A flurry of news in Massachusetts has put a glaring spotlight on the cannabis industry and its regulator — yet again.
In the past few weeks, the headlines have included: A former employee accused of bullying female colleagues got a $300,000 settlement payout. A judge ruled the former chair of the Cannabis Control Commission must get her job back, after a bruising legal fight with the state treasurer; however, the appeals court paused her return while it takes up a review. The Suffolk County sheriff was indicted for allegedly extorting a pot executive, raising questions about the opportunities for corruption in an agency with lax regulation.
All of this comes as the cannabis commission looks to climb out of years of personnel issues and infighting. The latest news has only served to amplify calls from the Legislature and the state auditor to overhaul the agency overseeing an $8 billion industry, with greater accountability internally and oversight by the governor instead of the treasurer.
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio last month issued a report calling out mismanagement and a lack of accountability at the commission.
After news of former cannabis commission spokesman Cedric Sinclair’s settlement on Wednesday, DiZoglio told WBUR that her office was aware that a settlement had been in the works, but suggested “its final execution may have been delayed partly to avoid its inclusion in the audit report.”
Sinclair was fired after women staffers accused him of bullying; before leaving, he alleged he was bullied and experienced racial retaliation at the commission. In a statement, the commission’s executive director, Travis Ahern, said because the settlement agreement was completed over the past month, it “should not be connected in any way” to the audit period of 2024.
DiZoglio said the commission has agreed to make its process for handling settlements, non-disclosures and other agreements “more transparent and accountable moving forward.” But she added, “It is clear that there are still aftershocks occurring at the CCC, born out of its mismanagement and systemic internal breakdowns.”
A commission spokesperson declined to comment on the judge’s decision this week that former Chair Shannon O’Brien should be restored to her role, with back pay and benefits. The ruling was a blow to state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who fired O’Brien in September, saying she had committed “gross misconduct” in certain statements and treatment of employees.
While O’Brien made some ill-considered remarks during her tenure, Superior Court Judge Robert Gordon said they did not rise to the level of gross misconduct. He wrote in a 50-page decision: “A Sword of Damocles does not hang over every commissioner who berates staff or makes foolish, tin-eared or even offensive remarks to them.”
Goldberg has appealed the case, saying that the judge “got it wrong.” Her office has already spent nearly $1 million on legal fees in the case, according to public records. Late Wednesday, Appeals Court Judge Gloria Tan paused O’Brien’s return to her position pending consideration of Goldberg’s appeal.
State Rep. Daniel Donahue, a Worcester Democrat who chairs the Legislature’s Cannabis Policy Committee, in an interview Wednesday called the judge’s ruling another “episode in the saga of the dysfunction at the Cannabis Control Commission.”
The House passed a bill in the spring to overhaul regulation of the $8 billion marijuana industry, consolidating its oversight under the governor, instead of the treasurer.
“We think there needs to be a restructuring of the Cannabis Control Commission,” Donahue said.
The state Senate has yet to act on the bill.
DiZoglio, in her statement Wednesday, said, “It is crucial that the Legislature take action and implement long-overdue reforms at the CCC,” adding that the “Senate should follow suit” on the House legislation “to increase much-needed accountability.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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