Legislature, Cannabis Commission watching each other

BOSTON (SHNS) - The speaker of the House suggested in March that his branch was eager to tackle legislation restructuring the embattled Cannabis Control Commission this spring, but two months later regulators are still watching for direction from the Cannabis Policy Committee and staying in close contact with lawmakers.

Executive Director Travis Ahern started at the CCC in early March, the same week that House Speaker Ronald Mariano suggested the House could move quickly this session to legislatively address the cannabis oversight agency. There's been no movement in that direction since, but Ahern filled in commissioners Thursday on the various issues the CCC is addressing in the meantime.

The CCC is tracking the state budget process in hopes of convincing lawmakers to support an increase in its allocation, commissioners are still crafting rules for the social marijuana use venues contemplated in the 2016 legalization law, the agency is working to address IT infrastructure recommendations from the inspector general, and a long-discussed governance charter intended to iron out internal issues could reemerge for consideration later this month.

Ahern said he and others from the CCC were able to talk through many of the issues occupying the agency's focus during its "State of the Cannabis Industry" event at the State House last week.

"I think staff did a phenomenal job of highlighting how immense the workload is and where our challenges currently are," Ahern said.

By Friday's deadline, Ahern said the CCC is hoping to have an amendment filed to the Senate Ways and Means Committee budget up for debate on May 20. He did not say specifically what the amendment would request, but the CCC previously asked for a $30.8 million outlay for fiscal year 2026, up from $19.8 million this year.

The $19.88 million in the Senate Ways and Means budget for the CCC "does not meet the needs of the organization," Ahern said.

The CCC's new executive director has also been busy poring over the governance charter released last summer in a draft form following months of mediation between CCC commissioners and staff. That process played out as frustration with the slow pace of regulatory changes from the CCC, a series of headline-grabbing internal conflicts and a plea from the inspector general for the Legislature to intervene at the "rudderless agency" spurred lawmakers to more seriously consider making changes of their own at the CCC.

The latest draft of the charter could be in front of commissioners at their May 22 meeting, Ahern said.

"I have been able to go through it, kind of coming in from an outsider perspective and taking a look at it, and really just restructuring more than anything. I think there was a phenomenal amount of information in there to address some of the concerns that have been expressed in the past," he said of his edits. "And really, I think, just kind of streamline it but not lose the intent was my approach to that."

The executive director also gave commissioners a briefing on the work of the Cannabis Policy Committee, which held its second hearing Wednesday.

Ahern said the CCC's legislative working group is up and running so the agency will be prepared for "what is going to be a lot of work in 2025, but some of which is currently outside of our control until we see the direction of the joint committee." He said the CCC would likely discuss at a later meeting "timing, what the commission can do, what commissioners can put on [lawmakers'] plates in terms of regulatory changes."

"They have quite a bit in front of them as well," Ahern said of lawmakers.

CCC Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins also gave a rundown Thursday of recent talks he's had on Beacon Hill.

Stebbins said he, Ahern and the CCC's government affairs chief met last week with Sen. Michael Moore, who has been one of the most consistent voices in calling for changes at the agency, to "make introductions to our new ED [and] talk about some other topics." Stebbins said he's also met recently with Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, and that the CCC has been in touch lately with the Division of Banks and Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

The CCC meets next on Monday, a meeting expected to focus on the latest draft framework for allowing people to use marijuana in public social settings. 

The idea was part of the 2016 ballot law that legalized non-medical marijuana, and the CCC planned to include social consumption sites in its initial 2018 launch of the legal industry before it bowed to pressure from Beacon Hill to focus on the retail rollout first. The CCC discarded a regulatory framework from 2019 and late last year rolled out its newest thinking on the idea, and commissioners have spent multiple meetings this year working through the proposal.

The agenda for Monday's meeting also calls for an update on the regulatory timeline.