State lawmakers have scheduled a hearing later this month to kick start an effort to update the laws directing the embattled Cannabis Control Commission after more than a year of turbulence.

The Bay State’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy has scheduled an informational hearing for Wednesday, October 30, over “reconsideration” of the law which created both the state’s bustling marijuana industry and the CCC, responsible for the day-to-day business of regulating Massachusetts’ largest cash crop.

“The Committee will be inviting various Massachusetts cannabis industry stakeholders to testify. Of chief concern are the matters of responsibility for agency operations and proper channels of accountability within the agency structure,” the committee wrote in announcing the hearing.

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The agency regulating the marijuana industry is not “rudderless,” according to its acting chairwoman, and continues to work despite assertions that it needs a receiver in order to function.

“If you paid attention, we’re working. It’s always all hands on deck. We’re continuing to push policies,” Cannabis Control Commission Acting Chair Ava Callender Concepcion told the Herald in a one-on-one interview.

The legal marijuana industry in Massachusetts made $7 billion in sales last year, and $1 billion of that came back to the Bay State in the form of taxes and fees.

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The Cannabis Control Commission is broken by the law that established it and needs to be placed under the authority of a receiver by the end of July, the Bay State’s Inspector General told legislative leaders in a letter.

Pointing to numerous problems surrounding the ousted commission chair and challenges with the laws structuring the agency, Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro urged House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka to act before the end of this legislative session, after determining that “the agency’s statute lacks a clear leadership hierarchy with defined duties and responsibilities.”

“I believe the CCC needs immediate clear direction with an accountable hierarchy. In its present state, the CCC lacks such direction. I urge the Legislature to take short-term action by authorizing the appointment of a receiver before the completion of the current formal legislative session on July 31, and long-term action by revisiting the commission structure,” Shapiro wrote.

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