Marijuana - The Boston Globe

Stem founder Caroline Pineau stands inside her unfinished Haverhill marijuana store in 2019.

Marijuana store sues Haverhill, saying steep ‘impact’ fees are not justified

The long-awaited legal challenge could upend the controversial local approval process.

New York legalizes recreational marijuana
New Yorkers can now possess and use up to 3 ounces of cannabis under a legalization bill signed Wednesday by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

New York lawmakers agree to legalize recreational marijuana
Lawmakers reached an agreement late Saturday to legalize recreational marijuana sales in New York.

Can landlords really ban marijuana edibles? Usually not, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying
Five years after Massachusetts voters legalized marijuana, the state's 1.6 million-plus renters are at risk of losing access to the drug, as landlords increasingly foist legally questionable anti-cannabis provisions on tenants.

New York reaches deal to legalize recreational marijuana
Following several failed attempts, lawmakers in Albany, N.Y., struck an agreement with Governor Andrew Cuomo to legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older, a move that officials hope will help end years of racially disproportionate policing that saw Black and Hispanic people arrested on low-level marijuana charges far more frequently than white people.

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Cannabis advocate and attorney Kim Napoli held her daughter Gianna outside the Hempest store on Boston's Newbury Street in this 2013 file photo.

Prominent executive at NETA parent company fired after husband opens competing marijuana store

The parent company of NETA, the largest marijuana operator in Massachusetts, has fired a prominent executive and longtime advocate after her husband opened a competing cannabis store.

More marijuana news

Five will exit White House over past use of marijuana

Five White House staffers have been fired because of their past use of drugs, including marijuana, press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.

Marijuana-infused ice cream is coming to a dispensary near you, just in time for summer

Despite a squabble with state regulators over its packaging, the first marijuana-infused ice cream company in Massachusetts is poised to open in April.

A green wave? Mexico’s marijuana market may be middling

Mexico, a country carved up by cartels for decades, is poised to take a major step in drug policy. This week, the lower house of Congress approved a landmark bill to legalize recreational marijuana, which would make it the world’s largest legal market for the drug.

Mexico set to legalize marijuana, becoming world’s largest market

The 316-129 vote in Mexico’s lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, came more than two years after the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the country’s ban on recreational marijuana was unconstitutional and more than three years after the country legalized medicinal cannabis.

The hidden titans of pot

Massachusetts legalized the sale of recreational marijuana with the ambition to be different — and better. But two years since the law went into effect, troubling signs loom. This three-part series uncovers stealth moves by large investors poised to dominate this nascent industry and outmaneuver regulators.

These companies test the limits — and brag about it

No firm is allowed to own or control more than three recreational marijuana stores. But two companies — Sea Hunter and Acreage — are testing the limits.

Inside one battle that could change the marijuana industry

The race to open Mattapan Square’s first pot shop raises questions about trust and who gets to cash in.

For sale in the pot industry: political influence

Marijuana may be the hot, new retail business in town, but it largely plays by the old political rules.

More coverage

Eight takeaways from the Spotlight series

Marijuana company’s expansion plans test Mass. law

Mass. regulators investigating whether companies violated license limits

Beyond Massachusetts, states struggle to limit marijuana behemoths

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Special Reports

The essential guide to buying and consuming pot in Massachusetts

Curious about legal weed but feeling a little intimidated about visiting a retail outlet? Our handy guide answers all of your questions so you can stock up with confidence.

These are the most common questions marijuana budtenders get asked

A Boston-area woman practices yoga at home, part of her recovery after being hospitalized for two weeks with severe vaping-related lung injuries.

‘My life came crashing down overnight’: How one Boston-area woman nearly died from vaping

A 33-year-old veterinary technician thought she could trust her dealer’s legitimate-looking vapes to help her relax and treat her migraines. Instead, she ended up hospitalized for two weeks.

FROM GLOBE OPINION: I nearly died from vaping, and you could too

Welcome to Big Marijuana’s factory floor

Inside the headquarters of Canada's Canopy Growth Corp., the world’s largest marijuana company that critics call the "Walmart of Weed." (Video by Caitlin Healy/Globe Staff)

Inside the Walmart of Weed: From rural Canada, Big Marijuana seeks to dominate global market

Dr. Lester Grinspoon, the author of "Marijuana Reconsidered," sits in his home in Auburndale, MA.

