Shannon O’Brien appealed her dismissal as chair of the Cannabis Control Commission to the Supreme Judicial Court, arguing that the facts of her situation “were not properly established and, even considering them as true, do not meet the increased grounds for dismissal. “.

Treasurer Deborah Goldberg licensed O’Brien, herself a former state treasurer and Democratic Party candidate for governor, pledged in September to appeal to the high court.

Goldberg said she decided to fire the CCC chair after carefully reviewing more than 20 hours of meetings held earlier this year as well as various documents, case law and policies. Goldberg said she fired O’Brien because she “engaged in serious misconduct and demonstrated that she was incapable of discharging the powers and duties of a CCC commissioner.”

Lawyers representing O’Brien in the state’s highest court say the case involves the removal of a commissioner of an independent state agency.

“We hope that the full bench will review this case and hear the serious due process and constitutional questions of the chair of an independent agency like the CCC and reinstate Chair O’Brien to her position,” William Gildea said. , one of his colleagues. lawyers.

In their new file, the lawyers developed:

“The case is about the failure to implement fundamental safeguards to prevent the abuse of political power to destroy the reputation and career of an honest public servant. But more than that, it is about the well-being of a organization that is not yet fully developed but is responsible for regulating a major new industry in this state.

The O’Brien saga, which began in the summer of 2023 and kicked off a period of turmoil and scandal within the CCC, is one of the factors that led state lawmakers to start thinking about possible reforms for the agency they created in 2017. The legal marijuana world has been frustrated by the CCC’s slow regulatory changes, and Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro pleaded with lawmakers in June to intervene by appointing a receiver to manage daily operations of the CCC at the “rudderless agency”.

O’Brien’s filing on Nov. 7 asks the SJC to reverse Goldberg’s dismissal order and agree to handle the case in full court or let it be reviewed by a single judge. Subsequently, O’Brien seeks to be reinstated as CCC chairman and to obtain “any other just and equitable relief”.