Massachusetts taking applications for marijuana delivery licenses

Massachusetts cannabis regulators are taking applications for marijuana delivery operators, a license type that’s earmarked for social equity participants and economic-empowerment applicants for the first three years of the program.

The state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) announced that eligible applicants for the delivery permits can now seek precertification and licenses, State House News Service reported.

The new licenses allow companies to purchase products wholesale from cultivators and manufacturers and deliver them directly to customers. The companies are required to follow safety and customer verification rules.

According to the CCC, nearly 400 social equity program participants and 122 certified economic-empowerment applicants are eligible for the new license.

For the second type of delivery license – a courier model that allows a business to charge a fee to make deliveries from licensed marijuana retailers – the CCC has issued one final permit and seven provisional ones.

The permits are not without controversy, however.

A Massachusetts cannabis retailers association initially tried to sue the state over the licensing rules but later dropped the suit after swift backlash.