into trying different flowers.
The CCC had previously established a pilot program for a select number of businesses to test out social consumption, but scrapped it in the first half of 2023.
The proposed license types are supplemental license, a hospitality license and an event organizer license.
The supplemental license would allow existing marijuana operators to allow onsite consumption within an existing establishment. For example, a retailer could add an attached lounge where consumption could take place on site.
The hospitality license would be a freestanding establishment with the express purpose of offering onsite consumption. The commission envisions the creation of cafes or yoga studios, among other establishments, where cannabis products would be sold and used.
The event organizer license type would allow licensees to host events where cannabis is sold and used.
Currently, the CCC said it does not have a specific timeline for when these ideas would become reality. Several regulatory steps remain between now and a goal date of mid-2025 for regulations on the license types to be published by the secretary of state.
After that, individual municipalities and communities would need to opt-in to allow social consumption.
Draft regulations will be released later this month, the commission said, with a public comment period to follow.
Few states where cannabis has been legalized allow social consumption, and fewer have bustling industries that support it, making it challenging for the CCC to model the regulations and rollout on other states.
“Social consumption is still in its infancy,” acting chair of the Commission Bruce Stebbins said in a CCC public meeting.
H/T: www.bizjournals.com
