Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro has urged the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) to perform an audit after the agency failed to collect approximately $550,000 in licensing fees since August 2022. In a letter addressed to Travis Ahern, the new executive director, and Bruce Stebbins, the acting commission chair, Shapiro labeled this failure an “egregious operational breakdown” indicative of “poor business practices and oversight.”
In August 2024, the CCC publicly acknowledged its failure to collect $555,671 in license renewal extension fees. The commission had begun allowing license extensions of up to 120 days starting in August 2022, instructing staff to collect prorated fees for these extensions, which did not occur. Additionally, Shapiro pointed out that staff had been granting extensions before the commission’s official vote in August 2022, without proper authority.
Shapiro emphasized in a press release that the CCC’s inability to implement a crucial commission initiative should have been clear to supervisors and commissioners at the time. Following the outcry over the uncollected fees, the CCC has made efforts to rectify its mistakes by recovering previously uncollected fees and updating its payment systems. As of this week, Ahern reported that only $170,000 of the original $550,000 remains uncollected.
Despite these corrective measures, Shapiro insisted that an audit is necessary to confirm that all current licensees have paid the required fees and to understand the revenue that went uncollected, particularly as some businesses have ceased operations. Ahern mentioned that the CCC is actively collaborating with the Inspector General’s office to address the issues raised and will provide a more detailed response within 30 days.
In light of the situation, Commissioner Kimberly Roy called for a “forensic audit” of the CCC. This type of audit typically scrutinizes an organization’s financial records for fraud and irregularities, and Roy suggested that it could help modernize the commission.
Shapiro also highlighted that the CCC had failed to collect up to $1.2 million in potential provisional licensing fees. These fees are supposed to be paid within 90 days of initial approval, but no provisional licensee can proceed in the licensing process or operate without paying them. Ahern remarked that the issue of uncollected provisional application fees could be misinterpreted, noting that such fees are only due if applicants choose to advance to final licensure.
Kevin Gilnack, president of the cannabis advocacy group Equitable Opportunities Now, expressed skepticism about the $1.2 million figure, suggesting it sounded exaggerated and asserting that “no harm was caused by not enforcing it.” He reiterated that no one can move forward without paying the provisional fee, indicating that the CCC was not losing out on any fees.
Last summer, Shapiro had previously called for the Legislature to appoint a receiver to restructure the CCC, aiming to clarify the leadership roles of the executive director and commission chair. This followed the suspension and later firing of the commission’s former chair, Shannon O’Brien, by Treasurer Deb Goldberg.
