ST. PAUL — A Minnesota health official who was instrumental in getting the state’s medical marijuana program off the ground is leaving to become chief executive of a company that grows the cannabis — a move that may expose him and the Department of Health to questions about prior regulatory decisions and the appearance of cashing in.

LeafLine Labs named Manny Munson-Regala as chief executive officer on Thursday, giving them a leader with intimate knowledge of the program and its regulations — having helped write some of them himself. He also brings deep connections in state government from more than six years of experience scattered across different agencies.

But Munson-Regala was also involved as the state selected its two manufacturers and set the ground rules for a company that’s now his employer. While it may not be illegal, Sen. Branden Petersen said, it’s troubling given Munson-Regala’s influence on the state’s small medical marijuana market.

“It’s pretty incestuous,” said Petersen, an Andover Republican and member of a state task force overseeing the program’s rollout. “I can’t think of a closer relationship that has sort of become a two-way street.”

Munson-Regala acknowledged the cause for concern in an interview Thursday. He stressed that he wasn’t contacted by LeafLine until last Wednesday or making decisions that would impact the industry as he weighed a possible offer.