Shannon O’Brien took her fight with Treasurer Deborah Goldberg public on Friday by asking a court to intervene while simultaneously releasing and rebutting a letter from the treasurer accusing her of making “racially, ethnically, and culturally insensitive statements.”
Cannabis Control Commission
Posted inState Government
Goldberg indicates meeting with O’Brien to be private
A spokesperson for the treasurer said the meeting would be private, suggesting the public will most likely remain in the dark about what led to O’Brien’s suspension more than two months ago.
Posted inMarijuana
Collins stepping down as cannabis commission executive director
Two months after pushing back on a claim he would be leaving by the end of the year, Shawn Collins is resigning as executive director of the Cannabis Control Commission, the latest move to rock the troubled state agency, whose chair was suspended in September.
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Former treasurer Shannon O’Brien picked to lead cannabis board
FORMER STATE TREASURER Shannon O’Brien, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, will be the next chair of the Cannabis Control Commission. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg announced the appointment Tuesday. O’Brien will be sworn in Thursday, the fifth anniversary of the commission’s founding. O’Brien replaces Sarah Kim, who had been serving as interim chair since […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker signs bill bringing equity to cannabis industry
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed a bill aimed at giving minority cannabis entrepreneurs easier access into the industry, and also paving the way for municipalities to allow marijuana cafes. The bill better regulates host community agreements, creates a state-run loan fund for minority entrepreneurs, lowers taxes for marijuana businesses, and makes it easier to […]
Posted inUncategorized
Marijuana retailers sue over home delivery rules
A COALITION OF marijuana dispensaries has made good on the threat to sue state regulators over new regulations governing home delivery of marijuana, in a case that is illustrating the contentious divide among various segments of the state’s young marijuana industry. When the Cannabis Control Commission approved the marijuana delivery regulations in November, the Commonwealth Dispensary Association, […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
No marijuana ‘apocalypse,’ but legalization brings concerns
Second of two parts. Read the first part here. WHEN MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS were considering the 2016 ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana sales, opponents, including Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and a raft of public health and safety officials, raised concerns about everything from youth use to drug trafficking to impaired driving. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Marijuana companies hid illegal pesticide use
THE STATE Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday unanimously approved hefty fines against two marijuana companies for illegally using pesticides on their products, then trying to hide it. Garden Remedies will pay $200,000 and Healthy Pharms will pay $350,000. They are not the first marijuana companies to be cited for pesticide use under strict rules […]
Posted inUncategorized
Cannabis regulator Kay Doyle jumps to pharma
CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSIONER Kay Doyle is leaving the state oversight panel to take a job as US director of public policy for Greenwich Biosciences, the first company to manufacture an FDA-approved cannabis drug. “It returns me back to really focusing on patients, which is where my heart is,” Doyle said. The five-member Cannabis Control Commission […]
Posted inUncategorized
Opponents fume over Baker vaping ban
FOR SAFIA JAMIL, the owner of vaping shops in Marlborough and Walpole, the one-two punch of Gov. Charlie Baker’s emergency vaping ban and legislation passed this week to ban all flavored tobacco products is likely to be a knockout that puts her out of business. Jamil said she has lost “thousands of dollars” because of […]