Structural reboot on horizon for marijuana agency beset by infighting

20 years ago, MA mandated residents to buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Unaffordable healthcare inflation followed along with new mandates, rising premiums, fewer choices & increased provider payments without real transparency or efficiency standards. Taxpayer costs soared; working family income growth suffered. Small businesses & their workforces have consistently faced annual double digit premium increases. Healthcare cost reforms are long overdue.

The Cannabis Control Commission has over the last six months kept up the appearance of a reality TV show, with all the accompanying drama, rather than a state agency tasked with overseeing the state’s marijuana industry.

But the series finale is fast approaching, and a reboot is on the way.

House and Senate negotiators – led by Springfield Sen. Adam Gomez and Worcester Rep. Daniel Donahue – on Monday unveiled a long-awaited compromise that brings down the commission to three members from five, and puts all appointment power in the governor’s office. The current structure splits appointment responsibility between the governor, the treasurer and the attorney general.

The bill also sets up the commission’s chair to handle personnel and administrative matters, and has the executive director reporting directly to the chair, in an apparent effort to clean up a messy existing governance structure noted by the state inspector general.

It’s a mess somewhat of the Legislature’s own making: When voters signed off on the legalization of recreational marijuana, the 2016 ballot question sought to regulate the substance like alcohol. Beacon Hill leaders, most of whom opposed the question, stepped in to rewrite the law, setting up a bureaucracy that mimicked the state’s regulatory commission on casinos and gambling.

Since then, the agency has seen its share of ups and downs, with an ousted chair, staff turnover, and the judicially mandated return of the chair, Shannon O’Brien, who has repeatedly clashed with the staff, including those hired in her absence.

Travis Ahern, a former town administrator and MWRA staffer who started as the agency’s second executive director in 2025, was among those hired in her absence. And since her return last fall, Ahern and O’Brien sparred in public meetings. 

As lawmakers weighed the final version of an agency overhaul, Ahern has voiced concerns to Beacon Hill leaders about the ongoing tensions, sources told MASSterList. His concerns centered on the tone and tenor of the public meetings.

Reached for comment, O’Brien said, “I am doing everything I can to maintain a positive relationship with him as we have a lot of important work to do. Over the course of the next several weeks we’re going to be addressing the issue of testing fraud, we are going to be digging a little bit deeper into the investigations that were completed by the auditor’s office and the IG’s office, regarding disparate treatment of licensees, and we are moving forward rapidly with our red tape removal efforts to help cannabis licensees that are facing strong financial headwinds right now.”

Asked about the compromise bill, O’Brien said regardless of whether she is appointed to the newly structured commission, she is looking forward to “making as much progress as I can to protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Massachusetts.”

The bill is set to take effect when signed by the governor, and the terms of the commissioners will end on that date. The governor will have 30 days to appoint new members.

Until then, the show goes on. The next Cannabis Control Commission episode airs this morning at 10:15 a.m.

Trivia time: Who were the House and Senate lawmakers who led the rewrite of the 2016 marijuana ballot law? Send me your answers: [email protected].

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9:00 | Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll gives remarks at Mass. Association of Nonprofit Schools & Colleges Spring Mingle. | Waring School, Administration Building, All-School Meeting Space, Floor 2, 35 Standley St., Beverly

9:45 | The Mass. Association of Physician Associates holds its annual lobby day. More than 200 PA students plan to promote legislation (H 2371 / S 1502) that would remove administrative obstacles and enable PAs to practice at the top of their license without needing to have a supervising physician on file. Speakers include Sens. Cindy Friedman and Julian Cyr, Rep. Christine Barber, Mass. Health and Hospital Association CEO Steve Walsh, and Mass. League of Community Health Centers CEO Michael Curry. | Grand Staircase, State House, Boston

10:15 | The Cannabis Control Commission meets. Agenda includes discussion of pending enforcement actions, including one against Greatest Hits. That's the firm that a whistleblower alleged was harvesting marijuana from an illegal growing operation in a Webster house. | Agenda and Access Info

11:00 | The Transportation Committee’s redrafted version of Gov. Maura Healey’s transportation bond bill (H 5279) is the subject of a hybrid public hearing held by the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditure and State Assets. The redrafted bill slashes Chapter 90 authorizations from the governor’s proposed $1.2 billion spent over four years to $300 million. | Hearing Room A-1, State House, Boston | More Info and Access

11:00 | Gov. Maura Healey holds a press conference to announce legislation "to establish strong protections for teens on social media and create safer online experiences for young people across Massachusetts," according to her office. The House plans to vote Wednesday on its own legislation prohibiting social media use for children under 14, requiring platforms to obtain parental consent for users ages 14 and 15, and banning students from using cellphones in schools. | Room 157, State House, Boston

1:00 | The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce holds a free, hybrid event focused on the potential of AI to boost the state’s innovation economy titled “AI as a Driver of Economic Growth in Massachusetts.” Secretary of Economic Development Eric Paley is set to speak along with Sabrina Mansur, director of Massachusetts Artificial Intelligence Hub and James Rooney, chamber CEO and president. The event is meant to offer insights into how companies can use AI, investments and policies that can accelerate progress and how the state can harness AI’s potential, organizers say. | Suite 1701, 265 Franklin St., Boston

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When Boston city councilors gather for breakfast Wednesday to take in Mayor Michelle Wu’s annual budget briefing, they should be prepared for small portions.

