William Sumner
The cannabis technology company, MassRoots (MSRT), today reaffirmed its commitment to being compliant with California state law by announcing that it would only list state-licensed cannabis dispensaries on its platform.
Over the next few weeks, the company intends to launch an updated version of its business portal and dispensary finder. In order to become listed on MassRoots, cannabis dispensaries will have to pay the company a minimum of $199 a month.
The announcement comes in the wake of the controversy surrounding MassRoots competitor, Weedmaps. Last month, Weedmaps received a cease-and-desist letter from the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) demanding that the company stop listing unlicensed dispensaries on its platform.
Defying the bureau’s request, Weedmaps responded by saying that the bureau does not have the authority to regulate it and that the site “interactive computer service” covered under the federal Communications Decency Act, which protects technology companies from prosecution over any illicit activities performed on their platform.
Weedmaps also argued they by not listing unlicensed dispensaries, the state is merely ignoring the underlying regulatory issues as to why those dispensaries are unlicensed in the first place. Nevertheless, other competitors, such as Leafly and now MassRoots, have announced that they would no longer list illegal dispensaries. So far, the state has not taken any action against Weedmaps but that hardly means that the fight is yet over.
“We believe that operating in full compliance with state cannabis regulations is crucial to creating long-term, sustainable shareholder value and building confidence with consumers as well as local, state and federal regulatory organizations,” said MassRoots CEO, Isaac Dietrich, in a statement. “Other services that continue to drive traffic to unlicensed dispensaries are punishing businesses that have invested significant time and resources to gain compliance with state regulations. We view this as an opportunity to build long-term relationships with compliant dispensaries that we believe are the future of the cannabis industry.”
