By this time next year, the streets of Northampton, Easthampton and Amherst may feature a new kind of social hub: Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes, marijuana-friendly yoga studios and theaters.
Massachusetts is poised to become one of the first New England states after the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) approved new licensing regulations on Dec. 11 that allow on-site cannabis use, or social consumption establishments to open in the Valley. The decision has been met with mixed reactions from local dispensary owners. While some see the new licenses as an opportunity, others see it as a burdensome investment.
The CCC’s decision follows months of discussions and multiple rounds of public input, dating back to December 2024 when the licenses were first presented. Following the vote and potential adjustments, the new regulations are slated to take effect Jan. 2, 2026, pending review of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
“We will be exploring putting some space aside just for a lounge, just like an Amsterdam-style [cannabis] cafe,” said Jon Napoli, co-owner of The Hempest Cannabis Dispensary in Northampton.
The Hempest is located at 2 Conz St. in Northampton, at the Maplewood Shops plaza. Napoli said he and his partners will be looking to expand into one of the other shops in the plaza to open a social cannabis lounge.
While the three, on-site cannabis consumption licenses have been approved, Napoli said people can expect a long wait until social consumption establishments open. According to State House News Service, commissioners estimate that it will be up to 18 months until on-site cannabis use begins, based on the previous rollout of cannabis delivery licenses.
While Napoli said the prospect of on-site cannabis businesses have exciting potential, there are still questions that remain, including how profitable the business model would be.
“It remains to be seen how profitable these things will be,” he said. “Cannabis has proven to be very difficult to make a good profit on.”
The three types of licenses available under the new regulations include a “supplemental” license, allowing customers to consume products purchased at existing dispensaries; a “hospitality” license that would allow for consumption at new or existing non-cannabis businesses like yoga studios or theaters; and a temporary, “event organizer” license that would allow for cannabis consumption at events like festivals.
Napoli said if he and his partners were to open a separate lounge next to The Hempest, it would fall under the hospitality license category.
Under the regulations, local municipalities must opt-in either by referendum, ordinance or bylaw.
Napoli said he anticipates that Northampton will opt-in. In the future, he and his partners plan to have future communication with the city to encourage this, he added.
The Hempest’s Northampton location officially became a dispensary in 2020, after previously only operating as a clothing and smoke shop. The shop’s transition into a dispensary followed a surge of growth in the industry in Massachusetts, which cemented its status as an early adopter of legalization when the state’s first recreational storefronts opened in 2018.
Napoli said he is eager to see how the new regulations impact the market and what outcomes they produce.
For Kevin Perrier, co-owner of cannabis dispensaries Dreamer in Southampton, Honey in Northampton and The Oz Club in Easthampton, a social consumption establishment is not a worthwhile investment at first glance.
“People are reading the headlines, seeing that social cannabis is allowed, but I don’t think that is going to be the reality, especially out here in western Mass.,” Perrier said.
Perrier referred to the “courier model,” or a marijuana delivery license approved in 2020. He said the idea on the surface sounds great, but due to extensive regulation processes, it didn’t make for a profitable and sustainable model. He and other partners tried this model with a previous business, Budzee in Easthampton.
“It is really not a profitable model,” Perrier said about a delivery business. “I think from the draft regulations, (of on-site cannabis use) we are seeing the same situation.”
Perrier said what many people think when they first hear about on-site cannabis use is a “bar-scene,” in which a customer can walk up to the bartender, order a marijuana product and consume it right there. However, he said this will not be the case due to the extensive restrictions, based on the draft regulations released by the CCC.
“I’ll be very surprised if someone opens a social cannabis consumption lounge in western Mass.,” he said. “I don’t see that path forward because you can’t mix it with alcohol.”
Since these establishments will not look like a bar-style business, Perrier feels it will not have the same appeal to groups of friends that may not all be interested in weed.
One regulation he noted, is that social consumption establishments will need to incorporate a separate “smoking room” that requires a ventilation system. Along with that, cameras also need to be installed to monitor the area.
Perrier also discussed the limits of how much can be consumed at social consumption businesses, and from a business perspective, it will likely not turn a profit.
The limit at a dispensary currently is one ounce, or 28 grams, of cannabis flower, and up to 500 milligrams of active tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for digestible cannabis-infused products, known as edibles.
Consumers will be allowed to purchase the full daily limit at a social consumption establishment but can only consume up to half of the limit at one time. Since consumers can only be served half to consume at once, anything beyond that has to be put into a safely sealed exit bag.
Perrier said it may be difficult to make a large profit from sales if people do not want to consume a large amount on-site, and at dispensaries, you have some customers purchasing ounces of flower.
Also, based on the draft regulations, manufacturers will have to consider repackaging products to fit the correct doses for on-site use.
While Perrier does not see it working in western Massachusetts, Perrier said he cannot speak for larger cities like Worcester and Boston that have denser populations that can attract more foot traffic. Depending on the license, establishments also will have to provide a transportation method for customers to leave.
Perrier said he feels there are much more promising regulations on the horizon from the CCC. In a previous interview with the Gazette, he said that a big problem in the cannabis industry is certain dispensaries are underpaying their suppliers. Perrier is also a co-owner of Easthampton-based cannabis manufacturer, Wemelco Industries.
Perrier said these potential regulations will help reduce large multi-state operators supplying from outside Massachusetts, while also cracking down on dispensaries who are not paying suppliers in full.
Similar to Napoli, Perrier said the cannabis market has become saturated, but in the next year he expects sales to recover.
Steve Reilly, head of government relations for INSA, with headquarters in Easthampton, said he hopes the CCC will focus on reducing out-of-state supplying.
“We are reviewing the final regulations approved by the CCC, but broadly speaking, the CCC’s priority should be stabilizing and strengthening the health of the existing cannabis industry before pursuing expansion into new areas,” Reilly wrote in an email to the Gazette.
INSA is a national manufacturing company with dispensaries selling products as far as Florida and Ohio, and also, in Easthampton and Springfield.
Reilly said Massachusetts faces “serious challenges” regulating and enforcing out-of-state products from entering the market and ensuring advertising rules. Massachusetts along with many other states has regulations that restrict advertising such as radio broadcasting and online, to deter underage use.
“Expanding into on-site consumption at this moment risks compounding those unresolved issues. We are particularly concerned that on-site consumption locations could effectively operate as de facto dispensaries, and additional points of sale are the last thing this market needs right now,” Reilly wrote. “The focus should remain on enforcing existing regulations and supporting a sustainable, compliant industry before introducing new complexities.”