NEWSMD

Winners in Minnesota’s first cannabis lottery mistakenly told their licenses were denied

Nicole Ki / MPR News — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 17:00:11 GMT

ST. PAUL — All 249 cannabis businesses that won in the state’s first cannabis lottery last week were mistakenly informed on Monday, June 9, that they were not selected for a license.

According to Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management, a staff member sent the wrong email notification to the winners of Thursday’s lotteries. The email said they did not get a license.

“The message was corrected and sent to all selected applicants within one hour,” Jim Walker, OCM public information officer, said in an email.

The corrected message congratulated winners for securing their license and provided next steps, including completing a criminal background check.

Winners of the lottery last Thursday won a license to conduct business in Minnesota’s new cannabis market, pending completion of the licensing process. Monday’s email could have been interpreted as saying the winners failed the process.

Abbey Johnson was one of the 74 who won a retail license and received the confusing chain of emails.

“I was shocked to see that,” said Johnson, who owns two hemp stores in Lakeville and Dundas. “I was like, maybe I got the numbers wrong. I don’t know how I could have made that big of a mistake when I’ve been waiting two years, but I could have, you know, and I looked and I had the right number. And so immediately started freaking out.”

She called two of her friends who also got retail licenses in the lottery. They both got the same email. Johnson contacted the cannabis agency, and within an hour or so, she said she got an email saying OCM had made a mistake.

Johnson says she understands human error, but it has real consequences for her business.

Johnson has been waiting to get the reward letter from OCM to give to the cities where her hemp stores are located, and one of those cities has a limit of five licenses.

“They should just be better at their job or something by now,” she said. “Everything’s riding on them doing their job when I have absolutely zero faith that they’re going to continue to do their job.”

Text Example

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org.

]]>

Minnesota opening new registration period for sellers of hemp-derived cannabinoid products

Mark Zdechlik / MPR News — Tue, 27 May 2025 21:03:07 GMT

ST. PAUL — The State of Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management is opening a new window for registering businesses in the state that sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products, from beverages to gummies. Businesses not registered to sell those products face steep fines and other penalties.

A second registration opportunity starts June 2. The previous registration period closed in April. The new window will allow businesses that sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products but that aren’t licensed to do so to get in compliance with state law.

“Opening a registration window for new hemp retailers this summer allows hemp businesses to continue driving revenue and economic opportunities to the entire state,” said Eric Taubel, interim director of the state’s cannabis office.

The window will remain open through August.

Businesses that sell those products without registering face the destruction of all of their cannabinoid products and penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

Text Example

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org.

]]>

Minnesota’s first off-reservation tribal cannabis shop opens in Moorhead

Robin Huebner — Sat, 24 May 2025 22:33:07 GMT

MOORHEAD — The first tribal cannabis shop in Minnesota not located on a reservation opened in Moorhead over the Memorial Day weekend.

With a Bob Marley & The Wailers tune playing on the speakers, people stood outside the Waabigwan Mashkiki dispensary along Highway 10 on Moorhead’s east side for the 10 a.m. grand opening on Saturday, May 24.

CEO Zach Wilson said the line was there for hours, as people streamed in to buy cannabis flower, pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes and whole-flower beverages.

Other products, including infused THC gummies, vape cartridges and concentrates will be available soon, once quality control tests are complete.

“We’ve had people steady all day come through here. We've had 200-300 people already come through the doors,” he said, as of 1 p.m.

The opening was made possible when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a compact earlier in the week . The compact outlines how the state and the White Earth Nation will work together to regulate the sale of cannabis.

Wilson said it’s been a labor of love working through those negotiations over the past year.

“Yeah, it’s taken a minute, but just a lot of prep and, you know, foresight,” he said.

Wilson said 25 to 30 employees have been hired at the Moorhead location, most of whom were on hand Saturday. The company expects to open another dispensary in St. Cloud.

The cannabis sold at Waabigwan Mashkiki is grown at a cultivation facility in Mahnomen, on the White Earth Reservation, and transported to dispensaries on the reservation and now, off-reservation.

A visible security presence on opening day directed traffic, checked IDs to ensure customers are 21 or older, and generally kept an eye on things.

Shaun Hoffart, security manager for Waabigwan Mashkiki, said security employees will be on hand whenever the dispensary is open.