At 89, legendary psychiatrist and marijuana advocate still wonders about Harvard professorship

Marijuana activists say Dr. Lester Grinspoon, the author of "Marijuana Reconsidered," was unfairly denied a full professorship at Harvard Medical School twice because of his views about cannabis.

Lester Grinspoon, Harvard psychiatrist and early champion of marijuana reforms, dies at 92

Latest marijuana headlines

RI BUSINESS
A guide to the Rhode Island Senate’s plan to legalize cannabis
A year after Senate leadership declared a different legalization proposal dead on arrival, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey are co-sponsoring that would legalize, tax, and regulate the recreational use of marijuana in the state.

Buying legal marijuana is more convenient than ever. Good luck finding somewhere to legally use it
As numerous dispensaries prepare to open in visitor-heavy areas of Massachusetts, cannabis consumers are poised to clash with the state's ban on public pot consumption. A new bill would divert them instead to regulated, ventilated marijuana cafes.

Mass. marijuana has to be ultra-sterile. Just one problem: It’s a plant
Massachusetts cannabis regulators are considering loosening the state's strict microbe standard, after farmers complained the rules hurt small businesses and discourage sustainability.

Marijuana company sues Boston zoning board over rejection
New England Cannabis Corp. argues its proposed Brighton dispensary will be a good neighbor.

New Jersey governor signs laws to set up marijuana market
Legislation to set up a recreational marijuana marketplace, decriminalize cannabis, and loosen penalties for underage possession of the drug and alcohol was signed into law Monday by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

Newton marijuana store seeks end to appointment-only rule, as nearby competition grows
Garden Remedies wants to be more competitive with stores in other nearby communities, said chief operating officer Jeff Herold.

Should psychedelic drugs be decriminalized in Mass.? Advocates see opening
Following the passage of a local measure in Somerville, advocates for decriminalizing psychedelic drugs are recruiting legislative allies for a statewide bill.

Northampton drops controversial fees on marijuana companies
Mayor David Narkewicz says local cannabis facilities simply haven't had much impact on his city.

Marijuana trade group drops lawsuit against state after backlash
The surprising turnaround came just days after the Commonwealth Dispensary Association sued state cannabis regulators and accused them of "radically upending the established rules."

2 years after legalizing cannabis, has Canada kept its promises?
Some key promises, and hopes, that came with Canada being the first industrialized nation to legalize marijuana remain unfulfilled.

Federal marijuana reform looms after Senate flip — and Massachusetts could end up a loser
Local cannabis operators eyeing the consequences of potential reforms see at least as much risk as reward.

Healey appoints new commissioner to Mass. marijuana agency
Ava Callender Concepcion will fill the final vacant seat on Cannabis Control Commission, capping a period of turnover.

Study: smoking pot raises level of harmful chemicals in body but smoking tobacco is more harmful
Marijuana smoking can raise levels of potentially harmful chemicals in someone’s body, but to a lesser extent than tobacco smoking, according to a new study from researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the CDC.

Q&A with outgoing cannabis commissioner Shaleen Title
Title dishes on her evolution from activist to official, and her frustrations with the Legislature.

RI BUSINESS
Medical marijuana’s future in R.I.? It may turn on more than a high-stakes lottery
More than two dozen entities enlisted a sitting mayor, several former state lawmakers, and a phalanx of prominent lobbyists as they prepared their applications to open six compassion centers.

COVID can’t cancel canna-Christmas
People say marijuana’s fading stigma means they’re more likely than ever to be swapping joints, marijuana flower, and edibles as gifts with friends and colleagues, especially those under 40.

Rockland gives green light to a fourth marijuana business
The town of Rockland has approved its fourth marijuana business, a medical and recreational outlet on Hingham Street that local officials anticipate will provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to the town.

This high-end furniture is designed to secure your cannabis
A Wisconsin-based designer is making pieces that keep pot locked away and control odor, too.

Two new commissioners tapped for Massachusetts marijuana agency
The new appointments will become effective on January 1.

Chief of staff to ex-mayor of Fall River pleads guilty to extortion, bribery charges
Authorities say Genoveva Andrade, 49, of Somerset, admitted in court to conspiring with former Fall River mayor Jasiel Correia in extorting $150,000 from a marijuana vendor in exchange for a letter of nonopposition from Correia.