First person appointed to Massachusetts cannabis reg board was anti-legalization

By Bob Salsberg, The Associated Press

BOSTON — A Democratic state senator who opposed the ballot question that legalized recreational marijuana was named Wednesday by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to the regulatory board that will oversee the cannabis industry in Massachusetts.

Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, of Leominster, is the first appointee to the five-member Cannabis Control Commission. She will serve as an associate commissioner beginning on Sept. 1 after resigning from her Senate seat at the end of the month.

The governor, in a statement, touted Flanagan’s experience in the Legislature on issues involving substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery as invaluable to the state’s goal of “effective, responsible and safe implementation of the adult use of marijuana.”

Flanagan played a key role in crafting a 2016 state law that offered several new approaches to stemming the deadly opioid addiction crisis. She opposed the marijuana initiative on the November ballot, citing concerns over unknown or…