“It’s just important to make sure that we keep the customer safe, as well as maintaining the security of the product and making sure it’s getting to the customer’s hands appropriately,” Hoffart said.

Customer Jeff Weyland of Fargo said he has a medical marijuana card in North Dakota but wanted to try something different.

A cancer survivor, he said he believes cannabis can prevent his cancer from coming back.

“They took a kidney out of me with a 5-pound tumor on it. Yeah, it’s been working ever since,” Weyland said, describing the cannabis flower, oils and vapes he uses.

Most other customers approached did not want to be interviewed or have their names published, but two women spoke on condition that only their first names be used.

Cindi said she’s been a pot smoker since age 16, and feels better getting it at a place that is “safe, secure, and you know it was grown and processed by people who know what they’re doing,” she said.

She smokes cannabis every night before bed, saying it helps her sleep “without nightmares.”

Emily also uses cannabis to help her sleep and to relax.

“I’m sure prices will probably be high to start, but should go down,” she said.

With the dispensary opening, Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting has reminded people they still “cannot drive high.”

To people who say making cannabis available this way might cause more crime or crashes in the community, Wilson said data doesn’t support that.

“If you look at alcohol and other types of drugs, almost 99% of the time, alcohol is going to be more of a leading cause of death of some sort than anything else,” he said.

He said he may be “biased” because he’s a cannabis user, but he’s passionate about the plant and the business.

“This is about creating revenue for the tribe and the community, and being able to have a brand that lasts, for longer than any of us,” he said.

Waabigwan Mashkiki is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, he said.

]]>

Date set for lottery to determine Minnesota cannabis business licenses

MPR News staff — Wed, 07 May 2025 15:04:49 GMT

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management has announced the date for the first lottery to decide who will get cannabis business licenses from the state.

The license lottery will be June 5 for cannabis cultivators, manufacturers and “mezzobusinesses” — are essentially all-in-one operations that can grow and buy cannabis, and make and sell cannabis products.

There’ll also be a June 5 lottery for cannabis retailer licenses for social equity applicants, including veterans, people who live in high-poverty areas and people historically harmed by the war on drugs.

A second lottery of cannabis retailer licenses — for general applicants as well as social equity applicants not selected in the June 5 lottery — will be held in July.

The announcement and sequence of lottery dates “reflects the office’s goal to license the supply chain from the starting points in order to foster an equitable cannabis market that prioritizes public health and safety, consumer confidence, and market integrity,” Eric Taubel, interim director for the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, said in a news release. He said the office “has prioritized the review of applications for the license types necessary to successfully stage the market.”

The state said hundreds of applicants have qualified for the lottery for a set number of licenses for various categories. More applications remain under review.

As of May 1, state records showed there were:

95 applicants for 50 available cannabis cultivator licenses 80 applicants for 24 available cannabis manufacturer licenses 267 applicants for 100 available cannabis mezzobusiness licenses 724 applicants for 150 available cannabis retailer licenses

Those numbers do not include applications that were withdrawn or denied. There are other categories of cannabis business licenses that do not have caps on numbers and are not part of the planned lotteries.

The Office of Cannabis Management said the June 5 license lottery will be livestreamed and available for the public to watch.

Text Example

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org.

]]>

Auditor reports that Minnesota muni liquor store profits up, in part due to THC offerings

Dana Ferguson / MPR News — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 17:10:01 GMT

ST. PAUL — Minnesotans are high on newish hemp-derived products that hit liquor store shelves in 2023.

A report released Wednesday, April 2, by State Auditor Julie Blaha’s office underscores the boost that a line of THC-infused beverages and gummies are bringing to profits to Minnesota’s liquor stores owned and operated by cities.

Yes, there are still 210 municipal liquor stores in Minnesota.

In 2023, the stores made a net profit of $31.6 million on record sales of $437 million. And the authorization of hemp-derived THC products had a lot to do with it, operators of the stores say.

"Let me tell you, the horse is out of the barn,” said Paul Kaspszak, executive director of the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association. “It's running down the road. I know about horses running down the road, you can't see his tail. OK, it's here to stay."

This was the first report to account for the legal sales of gummies and beverages containing CBD or THC. Minnesota legalized full-fledged cannabis in 2023, but broad retail sales have yet to begin, with the exception of dispensaries on tribal lands.

