CWCBExpo NYC 2019

Axel Bernabe
Assistant Counsel to the Governor for Health
New York State Executive Chamber


Axel Bernabe is Assistant Counsel for Health to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. In this role, he oversees all legal and policy deliberations in the health portfolio and provides strategic counsel to the operations, press, and budget teams in the Executive Chamber and the State Department of Health. As part of his responsibilities, Axel oversees the development and implementation of all medical, hemp, and adult-use cannabis initiatives in the State. Over the past four years he has directed and supervised the expansion of the medical cannabis program and the launch of the State's hemp program. Axel is also responsible for driving the administration's proposed Cannabis Act that would comprehensively regulate all segments of the cannabis economy, including the creation of a new Office of Cannabis Management that would permit the implementation of an adult-use program. Prior to joining the Cuomo administration, Axel was a partner at the law firm of Constantine Cannon, where he was a nationally recognized legal expert in the healthcare sector, particularly on antitrust matters.

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