MJBizMag November-December 2022 - 124

INDUSTRY PLAYERS New Hires & Promotions by Omar Sacirbey
FDA Hires Cannabis Regulator for Senior Advisory Post
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hired a former cannabis regulator
for New York and Rhode Island as a senior public health adviser.
Norman Birenbaum began his cannabis career in 2016, when he became
implementation director for policies and programs in Rhode Island's Office
of Cannabis Regulation.
Birenbaum left his post in Rhode Island after four years to become the
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THE E
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first director of cannabis programs for New York state. In that role, he oversaw
the administration, regulation and policy development of the state's
medical marijuana and industrial hemp programs.
After New York passed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act,
Norman Birenbaum
Birenbaum coordinated adult-use MJ implementation and policy changes
across all state agencies and helped establish the Office of Cannabis
Management.
He left the post in New York to start a cannabis consulting firm, Pear Tree Strategies, but was hired by
the FDA after seven months. Birenbaum also served as the inaugural president of the Cannabis Regulators
Association.
In his new role with the FDA, Birenbaum is working with the Center for Regulatory Programs to advise
on projects involving cannabis research and regulation of the plant.
Before becoming involved in cannabis, Birenbaum worked on the election campaigns of former Massachusetts
Gov. Deval Patrick and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. He also worked as outreach manager in the
office of former Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo and served as personal assistant to the Massachusetts
lieutenant governor.
John
Kagia
Data Exec Takes Over
Cannabis Policy in New York
John Kagia, a longtime chief
knowledge officer at New Frontier
Data, one of the oldest marijuana
analytics firms in the country,
started a new post in September
as director of policy for the New
York State Office of Cannabis
Management (OCM).
In his new role, Kagia is responsible
for public health and safety
research, analysis and development
of policy recommendations for the
medical and adult-use programs as
well as the cannabinoid hemp program
in New York. He also oversees
development and implementation
of the OCM's public-health campaign
and reports on key metrics
related to the impacts of cannabis
legalization.
Kagia joined Washington DCbased
New Frontier in 2015 as
director of industry analytics and
quickly rose to the positions of
executive vice president of industry
analytics and chief knowledge
officer in 2018.
Before joining New Frontier, Kagia
spent four years as strategy and
insights director for ORI, a dataassets
management company in
Herndon, Virginia. He also spent six
years at market research firm Market
Connections in Fairfax, Virginia,
where his roles included director
of research services and research
manager.
122 November-December 2022 | MJBizMagazine
Kagia taught undergraduate business
administration classes for two
years at George Washington University
in Washington DC.
Industry Veteran Appointed
to Fill Knowledge Post
New Frontier Data, the Washington
DC-based cannabis analytics firm,
appointed
Amanda
Reiman as
its new chief
knowledge
officer. She
takes over for
John Kagia
(see item at left).
Reiman started her cannabis
Amanda
Reiman
career in 2010 with the Berkeley
Patients Group, one of the oldest
medical marijuana dispensaries in
the nation, where she spent two
years. She also spent five years with
the Berkeley office of the Drug Policy
Alliance, where she was manager

MJBizMag November-December 2022

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