Is THCA legal in Massachusetts? Massachusetts hemp and kratom laws

The law in Massachusetts

Massachusetts keeps hemp in its agriculture law. Sections 116 to 123 of chapter 128 of the General Laws put the Department of Agricultural Resources, known as MDAR, in charge, and section 116 defines hemp as the cannabis plant with a delta-9 THC concentration, or a combined delta-9 THC and THCA percentage, of no more than 0.3 percent. Anything above that line is marijuana, which chapter 94G leaves to the Cannabis Control Commission.

Section 117 lets hemp be grown, processed, bought and sold under the department's supervision, requires a section 118 license to grow, process or sell it commercially, and limits its commercial uses to those the commissioner considers reasonable. MDAR uses that last clause to decide which hemp products may be sold in the state.

Chapter 94G also speaks to shoppers directly. Section 7(f) says a person 21 or older may not be arrested, prosecuted or penalized for possessing, buying, obtaining, selling or transferring hemp.

1. October 4, 2021MDAR updates its policy statement on which hemp-derived products may be sold in the state.
2. December 12, 2022MDAR's hemp program announces it has prohibited making and selling hemp-derived delta-8 products.
3. May 30, 2024The Department of Public Health updates its guidance that food and drinks with CBD or THC may not be made or sold.
4. April 19, 2026The Governor approves chapter 65 of the Acts of 2026, which orders a study of the hemp-derived cannabinoid market.
5. August 28, 2026Kratom and its compounds enter schedule 1 under emergency rule 105 CMR 726.000.
6. December 11, 2026The federal limit of 0.4 mg total THC per container begins.

What MDAR allows and bars

MDAR's policy statement, updated October 4, 2021, approves hemp seed, hemp seed oil, hulled hemp, hemp seed powder, hemp protein, clothing and building material for sale. It lists as not approved any food product containing CBD, any product with hemp as a dietary supplement, animal feed with any hemp product, CBD products whose labels make health claims, and raw plant material, flower included, meant for a consumer's own use, unless sold to a store the Cannabis Control Commission licenses.

The department's FAQs say it regulates the wholesale market inside Massachusetts and not direct sales to consumers, that a retail store needs no MDAR license to sell hemp products, and that the same product rules generally apply at retail. Non-food CBD products for people, such as lotions, may be wholesaled when the label makes no health claims and the product is not marketed as a dietary supplement.

Finished hemp products made under an MDAR license must carry a label with the maker's name, license number and address, a cannabinoid profile showing THC and CBD, a batch number, the state where the hemp was grown, the ingredients, any allergen warnings, and a statement that neither MDAR nor the FDA has analyzed or approved the product.

1. CBD Softgels Extra StrengthNeurogan$0.013/mg
2. CBD Isolate Gummies, 150mg, LemonLazarus Naturals$0.013/mg
3. Multicannabinoid OilNuLeaf Naturals$0.028/mg
4. CBD Oils 2000 mg: UnflavoredIrwin Naturals$0.034/mg
5. CBD Gummies with Melatonin for SleepCBDfx$0.037/mg
6. Lemonade Full Spectrum CBD Tincture, 1,500 mgMedRoots$0.040/mg

THCA flower and delta-8

Because section 116 counts THCA with delta-9 THC, a hemp flower whose combined total passes 0.3 percent is not hemp under Massachusetts law. MDAR goes further for raw flower: its FAQs say the department chose to bar retail sale of raw flower and whole plant hemp because its crop testing averages across a field and cannot show that each flower stays under the limit, and that retail sales of raw flower may be inspected by law enforcement. MDAR also says it does not regulate the retail market, and we found no statute, rule, Attorney General opinion or appeals court ruling on hemp flower or other THCA products shipped to Massachusetts buyers from another state.

On delta-8, the MDAR hemp program wrote on December 12, 2022 that concentrated delta-8 THC is typically made synthetically from hemp CBD, that it remains a controlled substance whatever its source, and that MDAR has prohibited making and selling any hemp-derived delta-8 product in the Commonwealth. Tetrahydrocannabinols are listed in Class C of section 31 of chapter 94C.

Age, marijuana stores and the 2026 cannabis law

Chapter 227 of the Acts of 2020 amended section 12(f) of chapter 94G so that marijuana establishments may deal in hemp products grown and made under an MDAR license and federal rules. The Cannabis Control Commission's guidance, revised in January 2022, lets marijuana retailers, medical marijuana centers and delivery operators buy consumer-ready hemp products from MDAR licensees, display them in their own section, never sell them to anyone under 21, and hand buyers an insert saying the commission does not regulate the product. Hemp that a licensee makes into a marijuana product must be labeled as marijuana, not hemp.

Chapter 65 of the Acts of 2026, An Act modernizing the Commonwealth's cannabis laws, was approved on April 19, 2026. It raises the amount of marijuana an adult 21 or older may possess from 1 ounce to 2 ounces, keeps hemp out of the definition of marijuana, and in section 64 tells the Cannabis Control Commission to study how to regulate the hemp-derived cannabinoid market, covering licensing, testing, age limits and retail sales, and to publish its findings by December 15, 2026. We found no Massachusetts statute that sets a minimum age for hemp or CBD products sold outside marijuana stores.

CBD in food

The Department of Public Health's guidance, updated May 30, 2024, says it is not legal to make or sell food with CBD or THC in Massachusetts under its rules at 105 CMR 500.000 and 590.000, including bottled water and carbonated soft drinks, that full spectrum and broad spectrum hemp extracts count, that an MDAR processor license creates no exception, and that only retailers licensed by the Cannabis Control Commission may sell drinks with THC. Hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein and hemp seed oil may be used in food.

Kratom, kava, amanita and spores

Emergency rule 105 CMR 726.000, effective August 28, 2026 for one year unless the Commissioner of Public Health ends it sooner, places kratom in schedule 1 under section 2A of chapter 94C, defining it as the plant Mitragyna speciosa, mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, MP, MGM-15 and MGM-16 and any product sold as kratom, and it declares that kratom held or distributed by any food, retail or other business is an imminent health hazard that local boards of health may act on. Psilocybin and psilocyn are in Class C of section 31, and we found no Massachusetts statute naming kava, amanita muscaria or mushroom spores.

The federal change on December 11

From December 11, 2026, the federal definition counts total THC including THCA and limits a finished hemp-derived cannabinoid product to 0.4 mg per container. Read the federal page and What's changing on December 11.