Massachusetts marijuana regulators gave final approval Monday to the delivery of recreational cannabis within the state.
The Cannabis Control Commission voted in favor of new regulations that would allow couriers to be paid to deliver from pot shops to people's homes.
It also voted to allow so-called delivery operators to buy wholesale from growers and deliver to their own customers.
For the first three years, people especially impacted by strict marijuana laws and those from communities particularly hard hit would have the exclusive right to deliver. Holyoke is among the 29 communities.
City resident Morris Partee plans to apply and was pleased by the vote.
But a trade group representing some of the state’s pot stores said it’s disappointed.
David Torrisi, who leads the Commonwealth Dispensary Association, said members are OK with couriers getting paid to deliver marijuana to people's homes, but not with the delivery operator option.
"We feel that this other model is not really a delivery license," he said. "It’s an online retailer license. If you can wholesale product and sell it directly to consumers, that’s a retailer."
Torrisi said that model is going to have a devastating impact on the state’s marijuana shops. His association is considering its options, including legal and legislative action.
