“There are a couple of things that I have—there’s something that needs attention—and that’s the cannabis commission.”
This is a rare one for me. As the editor of Talking Joints Memo who also leads a double life as the editorial director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, it’s not uncommon for the characters and topics of my worlds to cross paths. But when it comes to the intersection of the Massachusetts legislature and the Cannabis Control Commission, I get particularly anxious.
The anxiety doesn’t stem from any conflict of interest—I’m the same reporter no matter what I’m covering, regardless of what outlet I am writing for. My issue lies more with how people hardly care about what happens on Beacon Hill, but will nonetheless cheer on lawmakers who put the CCC in their crosshairs.
Hold your pushback for a moment. I am writing this personally because I have more authority than most to argue that members of the Mass House and Senate are the last people whose criticisms of bureaucracy—or anything other than how to spend campaign funds on steak dinners, really—should be taken seriously. (For example, I recently broke the story about their using tax dollars to subvert the winning ballot initiative to impugn the legislature).
Furthermore, I lead a team at Talking Joints Memo that has published hundreds of thousands of words over several years about how the Cannabis Control Commission constantly fumbles and fails and delays. My point: I shill for no one—not elected officials in Boston, nor appointed ones in Worcester.
With all of that said, here’s a bite of the delicious nothingburger that the State House News Service delivered on Thursday. It’s the kind of news item that is important because a powerful ogre issued a threat—and that, as a result of the potential high stakes, we have to report on—but that can hardly be taken seriously in the context of commonwealth lawmakers actually caring enough to do the right thing. They’re basically the ramblings of a power-drunk madman deflecting the perpetual failure of the body he purports to manage …
The House may tackle legislation restructuring the embattled Cannabis Control Commission before focusing on the fiscal 2026 budget, Speaker Ron Mariano said Thursday.
“There are a couple of things that I have — there’s something that needs attention — and that’s the cannabis commission,” Mariano told the News Service when asked Thursday whether the branch plans to take up any major bills before the budget, which usually surfaces in mid-April.
“And straightening that out and making sure that the transfers and the changes are made when people’s terms expire, (that) there’s a process that makes some sense,” the Quincy Democrat continued without offering specific details. “Right now, I don’t think we have that.”
We will follow up on this, but in the meantime here is some critical background:
Cannabis Control Commission Governance Headed For Legislative Review
Lawmakers Schedule Hearing To “Reconsider” CCC’s Enabling Statute
Despite Drama Around Calls For Agency Receivership, CCC Slogs On
2025 Preview: Predictions For A New Year In Massachusetts Cannabis
