The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, tasked with overseeing the new marijuana industry, is looking to move to Worcester.
Shawn Collins, the new agency’s executive director, said they’re looking for roughly 13,000 square feet, with space to accommodate public meetings. They expect to issue a request for proposals for the office space.
The five-member commission also is planning to have a satellite office in metro Boston. Including the five commissioners, there are currently 13 people employed at the agency.
Collins said the commission aims to move into the new space in May 2019.
“I think this is a statewide agency and it’s important that we operate around the state, and we’re expected to be around the state,” Collins said. “And having a location in really the central part of the state will allow us to get to every corner of the commonwealth with relative ease. And also I think also there’s cost efficiencies with being out in central Massachusetts.”
Worcester is among the communities disproportionately affected by the federal government’s so-called war on drugs, and that was a “major factor in our thinking,” said Steve Hoffman, chairman of the commission.
The commission has currently been meeting in the offices of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission at 101 Federal Street in downtown Boston.
The Cannabis Control Commission, created through the 2016 law voters passed broadly legalizing marijuana, is aiming to have retail pot shops open this summer.
