As eight bills in this legislative session seek to increase the number of dispensaries or cannabis establishments that any one individual or organization can own, the cannabis industry remains divided on whether the Legislature should maintain the current cap of three.
The state set the license cap in 2017 as a measure to keep large companies from monopolizing the cannabis industry and to protect small cannabis business owners – particularly those who come from communities harmed most by the war on drugs.
Now, some cannabis operators are saying that the cap restricts their ability to run their businesses. Some cannabis business owners have argued that the Legislature needs to increase the license cap to allow struggling business owners to attract desperately needed capital from large multistate operators and provide an opportunity for them to sell their companies.
The bills currently pending all seek to raise the license cap from three to either six or nine. One bill seeks to allow companies that have already reached a three-license limit to increase the amount of ownership stake they can have in four additional social equity businesses.
Read more at Common Wealth Beacon