The laid-off Cannabis Control Commission chair is also suing her former agency
As I have written many times before, it is impossible to quickly summarize the tenure of former Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien.
The fallout stemming from her suspension, then termination and subsequent thrilling return and ultimate unwanted exit was complex bordering on kafkaesque, particularly as it related to the legal melee that ensued between O’Brien and Mass Treasurer Deb Goldberg.
And now, we’ll get to ogle even more of the state’s dirty laundry, since O’Brien filed suit this week in Suffolk Superior Court against the Office of the State Treasurer, the Cannabis Control Commission, and Treasurer Goldberg personally. The complaint reads, in part:
This case concerns what happened after Shannon O’Brien did the job she was appointed to do. Following her appointment as Chair, Ms. O’Brien confronted entrenched management failures at the Cannabis Control Commission, insisted that credible allegations of regulatory misconduct be investigated, and opposed conduct she reasonably believed violated Massachusetts law and endangered the public. The retaliatory response was swift: pressure to resign, misuse of confidential personnel processes, suspension, and ultimately removal from office.
(Thanks to Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub for flagging this. Check out his notations here.)
Notable points and allegations in the 18-page filing include:
- Defendant Goldberg did not remain neutral. Before the principal workplace investigation was complete, she disclosed confidential accusations against O’Brien to a longtime political associate, predicted that O’Brien would be humiliated, and discussed replacing her with a commissioner who was a woman of color. Only weeks later, Goldberg pressured O’Brien to resign even though the “confidential” investigation was unfinished and had not been discussed with O’Brien.
- O’Brien also learned of practices suggesting that internal personnel processes and strategic disclosures to the press were used to harm officials or employees whom senior managers perceived as adversaries.
The complaint also lays out in detail an elaborate purported conflict of interest involving former CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins and stakeholders from the licensee Greatest Hits. Attorneys for the former chair argue that her scrutiny of such matters, as well as other disagreements with Collins, “led to Goldberg wrongfully remov[ing] O’Brien on September 9, 2024, asserting gross misconduct and inability to discharge the duties of her office.”
Some additional background information from my previous coverage: Goldberg initially suspended O’Brien in September 2023, after which the latter filed an action in Suffolk County Superior Court for injunctive relief, “arguing that she was entitled to adequate notice of the allegations and an opportunity to defend herself against the same.”
A humiliating public shitfight followed, including minor fireworks such as a last-minute temporary restraining order to suspend a contentious hearing, as well as ugly allegations of bullying, mismanagement, and bigotry regarding the former chair’s CCC tenure.
O’Brien was officially fired in September 2024, collected six figures in state pay on suspension, made serious claims about her former workplace, including that ex-colleagues conspired against her and the best interests of the cannabis industry, and returned to the job last September. And then, in April, just like that, with the stroke of the governor’s pen, the entire agency was reshuffled, with O’Brien shuffled out the door in all of the commotion.
There’s a whole chapter of this saga which takes place from when the former chair returned to her position, to roughly eight months later when she was essentially eliminated via legislation. A lot of that involves her work on reforms that others were apparently not in favor of, as well as a whole lot of infighting.
If past battles are proper precedent, then we will learn a lot more about that time during the coming proceedings. To be continued …
