Acting chair of Cannabis Control Commission reappointed, providing consistency for troubled agency
Photo | Courtesy of the Cannabis Control Commission
Cannabis Commissioners Bruce Stebbins and Kimberly Roy listen to Paper Crane employees during the outdoor cannabis farm tour held on Oct. 3.
Bruce Stebbins, one of three active commissioners at theMassachusetts Cannabis Control Commission and acting chair of the agency since September, has been appointed to a second five-year term.
Stebbins serves as the member of the commission with professional experience in oversight or industry management, a seat which is appointed by a majority vote of Gov. Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, according to a CCC press release on Wednesday.
CCC has faced numerous challenges during Stebbin’s tenure. His reappointment provides some consistency in leadership at a time where two CCC commission seats are empty and follows an October WBJ investigation, which found issues with workplace toxicity and dysfunction at the eight-year-old agency.
Stebbins was named acting chair in September 2024 after former Chair Shannon O’Brien was fired by State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, following a year-long suspension for alleged misconduct. O’Brien followed her dismissal with a lawsuit targeting Goldberg, a situation which continues to play out in the courts.
In the meantime, Goldberg has not appointed a replacement, leaving O’Brien’s former seat empty for almost two years from when O’Brien was suspended.
Another commission chair has been unoccupied since May, when Nurys Camargo stepped down after roughly four and a half years at the agency. Camargo has since been hired as vice president of member services at Boston-based business group Associated Industries of Massachusetts, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Prior to joining the commission, Stebbins served as a commissioner of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission from 2012 to 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“I am excited to begin a new term, and want to thank the governor, attorney general and treasurer for their confidence in my reappointment,” Stebbins said in the press release. “The commission has ushered forward policies that level the playing field between licensees and host communities, will reduce regulatory burdens for small businesses, enhance product safeguards, and advance the state’s first social consumption establishments.”
CCC filed long-awaited draft regulations governing social consumption licenses in July, according to a CCC press release.
These licenses would include supplemental licenses for existing cannabis businesses to offer on-site consumption, hospitality licenses allowing for non-cannabis businesses to host events allowing consumption in partnership with cannabis firms, and event organizer licenses allowing for pop-up consumption events.
During Stebbins’ tenure, CCC passed regulations governing host communities, mandatory agreements between municipalities and cannabis businesses, which have been subject to controversy and lawsuits. The agency eliminated a rule which required cannabis delivery and lab transportation firms to have two employees with any vehicle transporting cannabis, a regulation some business owners found to be burdensome and unnecessary.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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