{"id":78380,"date":"2024-10-16T12:42:09","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T20:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/10\/16\/search-for-new-massachusetts-cannabis-commission-boss-could-be-undermined-by-lawmakers-review-treasurer-says\/"},"modified":"2024-10-16T19:46:15","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T03:46:15","slug":"search-for-new-massachusetts-cannabis-commission-boss-could-be-undermined-by-lawmakers-review-treasurer-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/10\/16\/search-for-new-massachusetts-cannabis-commission-boss-could-be-undermined-by-lawmakers-review-treasurer-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Search For New Massachusetts Cannabis Commission Boss Could Be Undermined By Lawmakers\u2019 Review, Treasurer Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not being cute here. We don\u2019t have oversight. We have no way of really knowing what goes on over there.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Gintautas Dumcius and Bhaamati Borkhetaria, CommonWealth Beacon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg (D) plans to begin a search for a new chair at the Cannabis Control Commission, but raised a concern about finding quality candidates as state lawmakers weigh changes to the management of the troubled state agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made a commitment to begin looking. It might prove to be more challenging because those who might consider it might be concerned about changes that could take place,\u201d Goldberg said in reference to the Legislature. \u201cBut we\u2019ll address this as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldberg fired the previous chair, Shannon O\u2019Brien, for \u201cgross misconduct\u201d on September 9 after a year of hearings and review during which O\u2019Brien was suspended. O\u2019Brien is expected to challenge her firing in court.<\/p>\n

Goldberg spoke with reporters after giving a talk to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, where the commission went unmentioned.<\/p>\n

State lawmakers are holding a hearing October 30<\/a> to discuss the commission\u2019s organizational structure after the state inspector general sent a letter to Senate President Karen Spilka (D) and House Speaker Ron Mariano (D), among others, calling the commission\u2019s enabling statute \u201cunclear and self-contradictory\u201d about who oversees whom within the agency.<\/p>\n

The inspector general urged lawmakers to appoint a receiver to oversee the agency until the organizational structure is clarified, but the Legislature\u2019s Cannabis Committee chose to hold a hearing later this month instead. The commission has been plagued by high employee turnover and was described by the inspector general as a \u201crudderless ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The appointment of chair gives Goldberg some measure of control over the agency, as well as influence over two joint appointments to the commission.<\/p>\n

The Cannabis Control Commission currently has three working members: Bruce Stebbins, the current acting chair; Nurys Camargo, who was jointly appointed by the governor, attorney general and Goldberg in 2020 and 2021, respectively; and Kimberly Roy, who was appointed in 2021 by the governor. A fourth member, Ava Callender Concepcion, appointed by the attorney general in 2021, is out on medical leave.<\/p>\n

Voters backed the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2016 through a statewide ballot measure, though Goldberg was among those who cast a \u201cno\u201d vote. The measure\u2019s proponents pitched regulating pot shops like liquor stores, which fall under the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. The ABCC, as it\u2019s known, is housed within the state treasurer\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

But lawmakers rewrote the law passed by voters, taking away some of Goldberg\u2019s powers and structuring the Cannabis Control Commission like the five-member Gaming Commission, which oversaw the introduction of casinos to Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Asked whether the legislative rewrite was a mistake, as indicated by the inspector general, Goldberg said, \u201cI can\u2019t really speculate on that because [the original law] didn\u2019t happen. So we don\u2019t know what would have happened moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cI think the industry overall is so new, and I think every state has had its own set of glitches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldberg was also asked about whether the agency has taken a turn for the better. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have oversight of the agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed on whether the agency has turned a corner, Goldberg responded, \u201cI\u2019m not being cute here. We don\u2019t have oversight. We have no way of really knowing what goes on over there, so I have absolutely no idea if they\u2019ve turned the corner. And I don\u2019t know what \u2018turned the corner\u2019 actually means because I have no oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon<\/a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https:\/\/commonwealthbeacon.org\/marijuana\/search-for-new-cannabis-agency-chair-could-be-hampered-by-legislatures-review-goldberg-says\/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/em><\/p>\n

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Millions Of Americans With Depression Could Be Eligible For Psilocybin Therapy If Approved By FDA, Study Shows<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Search For New Massachusetts Cannabis Commission Boss Could Be Undermined By Lawmakers\u2019 Review, Treasurer Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Search For New Massachusetts Cannabis Commission Boss Could Be Undermined By Lawmakers\u2019 Review, Treasurer Says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019m not being cute here. We don\u2019t have oversight. We have no way of really knowing what goes on over there.\u201d By Gintautas Dumcius and Bhaamati Borkhetaria, CommonWealth Beacon Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg (D) plans to begin a search for a new chair at the Cannabis Control Commission, but raisedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78380"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78381,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78380\/revisions\/78381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}