“We don't have enough years to really call trends on this,” Blaha said, deferring to those on the ground to offer their firsthand accounts.

While the report doesn’t break down the types of sales, operators who appeared with Blaha for its release said they have noticed a distinct shift in the direction of alcohol alternatives. They said that wine and beer sales have trended down at the same time.

St. Anthony Village Liquor Operations Director Mike Larson said he began offering the THC products in August of 2023 and has seen strong demand from customers.

“We have seen sales grow dramatically month after month,” he said. “Since the introduction, we have tracked an immediate impact on sales and see that our consumers are interested in learning more about the benefits of using and trying these products.”

Overall, Blaha said municipal liquor stores have experienced net profit growth over the last several decades.

“Here's the top line: municipal liquor stores show 28 years of consecutive growth, even with an evolving market,” she said. “They've evolved into places to meet as a community, as well as a significant resource for public revenue.”

Thirty-one cities reported net losses in 2023, according to the report, most of which were in greater Minnesota.

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org
]]>

Through dozens of bills, Minnesota lawmakers look to carve out cannabis regulations

Jack O'Connor — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 17:47:00 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS — More than a year after Minnesota legalized cannabis in 2023, Minnesota lawmakers continue to tinker with cannabis regulations in the state.

While the fight to legalize cannabis is over in Minnesota, the war for how the industry takes shape is not. Bills to ramp up regulations, relax restrictions and remove outdated language remain scattered across the state Senate and House floor.

Bills this session include proposals to raise the legal age someone can use cannabis products from 21 to 25, repeal the tax on the sale of illegal cannabis or controlled substances, and approve millions of dollars in grants for cannabis manufacturing and education.

“The regulatory process for cannabis is ongoing and ever-evolving. In other states that have legalized adult-use cannabis, we see laws have continued to adapt even after markets are launched and mature,” Jim Walker, spokesperson for the Office of Cannabis Management, said in an email statement.

Over 30 bills centered around cannabis regulations are currently moving through the Minnesota Legislature.

Tightening restrictions on cannabis products

HF65: Mandates cannabis and substance use education for students between grades six through 12. This bill has been referred to the Education Finance Committee.

SF313: Bans a person from carrying a firearm if they are enrolled in the medical cannabis registry prohibition. This bill has been referred to the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.

SF556/HF755: Bans combusted or vaporized cannabis products that are given a flavor other than cannabis. It also outlaws advertisements that promote mixing alcohol with cannabis or hemp products. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF795/HF2198: Allows for penalties to be imposed for the use of medical cannabis flower or medical cannabinoid products in multifamily housing. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF1820/HF1844: Similar to SF556, SF1820 bans all inhaled cannabis products that are given a common food flavor and any advertising in the product that would suggest it imparts a flavor other than cannabis. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2142/HF752: Authorizes local governments to ban the sale of cannabis products as well as prohibit the registration or establishment of new cannabis businesses within their jurisdiction. Businesses that applied for a license to operate in a jurisdiction that ended up banning cannabis businesses would be given a refund by the OCM. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2173: Mandates that businesses inform customers about the specific potential side effects of using cannabis and advise them not to drive or use heavy machinery while still under the effect of cannabis. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2174: Requires the OCM to enforce stronger THC and potency regulations. These regulations include banning liquid or solid cannabis concentrates that exceed 30% THC content, low-potency hemp edibles or hemp-derived products that exceed 0.3% THC potency, and topical and transdermal cannabis or hemp products with more than 500 milligrams of THC content. The OCM would also be prohibited from approving cannabis flavors or prerolled joints that have been infused with additional THC. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2175: Moves up the date in which a school district must implement a comprehensive education program about cannabis and substance use from the 2026-27 school year to the 2025-26 school year. This bill has been referred to the Education Policy Committee, but was withdrawn and sent back to the author.

SF2172: Raises the age someone can own or use cannabis products or obtain a license to sell cannabis products from 21 to 25 years old. The bill also mimics the language in SF1820, SF2173, SF2174 and SF2175. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2370/HF1615: Prohibits cannabis beverage products from having more than ten milligrams of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

Loosening cannabis regulations

SF204/HF1094: Clarifies expungements or resentences are for when a person committed a first-, second-, third-, fourth- or fifth-degree controlled substance crime involving the sale or possession of cannabis that did not involve a dangerous weapon, bodily harm or the attempt to cause fear in another. This bill has received a second reading in the Senate.

