A former state revenue commissioner will be Massachusetts’ new chief cannabis regulator, leading a rebooted panel alongside two other new faces.
Under a new law last month, Gov. Maura Healey and state lawmakers overhauled and downsized the Cannabis Control Commission following years of turmoil and regulatory delays.
Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday tapped Christopher Harding, who led the state Department of Revenue under former Gov. Charlie Baker, as the CCC’s next chair.
The governor did not opt to reappoint any of the four CCC members who have been serving on the panel — Chair Shannon O’Brien and commissioners Bruce Stebbins, Carrie Benedon and Kimberly Roy.
“Given everything that’s gone on, I think it’s important to have a fresh start, fresh look at things,” Healey told reporters after an unrelated State House event.
O’Brien, a former state treasurer and the 2002 Democratic nominee for governor, had a tumultuous tenure atop the CCC. Treasurer Deb Goldberg removed her from the agency in September 2024, citing alleged inappropriate behavior.
After a lengthy legal battle, a judge ordered O’Brien to be reinstated last September, returning her to the helm for only about eight months before the new law disbanded the CCC.
New chief cannabis regulator Harding will be joined by Xiomara DeLobato, vice president of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, and attorney Anthony Wilson.
Healey’s three appointments start a new era for cannabis regulation in Massachusetts.
The Cannabis Control Commission first took shape in 2017, almost a year after Massachusetts voters approved a ballot question legalizing, regulating and taxing recreational marijuana.
For the last nearly nine years, the commission has consisted of five members, appointed by the governor, the attorney general and treasurer.
But in the wake of headline-grabbing personnel drama and chaos that frustrated some businesses and consumers, Beacon Hill approved a new law reshaping the CCC.
The legislation shrank the CCC from five members to three and made Healey the sole appointing authority. Healey signed the bill on April 19. Her signature dissolved the CCC as it then existed and started the clock on a monthlong window for her to appoint new commissioners.
The governor said in a statement Tuesday that her appointees “bring strong leadership and management experience” and she’s “confident they will help move the Commission and industry forward.”
Harding, the new chair, most recently served as chief of staff and undersecretary in Healey’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services. As revenue commissioner, he was a founding member of the state’s Cannabis Advisory Board.
In a statement, Harding said he looks forward to “strengthening transparency, supporting a safe and equitable cannabis marketplace, and working collaboratively with patients, communities, industry stakeholders, and public officials to ensure the Commission operates with integrity, stability, and public trust.”
The law requires one commissioner to have experience in social justice, and Healey picked DeLobato for that seat. Before joining the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, DeLobato worked in higher education, including a stint as the associate director of diversity recruitment and enrollment at UMass Amherst, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Wilson, the third new appointee, has worked as city clerk in both Springfield and Cambridge. Healey’s office said he has experience working with cannabis businesses, local governments and budding entrepreneurs.
In recent months, O’Brien and Roy had been working on a red-tape reduction effort designed to help businesses across the cannabis industry. The industry has become a significant piece of the state’s economy, with $1.65 billion in gross sales in 2025 and about 20,000 workers employed.
The CCC’s staff has continued working during the transition period. The agency is hosting an equity-focused virtual cannabis career fair on Wednesday.
