Cannabis Licensing and Enforcement Commission – Jun 24, 2026

CANNABIS LICENSING AND ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION

City Hall, 215 Pleasant Street, Conference Room 105 Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at 5 PM

Committee Members in Attendance

• √ Nelson Miller — Bldg. Commissioner
• √ Ron Hogan, Chair — Finance
• √ Glenn Cronin — Chief of Police
• √ Diana Jeong — Mayor's Appt.
• absent Deano Summers — Council Appt.
• √ Kathleen Manning Hall — Clerk non-voting mem.

MINUTES

1. Roll Call of Committee members: Meeting was called to order at 5 PM and there was a quorum sufficient to conduct business.

2. Approval of April 29, 2026 Minutes: Motion by Chief Cronin to approve the minutes; seconded by Diana Jeong. All in favor, Motion passes.

3. Update and discussion on DMS Trinity Request for Special Permit Transfer ability: a. Proposed associated CLEC Regulations: The City Council met last night and discussed the matter of DMS requesting a special permit transfer. The special permit states that a special permit is not transferable, the CLEC licensing ordinance prohibits a transfer, and the Host Community Agreement also has language that states it is not transferable. As DMS wishes to add another investor and change the name of the business, it requires the Council to approve a transfer and the ordinance to be updated to allow CLEC to transfer the local license. The City Council voted to remove this particular restriction on the special permit. Next step: the local ordinance now must be amended before the business can make the request to the CLEC. Ron reached out to the Ordinance Committee and asked them to meet over the summer to work to get this done before the summer is over. Councillor Colon Hayes was willing to meet to expedite the process; Councillor Winslow communicated his preference to wait until the end of the summer. This process will not be the same as the initial vetting process; once the restriction is removed from the ordinance the City Council can either (1) put parameters around the transfer process, or (2) leave it to the CLEC. There is a lot to be done and once the Council decides what to do, that then enables the CLEC to determine how to handle this situation and instances when/if it arises in the future. To recap, the Council can either eliminate the restriction completely, or put additional parameters in. The CLEC cannot address this matter until the City Council acts and the ordinance is changed. In the meantime, the CLEC will work to create a framework for license transfer, anticipating the Council's removal of the restriction aiming for a streamlined approach to this issue.

4. Update on Benevolent Botanicals and DRIS and Next Steps. - Benevolent Botanicals: City Solicitor Ali McNeil is working through the final steps with Benevolent to move forward. Nelson has been going back and forth on plans, the architect had some questions and has been submitting materials piece mail for a building permit. Nelson suggested that they submit all plans at once before moving forward and they agreed. They are moving forward and are working out their next steps. - Dris: During the court case, for the sake of getting Benevolent to the finish line the Judge placed Dris on hold; Nelson has not heard from Dris, there have been no updates.

5. Updated ordinance on license limits: Regardless of what happens with liquor licenses, Malden is codified at a total of five cannabis licenses. The CLEC kept a license open pending the resolution of Benevolent's case. We now need clarification from legal to find out last communication with the Judge to see what their last communication was with Dris. Dris differs from Benevolent as they do not have a location. There may be an open opportunity for a new candidate depending on the outcome of DRIS.

6. Committee Changes - FY27 Budget: Today is Chief Cronin's last CLEC meeting - June 30th is his last day. Captain Marc Gatcomb has been named the new Chief of Police. He has tremendous experience with Liquor Board and will be a great addition to the CLEC. The Mayor's FY27 budget removed a number of members and stipends from boards and commissions, including the CLEC, which was reduced from five to three, but that has not yet been approved by the City Council. Both Diana Jeong and Deano Summers were removed as the committee was streamlined to three by the Mayor's budget, but since the City Council has not approved it, nothing has changed at this point - so Diana and Deano remain members of the CLEC until the Council decides in September.

7. Regulatory and Industry Updates: There have been a few updates at the state level. One of the main changes is increased equity thresholds, and there are all new commissioners at the state level. Social consumption has been slow to get going.

8. Police Chief Report: Misty Mountain had one call, Eastern Cannabis had no calls. Nothing to report.

9. New Business: There is no new business. Ron will remain in touch with Councillors Winslow and Colon Hayes to push for a summer meeting so that we can define a process so that DMS can move forward.

Motion to adjourn by Chief Cronin, seconded by Nelson Miller; meeting adjourned.