Update: Chair O’Brien’s Return and Changes to the Forthcoming Public Meeting Schedule

Chair Shannon O’Brien has returned to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission this month as the agency’s appointee with experience in corporate management, finance or securities.

State Treasurer and Receiver General Deborah B. Goldberg swore in Chair O’Brien in September 2022. In the Chair’s first year of service, she helped lead the working group tasked with proposing municipal equity regulatory changes related to C. 180 of the Acts of 2022 and spearheaded conversations towards cementing the agency’s first Governance Charter, among other initiatives.  

To support the transition of leadership and ensure all Commissioners are prepared for the final regulatory review of Social Consumption Establishments, agent registration reform, and related policies, the Commission intends to postpone relevant public meetings originally planned for the end of September to Oct. 23 and 24.  

Additionally, public meetings are planned Oct. 1 for licensing review and approvals, an overview of the Commission’s 2025 goals, and working group updates, as well as Oct. 9 for licensing review and approvals and policy discussions. In accordance with the Open Meeting Law, all public meeting notices and agendas will be posted to the Commission’s website at least 48 hours in advance of each session. 

Following a unanimous vote July 29 to approve draft regulatory changes, the Commission held a public hearing at its Worcester headquarters on Sept. 8 to conclude the public comment period focused on Social Consumption Establishments, agent registration reform, and related policies. At the Oct. 23 and 24 public meetings, Commissioners are expected to revise the draft regulations based on feedback they received from constituents. 

In recent months, the Commission has also had discussions with municipalities and local businesses about the draft regulations and how these new license types can be successful in their communities. The agency began a statewide Social Consumption Municipal Series in April, and so far has visited Haverhill, Holyoke, Provincetown, Somerville, and Chelsea, with additional stops planned for Central and Western Mass. in the coming weeks. 

Social consumption was part of the ballot measure approved by voters in 2016 legalizing adult-use marijuana and has been incorporated into the agency’s regulations as early as 2019. However, critical changes to state law in 2022 were necessary before this regulatory process could begin towards ultimately enabling the license type to commence operations.