Suspended CCC chief sues state treasurer
BOSTON - Shannon O’Brien, the deposed chairperson of the Cannabis Control Commission, has filed suit against state Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, claiming Goldberg did not have the authority to suspend O’Brien and bar her from returning to her leadership position.
O’Brien, a longtime politician who served in both legislative houses and was the 2002 Democratic nominee for governor, is seeking injunctive relief and a return to her job in a suit filed Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court.
The suit claims that Goldberg “removed her without notice, without articulated reason and without any opportunity to be heard, all of which is required by the clear and unambiguous provisions” of state law.
Marijuana is a $5 billion industry in the Bay State, with 570 adult recreation use licenses and 101 medical use licenses granted. The CCC has also granted licenses for independent testing laboratories, indoor and outdoor grow centers, manufacturers and delivery services.
In her suit, O’Brien claims Goldberg appointed her to a five-year renewable term as “a change agent” at an agency that is “widely recognized to be broken and failing to serve the public interest, and the interests of disadvantaged communities in particular because of an entrenched bureaucracy and infighting.”
Goldberg cites ‘serious allegations’ against O’Brien
O’Brien claims the ouster damaged her professional reputation, defamed her and has undermined the public’s faith in the functioning of the CCC. She requests that she be reinstated to her position as chair of the commission.
In a written statement, Goldberg said, “I have refrained from commenting on the suspension of Shannon O’Brien as Chairwoman of the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). Given reasonable and increasing demands for information and transparency, it is clear to me that it is necessary to share more information publicly.
“Several serious allegations were made by a Commissioner and CCC staff about the Chair’s behavior and the CCC initiated an investigation, hiring an outside law firm,” Goldberg said. “The law firm undertook an investigation and has returned with a report. According to the CCC’s employee handbook, suspension with pay is the only allowable remedy at this point, as the findings are being reviewed and action is considered.”
O’Brien: Staff members have made false accusations
At the time of her appointment, according to the suit, the treasurer informed O’Brien that she was “not happy with how the CCC was operating and specifically expressed her disappointment with the CCC’s executive director.” While she received numerous résumés seeking to fill the chairmanship, Goldberg told O’Brien that she was uncertain whether those others could fill the role as she envisioned it.
The suit says Goldberg someone with O’Brien’s management experience and style to be “a change agent at the CCC,” someone who would make significant improvements to the agency’s operation.
O’Brien has said she was reluctant to accept the commission but eventually determined it would be consistent with her long record of public service and her desire to expand economic opportunities for all Massachusetts residents. She was also interested in advancing the equity mission of the agency.
The turmoil reflected in O’Brien’s suit has been apparent in the public-facing meetings of the agency. In April 2022, the agency entered into mediation sessions between commissioners and staff to “build a governance framework” and to ensure “buy-in” to the agency mission and core values. The CCC entered into executive session five times over the course of about 18 months and went through about 80 hours of negotiations to develop governance and an operating charter.
In her suit, O’Brien alleges that former chair of the CCC Steven Hoffman left the agency due to false allegations against him. She claims that the staff implemented the same tactics with her when she was appointed to the leadership position as a means to eject her as well.
O’Brien said her attempts to meet with staff, particularly Executive Director Shawn Collins, who is on parental leave, were met with resistance, even after she learned the four other appointed commissioners had met with him on a regular basis.
The suit states that “O’Brien soon became aware that a ‘playbook’ existed at the CCC where it became apparent that there was an entrenched bureaucracy at the CCC that would assert baseless allegations in order to cause lengthy internal investigations that were designed to force resignations.” O’Brien also alleges that “at least one” Cannabis Control Commission employee told O’Brien she would become “Hoffman 2.0.”
The agency, just 7 years old, has been under scrutiny in recent weeks.
A bipartisan group of legislators sent a letter to the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy on Sept. 18 requesting outside oversight of the commission, citing workplace irregularities and consternation with the inner workings of the agency.