Just as the state’s cannabis commission seemed to be emerging from months of turmoil, the unexpected resignation of one of its members this week threw it back into uncertainty.

Commissioner Nurys Camargo announced Monday that she had “made the decision to complete my service and step down.” Her term had been set to end Sept. 1.

That means the five-member commission will soon be down to just three, because its chair was fired eight months ago and the seat remains vacant. All matters before the commission need three votes to pass, meaning any decision going forward would have to be unanimous.

Advocates for the $7 billion industry in the state were already criticizing the commission’s slow pace on hot-button issues like delivery regulations and licenses for social consumption of marijuana.

“I had borderline zero confidence, but at this point, even more so,” said Kyle Moon, owner of the Summit Lounge in Worcester and a proponent of social consumption regulations. “I think that the agency itself is troubled and I believe that the state needs to step in.”

It’s not clear why Camargo is leaving now. The commission has been embroiled in personnel issues and high-profile departures for several years. In her LinkedIn post, Camargo said while she was “deeply grateful for the opportunity,” her tenure had seen highs and lows.

“Some days were incredibly hard,” she wrote. “But every step was taken with purpose. Every policy, every vote, every meeting — I did it for the people who deserve access, dignity, and a voice.”

The commission did not make Camargo available for an interview.

Camargo has served on the commission since 2021, and was appointed to the seat designated for a commissioner with a background in legal, policy or social justice issues. Camargo previously served as AT&T’s director of external affairs in the region, and before that was a senior policy advisor in Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration.

Camargo once sought the cannabis commission’s top job, according to records from proceedings that led to the firing of Chair Shannon O’Brien. Camargo “campaigned for the Chair position and was deeply upset that she was not appointed,” O’Brien said in her testimony.

O’Brien was later terminated in part for racially insensitive remarks she made to Camargo, including for suggesting the commissioner “probably” knew State Sen. Lydia Edwards, a prominent Black politician and former city councilor. O’Brien said her words were taken out of context.

Now O’Brien and Camargo will both be gone from the commission.

“My colleagues and I will certainly miss Commissioner Camargo’s energy and passion for the work we do at the Commission, and we are sad to see her go,” acting Chair Bruce Stebbins said in a statement.

At a public meeting, Stebbins said Camargo’s last day would be May 23. He said despite the absences, “the important work of the Commission will continue.”

A spokesperson for state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said there was “no update” on the search for a new chair.

The last time the commission was down to three members, it was paralyzing. When Commissioner Ava Callendar Concepcion was on pregnancy leave last year, the remaining three members couldn’t agree on who should be acting chair.

The commission has a mountain of business before it, including finalizing regulations for social consumption of marijuana at places like “cannabis cafes” that have been delayed for years.

The agency also faces questions around its governance structure, highlighted by a report from the state inspector general where he declared the commission “a rudderless agency without a clear indication of who is responsible for running its day-to-day operations.”

Ryan Dominguez, executive director of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition trade group, said he hopes the governor, treasurer and attorney general work quickly to fill the two vacancies.

“We’ve gone too long with just a few commissioners, and it’s doing a disservice I think to the rest of the industry,” he said.