“(State commissioners) are using fear to create regulations and it pushes people back,” said Kamani Jefferson, president of the Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council.

Jefferson said 4/20, named after the time in the afternoon when many weed smokers consume marijuana, is a part of cannabis culture. While the current regulations allow consumers to enjoy cannabis legally, they still hamper down much of the culture surrounding it.

“I don’t think many of the commissioners really consumed cannabis on a regular basis or had friends or know this community and have stepped foot inside a cannabis related event,” Jefferson said. “It’s a lot of fears and not emerging themselves in this community.”

Unlike the recreational market, there is no explicit prohibition on discounting medical marijuana. According to the Department of Public Health, the only qualifications in the regulations are that dispensaries must offer reduced cost marijuana to patients with a documented financial hardship.

Discounted marijuana is only one of several benefits medical marijuana patients will have in a medical/recreational mixed market. Medical marijuana patients will also be able to avoid a potential 20 percent tax on cannabis, though they will have to pay annually for a physician visit to get a recommendation for medical cannabis and pay the $50 fee to register with the state.