By GINTAUTAS DUMCIUS/MASSLIVE.COM

The Massachusetts marijuana law is getting a rewrite.

The state has actually two marijuana laws -- approved by voters -- that Statehouse lawmakers revised, largely behind closed doors.

The medical marijuana law passed in 2012 and the recreational marijuana law passed in 2016.

The 2016 state law broadly legalized recreational marijuana use for adults ages 21 and over. Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.

The revisions are in a bill Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law on Friday, July 28.

Here's what you need to know about the revisions, based on information provided by lawmakers like state Sen. William Brownsberger and others inside the Statehouse.



(AP PHOTO)

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Homegrow and personal limits stay the same.

You can possess 10 ounces inside a primary residence.

You can possess 1 ounce outside the primary residence, or no more than 5 grams of marijuana concentrate, and you can gift up to 1 ounce to another person.

A household can have up to 12 marijuana plants inside.

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You still can't smoke it in public

Marijuana smoking is not allowed in public. You can smoke inside your home, though it's complicated if you're renting or on federally subsidized property. (More than 829,000 Massachusetts residents are renters.)

RELATED: If you rent an apartment in Massachusetts, you may not be able to use marijuana at home

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No criminal liability for homegrowing for persons under the age of 21

According one of the lawmakers who helped craft the rewrite, people under 18 and up to 21 will be charged with a civil offense if they have under two ounces inside or outside a residence.

Over 2 ounces remains a crime, but there remains an exception: Up to 12 plants at home and cultivated amounts to a civil violation.

If you're under the age of 18, having under 2 ounces is a civil offense, coupled with a requirement to complete a drug education program. Over 2 ounces is still a crime.

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(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Prior convictions can be sealed

People who have prior convictions for possession of marijuana can also have their records sealed.

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Deb Greene (R), the first customer at the Cannabis City retail marijuana store, buys marijuana on July 8, 2014 in Seattle, Washington.

Marijuana taxed at up to 20 percent, second lowest rate in the country

The voter-approved law called for a 12 percent tax on marijuana, but Massachusetts lawmakers nearly doubled it. They say it still puts Massachusetts at the second lowest marijuana tax rate in the country, same as Oregon.

Here's how the tax rate breaks down: There's a 6.25 percent sales tax, a 10.75 percent excise tax, and a 3 percent "local option" that cities and towns will be able to levy.

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(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)

There could be an additional 3 percent.

If you're seeking to open a retail pot shop, a host community agreement with the city or town is required. The city or town can tax gross sales at up to 3 percent.

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Can you sell pot edibles now?

No. A new state agency, the Cannabis Control Commission, will be putting together regulations over the next several months, and there will be an application process for selling pot edibles.

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Retail pot shops slated to open July 2018.

Lawmakers delayed the opening of retail pot shops to July 2018, instead of the January 2018 date that voters approved in November. Lawmakers said they needed the time to craft the rewrite and get it to the governor's desk.

It's part of an effort to drive down the black market, since advocates hope that consumers will want marijuana that's been through a regulatory process and a THC level that they can see.

We could see 10 or 12 pot shops in July, according to Adam Fine, an attorney specializing in marijuana law. The managing partner of the Massachusetts office of Vicente Sederberg, Fine helped co-write the original law approved by voters in November.

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(AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Working for a pot shop

The pot law rewrite calls for full background checks for employees of the Cannabis Control Commission and applicants for retail marijuana licenses.

But if you have a drug possession offense, you are not barred from a license or employment in a marijuana establishment.

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In this Nov. 21, 2014, file photo, a former U.S. Marine smokes medical marijuana in Belfast, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, file)

Medical marijuana remains untaxed

Under the pot law rewrite, the state's medical marijuana program is shifted from the Department of Public Health to the Cannabis Control Commission, the new agency.

There are nearly a dozen medical marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts, five years after voters signed off on allowing them within the Bay State.

Medical marijuana licensees had a leg up under the voter-approved law from November; the rewrite reduces that.

