Massachusetts’ Top Cannabis Commissioner Resigns

Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steve Hoffman resigned from his position last week, the Boston Globe reports. The move comes just months before his term was set to officially end in August. He was the last of the five original commissioners who kicked off the program in 2017.

The now ex-chair did not give a specific reason for his resignation but said in a statement to the Globe it was “a natural inflection point when the time is right for a transition in leadership.”

“Throughout the past four-and-a-half years, the work of the commission has been sometimes challenging, often exhausting, but always gratifying. The commission now consists of recently appointed members, and it is appropriate that they pursue their own vision and take on the next generation of challenges.” – Hoffman, in a statement, via the Globe

Hoffman added that he would continue to “root” for the program and encouraged the Legislature to take up reforms to set up a cannabis tax-driven social equity fund that would include forgivable and low-interest loans, which was approved by the Senate last month. The measure, which is awaiting approval in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, would permit towns and cities to vote on allowing on-site cannabis consumption and includes an amendment to set up a drugged driving commission to look into developing technology and reliable methods to test drivers for cannabis impairment.