The longtime DFL bureaucrat who Gov. Tim Walz tapped to help him appoint the state’s first-ever (and short-lived) cannabis “czar” has stepped down as the agency continues well into its second year without a permanent director.
Charlene Briner was first hired by Gov. Walz in summer 2023 to help lead the administrative launch of the newly created Office of Cannabis Management. At the time, Briner was a consultant for the Department of Agriculture and previously worked for the House DFL caucus as a communications specialist, the Department of Health as a deputy commissioner, and had once run for state legislature as a DFL-endorsed candidate.
One of Briner’s chief responsibilities for the Office of Cannabis Management was to field applications for its first director, just two months after Walz signed a marijuana legalization bill into law.
Ironically, it was Briner who ended up effectively serving in that role for the last 18 months as Walz has yet to officially hire a permanent director for an office that is tasked with overseeing the marijuana consumer landscape, expungements process for prior weed-related offenses and a budding sales industry that has yet to launch.
On Monday, Walz announced Briner’s decision to “step down” from her interim director post, but didn’t cite a reason. Neither did Briner.
“I want to thank Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan for the opportunity to serve in their administration in this unique role,” said Briner. “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. 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.”
Walz has named attorney Eric Taubel, who already serves as general counsel for the Office of Cannabis Management, as the agency’s new interim director.
“Eric is a proven, effective leader who brings legal expertise and a deep understating of state government and regulatory affairs,” Walz said. “He will ensure continued growth and success as we work to make Minnesota competitive in this new industry.” Taubel also served as general counsel for the Minnesota Department of Education under Walz.
First cannabis ‘czar’ resigned one day after Walz announced appointment
Briner herself ended up being named the department’s interim director in October 2023 after Walz’s appointment of Erin Dupree as the state’s first cannabis czar went belly-up less than 24 hours after it was announced.
While Briner was chiefly responsible for fielding and vetting applications for the position, among those who rose to the top of the applicant pool was Dupree. In September 2023, Walz circulated a press release announcing he had selected Dupree among a handful of finalists to serve as his OCM director, but just hours later, following a series of media reports highlighting inconsistencies in DuPree’s resume and qualifications, and detailing DuPree’s sale of illegal products at a hemp shop she owns in Apple Valley, DuPree resigned.
In the weeks and months that followed, Walz continued to lean on Briner to help “stand-up” the fledgling Office of Cannabis Management, and praised Briner’s administrative efforts. He did so again on Monday, even as the office has not yet rolled out a regulatory framework to begin commercial licensing for cannabis sales, and has faced criticism for its program to award “early access” licenses to applicants based on social equity considerations. The Walz Administration was also criticized in a report by the Office of the Legislative Auditor for not executing a careful enough background search on Dupree.
Despite all that, Walz praised Briner for her work in helping shepherd the agency.
“Charlene Briner has gotten Minnesota’s emerging cannabis industry off the ground in a safe and responsible way,” Walz said in a press statement on Monday. “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.”
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
