Gaming regulators are not the only ones with full plates and a major new law to implement.
The Cannabis Control Commission met Thursday and batted around how it might go about stitching the state’s new cannabis equity law into its industry rules. And similar to the way that the Gaming Commission initially struggled to find a consensus path forward to launch legal sports betting, the CCC appeared to have its own internal hiccups it will have to work through.
Among them are the thorny and awkward issues surrounding Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien, an Easthampton native, and her ties to a company that the CCC regulates.
Thursday’s agenda asked the commission to approve many recommendations for change of ownership, provisional and final licenses, and license renewals. An application from the cultivation company that O’Brien once held an ownership stake in was among those on the docket and the chairwoman recused herself when it came up. But despite the CCC staff recommending that commissioners approve a final license for Greenfield Greenery LLC’s outdoor cultivation facility, no commissioner was willing to make that motion.
Instead, commissioners dove deep on a discussion of the situation that has led to calls from activists for the resignation of O’Brien, a former state treasurer and former state representative.
Licensing Director Kyle Potvin explained that O’Brien was listed as a person with direct or indirect control of Greenfield Greenery LLC when it secured a provisional license on Feb. 11, 2021. When that provisional license was approved for renewal on Feb. 10, 2022, O’Brien was no longer listed as a person with control, but the CCC did not get the required request for a change of ownership until May 22, 2022. That change of ownership application is not public and remains under review at the CCC, officials said.
At one point, Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion asked the staff directly whether the commission could “state for the record that our current chair, Shannon O’Brien, is not an owner and does not have a financial interest in this entity.”
“Because the change of ownership is still in the fact-gathering stage and the due diligence review stage, I am not in a position to answer that question,” Potvin said. “The only thing I can do is based on the license record in our licensing system, she is not listed as a person with direct or indirect control as of today. That is the best answer I can provide to that question.”
O’Brien has said she signed an attestation giving up all equity and ownership control in Greenfield Greenery LLC last December and that she disclosed the relationship to Treasurer Deb Goldberg when she sought the CCC chairwomanship. O’Brien said she doesn’t know why the paperwork for the change in ownership wasn’t filed by the company in a more timely manner with the CCC for approval.
“How is this all possible without a change of ownership in front of us?” Commissioner Nurys Camargo asked. Answers were not forthcoming and the CCC’s enforcement counsel at one point declined to answer when asked if Greenfield Greenery LLC’s license is being evaluated for compliance with CCC regulations as they pertain to changes of ownership.
Ultimately, the four other commissioners voted 4-0 to remand Greenfield Greenery’s application to investigation and enforcement staff “for further evaluation and consideration relative to ownership and control.” Before the vote, the CCC’s general counsel repeatedly attempted to get commissioners to agree to recess for half an hour so she could share information with individual commissioners out of the public eye. Commissioners were not interested and pressed ahead with their vote.
After the meeting, O’Brien told reporters that she wanted to “congratulate the commissioners and the staff for the very thoughtful conversation that they had today.” She reiterated that she gave up control of the company last December and said she thinks “it’s an obligation of the company of which I was no longer a part” to have properly applied for a change of ownership with the CCC.
A law passed and signed in August aims to foster greater diversity in the legal marijuana industry, gives the CCC real oversight of the host community agreements that marijuana businesses are required to enter into with municipalities, and smooths the path for cities and towns to greenlight on-site cannabis consumption establishments within their borders.
Thursday’s meeting included a more detailed look at how the CCC plans to take the new law “from legislation into regulation,” as Commissioner Kimberly Roy said.
“This will directly impact our ability as a commission to not only maintain but expand our mandate to provide for robust participation in the legal cannabis marketplace from communities disproportionately impacted by previous cannabis prohibition and enforcement,” Roy said. “I know we are all eager to roll up our sleeves and tackle these incredibly important issues before the commission.”
The commission’s executive director and government affairs director laid out a broad timeline for the CCC’s regulatory review process that included milestones like the Nov. 9, 2022 effective date of the new law, the Jan. 9, 2023 deadline for appointments to a new advisory group, and the Nov. 9, 2023 deadline for the CCC to have regulations related to the new law in place.
That discussion of the CCC’s potential timeline revealed frustration among some commissioners as they embark upon what they all agree will be a crucial round of rulemaking. One common theme was that because the Open Meeting Law prevents more than two commissioners from talking about their work outside a public meeting, commissioners are left to rely on information from staff and cannot always tell where a recommended regulatory change originated.
One part of the new law is out of the CCC’s hands but will be crucial to its work. Gov. Charlie Baker, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and Attorney General Maura Healey this week began seeking applicants for the Cannabis Social Equity Advisory Board, a volunteer board that will advise the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development as the secretariat administers the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund created under the law.
Despite Massachusetts being the first state in the country to mandate that equity and inclusion be part of its legal cannabis framework, the legal marijuana industry has not lived up to that aspiration so far. The CCC and other advocates have long argued that a state-run trust fund could be key to breaking down barriers to entry, particularly access to capital.
All board members are supposed to be from, or have experience advocating for, communities that have been disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement.
“These positions are important, even though they’re volunteer seats and I know folks won’t get paid for this, but they’re very key and those appointed can make or break this trust fund,” Camargo said.
“This is what the industry has been waiting for, this is what folks have been advocating for and this is what this industry needs as well. It sounds very dramatic, but I’m serious. I encourage all those who have experienced to apply. For others, spread the word, share it. As someone personally who spent their career advocating for people and creating access and opportunities for disadvantaged communities, this is a great opportunity to serve and to help Massachusetts catch up when it comes to equity.”