Goldberg gets in gear as Beacon Hill blows smoke

It’s taken a marijuana turf war to spark a fire under State Treasurer Deb Goldberg.

But now the Stop & Shop heiress, who has largely remained under the radar since elected in 2014, appears ready to take on Beacon Hill’s legislative leaders in a battle for control of the Bay State’s billion-dollar recreational pot regulation.

Goldberg fired off a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker yesterday demanding direct access to a $300,000 kitty earmarked for weed oversight shortly after he signed off on a $144 million supplemental budget. Implied was that progress on recreational pot sales legalized by Massachusetts voters would grind to a halt without access to funding.

“This funding is critical to the continued and timely implementation of (recreational marijuana). Without sufficient resources, I am concerned that the Commonwealth may not be able to meet the various extended deadlines,” Goldberg wrote in the letter.

Currently, the money remains under Baker’s control in an administration and finance account. The treasurer can’t use it to hire a marijuana czar or appoint a three-member Cannabis Control Commission until it’s transferred.

Voters charged Goldberg with the licensing and oversight of recreational pot sales when they passed the ballot question legalizing the business in 2016. Goldberg has been vetting vendors and seeking out office space to ensure that marijuana sales can begin next year, but House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg have both suggested that weed oversight could go elsewhere.

“The (legislative marijuana) committee is going to make recommendations on governance. It’s a fair question to raise and ask: Is this the right structure that was in the bill?” Rosenberg told Boston Herald Radio last week. DeLeo said earlier this month that it has “not been decided” whether pot regulation would remain entirely under the treasurer’s jurisdiction.

Legislative leaders have also suggested adding gubernatorial and legislative appointees to the Cannabis Control Committee that will write regulations overseeing the new business.

While the treasurer’s office is heaped with responsibilities including running the lottery and oversight of the state’s pension fund, it makes sense to keep the regulation of alcohol and marijuana licensing under the same office. And medical marijuana licensing faced a bumpy start under Baker’s public health department.

It’s been refreshing to see Goldberg focused on doing her job — especially after a long line of failed political opportunists in the Treasurer’s office like Steve Grossman, Tim Cahill and Shannon O’Brien. It’s also good to see her push back when Beacon Hill lawmakers blow smoke.