Wu’s proposed fiscal 2027 operating budget will carry a $4.9 billion bottom line, a 2.1% increase, below the rate of inflation and the lowest rate since fiscal 2010, during the Great Recession. With an eye on shielding core city services from cuts, the administration reduces or removes discretionary grant programs that came through federal relief funding.

“Total expenditures will increase by only 2.1 percent; however, when health insurance and other central accounts are separated out, departmental appropriations decrease by 1.3 percent compared to FY26,” she wrote in a letter to councilors. “We have also implemented strict spending controls and limited new programming.”

But health care costs – in addition to slowing new growth in property tax revenue – are still adding to budget woes. “Health insurance costs for the City, Boston Public Schools (BPS), and Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) are projected to increase by $97.3 million this year, driven by a 20.3 percent rate hike for all non-Medicare health plans that far exceeds the average annual rise of $10.6 million over the past eight years. These escalating fixed cost pressures, combined with contractual obligations and inflation, continue to significantly outpace the revenue growth allowed under Proposition 2 1⁄2.”

In the lead-up to the budget proposal, Wu kept up her criticism of the “rigid” Prop 2 ½, a law that limits cities and towns to raising no more than 2.5% of the assessed value of all taxable property taxes (plus new growth). But she said Monday she would not request an override, as other cities and towns in Massachusetts move ahead with theirs.

Her administration is also seeking to close, through a supplemental budget, a $48 million gap for fiscal 2026, driven in part by police overtime and snow removal costs.

“They’ve done a skillful job of managing from FY26 to FY27,” said Steve Poftak, head of the business-backed Boston Municipal Research Bureau. “If we are going to be in a sustained low-growth environment for a number of years, this process only gets harder. If you’ve eliminated empty positions and discretionary grants, the next year if you have to be similarly restrained, you don’t have any more places to go other than headcount.”

Democrats are looking to flip the House seat held by North Reading Rep. Brad Jones, the GOP leader who said he won’t be running for reelection. Joseph Markey, a labor law attorney and Lynnfield Democrat, formally launched his campaign Monday, and touted $30,000 raised in the last week. He has endorsements from DA Paul Tucker and several unions, including Laborers Local 22, Laborers Local 175, and SEIU NAGE. Markey has served as a housing commissioner and Lynnfield town moderator.

State Rep. Tram Nguyen, one of the many Democrats running for Seth Moulton’s congressional seat, has picked up an endorsement from Sen. Lydia Edwards, co-chair of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee and an East Boston Democrat who met Nguyen when they worked together as attorneys at Greater Boston Legal Services more than 10 years ago. "I know a fighter when I see one,” Edwards said in a statement. “Before she was a State Representative, Tram Nguyen was in the trenches as a legal aid attorney, fighting for domestic violence survivors and workers who the system tried to leave behind. I have known Tram for over 10 years, and she doesn't just talk about justice; she delivers it.”

SOCIAL MEDIA RESTRICTIONS: Social media use for children under 14 would be prohibited and platforms would be required to obtain parental consent for users ages 14 and 15, under a bill House lawmakers plan to take up Wednesday. The bill also bans students from using cellphones in schools. – State House News Service

INCLUSIONARY ZONING: Attorney General Andrea Campbell formally intervened in the lawsuit against Cambridge’s inclusionary zoning policy. Campbell says the case would have a statewide impact and cities have the power to use inclusionary zoning as a tool to address the housing shortage. – Harvard Crimson

CHIPPING AWAY: Massachusetts plans to implement chip-enabled EBT cards to cut down on fraud after federal prosecutors have pointed to SNAP fraud. – Boston Herald

STATE POLICE SCANDAL: Remember the former State Police trooper’s text messages that came up during the Karen Read trial and drew condemnation from Gov. Maura Healey? Turns out there’s more where that came from, according to Read’s lawyers. – MassLive

ETHICS IN EVERETT: Former Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria is under an ethics investigation and has created a legal defense fund to pay for legal fees. His attorney said he expects “fantastic results to all of this.” – Boston Globe

‘SECRET’ RECORDINGS: The New England Police Benevolent Association, which represents Lawrence cops, is calling for the mayor’s resignation after discovering conversations in the hallways of Lawrence’s City Hall are recorded. Mayor Brian DePena says he is launching an independent probe into the cameras. – WBZ-TV

TRAIN TICKETS: The MBTA plans to charge $80 for tickets between South Station and Gillette Stadium for the upcoming seven World Cup matches. The transit agency has agreed to carry tens of thousands of passengers to and from the games set for this summer. – WCVB-TV

EYEING EARMARKS: South Coast lawmakers laid out their priorities for the fiscal 2027 budget, including money for a floating dock, community centers and LGBTQ+ programming. – New Bedford Light

SIGNS OF THE TIMES: The Wu administration is in the midst of a modernization of rules governing city signs, from large ones to the small. The move comes as companies like JP Morgan Chase are looking to make their mark on the city skyline. – Boston Globe

FATAL SHOOTING FALLOUT: The fatal shooting of a Black man by a Boston cop hasn’t drawn a public protest, with some holding off until more details are known, and other activism occurring behind closed doors. – GBH News

FOOD INSECURITY SURVEY: Forty percent of respondents to a Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham survey say they’re food insecure, a figure that’s double the number from 2019. – WBUR

Join legislators and thought leaders for a timely forum on the AI revolution in Massachusetts. Explore the challenges and opportunities of AI policy on Thursday, May 7, at the MCLE (Boston). RSVP!

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