Marijuana Delivery Comes To Massachusetts

TAUNTON, MA — Massachusetts will become the 15th state to allow home delivery of marijuana when a Taunton-company fills its first order next week.

Freshly Baked Company will be the first to legally deliver cannabis recreational cannabis and will serve customers in greater Taunton. But other companies will soon follow, with the state's regulatory arm expected to approve more licenses this summer.

For the first three years of the new rules, the state is only approving licenses for delivery companies that are deemed a"social equity" or "economic empowerment."

While Massachusetts voters approved recreational cannabis sales in a 2016 ballot referendum and stores began opening in November 2018, the state Cannabis Control Commission held off on granting delivery licenses until the retail market was established. The rollout could be slow: Freshly Baked's license only allows it to deliver products it produces and limits how much cannabis it can produce.

"Folks have been chomping at the bit for this to be available," Cannabis Control Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins told Commonwealth.

The commission began reviewing license applications from delivery couriers last month. Those companies would be able to partner with existing retailers and producers to offer more products and a wider delivery area. On Friday, the commission started accepting applications from companies that want t0 purchase marijuana products at wholesale prices to deliver to customers.

The other states that allow cannabis delivery are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.