Unlike retail marijuana, medical marijuana will stay untaxed.

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Welfare payments can't be used to buy marijuana

No, you can't use welfare payments to purchase marijuana, or for any purpose inside a retail pot shop.

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Hemp

Hemp will be considered an agricultural product. The provision in the law allows for cultivation of industrial hemp, but small growers will have an option for a cooperative concept, according to lawmakers.

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Hemp industry could explode in Massachusetts if ballot measure passes in November. https://t.co/yIDUyzQBz4 pic.twitter.com/6425VA2aHU — masslivenews (@masslivenews) March 9, 2016

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The Cannabis Control Commission expands

Voters approved the law calling for a three-member Cannabis Control Commission under the state treasurer's office.

Lawmakers expanded it to five, and took away some of the treasurer's power over the commission.

Under the rewrite, the treasurer designates the chair of the commission but makes joint appointments with the governor and the attorney general.

The governor and the attorney general also get to make additional appointments.

Not more than three commissioners can be from the same party, and no commissioner can have a felony conviction.

One commissioner has to have a background in public health, mental health, substance use or toxicology

One commissioner has to have a background in public safety

One commissioner has to have experience in corporate management, finance or securities

One has to have professional experience in oversight or industry management, including commodities, production or distribution in a regulated industry

One has to have a background in legal, policy or social justice issues.

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FILE - This April 18, 2014, file photo shows edible marijuana products on display at a medical marijuana dispensary in Denver. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)

The commission will set up standards for packaging and advertising

The Cannabis Control Commission is tasked with overseeing packaging, the potency of retail pot, as well as standards for security and seed-to-sale technology.

Commission requirements, according to a release from Statehouse lawmakers, will include:

Certified child-resistant packaging and opaque containers.

Regulations regarding advertising, marketing and branding, including:

-- Advertising is only permissible in markets where at least 85 percent of the audience is over 21;

-- A product cannot be identified as safe other than CCC-regulated labeling.

-- Bans retail shops near school zones.

-- Licensees must have a publicly available software application to track and trace all marijuana cultivated, process, or manufactured, from seed-to-sale.

-- Edible marijuana products will have a single serving limit of 10 mg of THC and cannot resemble any non-marijuana food product currently sold.

-- Labeling to indicate that a product is or contains marijuana, and the amount of THC in the product.

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Springfield Police Sgt. John Delaney served a cease and desist order to Mary Jane Makes Your Heart Sing around 2:30 p.m. on March 1, 2017.

How cities and towns will determine whether to ban or restrict pot shops

In Massachusetts, 91 communities (28 percent of the state's population) voted against Question 4, which legalized marijuana for recreational use.

Those communities will not have to have a voter referendum to impose limits on retail pot shops; their local officials will have the ability to do that. They just have to do it before Dec. 31, 2019.

In the rest of the state, where communities voted "yes" on Question 4, there will have to be a voter referendum if local officials want to ban or restrict retail pot shops.

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13 Massachusetts towns had at least 70% of voters vote yes to legalize recreational marijuana. https://t.co/CHdSANhra0 pic.twitter.com/O1Xf4lQVVH — masslivenews (@masslivenews) November 9, 2016

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Marijuana legalization and charter schools: See how your town voted on the Massachusetts ballot questions https://t.co/D8yeO0lcp6 pic.twitter.com/c1LrZc6nMo — masslivenews (@masslivenews) November 9, 2016

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Ask an attorney specializing in marijuana

MassLive.com recently sat down with Fine, the attorney specializing in marijuana, for a Facebook Live and to talk about the changes. He warned of a retail marijuana shortage and talked about what people can expect in the next year as a new industry moves into Massachusetts.

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Mass. Supreme Judicial Court rules worker should not have been fired from her job for medical marijuana use. https://t.co/vbeVRzm97S pic.twitter.com/7ysZ8ENeOr — masslivenews (@masslivenews) July 17, 2017

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