Minnesota’s top cannabis regulator Charlene Briner stepping down

Minnesota’s top cannabis regulator is stepping down after leading the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) since its inception in 2023, Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday in a news release.

Interim OCM Director Charlene Briner, a state government veteran who served previous stints as deputy commissioner at the Departments of Education and Human Services, will be replaced as the agency’s interim leader by OCM general counsel Eric Taubel, Walz said.

The move comes just weeks after the OCM abandoned its first lottery for people seeking cannabis business licenses — a key step toward opening the state’s recreational marijuana market — after a Ramsey County judge delayed it amid a slew of lawsuits filed by social equity applicants who said they were unfairly denied entrance.

The OCM announced in December that it would instead proceed with new lotteries for social equity and regular licenses later this spring. Social equity licenses are intended to help people negatively affected by cannabis prohibition, veterans and those living in high-poverty areas compete with better-funded entrepreneurs to enter the market.

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Walz praised Briner’s efforts to build a new agency tasked with launching and regulating a new legal cannabis market in Minnesota. The OCM also oversees the state’s medical marijuana program and hemp-derived cannabinoid market.

“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,” Walz said.

The Department of Agriculture initially contracted Briner to help set up the fledgling cannabis agency after the Legislature legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2023. After Walz’s first pick for permanent OCM director, Erin DuPree, resigned one day after being named in September 2023 amid reports her hemp shop was selling illegal products, Briner agreed to stay on in the top role on a contract basis. Walz formally appointed Briner as interim director in January 2024, as he announced a new search for a permanent leader. As of late September, Walz had not interviewed any new candidates for the role.

“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 statement.

Briner said last month that she expects the state’s recreational marijuana market to launch in 2025.

Taubel, who joined the OCM in early 2024, has played a central role in drafting rules that will govern the market. He has also helped negotiate compacts with several of Minnesota’s tribal nations that, when finalized, could allow them to supply cannabis products to state-licensed businesses or at tribal dispensaries outside of reservations.

Leili Fatehi, a lobbyist and principal with the Minneapolis-based consulting firm Blunt Strategies, said she doesn’t expect the OCM’s leadership change to further delay the rollout of Minnesota’s marijuana market.

“[Taubel] is someone with a considerable knowledge and background of government agency work,” Fatehi said. “At this point he should have a pretty fluent understanding of the landscape here in Minnesota.”

Briner’s last day will be Jan. 17.

Ryan Faircloth of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.