Draft Regulations For Massachusetts Pot Industry Given Green Light

BOSTON (AP) — Marijuana regulators have signed off on a wide-ranging set of rules for the recreational cannabis industry in Massachusetts.

The Cannabis Control Commission voted on the draft regulations Thursday, many of which were discussed and given preliminary approval last week.

The regulations will not be final after the vote. They will be subject to public hearings over the next few months with some revisions possible before pot shops are licensed to open.

The commission has been wrestling with questions including when and how to allow people to use marijuana in social settings — such as "cannabis cafes" — and how to promote diversity in what is expected to be a multi-billion dollar commercial industry.

Voters legalized the adult use of recreational marijuana last November.

Cannabis sales are scheduled to begin July 1.