Massachusetts Grants First Marijuana Cultivation License

The state of Massachusetts has officially entered the era of legalization after the state’s Cannabis Control Commission issued its first license for marijuana business operations. The license was awarded to Sira Naturals, a company based in Milford. The decision to grant the license was unanimously approved by all five members of the commission.

Currently, the commission is preparing for the opening of the first recreational marijuana stores by early July and hopes to approve several more cultivation sites before the market launch date.

“Today is undoubtedly an important day in Massachusetts history,” said Commission Chairman Steve Hoffman to reporters. “Of course, we’re not going to stop the certification process with just a couple of organizations. Very soon, we’ll begin issuing licenses to new stores and cultivation sites every week.”

It’s important to note that the license granted to Sira Naturals is currently a provisional license. To receive a full license, the company must still pass a series of tests and inspections, which the commission will begin conducting once the legalization regime is in effect.

Sira Naturals has also agreed to participate in a regional program aimed at increasing ethnic participation in the marijuana industry. As a result, authorities are expected to monitor the company’s compliance with established employee diversity quotas.

Sira Naturals applied for a business license back in April of this year, simultaneously launching an investment assistance program for other young marijuana companies and stores. In practice, the company donates funds to small businesses for purchasing equipment needed for marijuana cultivation and extraction, in exchange for a promise of future cooperation and product exchange.

“We will begin cultivating our first crop only after the commission is able to provide us with a full business license,” said Mike Dundas, director of Sira Naturals, to reporters. “Overall, our team is extremely happy that all the effort put into organizing the cultivation site has allowed us to become the first company in Massachusetts to receive a license to work with marijuana.”

What’s Next for Consumers and the Industry?

For consumers, the situation is less optimistic, as they will have to wait several more months after the reform takes effect before they can purchase legal marijuana in specialized stores.

Currently, Sira Naturals operates three distribution points located in Cambridge, Somerville, and Needham. However, these locations have not yet received formal permits to sell recreational marijuana, so it’s unclear when local authorities will allow businesses to begin sales.

According to Mr. Dundas, the Milford cultivation site will be able to produce its first crop only a couple of months after the official market opening on July 1.

While Massachusetts already has a medical marijuana distribution system, current laws do not (at least for now) allow this segment of the market to supply products to recreational dealers.

Mr. Hoffman has already apologized to state residents for the delay in the start of sales. “I sincerely apologize to all Massachusetts residents waiting for legalization, because, due to finalizing the legalization project, the recreational marijuana market will realistically open only by the end of this summer,” Hoffman told the press. “On the other hand, the delay will allow us to fix any possible shortcomings in the bill, making the regional market more efficient.”

Hoffman explained that the commission considered many options for the business licensing procedure and market opening, ultimately choosing the current model, which includes a delay of at least several weeks before sales begin.

“In one of the models we considered, by July 1, the state would have licensed stores but no cultivation sites to supply them,” Hoffman explained. “Other models involved quickly issuing licenses to stores and cultivation sites, but that could have allowed organizations that didn’t meet the legal sanitary standards onto the market. That’s why we chose the current market opening model.”

Local Agreements and Company Background

To obtain permission to open the Milford cultivation site, Sira Naturals reached an agreement with the city administration to allocate a portion of the company’s profits to the city budget. Besides the cultivation site, the only other marijuana-related business in the city will be the Proverde Laboratories testing lab, as Milford residents did not approve the opening of additional marijuana businesses. The company’s success in negotiations can be attributed to the fact that many local entrepreneurs received shares in the company.

Mike Dundas himself is a certified attorney from the University of San Francisco and a translator who became interested in starting a marijuana business a few years ago after returning from Beijing, where he worked as an English teacher. Dundas is also one of the local entrepreneurs who served on the state commission’s advisory board on legalization, allowing him to directly participate in the creation of the marijuana market regulatory system.