Cannabis dispensary group says Baker's vape ban conflates legal industry with black market
Photo | Matt Wright
Sira Naturals CEO Michael Dundas inspects a plant in the company's Milford grow room.
A Massachusetts cannabis dispensary industry group representing dozens of cannabis firms -- many with operations in Central Massachusetts -- said the legal market is getting lumped in with the illicit market, which it says is the main culprit in vaping-related illnesses.
The Commonwealth Dispensary Association, which represents Worcester-based Good Chemistry, Milford-based Sira Naturals, Leicester-based Cultivate, Franklin-based New England Treatment Access, Fitchburg-based Garden Remedies and several others, issued the statement Thursday in response to Gov. Charlie Baker’s four-month ban on vaping product sales.
Baker’s ban came after mounting numbers of vape users of both tobacco and cannabis products have fallen ill due to what health officials believe are harmful additives in the product.
The regulated industry was created to support consumers and patients with safe, tested and taxed products, the association said. Regulation is even embraced because it helps distinguish between legal, tested products from those on the black market.
This move, however, conflates the legal market with the black market, the association said.
“Keeping unregulated, untested products out of the hands of our youth should remain our collective focus,” the association said. “We are concerned that the legal cannabis industry has been conflated with these irresponsible actors.”
In addition to the 30 member companies, the statement was signed by 18 industry professionals and advocates, including Uxbridge-based Caroline’s Cannabis CEO Caroline Frankel and a host of industry law firms, including Smith, Costello & Crawford, Burns & Levinson and Vicente Sederberg.
The association stressed the importance of taking steps to ensure consumers don’t turn to the black market, but also praised Baker for his decisive action that could lead the country’s public health policies surrounding cannabis.
“To this end, we look forward to working hand-in-hand with the administration to advance policies that accomplish these shared goals,” the association said.
On Thursday, Baker reiterated his decision, telling reporters he had no regrets about the move.
“Once we had met with all the medical experts, to do nothing was just not a viable option," Baker said.
Information from State House News Service was used in this report.
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