“Erin was the clear frontrunner when we considered many qualified candidates for this new and important leadership role.”
By Christopher Ingraham of Minnesota Reformer
Gov. Tim Walz, (D), has appointed Erin DuPree as the leader of the new state agency that will regulate the marijuana industry. DuPree is a cannabis industry expert who ran a edible dispensary until recently in Apple Valley.
Erin DuPree, who has over 20 years of experience launching, managing and growing organizations and businesses, is an excellent choice to lead the Office of Cannabis Management, said Walz , in a release announcing her appointment.
DuPree told reporters in a conference call that, because she has a background in the business world (as opposed government), she doesn’t have any baggage to bring to her new position. She also said she is “ready to work” with anyone.
She said that her consulting speciality has been to assist startups in Minnesota and states that have legalized marijuana, which will she believes translate well into the work of getting this new industry off the ground.
Our economy will benefit from legalizing cannabis for adult use.
Erin’s experience in Minnesota’s cannabis and hemp industry, as well as her 20+ years of successful business launch and growth, make her the ideal candidate to lead the Office of Cannabis Management.
Governor Tim Walz 21 September 2023
“Erin emerged as an early frontrunner as we considered many qualified individuals for this new and important leadership role,” said Charlene Britner, who headed the search for the next pot czar in her capacity as interim director of Office of Cannabis Management.
DuPree, in a posting, wrote that cannabis helped her “regulate my pain, reduce inflammation and help me get back the sleep my auto-immune diseases was stealing”. She also founded and managed the Loonacy hemp product dispensary, located in Apple Valley.
DuPree stated that her first priority would be to hire the 150 new positions required by the agency. The office has already received 250 applications to fill seven key management positions that were announced last week.
She told reporters that she is confident that the agency can approve the first adult-use dispensaries in 2025. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” she said, citing the experience gained by other states.
October 1 will mark her first day in the position.
The Minnesota Reformer published this story first.
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The article Minnesota Governor Taps Marijuana Expert To Lead Office Of Cannabis Management first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
