The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) is asking the state for a large bump in funding for the agency in fiscal year 2026, WWLP.com reports.
CCC officials said that to keep up with the testing, licensing, and hiring requirements of overseeing the state’s legal cannabis industry, the agency will need a budget of $30.8 million, which is a $10 million jump from its current annual budget of $19.8 million. The agency had requested $25 million for fiscal year 2025 but did not receive the entire sum.
The agency’s new Executive Director, Travis Ahern — who was selected for the role late last year and was formally appointed just last week — said the industry’s rapid expansion justified the request.
“Though the commission has historically categorized much of its funding requests as ‘expansionary,’ the reality is that these funds are necessary to implement legislative requirements and maintain the safety of the industry.” — Ahern, via WWLP.com
One of the agency’s major goals for the fnuding is to fund credible cannabis testing labs, the report said. Testing labs in Massachusetts, like in many other states, struggle against widespread “lab shopping” practices, which is when cannabis operators prioritize bringing their products for testing to labs that provide more desirable results, including higher (and often inflated) THC potency and more lenient product safety screenings.
The founder and CEO of SafeTiva Labs Megan Dobro said during a Massachusetts legislative hearing last year that, “When there’s variability in the results, the producers are shopping for labs that are going to give them results that allow them to sell their products for more.”
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