Cannabis regulators in both Delaware and Minnesota announced their departures in the last few days, both at arguably inopportune times for their respective adult-use marijuana markets, which are yet to launch.
In Delaware, Office of Marijuana Commissioner Robert Coupe will step down as both the head of the agency and from government work altogether in favor of a private sector job at a construction firm, the office announced Friday in a press release.
Coupe, a career civil servant, was named to lead the OMC in July 2023 after the state legalized recreational marijuana. Prior to that, he served as chief of staff at the state Department of Technology and Information, chief of staff at the state Department of Justice, cabinet secretary at the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, commissioner of the state Department of Corrections, and as superintendent of the State Police.
It’s not clear when exactly Coupe’s last day on the job will be or who will succeed him in the role of cannabis commissioner. The recreational marijuana market in Delaware is slated to launch this spring.
In Minnesota, Interim Director Charlene Briner of the Office of Cannabis Management also announced her departure, effective Jan. 17. She will be succeeded by OCM General Counsel Eric Taubel, CBS reported. Taubel will be the third director of the OCM since the agency was created in 2023, when lawmakers legalized marijuana.
Briner was named to the job in January last year, after Gov. Tim Walz’s first choice – hemp entrepreneur Erin Dupree – when it came to light she’d been selling illegal cannabis goods.
Briner’s departure comes just a matter of days before the newly revamped state cannabis permitting process gets underway, first with social equity eligibility verification beginning Jan. 15, followed by the opening of the license application window in February. In a statement, Briner emphasized that her position was “always intended to be temporary,” CBS reported.
Minnesota’s full adult-use marijuana market is expected to launch sometime later this year, but exactly when is a moving target, partially due to delays in the business permitting process.
Both Delaware and Minnesota have long had small medical marijuana markets, but only recently embraced full legalization of cannabis.
[[{“value”:”Adult-use markets in both states are expected to launch later this year.
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