The day I interviewed Gov. Tim Walz last month, I was also scheduled to speak with Eric Taubel, then the interim head of Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management.
When I mentioned this to Walz, the governor stopped short of saying that he would name Taubel the office’s permanent head. But he effusively praised the temporary executive director for turning around what, by the governor’s own admission, has been a “rocky” marijuana legalization process.
“I think he’s done a fantastic job,” Walz said.
On Wednesday, Walz announced that Taubel, interim director of the cannabis office since January, has got the permanent job. (Before the interim gig, Taubel served as the office’s general counsel.)
The governor said in a statement that “over the past eight months” Taubel “has ensured that the priorities that drove cannabis legalization in Minnesota are reflected in Minnesota’s emerging market.”
What are those priorities?
Well, the state has given first dibs to its 11 tribal nations to open dispensaries and grow centers on tribal land. And in May, Walz announced an agreement with the White Earth Nation to open dispensaries off of tribal territory in St. Cloud and Moorhead.
But non-tribally owned dispensaries have so far moved in fits and starts.
Thirteen Minnesota cities are in the exploratory stage of publicly-owned pot shops.
And last month, the Office of Cannabis Management granted final approval for five such businesses. But as my colleague Brian Arola reported, the Albert Lea City Council somewhat shockingly denied a business registration license to The Smoking Tree, one of the five state-approved shops.
Albert Lea’s decision suggests that even if the state greenlights a new retailer, local governments might have more leeway than we thought to reject such shops.
Taubel has insisted that the state is doing what it can to move faster on licensing. In our interview, he predicted the state would grant final license status to “100-150” cannabis retailers by the end of the calendar year.
Taubel added that if business applicants cannot navigate the current regulatory process, the blame lies with them. “We’ve transitioned to the point where the onus is on the applicant and a prospective business owner,” Taubel said.
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