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Court puts reinstatement of cannabis commission head on hold
A judge ruled that the fired chair of the Cannabis Control Commission must be reinstated, but the state filed an appeal to halt the order for a week.
While a judge ruled that the fired chair of the Cannabis Control Commission was wrongfully removed from her position, Shannon O’Brien won’t be back at the helm quite yet.
O’Brien, a former state treasurer and one-time Democratic nominee for governor, was appointed to the commission in 2022 until her suspension a year later. State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg then fired her in September of 2024, accusing her of “gross misconduct,” making race-based remarks, and bullying.
However, Goldberg’s decision to remove O’Brien was made of “a house of cards,” Suffolk Superior Court Judge Robert Gordon wrote in a decision issued last week.
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Goldberg, through Attorney General Andrea Campbell, is now appealing that ruling, according to court documents. A judge agreed to stay the judgement, which included returning O’Brien to her position and all due back pay and benefits, for about a week. O’Brien’s term will expire on Aug. 31, 2027, the judge ruled.
O’Brien’s lawyers have until Wednesday to respond, after which a judge will rule on the appeal. A spokesperson for the state treasurer did not return a request for comment Sunday evening.
O’Brien was planning to return to her role as chair of the embattled CCC on Friday, a spokesperson for O’Brien told Boston.com, but “the Treasurer continues to waste taxpayer dollars by filing an unreasonable appeal to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.”
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“Treasurer Goldberg would be wise to heed Judge Gordon’s decision, stop the smearing of Shannon O’Brien’s character and let her do the job Goldberg appointed her to in September of 2022,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Goldberg’s office reportedly paid the firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius more than $970,000 in legal fees, The Boston Globe reported last week.
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