Skip to content
Apply
Stories

Local marijuana fees soar past $50 million as industry decries municipal ‘slush funds’ 

People in this story

Massachusetts cities and towns have collected over $53 million in “impact” fees from marijuana companies since recreational pot sales began in 2018, a new study has found, as lawmakers consider a crackdown on what critics decry as a government shakedown.

The survey of 88 communities, conducted by Northeastern University researchers and published by the Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association, comes as the Legislature debates the final version of a bill that would essentially force municipalities to justify any fees on pot facilities in excess of those charged to other businesses.

“This report further shows how arbitrary and unequal the [local approval] process has become,” said state Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz, a sponsor of the legislation. “I look forward to the day soon when our cannabis marketplace lives up to our values and aspirations.”

Continue reading at the Boston Globe.

More Stories

Should a new government agency protect the Massachusetts coastline from climate change?

03.03.2023

Opinion: College campus shootings aren’t common. Let’s not turn campuses into fortresses.

03.03.2023

Would a Biden defeat at the Supreme Court signal the end of student loan debt cancellation, or is there a Plan B?

03.06.23
All Stories