The interim director of Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) indicated last week that state regulators anticipate launching the industry in 2025, the Star Tribune reports. However, Charlene Briner said the agency is still seeking a permanent director after its initial director, Erin DuPree, resigned one day after she was appointed due to allegations that her hemp business sold products that exceeded allowable THC levels, owned money to former associates, and had tens of thousands of dollars in tax liens.
Briner indicated that she is going to remain as interim director “at least through mid-February” and that “there’s a lot of work happening behind the scenes” to keep the state on track “for a successful launch in 2025.” Briner’s contract with the state ends February 15, the report says.
Briner added that the state could begin accepting cannabis industry license applications by the fourth quarter of next year but described the overall timeline as “ambitious.”
Briner said that she hopes to make nine key administrative hires in the next few weeks and have them start by the end of the year or early January and that about 24 state employees have been reassigned from various agencies to help with the OCM’s rule-making and operations.
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