Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 25, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 27 ing professional opportunity of my life," said Concepcion, reading from a prepared statement from Collins. "No matter what my future holds, I am confident that the ability to help create new government, while ushering in the migration of cannabis legalization in the commonwealth, can not be matched by other professional pursuits." Collins had been absent from the CCC since September, as he is out on parental leave. e commission named Debra Hilton-Creek, the agency's chief people officer who joined the commis- sion in August, to be the active execu- tive director in Collin's absence, passing over several more tenured executive staff members in the process. "I want to take a moment to thank Shawn for the incredible job he has done holding this agency from the be- ginning," said Concepcion aer reading Collin's statement, noting he was the longest serving member of the agency's staff. e three other active commis- sioners, Bruce Stebbins, Kimberly Roy, and Nurys Camargo, expressed thanks for Collins' work following the an- nouncement. Collins and the agency has faced increasing scrutiny since July, when then-Chair O'Brien announced during a meeting that she felt the agency was in chaos aer Collins had told her he planned to go on family leave until December before then resigning. Collins later declined to provide details of his conversation with O'Brien, saying it was a private matter, but he later took family leave and is now resigning in December just as O'Brien had stated. O'Brien would later be suspended from her role as Chair in September by her appointing authority, Treasurer Deb- orah Goldberg, whose office has claimed O'Brien has been accused of wrongful behavior by commission staff and at least one member of the agency's board. Goldberg's office has repeatedly de- clined to offer more details on the exact nature of the allegations. O'Brien has pushed back against Goldberg's decision to remove her, claiming her office doesn't have the legal authority to suspend her. In a Septem- ber lawsuit filed in Suffolk Superior Civil Court, she made a number of make all the difference REL ATIONSHIPS At Country Bank, we're made a little different. We have the expertise, resources, and tools you need to turn opportunities into growth. It's not just banking to us. We're here to make a difference for your business and we believe that it starts with a great relationship. Former CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins claims against Collins, saying that she faced immediate hostility from him when attempting to schedule meetings and get up to speed on the agency's activities. e lawsuit claimed a playbook exists within the agency to use baseless alle- gations as a way of forcing resignations from employees and commissioners, saying former Chair Steven Hoffman was victimized by these tactics. e suit seeks to force Goldberg to reinstate O'Brien. Aer the lawsuit was filed, Goldberg agreed to hold an administrative hear- ing with O'Brien to give her a chance to appeal her suspension and potential permanent removal from the role. e hearing was originally sched- uled for November, but has since been pushed to December. e exact format of the hearing and whether or not it will be open to the public has not been announced. Collins has been the only executive director of the agency since it was created in 2017 to help regulate the newly legalized cannabis industry. He previously served as assistant treasurer and director of policy and legislative affairs for Goldberg, where he helped her office prepare for the rollout of legalization. Adult-use Mass. marijuana establishments surpass $5B in gross sales Adult-use marijuana gross sales have crested $5 billion at Massachusetts establishments. Sales passed the mile- stone on Aug. 31, according to a Sept. 7 press release from the state's Cannabis Control Commission. In January, recreational cannabis sales hit $4 billion, while total adult-use and medical sales surpassed $5 billion. With more states in the Northeast now part of the recreational sales mar- ket, some in the cannabis industry have expressed concerns this may slow the Mass. market, and are coming up with new ways to adapt to changing pricing structures. So far, that has not been the case, according to the CCC. e eight-month period between the $4 billion and $5 billion benchmarks was the shortest time to generate $1 billion in sales, according to the press release. "Massachusetts continues to hit record sales even as other states have come online. In fact, our neighbor- ing states Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut also had record sales this summer," said Cannabis Control Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins in the press release. W

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