The acting chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, Bruce Stebbins, is looking at another five years on the board of an agency that is currently two members short and has seen many leadership challenges in just the past two years. 

On Aug. 13, Stebbins was reappointed to the commission by Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, who all gave him a vote of confidence for his leadership ability. Under the law, commissioners serve five-year terms and are capped at two terms.  

The state agency has experienced ongoing dysfunction since Treasurer Deborah Goldberg suspended former Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien in September 2023. In the year following, the commission did not have a designated chair, and the commissioners haggled over who would take the position temporarily in public meetings. 

Goldberg eventually fired O’Brien and appointed Stebbins as the acting chair. (O’Brien is fighting Goldberg’s decision in court so in the meantime, the treasurer hasn’t appointed a permanent replacement for O’Brien.) The agency was without an executive director for over a year after Shawn Collins quit in November 2023. The agency hired Travis Ahern to take on the post starting in March of this year. 

Both Ahern and Stebbins have said that the Legislature has not provided the Cannabis Control Commission – which has seen regulatory delays, allegations of harassment, uncollected fees – with adequate funding to meet its oversight and operational needs. Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro, the state’s inspector general, has called the agency a “rudderless ship.” 

Nurys Camargo left the commission in May, leaving the board with two vacancies. Ava Callender Concepcion – whose position is appointed by the attorney general – is approaching the end of her term in January 2026. Kimberly Roy still has nearly a year before her term ends in July 2026. Neither Concepcion nor Roy have been reappointed yet. 

CommonWealth Beacon spoke with Stebbins about his experience on the commission and what his vision is for the next five years. The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.    

CWB: Why have you decided to take on this role as a commissioner again?  

Stebbins: I’ve enjoyed working with this new industry. It’s exciting. It’s dynamic. It’s entrepreneurial. Being an effective regulator in a climate like that is a challenge I’m really interested in tackling. I’ve really enjoyed working with this team of professionals. As you know, we’ve added some new faces since even the beginning of this year, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with all of them. 

CWB: There have been many criticisms leveled at the CCC – that CCC has been slow at passing regulations like the two-driver rule change, which removed the requirement that any cannabis delivery be made with two drivers in the vehicle, or that it’s taken a while for social consumption to get off the ground. Is there something the CCC and potentially you could have done better? 

Stebbins: We did hear the criticisms of why it took so long to change the two-agent rule, why we’re still working on social consumption. 

I would push back a little bit and say, you know, it’s not just hearing one set of voices or one side of the argument. I think what the commission has really done well and effectively is [try] to engage a really broad range of stakeholders. With the two-agent rule, we heard a lot from delivery licensees, but I think for myself and for my colleagues, it was important to hear from the public safety community and [get] a little bit of experience under our belt and to see how the [regulations] are actually working before we decide to change it.  

That kind of thoughtful approach, I think, leads to better decision making. I also think it leads to confidence that folks can have in this agency and how we’re regulating.