Massachusetts
88,053
Registered Patient Population |
1.27%
of Total Population Represented by Patients |
140
Total Medical Retail Locations Currently in Operation |
628 : 1
Patients : Retail |
Cannabis is legal to all adults over 21 in Massachusetts. Any adult may cultivate up to six plants at home, 12 plants in a household of two or more adults. Registered patients are exempt from the taxes levied cannabis products unlike adult-use consumers. Patients may possess up to 10 ounces of cannabis or 1.5 ounces of concentrates in public. Massachusetts dispensaries do not honor out of state medical cannabis cards.
 Patient Rights and Civil Protection |
80/100 |
|
| Arrest Protection |
40/40 |
| Affirmative Defense |
13/15 |
| Parental Rights Protections |
10/10 |
| DUI Protections |
0/5 |
| Employment Protections |
0/5 |
| Explicit Privacy Standards |
7/7 |
| Housing Protections |
0/5 |
| Does Not Create New Criminal Penalties for Patients |
5/5 |
| Organ Transplants |
5/5 |
| Reciprocity |
0/3 |
|
|
Access to Medicine |
86/100 |
|
| Allows Distribution Programs |
36/40 |
| – Allows Access to Dried Flowers |
15/15 |
| – Allows Delivery |
5/5 |
| – No Sales Tax or Reasonable Sales Tax |
5/5 |
| – Allows for a Reasonable Number of Dispensaries |
5/5 |
| – Does Not Require Vertical Integration |
1/2 |
| – Ownership/Employment Restrictions |
1/2 |
| – Provisions for Labor Standards |
0/2 |
| – Environmental Impact Regulations |
2/2 |
| – Choice of Dispensary Without Restrictions |
2/2 |
| Noncommercial Cultivation |
10/20 |
| – Personal Cultivation |
10/15 |
| – Collective Gardening |
0/5 |
| Explicit Right to Edibles/Concentrates/Other Forms |
10/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans or Limits on THC |
10/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans on CBD |
10/10 |
| Local Bans/Zoning |
10/10 |
|
|
Ease of Navigation |
90/100 |
|
| Comprehensive Qualifying Conditions |
50/50 |
| Adding New Conditions |
10/10 |
| – Law/Regulations Allow for New Conditions |
5/5 |
| – System Works for Adding New Conditions |
5/5 |
| Reasonable Access for Minors |
8/10 |
| Reasonable Caregiver Background Checks |
3/4 |
| Number of Caregivers |
2/2 |
| Patient/Practitioner-Focused Task Force or Advisory Board |
0/2 |
| Reasonable Fees (Patients and Caregivers) |
8/10 |
| Allows Multiple-Year Registrations |
0/2 |
| Reasonable Physician Requirements |
4/5 |
| Does Not Classify Cannabis as a Medicine of Last Resort |
5/5 |
|
|
Functionality |
83/100 |
|
| Patients Able to Access Medicine at Dispensaries or by Cultivation |
45/50 |
| No Significant Administrative or Supply Problems |
10/15 |
| Patients Can Receive Legal Protections Within Reasonable Time Frame of Doctor's Recommendation |
8/10 |
| Reasonable Possession Limits |
5/5 |
| Reasonable Purchase Limits |
5/5 |
| Allows Patients to Medicate Where They Choose |
4/5 |
| Covered by Insurance/State Health Aid |
0/3 |
| Financial Hardship (Fee Waivers/Discount Medicine) |
6/7 |
|
|
Consumer Safety and Provider Requirements |
79/100 |
|
| Dispensing |
25/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility Sanitary Conditions |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Inventory Control |
1.25/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Product Labeling |
5/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Potency/Compound Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
5/5 |
| – Active Compound Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Contaminants |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Potency |
1.67/1.67 |
| Grow/Cultivation |
23/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Storage Protocols (Short-Term and Long-Term Storage) |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Water Management |
0.71/0.71 |
| Pesticide Guidance |
3/5 |
| – Pesticide Guidance |
2/2.5 |
| – Pesticide Labeling |
1/2.5 |
| Required Testing |
5/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Contaminants |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Potency |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Sample Retention |
1.25/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Manufacturing |
23/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
1/1 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
1/1 |
| Product Labeling |
5/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Potency and Compound Information |
1.67/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
3/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1/1 |
| – Contaminants |
1/1 |
| – Potency |
1/1 |
| – Shelf Life Testing |
0/1 |
| – Sample Retention |
0/1 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Laboratory Operations |
8.32/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Method Validation in Accordance with AHP Guidelines |
0/5 |
| Result Reporting |
0/5 |
| Independent or Third Party |
0/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures and Protocols |
3.32/5 |
| – Equipment and Instrument Calibration |
0/0.83 |
| – Sample Tracking |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0/0.83 |
| – Storage Protocols |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0.83/0.83 |
|
|
Covid Response |
20/20
|
|
| Delivery Available? |
6/6
|
| Curbside Pickup Available? |
2/2
|
| Medical Cannabis Essential? |
7/7
|
| Telemedicine Available? |
5/5
|
|
| Excerpted from ASA's 2020 State of the States Report. |
In This Section
On November 6, 2012, the voters of Massachusetts approved Question 3, “An Initiative Petition for a Law for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana,” by 63 percent establishing legal protection for medical cannabis patients, caregivers, physicians and medical professionals, cultivators, and providers, some of which went into effect as of January 1, 2013.
Massachusetts voters in November 2012 established legal protection for medical cannabis patients, caregivers, physicians and medical professionals, cultivators, and providers, some of which went into effect as of January 1, 2013.
Certifying physicians recommending medical marijuana must have (1) an active Massachusetts medical license issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, with (2) no prescribing restrictions, (3) a Massachusetts Controlled Substances Registration (MCSR), and (4) at least one established place of practice in Massachusetts.
Find local ASA Chapters, Action Groups and Affiliates in Massachusetts and get involved in local campaigns.
The State of Medical Marijuana in Massachusetts
