Around New England

Marijuana Legal, But Not If You Run A Business Out of Your Home

January 3, 2019

Gloucester police plan to arrest a man in his mid-20s who was running a high-volume recreational marijuana business out of his home without a license and without plans to fork over tax revenue to the government.

Police performing a well-being check for another person who lives at 268 Western Avenue in Gloucester found more than 60 marijuana plants (the legal limit is 12 per household), business cards, and ledgers, according to the Gloucester Daily Times.

While recreational marijuana is now legal in Massachusetts and the state Cannabis Control Commission expects soon to issue as many as eight licenses a month for pot shops, running one requires permission from the local government and the state government and paying (typically) 20 percent of the sales price in taxes (10.75 percent state excise tax, 6.25 percent state sales tax, and up to 3 percent local-option sales tax to the city or town where the business is).

The home operator, who was out of state when the Gloucester Daily Times story ran Wednesday, January 2, doesn’t have the needed licenses, so he would be charged with illegal cultivation of a Class D substance, simple possession of marijuana, and possession with intent to distribute, according to the story.