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BOSTON (State House News Service) — Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O'Brien did not break any CCC regulations with her ties to a company that the commission regulates, a commission investigation released Wednesday concluded.
An application from the cultivation company O'Brien once held an ownership stake in was remanded to investigation and enforcement staff when it came before the commission in October for a final license.
The investigation was prompted by confusion over whether O'Brien, who took over as chair of the CCC in September 2022, still had control of Greenfield Greenery LLC. She was listed as a person with direct or indirect control of the outdoor cultivation facility when it secured a provisional license on Feb. 11, 2021. When that provisional license was approved for renewal on Feb. 10, 2022, O'Brien was no longer listed as a person with control, but the CCC did not get the required request for a change of ownership until May 22, 2022.
Commission regulations require marijuana establishments to inform the CCC if the people or entities in control of the establishment change and, in some cases such as with Greenfield Greenery, request the commission's approval.
The investigation did not discover any information which contradicted the company's change of ownership application in May 2022, and it confirmed that O'Brien disclosed her prior ownership of the cultivation company to state Treasurer Deb Goldberg before she was appointed to chair the commission.
The commission did issue a notice of deficiency to Greenfield Greenery for making changes in ownership before receiving commission approval, but Executive Director Shawn Collins said at Thursday's CCC meeting that this is a "common occurrence."
After discussing the results of the investigation, commissioners also then approved the company's change of ownership application, as well as its final license application.
Written by Sam Drysdale/SHNS
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