After failing to publicly disclose the chairwoman’s prior involvement in a large out of doors marijuana rising operation, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission has decided their boss is not doing enterprise within the trade she regulates.
“Can you unequivocally state that Ms. O’Brien owns no ownership stake in Greenfield Greenery?” Commissioner Kimberly Roy requested fee workers throughout their Thursday assembly.
In late September, the Herald reported that Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien, previously the state treasurer, was listed on an utility filed in 2020 by Greenfield Greenery LLC, as an “Owner/Partner” in a proposal to open an out of doors rising operation occupying upwards of 100,000 sq. ft.
A second utility, by Charlemont FarmWorks LLC, listed O’Brien underneath a bit titled “Our Team” as an adviser, noting her function as the previous state treasurer and as a former state senator. She additionally ran for governor in 2002, shedding to Mitt Romney.
O’Brien, in an announcement then, informed the Herald her function with the corporate had been eradicated and that she not had something to do with the enterprise, although a change of possession type had not been processed by the fee.
“I provided consulting services to two outdoor cultivation farms in Western MA to help them obtain their HCA and provisional license. I ended work on their behalf in or about September of 2021. For about a year, I was co-owner and CEO of Greenfield Greenery LLC. In December, I gave up all equity, ownership and control of Greenfield Greenery and signed an attestation confirming this fact,” O’Brien mentioned in an announcement to the Herald Tuesday.
“I disclosed this work when I applied for this position. Further, I spoke with the Ethics Commission and was told that because I do not have any ownership or control of these licenses and retain no ability to gain benefits from this licensee, there is no actual conflict of interest. However out of an abundance of caution, I have determined that I will recuse myself from any deliberations regarding these companies,” she mentioned.
The remaining names on license, Angie and Randy Facey, informed the Herald they’d not had dealings with O’Brien for greater than a yr.
Still, that affiliation, and revelation the general public had not been knowledgeable of her shut affiliation with an trade ostensibly geared towards fairness in licensing, prompted regulators to halt Greenfield’s utility for a ultimate license in October pending an investigation.
On Thursday, the fee accepted the change of possession and gave Greenfield unanimous consent for a full license. O’Brien, as promised, recused herself from these proceedings.
She’s paid $181,722 yearly to guide the CCC.
“Shannon O’Brien, in her personal capacity, does not have an ownership stake over this license any longer,” investigations workers reported to regulators.
According to the fee’s web site, its mission is “to honor the will of the voters of Massachusetts by safely, equitably and effectively implementing and administering the laws enabling access to medical and adult-use marijuana in the Commonwealth.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”
