the interim director of Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced Monday that she is stepping down.

Briner assumed the lead position in the office in June 2023, days after Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation making Minnesota the 23rd state in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis.

Briner previously served as deputy commissioner in Minnesota’s Department of Education and in the state’s Department of Human Services. She was also an adviser at the state’s House of Representatives, among other advisory and consultancy positions in the public, political and nonprofit sectors.

When Walz tapped Briner, he charged her with establishing the OCM by employing more than 100 qualified staff members while he searched for a director.

However, Briner’s position in the OCM became more permanent when Walz appointed Erin DuPree in September 2023 to be the office’s director only to backtrack on that nomination a day later following media reports that DuPree’s hemp shop, Loonacy Cannabis Co., sold multiple cannabis products that were illegal under state law.

Amid that hiccup, Walz said, “I own this one; we’ll get the right person in there.”

More than 15 months later, Walz has yet to appoint an OCM director, and now Briner is set to exit her interim role on Jan. 17.

“I am incredibly proud of the team we’ve built and the milestones met in our ongoing work to stand up this new office and implement Minnesota’s cannabis law,” Briner said in a public statement from the governor’s office. “I am confident the talented public servants continuing their important work will do so in a way that exemplifies OCM’s commitment to launch a safe, accessible, and equitable cannabis industry.”

Despite the OCM scrapping a preapproval license lottery last month for 648 social equity applicants due to a lawsuit from unsuccessful applicants resulting in a district court judge’s stay order, the office is moving forward with a revised licensing cycle, including mid-2025 lotteries that still incorporate social equity awards.

In addition to establishing the office and a state licensing process, Briner also oversaw an extensive rulemaking process to define regulations for the state’s forthcoming adult-use market, which are expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2025. She also spearheaded enhanced compliance and enforcement programs for the hemp-derived cannabinoid product market.

“Charlene Briner has gotten Minnesota’s emerging cannabis industry off the ground in a safe and responsible way,” Walz said in a public statement from the governor’s office. “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.”

Although Briner has helped lay the groundwork in the 19 months since Walz signed the state’s 320-page legalization bill, she was hesitant to provide a specific date for when adult-use sales would commence during an interview last month with Fox 9. However, she did say she was “optimistic” that the retail market would commence before the end of 2025.

If Minnesota launches sales in the second half of 2025, that pushes its timeframe in the window of 763 days to 946 days from Walz’s signing—the third-longest adult-use rollout nationwide.

Defending the OCM’s process, Briner said that Minnesota’s approach is unique in that the legislative intent was to create a smaller craft market that is not dependent upon larger operators.

“When people think about the pace, they should remember that, unlike other states, we didn’t flip the switch to just turn on the medical market to serve adult use,” she told Fox 9. “We’re building this industry from the ground up.”

It was in that same interview that Briner said she didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a cannabis regulator.

With her upcoming departure from the OCM on Jan. 17, Walz announced on Monday that Eric Taubel, the office’s general counsel for the past year, will serve as the new interim director.

Taubel helped steer the OCM’s draft regulations and played a significant role in tribal compact negotiations, according to the governor’s office. Although the OCM has yet to license players for the state’s adult-use market, Minnesotans have had access to cannabis via a handful of dispensaries on tribal lands, including the Prairie Island Indian Company, Red Lake Nation and White Earth Nation.

Before joining the OCM, Taubel was general counsel for the Minnesota Department of Education and was an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the Minnesota Department of Commerce. He previously worked in a private practice.

“I am excited to welcome Eric Taubel as the new interim director,” Walz said. “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.”