As they explore ways to either shore up or restructure the Cannabis Control Commission, lawmakers heard Wednesday from outsiders who suggested that the Legislature first be clear about its goals for the agency and then allow the best governing structure to emerge from there.
Frustration with the slow pace of regulatory changes from the CCC, a series of headline-grabbing internal conflicts, and a plea from the inspector general for the Legislature to intervene at the "rudderless agency" and revisit its "unclear and self-contradictory" 2017 enabling statute combined this summer to compel the Cannabis Policy Committee to start considering a response plan.
Practically every person who testified before the committee Wednesday made a point to emphasize that they don't view the Legislature's rethinking of the regulatory structure for cannabis as an admission of failure or something out of the ordinary, particularly given the fast-moving cannabis industry and the lack of federal government involvement.
The committee heard a litany of complaints about the business and regulatory environments for marijuana companies during a hearing in October and on Wednesday turned to administrative law experts, cannabis sector consultants, a former regulator from Maine, and a Canadian public health professor to continue mulling the right approach to a situation at the CCC that numerous lawmakers have called a "trainwreck." House chair Rep. Daniel Donahue has said he "foresees a legislative path forward."
Read more at NBC Boston