Overview
- Gov. Maura Healey named Christopher Harding as chair and appointed Xiomara DeLobato and Anthony Wilson to lead the restructured Cannabis Control Commission.
- The shake-up leaves former chair Shannon O’Brien and commissioners Bruce Stebbins, Carrie Benedon, and Kimberly Roy off the panel.
- A reform law signed in April cut the commission from five to three seats, gave the governor sole appointment power, and set a required social-justice seat that DeLobato now fills.
- The new regulators must run a 140-person agency, guide the launch of cannabis cafes approved last year, and manage a freeze on new cultivation licenses that begins in June.
- They take over as prices fall, businesses close, and equity entrepreneurs struggle, with the $1.65 billion industry facing a November ballot question that seeks to end recreational sales.