Axel Bernabe is Assistant Counsel to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo for Health, overseeing legal and policy deliberations in the health portfolio. As part of his responsibilities, Axel oversees the development and implementation of all legal and policy initiatives related to medical, hemp, and adult-use cannabis for the State. Over the past four years he 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 proposal for a comprehensive regulation of 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 an international law firm where he was a recognized antitrust legal expert, particularly on healthcare markets.