A LEGISLATIVE PANEL on Wednesday plans to hold the first of two hearings on the Cannabis Control Commission, but officials from the agency itself won’t be there to make their case.
Rep. Daniel Donahue of Worcester, the chair of the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy said that those at the commission are deliberately not invited because the point of the hearings is to understand stakeholders’ experiences with the agency that oversees the state’s $7 billion marijuana industry.
“These hearings are being held with the following two goals in mind: the first hearing will consider testimony from stakeholders about their interactions with the agency and the second hearing will obtain expert analysis on questions of administrative structure from legal and policy experts,” said Donahue.
The hearings were prompted by reports of turmoil at the commission and state Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro’s call for the agency to be put under receivership so the Legislature could have time to clarify who’s in charge at the commission. Legislators decided not to take the drastic step of putting the agency under receivership but they are still looking to evaluate whether they need to intervene.
Various industry groups, advocates, medical marijuana patients, and current business owners will be invited to testify at the first hearing. The Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition and the Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association have both been invited to testify. The heads of both of the industry groups have expressed disappointment with how slowly regulations have moved at the commission. A previous commissioner and now the head of a cannabis policy think tank, Shaleen Title, will also be testifying.
Donahue is planning another informational hearing in November where experts in administrative law and cannabis policy will be invited to speak about the performance of the commission.
The commission has been criticized for being dysfunctional and in a state of turmoil. The agency failed to collect $500,000 in licensing fees and has taken a long time to pass regulations that those in the cannabis industry say are much needed.
Ahead of the hearing, the commission has been in overdrive trying to pass its current round of legislation – which includes a change to the two-driver delivery rule. The commission voted for the change around a year ago and that change still hasn’t gone into effect.
The commissioners are on the last leg of the process of kicking off a whole new suite of regulations but have been unable to reach a consensus and take a final vote. They were supposed to vote on it last week on Tuesday but ended up pushing it to Friday. When they were unable to reach an agreement on Friday, the commission scheduled yet another meeting that will take place on Wednesday – the same day legislators will be hearing from stakeholders.
The commission has been without an executive director since Shawn Collins stepped down in late 2023. The commission on Monday appointed the commission’s former director of government affairs, David Lakeman, to fill the position.
Shapiro called the commission a “rudderless ship” and argued that there is a lack of clarity in the roles of the executive director and the commission chair.
Following Shapiro’s criticisms, the commission has released a document attempting to clarify the leadership roles at the agency – particularly how the commissioners work with the executive director. The document came after months of mediation.
Shannon O’Brien was suspended as chair of the agency and subsequently fired partly due to conflict between her and the then-executive director Shawn Collins who has since left the commission. The treasurer has said that she is in the process of looking for someone new to fill the commission chair position but that the legislative review might hamper her search.
O’Brien, who is planning a lawsuit to reclaim her job, alleges that the commission has a toxic work culture. There have also been accusations of workplace bullying and harassment at the commission by senior leadership. Two directors at the commission have been suspended and two have resigned. The agency’s chief of research Julie Johnson has taken medical leave after accusing the agency’s chief of communications Cedric Sinclair and a current commissioner, Nurys Camargo, of harassing her.
