Massachusetts Officials May Appoint Receiver to Oversee Embattled Cannabis Commission

Massachusetts officials are considering a receivership for the state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) following a hearing Tuesday where lawmakers described the agency as a “train wreck” and “Wild West,” according to a WBUR report. The commission is under scrutiny amid allegations of a toxic work environment, high-level personnel suspensions, and regulatory delays.  

The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy hearing came after state Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro called on officials to appoint a receiver to oversee the CCC.  

“If the need were not urgent, I would not have approached the matter in this manner. The longer the CCC flounders, the less certainty and stability for applicants and licensees, patients and caregivers, investors, consumers, and host communities.” — Shapiro, to the committee, via WBUR 

While lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voiced concerns over the agency, state Rep. Rob Consalvo (D), the committee’s vice chair, called appointing a receiver “the nuclear option,” noting that “it’s never been done on a state agency.” 

Shapiro contended that a receiver would be a short-term solution while lawmakers considered deeper reforms on the agency, describing its leadership as thinking “they’re beholden to no one, that there’s no oversight, and that they can kind of do as they please.” 

Following the hearing, a CCC spokesperson told WBUR that the agency is taking “seriously the concerns that have been identified” and that it’s “proud of its track record of standing up and regulating a safe, effective, and equitable medical- and adult-use cannabis industry.”    

State Sen. Michael Moore (D), who has called the CCC “a black eye on the legal cannabis industry in Massachusetts,” this week filed an amendment to the Senate’s economic development bill that would allow the governor to appoint a receiver.