[[{“value”:”
AS LAWMAKERS CONSIDER revamping the Cannabis Control Commission, the five-member commission is limping along with two empty seats and no timeline for when new members will be appointed.
The commission has been down to three members since last month. In May, Nurys Camargo vacated her post as commissioner – leaving the commission understaffed as the agency works on regulations to bring social consumption to state.
In September 2023, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg suspended the commission’s chair, Shannon O’Brien, for allegedly making “racially, ethnically, and culturally insensitive statements.” (O’Brien was fired in September 2024.) The contretemps over O’Brien put the agency and its internal struggles in the public spotlight.
A spokesperson for the treasurer – who is responsible for appointing the chair – told CommonWealth Beacon that there is no update on when Goldberg will appoint a new chair to the commission. The law requires that the treasurer work with the governor and the attorney general to fill the empty seat left by Camargo. All three appointing authorities said that they are coordinating together on this task, but did not respond to questions about the timeline for when a new commissioner will be appointed.
According to the law, three commissioners must agree to pass any motion. With just three commissioners left, there is an increased possibility of a deadlock because all three must agree unanimously.
Last week, House lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy voted to advance a cannabis omnibus bill that would restructure the commission into a three-member body. If the bill becomes law, all commissioners would be appointed by the governor, and two commissioners would form a “quorum.” The legislation comes as an effort to make the commission – which has been criticized for failing to collect hundreds of thousands in licensing fees, having a toxic work environment, and for general dysfunction – more accountable.
The commission is working to finalize long-awaited regulations for social consumption of cannabis. Last December, the agency indicated that its goal was to publish the regulations by mid-2025. During the May 12 public meeting, Bruce Stebbins, the commission’s acting chair and one of the three remaining commissioners, said that the timing of when the regulations would be taken up again is “to be determined” and he pushed off a discussion about the regulatory timeline to “the next meeting.”
At the May 22 meeting, the commission did not address social consumption regulations, but Stebbins said that the commission aims to get back to the regulations “tentatively” on June 17 and 18.
“The important work of the Commission will continue with three members as we move toward finalizing social consumption regulations alongside work on issues,” said Stebbins, in an email. The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for June 12, and the agenda for the meeting hasn’t been posted yet.
Social consumption, the ability to consume marijuana products ranging from weed beverages to edible gummies in public places, was legalized through the same ballot question that brought recreational marijuana to Massachusetts in 2016. But the commission has been slow to roll out regulations to create the framework to support social consumption.
The Cannabis Control Commission has repeatedly struggled with internal disagreements and deadlocked votes. When Goldberg suspended O’Brien without appointing an acting chair, the remaining four commissioners were unable to reach consensus on who would occupy the role, before finally appointing Ava Callender Concepcion. Goldberg later appointed Stebbins as acting chair, and he has occupied that seat ever since.
This gridlock has persisted as key regulatory changes have faced major delays, much to the frustration of those in the cannabis industry.
Ryan Dominguez, the head of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition, said that his group has urged the appointing authorities to fill the empty seats on the commission, even temporarily.
Dominguez said the cannabis industry is hoping to see a suite of changes from the commission, like streamlining the process for registering cannabis employees to work in the industry, in addition to finalizing the social consumption regulations.
“We were all hoping that social consumption would be completed by now,” said Dominguez.
Dominguez said that he hopes that the appointing authorities for the chair and for Camargo’s vacated seat will not wait for the Legislature to pass their bill.
The bill, which would also raise the cap on the number of retail licenses a single company can own from three to six, increasing purchasing and possession limits for cannabis, and crack down on hemp-derived intoxicating products, is in the House Ways and Means Committee. But, even if the House continues to advance the bill, it’s not clear if the bill has support in the Senate.
“It is concerning that we could be waiting a long time for [the appointing authorities] to appoint a full slate of commissioners while the Senate and the House decide how they’re going to go through this process,” said Dominguez. “We still need the commission to act on social consumption regulations and many other different things. So the best way for us to be able to move forward is to have a full slate of commissioners.”
“}]] The Cannabis Control Commission is down to just 3 members, with no timeline for appointing a new chair or commissioner with big decisions – including social consumption rules – ahead. Read More
