Marijuana home delivery services launch in Massachusetts

BOSTON (AP) – Self-supplied marijuana has arrived in Massachusetts.

At least two companies announced this week that they have started operations. Lantern, a sister company to the popular liquor delivery company Drizly, now serves the Boston area. Their green package, meanwhile, says its driver teams took to the streets in the greater Northampton area on the western end of the state.

The companies are among the first to benefit from the creation of new government licenses for recreational marijuana delivery companies.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission last month announced the opening of the licensing procedure after its rules were approved late last year. It is not clear how many companies are eligible for the new licenses. Commission spokesmen did not respond to an email asking for comment on Friday.

Marijuana advocates have been asking the state for years to allow marijuana delivery deals, which are already allowed in any form in a number of the 19 states that have legalized recreational cannabis, including California.

Aaron Goines, advocacy president of the Massachusetts Cannabis Association for Delivery, said the new licenses are vital to making the local cannabis industry fairer. He and others have argued that the financial investments and regulatory approvals required to start a traditional brick and mortar retail operation are sometimes too big for minority entrepreneurs to overcome.

“This license type is an important part of the equation to make the Massachusetts cannabis industry more diverse, equitable and inclusive,” Goines said in a statement at the time.

Of course, the supply of medical marijuana has long been legal in the state. But consumers could only buy marijuana in stores, and additional services like roadside collection were only approved by regulators relatively recently.

Large marijuana retailers also sued the state’s delivery service rules, but eventually dropped their legal challenge earlier this year.

The licensing process creates two types of delivery companies: Marijuana “couriers” who simply move orders from an established retail store; and “suppliers” who can buy products from manufacturers and sell them to customers.

Government regulations also set strict rules for the delivery process. Delivery vehicles must be manned by at least two employees and equipped with a GPS tracker, secure storage area, and other safety precautions. Customers are also required to provide photo ID for verification and the door transaction will be recorded on an employee’s body camera.

For the first three years, the supply licenses are only available to participants in government programs designed to encourage more colored entrepreneurs in the marijuana industry. State regulators have indicated that more than 500 applicants are initially eligible.

State regulators have said that Lantern does not require a state license as it is considered a third party technology provider.

Like Drizly, it is an online platform where customers can search for marijuana products and purchase them from sellers. The company works with two Massachusetts-based marijuana companies for the service, which is available to customers 21 and older.

Freshly Baked is a veteran-owned, Taunton-based cannabis brand that is credited with having the first inaugural delivery as part of the new licensing process last month. And We Can Deliver is a licensed marijuana courier company based in Boston.

Lantern began shipping medical marijuana in Massachusetts last year. It also operates in Michigan and Colorado.

Your Green Package, on the other hand, is a Massachusetts company that majority owned by women and colored peoplereports the Daily Hampton Gazette.

It has partnered with New England Treatment Access, which operates marijuana dispensaries in Northampton and the Boston suburb of Brookline. Their Green Package says it will deliver cannabis products to both areas of the state.