The former executive director of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has joined one of the marijuana companies she was previously tasked with regulating.
Joy Strand served as head of the 16-member regulatory board for almost two years before resigning effective Oct. 1, 2019, after spending almost two months on medical leave. William Tilburg, policy and government affairs director at the commission, was named as acting executive director and last month he landed the top job on a permanent basis.
Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has been hired on as a “senior advisor and consultant” for Green Leaf Medical, a New Jersey company that is looking to open a 50,000 square foot cannabis production facility and dispensary in Gloucester City’s Southport waterfront area.
The announcement surprised some who remember Nutter’s initially vehement resistance to a marijuana decriminalization measure that he eventually wound up signing into law. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the measure resulted in a 60 percent drop in marijuana possession arrests.
Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is joining the ranks of politicians remaking themselves as marijuana pitchmen.
Nutter told NJ.com late last week that he had signed on to handle community relations for Green Leaf Medical New Jersey. The multistate operator, which is headquartered in Maryland, also has operations in Pennsylvania under the gLeaf brand. Nutter was named senior adviser and consultant for the company.