Minnesota Agencies

The Office of Cannabis Management is established to develop, maintain, and enforce an organized system of regulation for the cannabis industry and hemp consumer industry in Minnesota. The office must promote the public health and welfare; protect public safety; eliminate the illicit market for cannabis flower and cannabis products; meet the market demand for cannabis flower and cannabis products; promote a craft industry for cannabis flower and cannabis products; and prioritize growth and recovery in communities that have experienced a disproportionate, negative impact from cannabis prohibition. Additional duties are described in law at Minn. Stat. 342.02. Reporting requirements for the office are outlined in Minn. Stat. 342.04.

Minnesota legalized marijuana for adult recreational use in 2023. More details about the history of this and related legislation are found in the Legislative Reference Library's Minnesota Issues Resource Guide: Cannabis. 

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is assisting with setting up the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and has contracted with Charlene Briner, who is overseeing that work.

Medical cannabis was legalized in Minnesota in 2014. Since then, that program has been overseen by the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Medical Cannabis. The duties of that office will be transferred to the Office of Cannabis Management's Division of Medical Cannabis on March 1, 2025.

The legislation that legalized cannabis for adult recreational use in 2023 also established many grant programs. The OCM, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, is responsible for awarding CanGrow grants, which are available to eligible organizations to help farmers navigate the regulatory structure of the legal cannabis industry, and to nonprofit corporations to fund loans to farmers for expansion into the legal cannabis industry (see Laws of Minnesota 2023, chapter 63, article 1, section 71).

Job applications for the Director of the OCM were accepted through July 31, 2023, with the expectation that a final candidate would be named in early fall. Gov. Walz appointed Erin DuPree as Director of OCM on September 21, 2023, but she stepped aside the next day amid reports in the Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio that she "sold illegal products at her hemp shop."

The governor shall appoint a director of the office with the advice and consent of the senate. The director must be in the unclassified service and must serve at the pleasure of the governor. The director may appoint and employ no more than two deputy directors. The director has administrative control of the office. The director has the powers described in Minn. Stat. 15.06, subdivision 6. 

Directors*:

• Charlene Briner, interim director (June 2023-January 2025)
• Eric Taubel, interim director (January 2025-August 2025), director (August 2025 - )

* Gov. Walz appointed Erin DuPree as Director of OCM on September 21, 2023, but she stepped aside the next day amid reports in the Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio that she "sold illegal products at her hemp shop."