Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Is Short On Members As It Works To Tackle Social Consumption Rules

*“The important work of the Commission will continue with three members as
we move toward finalizing social consumption regulations alongside work on
issues.”*

*By Bhaamati Borkhetaria, CommonWealth Beacon*

As Massachusetts 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.”

*This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here
under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
License. *

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*Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.*

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