ST. PAUL, Minn. — Egg’s on the face of Governor Tim Walz. After fanfare in announcing Erin DuPree as the state’s first marijuana regulation czar, Walz has asked for her resignation. Both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio had unearthed that DuPree’s marijuana shop in Apple Valley had sold highly potent illegal hemp products. Also, it was reported, DuPree had has a series of tax liens and unpaid debts from previous businesses. Walz had appointed DuPree as director of the new state ffice of Cannabis Management to organize the regulation of legalized recreational marijuana. The appointment was a mistake – not “my finest hour,” Walz said. ““I own this one. We got this wrong.” Walz said that Charlene Briner, a senior Department of Agriculture official, will continue her interim leadership at the agency. About DuPree, Walz said he expects people in his administration to “follow the rules.”
Verbatim
DuPree: “I’ve become a distraction that would stand in the way of important work that needs to be done. I have never knowingly sold any noncompliant product, and when I became aware of them I removed the products from inventory. Conducting lawful business has been an objective of my business career. However, it has become clear that I have become a distraction.”