TLDR: Some Massachusetts licensees with open advertising deficiencies told the Cannabis Control Commission they will not fix their websites until every retailer complies, or because they read Chapter 65 as changing the rules. On September 25 the Commission’s enforcement staff answered in writing: Chapter 65 did not change the rules for websites or online menus, broadcasting a reduced or promotional price online is advertising, and staff will continue to cite it under whatever name it is given. If you have a deficiency statement, the response is a written correction plan under 935 CMR 500.320, not just a website edit.
What Chapter 65 changed, and what it did not
Section 21 of Chapter 65 added a provision to chapter 94G under which the Commission may permit limited advertising of sales, discounts, and loyalty programs within a marijuana establishment or through an opt-in email list. That is additional discretionary authority. It is not an authorization licensees can act on today, and it is not a promise of future rules. Licensees read it as a green light and asked the Commission whether the rules for websites had changed. Per the bulletin, Chapter 65 did not extend advertising or discounting allowances to licensee websites and presented no immediate substantial change in compliance policy. The bulletin makes the broader point too: the Commission is entering another regulatory round, and proposed changes to advertising, testing, licensing, and agent registration remain proposals until promulgated. Policy discussions do not become practice. St. 2026, c. 65, § 21 · G.L. c. 94G, § 4(a½)(xxix)(6) · September 25, 2026 bulletin
The restriction that continues to apply is 935 CMR 500.105(4)(b)20: an adult-use establishment may not advertise through the marketing of free promotional items, including gifts, giveaways, discounts, points-based reward systems, customer loyalty programs, coupons, and free or donated marijuana, except as permitted by 500.105(4)(a)9 and except for brand-name take-away bags provided after a retail purchase. A licensee may adjust its prices and reflect the actual price on a price list or its website under 500.105(4)(a)6. What it may not do, until further notice, is broadcast a reduced or promotional price through its online menu. The bulletin lists the words and actions staff have cited and will continue to cite: sale, discount, special, promos or promotional offer, special offer, X% off, buy X get X free, and a higher price struck through next to the new one. Different words with the same effect do not shield a licensee from a citation. 935 CMR 500.105(4)(b)20, (4)(a)6, and (4)(a)9
An age gate does not cure prohibited advertising
Massachusetts separately requires age verification on licensee websites, so keep the gate. It just does not change the analysis. Advertising, in the Commission’s definition, is a sponsored, nonpersonal message used to attract customers or build brand loyalty, whether the licensee sponsors it or a third party does on the licensee’s behalf. A nonpersonal message sent to consumers who did not request it, with no opt-out, is an advertisement. The bulletin says minimal interaction by the consumer, such as verifying age through the site’s age gate, or a separate page where the consumer attests to accessing a price list, does not make the communication personalized. Compliance turns on how the information is relayed. A newsletter or email that a consumer signed up for and specifically requested is a personalized communication. A public menu behind a checkbox is a broadcast, and when a licensee broadcasts a reduced or promotional price through its online menu, it is advertising. St. 2026, c. 65, § 21 · G.L. c. 94G, § 4(a½)(xxix)(6) · September 25, 2026 bulletin
Who the bulletin names
The Commission says it has been notified by various licensees with open advertising deficiencies that they will not remove them from their public-facing websites until all marijuana retailers comply, or because in the licensee’s opinion Chapter 65 amended the rules for websites and online menus. The bulletin answers both positions. A competitor’s menu is not a defense, and the statute did not change the regulation. Violations of state marijuana law, including prohibited advertising, may result in fines or up to suspension or revocation of a license under 935 CMR 500.450(3) and (13) and 501.450(3) and (13). The bulletin announces continued enforcement; it does not set out a warning procedure or promise a particular next step. 935 CMR 500.450 · 935 CMR 501.450
Purchase programs and bundles
The bulletin confirms that purchase programs and bundled pricing remain allowed. The restriction is on how they are promoted: the program cannot be communicated in a way that markets marijuana as free, discounted, or promotional, and “buy X get X free” is the Commission’s example of what crosses the line. Lowering a price is never itself the violation. Announcing the lowering is.
Medical promotions need a clear patient-only distinction
The medical regulations do not prohibit a Medical Marijuana Establishment from advertising discounts, sales, coupons, or other price reductions to patients. Colocated Marijuana Operations may do the same for medical product sold to patients, but must take the necessary steps to ensure any advertised discount is clearly indicated as applicable only to medical marijuana intended for retail sale to patients and not offered to adult-use consumers. The test is whether the promotion is clearly patient-only, not whether an adult-use consumer could see it. An undifferentiated promotion on a menu that serves both channels creates enforcement risk on the adult-use side, and a single campaign that covers both licenses must satisfy the most restrictive applicable requirement under 935 CMR 501.105(4)(e). 935 CMR 501.105(4)(e)
What to do this week
- Pull up the public menu the way a consumer sees it, not the way your POS shows it. Look for every term on the Commission’s list: sale, discount, special, promo, special offer, X% off, buy X get X free, and struck-through prices. Then look for the synonyms your marketing team invented to avoid those words; the bulletin says they count too.
- Audit the menus, listings, promotional feeds, and campaigns you supply, authorize, or run through vendors (Dutchie, Weedmaps, Leafly, Jane, delivery partners). The bulletin makes the licensee responsible for advertising and marketing practices taken by it or on its behalf by a third party. Assign one person to confirm that corrections actually propagate to each service.
- Give every medical promotion a clear patient-only label wherever it appears, and check that any campaign covering both licenses meets the stricter rule.
- Review whether your email and in-store communications actually meet the Commission’s personalized-communication interpretation. Document that consumers requested the newsletter. A budtender explaining a special to a customer at the counter is the Commission’s example of a personal communication; a promotional blast to a list nobody signed up for is not. Moving an advertisement into an email or onto a sign inside the store does not resolve compliance on its own.
- If you have a formal deficiency statement, answer it under 935 CMR 500.320. A written correction plan is due within 10 business days of receipt, identifying the corrective steps and their timing. Approval of the plan does not bar fines or other administrative action, and you must notify the Commission when implementation is complete. Fixing the webpage alone does not satisfy that process. 935 CMR 500.320
FAQ
Can I still change prices?
Yes. Updating a price and displaying the actual price is permitted. Showing the old price next to the new one, or calling the new price a sale, is promotional advertising.
Are bundles allowed?
Yes, as purchase programs or bundled pricing, so long as they are not communicated as free, discounted, or promotional.
The Commission is discussing new advertising rules right now. Can I get ahead of them?
No. The bulletin says proposed policy on advertising, testing, licensing, and agent registration stays proposed until new regulations are promulgated. The current rules apply until they are replaced.
Will Chapter 65 eventually allow discounts on my website?
The new authority covers in-store and opt-in email promotions, and only if the Commission chooses to permit them by regulation. It does not mention websites.
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Attorney advertising. This article is general information, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
