Cannabis regulators deliver budgetary message to lawmakers: “Without proper funding, our agency is at risk.”
You won’t see much about the State of Cannabis in Massachusetts on the five o’clock news. Though not exactly under wraps, the annual presentation is nevertheless largely a government affair, with appointed members, agency officials, and staffers from the Cannabis Control Commission serenading lawmakers on Beacon Hill.
Acting CCC Chair Bruce Stebbins kicked off the all-morning event on Tuesday by noting some of agency highlights, including “monthly, quarterly, and annual revenue records.” Though not exactly cheerleading, he kept his introduction positive, leaving room for colleagues to later drill down on details, warts and all. Stebbins also recognized accomplishments from beyond the commission’s purview, like the rollout of the long-awaited Social Equity Trust Fund, and acknowledged happenings that don’t always make headlines, like the CCC’s work renewing municipal equity strategy.
Subsequent slides and presenters also raised up improvements. Among them, Kate Fiske, the interim director of constituent services, showed how far the commission has come in an area where serious improvements were needed. With her department overhauled, they’re supporting more patient and caregiver renewals and registrations than in prior years, and anecdotally speaking, while business owners aren’t always happy with the CCC’s decisions, they are able to get most questions answered relatively fast.
Regarding CCC and Beacon Hill diplomacy
It’s definitely true that shots have been fired at the commission from various realms of Mass government—from municipal officials who are upset about changes to the Host Community Agreement process, to critical lawmakers, to Mass Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro. Just last month, the IG called on the CCC to conduct an audit following the commission’s failure to collect approximately $550,000 in licensing fees since August 2022.
At the same time, surface relations appear to be healthy, with an apparent working respect between Beacon Hill electeds and the CCC in Worcester. Both co-chairs of the state’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy showed up in good receptive spirits plus green wardrobe flourishes on Tuesday. Sen. Adam Gomez spoke about his experience as a direct stakeholder, and getting his own criminal record expunged, while Rep. Dan Donahue acknowledged the hard work in progress.
“We continuously try to revisit the issue [of cannabis legalization] because it’s complex,” the representative said. “It’s not just an issue of legalizing an illicit substance—it’s about bringing in an industry that didn’t exist.”
Mass cannabis highlights and lowlights
Among the 2024 “cannabis industry highlights” that commissioners posted and boasted: “$1.64 Billion in Adult-Use Sales – Highest annual total to date”; “$1.4+ Billion in State and Local Tax Revenue generated”; “100+ New Businesses Opened across Massachusetts”; “1,000+ Final Licenses Issued”; and “Expanded Public Dashboards for sales, licensing, and equity tracking.”
Commissioner Nurys Camargo used her time to extol agency outreach and new policy development initiatives. Similar to Stebbins, she noted some programs, like vendor training and outreach to regulators in other states, that aren’t always public facing. Camargo said a prime example of so much “collaboration in action” is the process which yielded the draft language for Mass social consumption regulations, and gave a short crash course in the “flexible but enforceable” three-tiered model the CCC is currently refining, painstakingly, line for line.
In addition to showing the wins, there were some hopeful announcements about what’s coming next—like that the Social Equity Program plans to launch an EquityWorks Career Hub, where participants will be able to access resources. It wasn’t all rose-tinted optimism though; in her turn, Commissioner Kimberly Roy spoke about “[Medical Marijuana Treatment Center] deserts,” and the agency’s difficult work bringing cities and towns across Mass into compliance with Chapter 180 changes (read: preventing the continued extortion of cannabis businesses via unjustified payouts).
New executive director at the helm
Newly tapped CCC Executive Director Travis Ahern opened and closed the event, using his time to list feats as well as fumbles. He conceded toward the beginning of his comments: “I recognize that cannabis in Massachusetts is at a pivotal moment,” showing knowledge and concern about border state competition and other evolving concerns. “Our focus extends beyond revenue,” Ahern said.
The new ED was explicit about the needs of the agency he’s tasked to run—“one of the most complex regulatory frameworks in the commonwealth,” as he described it. The CCC is processing significantly more applications year over year, but operating with a flat budget since FY2024. If they don’t get more allotted in the upcoming state budget, Ahern explained, it will “force [the commission] to continue to punt on priorities” that business owners, prospective business owners, and consumers are pining for.
Concern and a common call to increase the CCC’s budget
Like many of her colleagues who presented, Commissioner Camargo centered her comments around a plea for fairer, increased budgeting to cover everything the CCC is tasked with doing. People and resources are stretched to their limits already, the commissioner argued, so implementing new programs—especially massive ones like social consumption—will add on whole new dimensions of responsibility.
Commissioner Roy asked for the legislature’s budgetary support for: “Developing and enforcing effective regulations; Developing and executing a program of continuing public education; Conducting and contributing to research on marijuana-related topics; Ensuring patient and consumer safety (i.e.confirmatory testing); Improving IT Infrastructure for enhanced security, compliance & access.”
Mercedes Erickson, the CCC’s investigations and enforcement project manager, turned up the volume on the budget issue. She said her staff of 68 spanning the licensing and testing departments to enforcement counsel faces multiple hurdles, including tackling a “growing [number of] complex projects” using management software that’s been out of date since the agency’s launch.
“We’re trying to simultaneously put everything into place and it’s a significant strain on our staff and resources,” Erickson said. “Without proper funding, our agency is at risk.”
