On Nov. 20, 2018, NETA in Northampton and Cultivate in Leicester made history by becoming the first legal marijuana dispensaries to open for recreational sales in Massachusetts.

The year since has been one of triumphs and bumps for the nascent marijuana industry, with 33 open shops, millions of dollars in tax revenue and a burgeoning social equity program — in addition to a bribery scandal and a federal investigation.

“The industry continues to roll out in what I think is an effective and controversy-free manner,” said Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman. “It’s rolled out relatively incident-free, there has not been big rise in crime. We’re licensing professional operators who are running professional businesses.”

Jim Borghesani, a cannabis consultant who was a leader in the fight to legalize marijuana, said he has not seen incidents of licensed stores selling to minors or an uptick in impaired driving, although state officials have not released a comprehensive analysis.

“What we’ve seen in Massachusetts is exactly what we’ve seen in other legal states,” Borghesani said. “A new industry that became a respected, job-making, tax-paying entity in the state. It hasn’t resulted in any of the doomsday scenarios that prohibitionists so enthusiastically predicted.”

But at the same time, marijuana lobbyist Daniel Delaney said, there have been bumps. “It’s certainly been a year where all the problems of trying to operationalize an industry, as opposed to having to look right on paper, have made themselves apparent,” Delaney said.

Looking ahead, the industry has many more hurdles to overcome in 2020, from improving access for black and Latino entrepreneurs to rolling out the first licenses for home delivery companies to monitoring vaping-related illnesses.

“We recognize we have a long way to go,” Hoffman said. “We’re in the early stages of rolling out the industry.”

First stores open and expand

Some of the industry’s accomplishments can be measured by the numbers. At the end of 2019, there were 33 recreational marijuana retailers and 22 cultivators allowed to commence operations.

The industry conducted $437 million in sales from the day the first shops opened through Dec. 27.

In the first year of recreational marijuana operations, the state collected $12.9 million in marijuana sales and excise taxes, and municipalities collected another $2.25 million.

“Just the fact that so many people who didn’t have access before have access now is really the biggest success story in all of this,” said NETA President Amanda Rositano.

NETA employs 800 people. Its Brookline store serves around 2,500 people a day, with fewer customers in Northampton.

Rositano said she has found that many customers are looking for relief from medical ailments. “It’s really telling to see so many people are coming into this industry to look for ways to ease their pain,” she said.

Cultivate in Leicester opened with customers waiting in line for five or six hours. As more stores have opened, the wait is now 45 minutes at peak times. The company has a chef with six full-time employees, and she is developing products as diverse as cannabis-infused olive oil, maple syrup and Ecuadorian chocolate.

Most retail businesses licensed so far are medical marijuana dispensaries that also sell to recreational customers. A handful of “economic empowerment” applicants, from communities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs, have also received licenses.

The Cannabis Control Commission’s relatively slow pace of licensing has angered business owners, who are leasing properties for months while waiting.

Peter Bernard, president of the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council, said there are just a handful of newly licensed cultivators. “They’re waiting and bleeding money,” Bernard said. “It’s not really fair to smaller growers.”

In the meantime, many dispensaries are capping the size of flower purchases because of limited supply.

Some stores have also complained about the slow rate of product testing, with just two state-licensed testing labs.

Hoffman said part of the reason for the slow pace is the need to ask many applicants for more information and the wait time for municipal approvals. But he said the commission is working on hiring staff and becoming more efficient.

An expansion of the industry is planned for early 2020 when the commission starts accepting applications for delivery licenses, which will let companies deliver recreational marijuana from a licensed dispensary to someone’s home.

An additional expansion to authorize marijuana cafes still needs legislative approval.

Community reaction

More communities are opening up to marijuana sales, as virtually all the temporary moratoria on recreational marijuana businesses have expired.

Around 119 communities have permanently banned recreational marijuana businesses, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

In Agawam, for example, where voters overwhelmingly voted to ban recreational marijuana businesses, City Council Vice President Cecilia Calabrese said there were “quality of life” concerns, and the opioid addiction crisis weighed heavily.

“It would send a mixed message if we allowed recreational sales in Agawam, meanwhile said as a community we need to address drug addiction,” Calabrese said.

Legal and legislative issues

Last year’s most sensational moment came when Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia was arrested for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for letters of support for marijuana companies.

More headlines could be coming from law enforcement, after news broke in November that a federal grand jury was investigating the host community agreements signed between multiple municipalities and marijuana companies.

Host community agreements are also expected to be a priority for the state Legislature.

State law today caps the fees communities can charge companies, but many host community agreements require additional fees or “mandatory donations.” The Cannabis Control Commission asked lawmakers for authority to require changes to host community agreements, but lawmakers have not yet acted.

With the continued existence of the illicit market, lawmakers are also weighing a bill to create a new task force to crack down — and impose civil fines — on illegal marijuana businesses.

Social equity

One continuing challenge for commissioners is how to adhere to a legislative mandate requiring them to encourage members of communities disproportionately affected by marijuana enforcement to join the legal industry.

The commission established a priority licensing category for “economic empowerment” applicants, but few so far have been able to open businesses. As of Dec. 19, 667 companies had completed applications, but only 22 were economic empowerment applicants. The most commonly cited problems are inability to raise startup capital and difficulties negotiating host community agreements.

The Cannabis Control Commission started a social equity program to give technical assistance to social equity applicants, including racial minorities and people with drug convictions. There are 143 enrollees expected to complete the program by April.

Federal issues

Massachusetts marijuana entrepreneurs will also be keeping an eye on Congress in 2020, where the Democratic-controlled House passed the SAFE Banking Act to let banks provide traditional services to state-legal marijuana companies. Passage is less likely in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Today, only a few banks in Massachusetts offer services to the industry, and banks cannot make loans. Customers generally cannot use credit cards at marijuana shops.

State regulators will also continue to keep an eye on federal public health data, as federal agencies continue to investigate an outbreak of vaping-related illnesses. In late 2019, the Cannabis Control Commission quarantined most vaping products, a quarantine that partially lifted in December, amid new testing requirements.