Mass. medical cannabis patients and state clash over use in parks
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Medical cannabis patients and advocates gather at a state park for "Toke & Trail." Photo: Courtesy of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance
Years before the term "social consumption" existed, Massachusetts residents would toke on a joint — their medicine, as they called it — while roaming state parks and trails.
- In recent years, they say, it seemed that state regulations had come down in their favor.
Why it matters: Citing state regulations that they say allow cannabis use in parks, medical patients are forging a path for safe, discreet consumption while regulators are still debating what cannabis lounges would look like.
- Except it's not legal. At least that's what the Department of Conservation and Recreation says, citing the same regulations.
State of haze: The Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance started hosting "Toke & Trail" meetups at state parks in 2024, seeing a carveout in DCR regulations for medical cannabis.
- The meetups have drawn a dozen or more patients, who find secluded picnic tables or corners to smoke or walk along the trails.
- "Places like DCR parks can kind of create pathways for patients to use their medicine," says Jeremiah MacKinnon, president and executive director of the MPAA.
Reality check: Medical patients in Massachusetts can buy cannabis, but that doesn't mean they're free to consume it anywhere.
- Consuming can be increasingly difficult for those in public housing or in rentals where landlords prohibit smoking.
Friction point: DCR regulations do not allow smoking or marijuana possession, "unless for duly authorized medical use."
- A DCR spokesperson said the "authorized medical use" only clears possession — not consumption.
- The DCR also pointed to the Cannabis Control Commission's guidance stating, "You cannot use medical marijuana in any form—including smoking, vaping, or eating—in public places or on federal land."
- The MPAA, however, says the phrase "authorized medical use" clears them.
- A ranger once confronted the group at one of its meetups, only to relent once MacKinnon pulled out a clipboard and showed that phrase in the regs.
What's next: The commission is reviewing draft social consumption regulations, though they do not currently spell out parameters for smoking in state parks or trails.
- "Public safety has been a main focus in the process of creating the new social consumption licenses, and that includes a goal of reducing potentially illicit consumption in public spaces," a CCC spokesperson said in a statement to Axios.
Go deeper: Inside "Toke & Trail"