ST. PAUL (Valley News Live) – The Interim Director of Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced she is stepping down.

Governor Tim Walz thanked Charlene Briner for her role in “building from the ground up” the state’s new agency for developing operational and regulatory systems to launch and oversee the cannabis market.

“Charlene Briner has gotten Minnesota’s emerging cannabis industry off the ground in a safe and responsible way. It’s no easy task to build a regulatory framework around an entirely new industry from scratch, but under Charlene’s leadership, Minnesota laid the foundation for a successful marketplace for years to come,” said Governor Walz. 

Walz announced OCM General Counsel Eric Taubel will serve as interim director.

“I am excited to welcome Eric Taubel as the new interim director. Eric is a proven, effective leader who brings legal expertise and a deep understating of state government and regulatory affairs. He will ensure continued growth and success as we work to make Minnesota competitive in this new industry.”

During her time as interim director, Briner: establishing a new state office that now employs more than 100 staff; conducting an extensive rulemaking process to define regulations for the commercial cannabis industry, which will be finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2025; developing enhanced compliance and enforcement programs for the hemp-derived cannabinoid product market; facilitating submission and review of more than 1,800 business license applications, fostering industry growth and participation.

Taubel, who has served as OCM’s general counsel for the last year, has played a key role in the creation and implementation of the new office. He has overseen drafting of the detailed regulations that will serve as the framework for the regulated cannabis market and played a significant role in tribal compact negotiations.

Taubel developed the office’s legal strategy around enforcement and regulatory actions and led the office’s response to litigation. Taubel will assume the role as Interim Director of OCM after Briner’s last day on January 17, 2025.

OCM also regulates the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products at more than 4,500 retailers and the state’s medical cannabis program, which has been in place since 2014 and currently serves more than 50,000 patients statewide.

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