Martha's Vineyard is about to run out of pot. That's led to a lawsuit and a scramble by regulators (2024)

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) — An 81-year-old woman on Martha's Vineyard drove up to the Island Time dispensary last week seeking her usual order of pot. But owner Geoff Rose had to tell her the cupboard was bare — he'd been forced to temporarily close three weeks earlier after selling every last bud and gummy.

Unless something changes, the island's only other cannabis dispensary will sell all its remaining supplies by September at the latest, and Martha's Vineyard will run out of pot entirely, affecting more than 230 registered medical users and thousands more recreational ones.

The problem boils down to location. Although Massachusetts voters opted to legalize marijuana more than seven years ago, the state's Cannabis Control Commission has taken the position that transporting pot across the ocean — whether by boat or plane — risks running afoul of federal laws. That’s despite a counterargument that there are routes to Martha’s Vineyard that remain entirely within state territorial waters.

The conundrum led Rose to file a lawsuit last month against the commission, which now says that finding a solution to the island’s pot problem has become a top priority. Three of the five commissioners visited Martha’s Vineyard on Thursday to hear directly from affected residents.

The tension between conflicting state and federal regulations has played out across the country as states have legalized pot. California law, for example, expressly allows cannabis to be transported to stores on Catalina Island, while Hawaii last year dealt with its own difficulties transporting medical marijuana between islands by amending a law to allow it.

Federal authorities have also been shifting their position. The Justice Department last month moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, though still not a legal one for recreational use.

For several years, sellers on Martha's Vineyard and the nearby island of Nantucket thought they had a solution. They grew and tested their own pot, eliminating the need to import any from across the water.

But Fine Fettle, a Connecticut-based company that had been the sole commercial grower on Martha's Vineyard and also runs the island's other dispensary, told Rose last year that it planned to stop growing pot on Martha's Vineyard and would close its store when its existing supplies ran out.

Benjamin Zachs, who runs Fine Fettle's Massachusetts operations, said that when the company opened in Martha's Vineyard, it knew it was illegal to transport marijuana across federal waterways.

“Candidly, when it started, we thought this was a good thing for business," Zachs said. "A captured market.”

But over time, pot became cheaper with more varied options on the Massachusetts mainland, while the costs of employing testers on the island rose, making it uneconomic to continue such a niche operation, Zachs said. He added that many people bring their own supplies over on the ferry.

But for people living on the island, taking the ferry to buy pot can be expensive and time-consuming. There's no dispensary in Woods Hole, where the ferry lands, so they either need to take an Uber from there or bring over a car, and space for vehicles is in hot demand over summer. That leaves medical users such as Sally Rizzo wondering how they will access marijuana. She finds the drug helps relieve her back problems and insomnia.

“The nice thing about getting it at a dispensary is that you can tell them specifically what you’re looking for, and know the milligrams, and know the potency, and what’s in it,” said Rizzo, who submitted an affidavit in support of Rose’s lawsuit.

Rose, 77, has lived on Martha's Vineyard for more than 20 years and opened his Island Time store three years ago. For now, he's keeping his core staff of five on the payroll. The dispensary's green logo looks like a hippyish take on the famous Starbucks emblem, with a relaxed woman smelling a bloom under the words “Stop and smell the flower.” But Rose is anything but relaxed these days.

“I'm on the verge of going out of business,” he said. “While I acknowledge the efforts of the commission to address the issue, I really felt that the only way to get some immediate relief was to file a lawsuit. I was not going to sit on the sidelines. I had to do something.”

Rose was joined in his lawsuit by the Green Lady dispensary on Nantucket, which for now continues to have its own homegrown supply but also faces the same high costs of onsite testing.

In the lawsuit, Rose outlines how he told the commission in November that his business faced an existential crisis because Fine Fettle would no longer be growing pot. In March, he took a chance by buying some pot on the mainland and shipping it across on the ferry.

But the commission ordered Rose to stop selling the product he'd shipped over, putting it into an administrative hold. The commission eventually released the marijuana a few weeks later but told Rose he couldn't ship over any more. In his suit, Rose complains about the commission's “arbitrary, unreasonable, and inconsistent policy against transport over state territorial waters.”

Island Time is represented by Vicente, a firm that specializes in cannabis cases. It agreed to delay an emergency injunction against the commission until June 12 after the commission said it would enter into settlement discussions.

“We're cautiously optimistic that we'll be able to reach resolution, but if we can't, we'll be prepared to make the arguments in court," said Vicente lawyer Adam Fine.

Until last week, the commission maintained that it wouldn't comment on pending litigation, other than to say there was no special accommodation to allow pot to be transported from the mainland to the islands. But when commissioners traveled to Martha's Vineyard, they assured residents they were all on the same page.

“Obviously, this is a super priority for us, because we don’t want to see the collapse of an industry on the islands,” said commissioner Kimberly Roy.

She said nobody could have foreseen that there was going to be such a supply chain issue and they wanted to get it resolved.

