The CCC has been facing leadership and staff turmoil for the past year.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission named David Lakeman, a former commission staffer who’s been working as a cannabis regulator in Illinois the past four years, to be its new executive director during a meeting on Monday, after a months-long search that kicked off in May.
Lakeman will take over for Shawn Collins, who left the post about a year ago amid a controversial shakeup that reached up to then-Commission Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien. The commission has been facing staff tumult since then, with high-level departures and the recent firing of O’Brien. The commission has been so wracked with turmoil that the state inspector general in June recommended that lawmakers appoint a receiver to take the reins.
Debbie Hinton-Creek, the commission’s chief people officer, has been running things as acting executive director since Collins left, the Boston Business Journal reported.
But now, the commission is looking to begin a new chapter with Lakeman, whose appointment has yet to be fully finalized, pending a background check and some other details, the Journal reported. It’s not clear when Lakeman’s first day on the job will be.
Lakeman has been the Cannabis Division Manager at the Illinois State Department of Agriculture since September 2020, and prior to that he served as director of government affairs for the Massachusetts CCC from 2018 to 2020.
Lakeman was selected by three of the five commissioners, the Journal noted. Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion is on medical leave, and state Treasurer Deb Goldberg has yet to appoint a fifth member to replace the now-fired O’Brien.
Lakeman beat out CCC Director of Government Affairs and Policy Matt Giancola, Cityblock Health Senior Director Marty Golightly, and Holliston Town Administrator Travis Ahern to win the executive director job, the Journal reported.
