Carrie Benedon, who mostly recently served as the director of the division for open government at the Attorney General’s Office, has been appointed as a commissioner at the state’s cannabis regulatory agency.
Filling a seat vacated by Nurys Camargo in May, Benedon will join the state’s Cannabis Control Commission after originally joining the AG’s office in 2012, according to a Friday press release from Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Gov. Maura Healey, and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, the three elected officials who jointly appointed Benedon.
Tasked with enforcing the state’s Open Meeting Law, Benedon oversaw the resolution of more than 2,000 complaints relating to the law, which aims to ensure public transparency in governmental decision making.
“I am confident that Carrie’s longstanding commitment to good governance, vast experience in advising state agencies, and demonstrated commitment to efficiency, social justice, and integrity will be integral in the Commission’s work to ensure fairness and transparency,” Campbell said in the Friday press release.
Benedon began her job with the division of open government in 2018, after joining the AG’s office in 2012 as an assistant attorney general with the Constitutional and Administrative Law Division. Her cannabis-related experience includes successfully representing the Department of Public Health in several cases challenging its medical marijuana registration and licensing authority, prior to the legalization of adult-use cannabis and the creation of CCC.
Over the last two years, the CCC has been beset by a toxic work culture, which has slowed its ability to develop and enforce regulations, and has led to multiple settlements with former employees.
Benedon is taking one of two seats on CCC appointed by a majority vote of the governor, attorney general, and treasurer, with Benedon filling the seat for an appointee who has a background in legal, policy, or social justice issues related to a regulated industry.
Benedon’s appointment comes as CCC works to finalize rules governing social consumption businesses, where customers would be able to consume cannabis similar to how alcohol is consumed at bars.
Her appointment comes about two months after the return of Shannon O’Brien as chair of CCC. O’Brien was reinstated to the agency in September, following a two-year saga where she was suspended and later fired by Goldberg, her appointing authority. A judge ruled O’Brien was wrongly removed, saying Goldberg did not have sufficient evidence to fire her for alleged misconduct.
The fight between Goldberg and O’Brien may not be over, as O’Brien is weighing a possible defamation suit against the treasurer, according to MASSterList.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
