Massachusetts cannabis buyers taking full advantage of higher purchase limit

BY COLIN A. YOUNG

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, May 28, 2026…..Cannabis consumers wasted no time taking advantage of the state’s newly-doubled marijuana purchase limit, placing 900 orders that exceeded the old limit across the first two days under the higher limit last month.

The law Gov. Maura Healey signed April 19 to restructure the Cannabis Control Commission also upped the daily purchase limit from one to two ounces of marijuana flower or its equivalent. That change took effect immediately, so it was in place “prior to one of the busiest sales [days] of the year, which is 4/20,” Executive Director Travis Ahern said Thursday, referring to the unofficial pot holiday observed April 20.

Data provided by the Cannabis Control Commission show that consumers made 133 purchases in excess of the old one-ounce limit on April 19, worth a total of $17,400. On April 20, there were 767 purchases in excess of one ounce worth a total $99,667, the CCC said. Between the two days, 900 purchases in excess of one ounce totaled $117,067.

Cumulatively, the state’s marijuana businesses generated $7.32 million in total sales on April 20, the CCC said.

Another primary impact of the recent cannabis reform law was on clear display Thursday as the downsized and restructured commission held its first public meeting.

The new-look CCC is led by Chairman Chris Harding, a former businessman who had held high-level jobs in the Baker and Healey administrations. His resume includes two and a half years as revenue commissioner, and stints as the chief of staff at the executive offices for health and humans services and administration and finance. 

He was peripherally involved when Massachusetts launched the first legal marijuana industry on the East Coast after 2016’s legalization vote; as revenue commissioner, he served as a member of the Cannabis Advisory Board and chaired its industry subcommittee.

At the start of Thursday’s meeting, Harding thanked Gov. Maura Healey and the Legislature “for taking some bold actions in order to help support the mission of the Cannabis Control Commission going forward.”

“Exciting times as we think about the next iteration of what can be and what will be in Massachusetts,” he said. Harding added, “I think the combination of the three commissioners here bring a very unique set of experiences, and again, shout out to the governor and her team for the selection process and for bringing us all to the table. Very exciting.”

The other new commissioner who participated Thursday, Xiomara DeLobato, works as vice president and chief of staff at the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, where Healey’s office said she helps lead regional economic initiatives, business partnerships and workforce development efforts.

Appointee Anthony Wilson, a former city clerk in both Springfield and Cambridge who has more recently advised cannabis businesses, attended the meeting to observe but will not be sworn in as a commissioner until next week, Harding said. Under the new CCC statute, two commissioners constitute a quorum. 

“I’m very certain that our new chair and commissioners will find that the table has been set for a successful transition, with many initiatives ready to come to fruition at the outset of your tenures,” Ahern, who was hired by the previous iteration of the CCC, said. “We look forward to working with you to make significant progress for the organization and the industry this year.”

Though the previous commission was dissolved when Healey signed the reform law April 19, the CCC as an agency has been active in the time between public commission meetings. 

Last week, the agency announced that it would begin auditing the THC levels listed on cannabis products, the latest in a series of actions meant to address issues with testing fraud and mislabeled products. 

If the CCC determines a product’s THC potency is not within a range of 75% to 125% of what is on the label, the product “would be considered out of compliance and removed from the market through administrative action until the issue is resolved,” regulators said. 

“This effort aims to improve patient and consumer awareness statewide and takes into consideration that THC potency is variable for marijuana flower products, it degrades over time when it is stored, and other factors,” Ahern said.

As of April, more than 687 adult-use marijuana businesses were operating in Massachusetts along with 93 medical businesses, the CCC said. There were another 663 businesses in the pipeline with at least some level of license approval from the CCC. About 20,000 people work in the legal industry.

Colin Young is the deputy editor for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach him at colin.young@statehousenews.com.