“It's a funny juxtaposition,” she said. “The entire industry is federally illegal. But that's evolving, too. We are just trying to stay responsive and nimble."

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Martha's Vineyard is about to run out of pot. That's led to a lawsuit and a scramble by regulators (2024)

FAQs

Martha's Vineyard is about to run out of pot. That's led to a lawsuit and a scramble by regulators? ›

That's led to a lawsuit and a scramble by regulators. A sign advertises the Fine Fettle cannabis dispensary in West Tisbury, Mass. Unless something changes, Martha's Vineyard is about to run out of pot, affecting more than 230 registered medical users and thousands more recreational ones.

Why is Martha's Vineyard running out of pot? ›

Restrictions on shipping marijuana over state waterways were keeping businesses on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket from sourcing product from the mainland. Martha's Vineyard was running out of pot, just as thousands of summer vacationers were starting to arrive.

What is the lawsuit against Martha's Vineyard dispensaries? ›

The suit was filed as dispensaries on Martha's Vineyard were on the brink of running out of product to sell. “Wholesale cannabis shortages threatened Island Time's survival as well as Martha's Vineyard's legal cannabis market at large,” according to a press release issued June 24 by Vicente.

Is pot legal on Martha's Vineyard? ›

In 2016, Massachusetts voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, including on Martha's Vineyard, but the state's Cannabis Control Commission did not want to risk violating federal law by allowing cannabis products to be taken across the ocean, which is part of federal territory.

What is the appeal of Marthas Vineyard? ›

Martha's Vineyard is renowned for its stunning scenery – with rolling hills, wildflower fields, and miles of pristine coastline.

Does Martha's Vineyard have a homeless problem? ›

24, 2023, but estimated there was a total of about 120 to 130 individuals or families dealing with homelessness on the Island, according to the Island's statistical profile by the Martha's Vineyard Commission last year. The actual number of unhoused individuals is more than just residents living in tents.

Is Martha's Vineyard for the wealthy? ›

Sheryl Taylor, an administrator for Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in the US state of Massachusetts, admits she's had to resort to couch surfing each summer as she can't afford the extortionate seasonal rents.

Who owns property on Martha's Vineyard? ›

What celebrities live on Martha's Vineyard? Other than the Obama house, Martha's Vineyard has a scattering of estates that belong to – or have been rented by – the rich and famous, both past and present. They include Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Jeffrey Kramer, Spike Lee and Oprah Winfrey.

Can you buy a home on Martha's Vineyard? ›

Martha's Vineyard real estate market offers stunning properties in towns throughout the Vineyard. Get to know the different areas and find out which luxury property or vacation home in Martha's Vineyard is right for you and your family.

Can you drive your own car on Martha's Vineyard? ›

Autos, mopeds, and bicycles are available for rent. If you choose to bring your own car to Martha's Vineyard, you must contact the Steamship Authority ferry to arrange for advanced vehicle reservations, which sell out frequently in the winter and early spring for the summer months, at 508-477-8600.

Are there still deaf people on Martha's Vineyard? ›

The number of deaf Vineyarders began to decline in the late 19th century, when increasing numbers of islanders began to marry individuals who were not from the island and who did not carry the inherited trait. The last individual affected by Vineyard deafness who used the island's unique sign language died in 1952.

Why do people like Martha's Vineyard so much? ›

While the downtown areas are great with amazing shopping and dining options, what Martha's Vineyard is truly known for is its natural beauty. With cliffs, pristine beaches, marshland, and two wildlife sanctuaries there is so much to explore.

What's the deal with Martha's Vineyard? ›

It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Island. It is the 58th largest island in the U.S., with a land area of about 96 square miles (250 km2), and the third-largest on the East Coast, after Long Island and Mount Desert Island.

Is Martha's Vineyard in a housing crisis? ›

“We're losing our low- and moderate-income families. We're losing our middle class, because we have no housing.” The report shows the average nightly rate among more than 3,000 short-term rentals is $931. And the average home price has more than doubled over the past 11 years to $2.3 million.

Why are there so many Jamaicans in Martha's Vineyard? ›

About the turn of the 20th century, the number of both Black year-round residents and Black vacationers began to increase, which historians trace to the arrival of Oscar Denniston, a Black missionary from Jamaica, and his wife about 1900 and to the establishment of Shearer Cottage by Charles and Henrietta Shearer in ...

Is Martha's Vineyard shrinking? ›

In the fullness of time, coastal scientists say, Martha's Vineyard will disappear back into the ocean and new islands will form on what is now Georges Bank. It is part of a grand cycle of sediment redistribution, where land is not lost, but simply transported from one spot to another.

Is Martha's Vineyard coming back? ›

“Summer House: Martha's Vineyard” will not return to TV screens any time soon. The reality show, which follows “a group of young Black professionals vacationing on Martha's Vineyard, an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts,” was not greenlit for a third season, according to Deadline.

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