Remember this is all on the back of can we have 30 million big ones to make things work please
As the Bay State cannabis market expands, the state’s regulatory commission is asking for its budget to increase by about a third — without which its executive director says “the commission’s ability to effectively regulate the industry will be jeopardized.”
The Cannabis Control Commission is asking lawmakers to fund its work at $30.8 million in fiscal year 2026. This year, between overseeing both medical marijuana and recreational sales, the commission operated under a $19.8 million budget. The commission had requested a $25 million budget last year, including $1.5 million for public education funding that wasn’t granted.
“Though the commission has historically categorized much of its funding requests as ‘expansionary,’ the reality is that these funds are necessary to implement legislative requirements and maintain the safety of the industry,” CCC Executive Director Travis Ahern told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means at a budget hearing on Monday morning in Gloucester. Ahern started in the role leading the agency last Monday.
The cannabis market in Massachusetts has expanded significantly. Since fiscal year 2023, operational licensees have increased by 25%, while CCC funding has increased by 3%, commission Chair Bruce Stebbins said.
The CCC’s funding plea comes as the agency is under a microscope of heightened scrutiny from the Legislature, inspector general, and the treasurer’s office, which has oversight of the agency.
Following a series of issues, Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro pleaded with lawmakers last fall to intervene by appointing a receiver to manage day-to-day operations at the “rudderless agency.” House Speaker Ron Mariano recently signaled that legislative action targeting the CCC may be at the top of his list this session.
“Ongoing underinvestment has led to operational shortfalls, including delays in compliance inspections, public education campaigns, equity programs, and critical upgrades in product testing, jeopardizing consumer safety, public trust and integrity of the regulated market,” Stebbins said.
Testing between January and February 2025 showed yeast and mold contamination in cannabis products and inconsistency in potency, prompting administrative action, Ahern told lawmakers. The commission is seeking funds for a state-run standards lab to serve as an industry-wide reference point for lab testing methods.
The state currently contracts with 12 independent testing laboratories, with general guidance about how they should conduct their testing.
At a legislative hearing last fall, Megan Dobro, founder and CEO of SafeTiva Labs, said it’s largely up to each lab to have its own “scientific background and integrity.”
“When there’s variability in the results, the producers are shopping for labs that are going to give them results that allow them to sell their products for more. So they’re shopping based on THC numbers being high. They’re shopping based on safety checks passing,” Dobro said. “And so that means … the labs that are passing the most and the labs that have the highest THC are getting the most business. And so we are selecting out the labs that are trying to do things the right way.”
CCC Commissioner Kimberly Roy said the agency has been getting whistleblower complaints about some labs, and a state-run facility would allow them to have more direct oversight of the cannabis sold in Massachusetts.
“We need to be able to independently verify on our own — the commission needs to be able to say, this potency is accurate. We need to say they’re passing yeast and mold [inspections], or heavy metals, micro toxins. We need to be able to confirm that,” Roy said.
The state-run standards lab would also determine any necessary product recalls, Ahern said.
“Testing is what sets us apart from the illicit market. And we don’t want folks to go to the illicit market and buy fentanyl-laced cannabis. We want to make sure a cancer patient knows that they have the right potency and there is no mold in their products,” Roy said, “And so I may sound a little emotional, but it’s really near and dear to my heart.”
The commission’s $30 million request includes the restoration of $4.8 million of what Ahern categorized as “deferred costs from previous fiscal years.”
These costs include IT investments, such as the CCC’s patient portal and licensing system upgrades, as well as unfunded staff positions, public education campaigns, technical assistance programs and Social Equity Program training.
The agency is implementing regulations stemming from a 2022 law that seeks to increase diversity in the field, ramp up oversight on agreements between marijuana businesses and municipalities, and move closer to social consumption sites.
To do all that, Ahern said Monday, they need more people. The commission is looking to hire more investigators, licensing specialists and attorneys to handle the increased caseload that comes with the new regulations, he said.
“Without an increase in funding for salaries, the commission will need to look at reducing staff resulting in delays in licensing and inspections, slower responses on enforcement actions, and could result in significant challenges for the industry,” he said.
