
Rick Zahnleuter, the chief attorney for the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), abruptly left his post, right in the middle of the state agency's rollout of regulations and guidance to the emerging marijuana market.
Zahnleuter retired from the New York Department of Health in 2020—where he served as general counsel and led the department's legal affairs division. Following OCM's inception in October 2021, he was named OCM General Counsel.