The state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will only partially meet its deadline. CRC chairwoman Dianna Houenou said the agency has “begun putting pen to paper” on draft rules that might change and that will not address every topic included in the state’s legalization law.
“Due to the timelines that are dictated in statute, developing regulations on every single topic that’s identified in the CREAMM Act is simply not very practicable,” Houenou said of the 166-page Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.
“So as such, the CRC will need to prioritize the initial rules on the subjects that are most critical to the beginning stages of establishing the regulated cannabis industry,” Houenou said at the commission’s meeting last week.
Houenou said the draft language in development still might change as the agency hears from experts and the public. Those will be interim rules, anyway, and the yearlong process for adopting permanent rules will begin as soon as the temporary regulations are adopted.
“But come Aug. 21, really we commissioners want the rules to be clear and focused so that the people know what to expect as we move forward,” she said.
The most important topics will be covered in the interim rules. Others that aren’t could be added later, even during the period when permanent rules are being written.