Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy (D) on Monday said the state’s Cannabis Control Commission needs to move in a “different direction,” but declined to take a stance on whether the state agency tasked with overseeing the marijuana industry should be sent into receivership.
Jeffrey Shapiro, the state inspector general, sent a letter last week to Healey and legislative leaders saying his office’s review of the commission indicated an “urgent need” for the authorization of a receiver who can manage the agency’s day-to-day operations. His letter also said the law governing the agency should be fixed to lay out clear lines of leadership.
The agency, which was somewhat modeled after the commission overseeing casinos in Massachusetts, has five commissioners who are appointed by the governor, the attorney general and the treasurer. Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who designates the chair, suspended Shannon O’Brien last year, leading to drama over acting chairs and executive directors of the agency.
“I’ll be open to talking to legislative leadership, with the treasurer, with others on the best step going forward,” Healey told reporters on Monday after an unrelated event in Boston’s Bay Village neighborhood.
“There needs to be a different direction here,” Healey said.
Asked about putting the agency in receivership, Healey said, “I’m not taking a position on it now until I’ve had an opportunity to talk to others about this. But I certainly appreciate that it seems to be in a state of real concern, crisis right now. And a change is in order. What that looks like, I’m not sure.”
After voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2016, state lawmakers rewrote the measure, setting up the current system. Shapiro’s letter was sharply critical of the law, saying it is “unclear and self-contradictory with minimal guidance on the authority and differing responsibilities.”
Responding to a reporter who asked Healey whether the agency’s governing law is flawed, the governor said, “I think what’s problematic right now is the operation.”
“I just look at it right now, it’s not working,” added Healey, who was attorney general when the law hit the books. “I mean, that’s been clear.”
In a statement, Treasurer Goldberg acknowledged there are “many areas of concern” at the agency.
“Although my office’s purview is limited to appointing one commissioner and jointly appointing two others, we recognize the need to address those concerns,” she said. “The CCC has a very important mission. We are always available to our partners in the legislature, the Governor, and the Attorney General to assist in any way we can.”
Ava Callender Concepcion, the agency’s acting chair, pushed back against Shapiro’s letter with her own missive to Healey and legislative leaders. She said the Cannabis Control Commission has been “effectively regulating” hundreds of marijuana licensees, hundreds of applicants looking to obtain a license and more than 15,000 industry employees.
“What is urgent, is filling 22 vacancies (in an agency now staffed at 134), including the Executive Director’s position, and addressing concerning personnel issues that have been widely aired in news reports,” she wrote.
