A year after his first pick resigned, Gov. Tim Walz hasn’t named a permanent cannabis director

It’s been one year since Gov. Tim Walz’s first pick to lead the state’s Office of Cannabis Management resigned abruptly amid questions about her past business dealings, but the governor has yet to name a new cannabis director or interview any candidates.

The Office of Cannabis Management is tasked with overseeing the rollout of Minnesota’s recreational marijuana market, which is expected to open next year. Walz’s first choice to lead the office, cannabis entrepreneur Erin DuPree, resigned one day after she was appointed in September 2023 amid reports she sold illegal products at her hemp store.

Charlene Briner, a state government veteran, has been leading the cannabis office on an interim basis for more than a year, and the work to set up the new industry is well under way. But Briner has indicated she doesn’t want the job long-term: “I am here for a little longer than anybody had planned,” Briner told the Star Tribune in November.

The governor’s office announced in January there would be a second national search for a cannabis director led by the state’s budget office. Minnesota Management and Budget screened 28 applicants as part of that search, a spokesman said, and seven moved to a second round of interviews conducted by Walz’s office.

Several months later, Walz hasn’t sat down with any candidates for interviews, according to his public schedules. Since early August, the DFL governor has been busy campaigning across the country as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

A spokeswoman for the governor told the Minnesota Star Tribune on Sept. 13 that “we have made a choice not to disrupt the work in progress by changing leadership at this time.”

“Under Charlene Briner’s leadership, the Office of Cannabis Management has made significant progress over the last year preparing for and implementing the launch of a cannabis marketplace in Minnesota,” Walz spokeswoman Claire Lancaster said in a statement. “This is a critical period of time for the office, and Charlene is best positioned to lead.”

In an interview Sept. 12, Briner didn’t have any update about the cannabis director search: “That’s a question for the governor’s office as the appointing authority,” she said.

In late August, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Walz’s second-in-command, had signaled that the search for a permanent director was ongoing.

“Right now, Charlene is doing an incredible job,” Flanagan said during an interview at the State Fair. “We are still in that process. But we want to make sure that we pick the right person.”

Briner said Wednesday that she understands the rationale for keeping current leadership in place. The Office of Cannabis Management is reviewing more than 1,800 applications from social equity applicants who are vying to be first in line for cannabis business licenses. The office will conduct a lottery by the end of the year to determine who wins the license pre-approvals, she said.

“I think we all understand that a change right now could be disruptive at a particularly critical time in our work to launch the market,” Briner said.

Kurtis Hanna, a longtime cannabis lobbyist in Minnesota, said he doesn’t understand why the state’s second search for a permanent director was seemingly left unfinished. Hanna, a public policy and government relations specialist for the cannabis consulting firm Blunt Strategies, said entrepreneurs seeking business licenses deserve stable leadership.

“I’m sure that they would prefer to have a leader that they know is going to be sticking around for years on end,” he said.

Jen Randolph Reise, a cannabis attorney with North Star Law Group in St. Paul, sees it differently. Reise said she’s surprised there still isn’t a permanent director, but thinks Briner and the cannabis office have done a good job laying the groundwork for the new industry.