By: Michael Ross
Yesterday, the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) issued an important update for applicants whose provisional licenses have expired due to non-payment of the required fee under 935 CMR 500.103(1)(e).
On July 30, 2024, the CCC issued a bulletin notifying applicants that those who received provisional license approval and did not pay the applicable license fee within 90 days would receive a Notice of Expiration of Provisional Approval. After the bulletin went out, I reached out to Commissioner Nurys Camargo to discuss this issue and its potential implications for the 120 applicants who have received this notice to date. She looked into the concern, spoke to others in the industry and within the Commission, and worked with her team to propose a solution. This was clearly demonstrated during the public meeting on September 12, 2024, where the Commission further discussed the matter and initiated a process to identify next steps. In short, this is an example of the process working.
The purpose of the CCC’s update of September 23, 2024, is to determine how many of these applicants are interested in making payment to extend their provisional approval before the CCC’s next public meeting on Thursday, October 10, where a vote on this matter is expected. As such, it is important to respond if this situation applies to you.
You must email [email protected] by 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 3, 2024, with the following information:
- The entity name associated with your previous provisional approval.
- The corresponding license application number(s).
Do not send any provisional license fee payments.
As a former government employee, I can confirm that we almost always hear when we get things wrong. Today I wanted to thank the Commission for getting it right. The update is a crucial step towards reaching a fair and agreeable path forward for affected applicants. However, it is also important to note that this is not the final step in the process. If applicants are allowed to remedy their expired licenses through payment, this will likely involve updating application documentation, particularly if the provisional license approval dates back several years.
As always, if Prince Lobel can assist your business, or if you’d like to learn more about the services we offer, please give me or anyone in Prince Lobel’s Cannabis Group a call. Thank you.