O'Brien will appeal Cannabis Control Commission firing to top Mass. court

A successful appeal could reinstate Shannon O’Brien as chair

By Isabel Hart • Published September 10, 2024 • Updated on September 10, 2024 at 7:01 pm

The Cannabis Control Commission is currently meeting in a hybrid format with some commissioners in person at the Union Station headquarters in Worcester. Commissioner Ava Concepcion, left and Chair Shannon O’Brien, right, share a discussion. — Boston Business Journal

Lawyers for Shannon O’Brien, the former chair of the Cannabis Control Commission who was fired from her role yesterday by state treasurer Deb Goldberg, said they plan to appeal the decision to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

William Gildea, an associate at Todd & Weld, LLP, the firm representing O’Brien, said they will seek to have the SJC review Goldberg’s decision, citing precedent from an early 2000s case involving leaders of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. A successful appeal could reinstate O’Brien as chair.

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The legal sale of marijuana generates a lot of money for Massachusetts, leading to concern over the apparent disfunction at the state's oversight board.

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