Judge denies Goldberg bid to keep O’Brien off the job at Cannabis Commission

Cannabis Commission Chair Shannon O Brien can return to her job running the state s legal marijuana industry an Appeals Court judge has ruled A single judge of the appeals court ruled late on Wednesday that State Treasurer Deb Goldberg s appeal of O Brien s court-ordered return to work was unlikely to succeed and therefore there was little reason for the chair to remain off the job After careful review of the papers submitted including the judge s comprehensive memorandum of decision and order the defendant has not demonstrated as she must a likelihood of success on appeal Accordingly the motion for a stay is denied the appeals court ruled Goldberg removed O Brien from her post in amid accusations of impropriety and then officially fired her a year later after an internal probe Earlier this month a Suffolk Superior Court Judge ruled that Goldberg s decision was built on a house of cards and must be reversed directly The Treasurer who had appointed O Brien in the first place has appealed the lower court s decision and required for the chair to be kept out of the office until the court process plays out Now that the stay is not blocking her return O Brien was on her way to Worcester on Thursday morning to meet with CCC Executive Director Travis Ahern her spokesperson stated the Herald It would be better if the Treasurer dropped the entire appeal and let the CCC get back to work they stated Treasurer Goldberg should stop her wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars in a continued attempt to smear Shannon O Brien s excellent reputation The Treasurer has spent over million on private lawyers and now is spending valuable tools from the state attorney general s office in prolonging this appeal It s time for Treasurer Goldberg to stop her fleecing of taxpayer dollars they notified the Herald This is a growing story and it will be updated