Mass. Cannabis Control Commission chair sues over her suspension

"Several serious allegations" were made about the behavior of Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O'Brien, Massachusetts' treasurer said Thursday, sharing new details about what led to her suspending O'Brien, who has filed a lawsuit over the suspension.

O'Brien, the former state treasurer and Democratic nominee for governor, filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing Goldberg of unlawfully removing her as chairwoman of the Cannabis Control Commission.

The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, is the latest sign of upheaval around the agency that oversees the state's legal cannabis sector and lays bare details of internal acrimony. It claims that the suspension came without notice or "articulated reason,' and that O'Brien didn't have an opportunity to be heard, all of which are required by law.

Goldberg suspended O'Brien earlier this month. Goldberg had chosen her for the job a year ago, and O'Brien's departure was the latest instance of upheaval interrupting the commission's regulatory and policy responsibilities.

The state law that dictates how appointments to the CCC are made includes a section giving a treasurer (as well as a governor and attorney general) the ability to remove a commissioner they appointed if the commissioner "is guilty of malfeasance in office; substantially neglects the duties of a commissioner; is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office; commits gross misconduct; or is convicted of a felony."

The commissioner "shall be provided with a written statement of the reason for removal and an opportunity to be heard" before removal, the law says. It does not appear to speak directly to the suspension of a commissioner.

O'Brien's complaint says Goldberg reached out around July 2022 to ask O'Brien to apply to be the CCC's chairperson. O'Brien was skeptical, her filing claims, because previous CCC Chair Steven Hoffman resigned under uncertain circumstances.

The complaint says that Goldberg wanted O'Brien "to be a change agent at the CCC, an agency which 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."

"The very same entrenched bureaucracy successfully rid itself of the prior CCC Chair through the making of false allegations against him," the complaint adds.

It also claims that Goldberg "informed Chair O'Brien at that time that she was not happy with how the CCC was operating, and specifically expressed her disappointment with the performance of the CCC's Executive Director."

Asked for a response Thursday afternoon to O'Brien's lawsuit, a spokesman for Goldberg said, "The Treasurer is confident that she has taken the appropriate actions to address the matter."

But earlier in the day, Goldberg's office put out a statement that represented the treasurer's first public comments on the situation at the CCC since she suspended O'Brien two weeks ago

Goldberg's office didn't say at the time why the treasurer put O'Brien on a paid suspension, but shared a statement Thursday with more on what prompted the action, in light of "reasonable and increasing demands for information and transparency."

The statement read: "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. 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."

Goldberg didn't share any details on the nature of the allegations.

An attorney for O'Brien told The Boston Globe they would release a statement soon.

Goldberg did note in her statement that the commission's status as an independent agency complicates the situation, her office has no "authority, oversight, management, or influence over the Commission" beyond appointing the chair and having a role in appointing two other commissioners.

O'Brien served six years in the Massachusetts House and two years in the Massachusetts Senate in the late 1980s and 1990s, and was the Democratic Party's nominee for governor in 2002 in the election against Mitt Romney

After leaving politics, O'Brien worked at Boston TV station WB 56, and then served three years as CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater Boston. She was appointed by New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to serve as chair of the Pension Reform Commission from 2008 to 2010. She's also worked with health care, clean energy, financial services and telecommunications companies through her O'Brien Advisory Group.

Goldberg picked O'Brien for the CCC chair position in late August 2022. She followed interim Chair Sarah Kim and inaugural CCC Chair Steven Hoffman. The treasurer is responsible for appointing someone with a financial background to chair the marijuana industry regulatory body.

The State House News Service contributed to this story.