But the historic wave of license approvals also came with an unexpected launch-day delay. Thursday’s meeting agenda included a vote to approve eight active medical marijuana dispensaries, known as alternative treatment centers (ATCs), to expand service to all adults within 30 days. Those ATCs hoped to kick off the adult-use market as soon as late April.
Instead, regulators chose to table the vote until an undetermined date. Their reasoning: CRC members want more evidence that ATCs have enough inventory to meet day-one demand without interrupting access for the state’s current medical patients. According to the board, the state is about 100,000 pounds short of the legal weed supply needed to meet expected recreational demand.