Massachusetts Senate to Consider Reforming Cannabis Control Commission

The Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means unanimously voted last Thursday to advance a proposal to reorganize the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), among other changes to the state’s adult-use cannabis program, WWLP reports.

The bill, S. 2722, proposes a three-member commission with two commissioners appointed by the governor and one by the state attorney general, while the Commission Chair would appoint the agency’s executive director.

Other changes in the bill include:

The proposal comes after CCC Chair Shannon O’Brien was fired from the role by the State Treasurer in September 2024. But O’Brien filed a lawsuit over her firing, and a Superior Court judge ruled after about a year that she had been wrongly terminated and should be reinstated.

The full Senate is scheduled to consider the bill on November 19.

In August, Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio released an audit of the CCC, claiming to have uncovered violations and mismanagement issues at the commission.

Meanwhile, advocates for a campaign to repeal Massachusetts’ adult-use cannabis legalization laws have started collecting signatures — although petitioners for the campaign were recently accused of deceiving voters to fraudulently collect their signatures.