Shannon O’Brien appealed her termination from the Cannabis Control Commission to the state’s highest court Friday, arguing there were no basic safeguards to “prevent the abuse of political power” by Treasurer Deb Goldberg.

O’Brien was fired as chairwoman of the Cannabis Control Commision by Goldberg in September because of unspecified “gross misconduct” and after a series of day-long hearings over the summer where the two parties met face-to-face to decide O’Brien’s fate.

The former pot boss asked justices with the Supreme Judicial Court to force Goldberg to turn over “complete records” related to her firing and set a hearing date. Her attorneys said the case covers novel questions around the removal of a commissioner from an independent agency.

“The case involves the failure to implement basic safeguards to prevent the abuse of political power to destroy the reputation and career of an honest public servant,” the lawyers said. “More than that, however, it involves the welfare of an organization which is not yet fully developed but is responsible for regulating a major new industry in this state.”

Goldberg’s office referred questions to Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office, where spokesperson Sabrina Zafar declined to comment.

O’Brien was first appointed to the Cannabis Control Commission’s top post in 2022 but was suspended in 2023 after allegations surfaced that O’Brien made racially insensitive remarks and that she mistreated Shawn Collins, the former executive director of the commission and a Goldberg employee.

O’Brien has denied the allegations and in her appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court, her lawyers argued that Goldberg relied on a series of anonymous witnesses to prosecute the case against her.

“Other ‘anonymous’ witnesses emerged from the shadows to make accusations against Petitioner to Attorney (Kimberly) Jones,” O’Brien’s lawyers wrote in a court filing, referring to the attorney the commission hired to investigate human resource complaints against the former pot boss.

The attorneys for O’Brien also said that Goldberg did not find O’Brien “credible or believe her evidence” during the closed door hearings.

“Critically, (Goldberg) ignored the investigators’ testimony that there was no finding of intent behind (O’Brien’s) conduct,” the court filing said.