SF 209/HF308: Repeals the tax on the sale of illegal cannabis or controlled substances. This bill has received a do-pass recommendation by the Taxes Committee and Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and is now being re-referred to the Taxes Committee.

HF1254: Classifies tetrahydrocannabivarin, also known as THCV which is similar to THC, as a nonintoxicating cannabinoid. Cannabis concentrate products consumed through combustion or vaporization can not have a potency lower than 90%. It also lowers the ownership requirements for a social equity applicant. This bill has been referred to the Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.

HF1634: Allows municipalities that have a municipal cannabis store to also hold a lower-potency hemp edible retailer license. This bill has been referred to the Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.

SF2372/HF1877: Enables a license holder to sell immature cannabis plants, seeds and flowers to other cannabis businesses. It also corrects wording in previous statutes. This proposal is supported by the OCM, Walker said. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2641/HF1735: Allows wholesalers to import, purchase or sell lower-potency hemp edibles from or to cannabis businesses. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

Funding cannabis in the state

SF1449/HF2033: Increases the maximum loan the state can give to a cannabis microbusiness. The bill also allows nonprofits to cover expenses by retaining loan interest payments or using contract funds. This bill has been referred to the Jobs and Economic Development Committee.

SF2216/HF2443: Allocates around $37 million to the OCM in 2026 and around $40 million in 2027. Of that, $16 million annually will go to different community-based grants. The bill also gives more leeway to the commissioner of the OCM to transfer money and positions within the department. It also approves the creation of cannabis testing licenses to be overseen by the OCM. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2255/HF2433: Appropriates $120,000 for schools and school districts to access cannabis and substance use resources. This bill has been referred to the Education Finance Committee.

SF2373/HF2441: Funds $33,000 annually to help develop standards and technical assistance for growing Minnesota’s legal cannabis industry. This bill has received a do-pass recommendation by the Labor Committee and the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and has been re-referred to the Labor Committee.

SF2374/HF2437: Repeals local government cannabis aid and partial cannabis tax revenue by 2026. Any funds remaining by 2026 are sent to the general fund. Over $1.8 million in 2024 was given to counties and cities in 2024 through the local government cannabis aid. This bill has been referred to the Taxes Committee.

HF2432: Provides around $5.3 million in 2026 and again in 2027 to the cannabis expungement board. This bill has been referred to the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee.

SF2483/HF2431: Approves $1 million annually for grants to employers in the cannabis industry with priority given to social equity applicants. This bill has been referred to the Higher Education Committee.

SF2669/HF2435: Appropriates over $8 million for local and tribal public health cannabis grants. This bill has been referred to the Health and Human Services Committee.

Ironing out licensing, access

HF1470: Adds the OCM director to the opioids, substance use and addiction subcabinet. This bill has been referred to the State Government Finance and Policy Committee.

SF1729/HF1271: Clarifies the regulation of low-potency hemp-derived products. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF1730/HF1310: Adds the OCM as an official state agency in a previous state law that requires state agencies to meet regularly with tribal nations and inform them of any agency actions that would impact the tribe directly. When the state law passed, the OCM did not yet exist. This bill has received a do-pass recommendation from the State and Local Government Committee and has been re-referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF1731/HF1734: Requires that cannabis license renewals include proof that the applicant is a social equity applicant and proof that the business complies with the regulations required by state law for the license. SF1729, SF1730 and SF1731 are all supported by the OCM, Walker said. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2165/HF2426: Entitles businesses with a medical cannabis combination license to manufacture or deliver cannabis flowers or products to sell to a cannabis business. It also allows the license holder to deliver the cannabis flowers or products to a person enrolled in the medical cannabis registry or their loved one. A medicinal cannabis business can also request to increase the area of plant canopy in which they can cultivate cannabis. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

SF2371/HF1672: Outlines distribution to patients in the tribal medicinal cannabis program. To receive medicinal cannabis, the tribal medical cannabis program patient must show the cannabis business employee a photo I.D. and a medical cannabis verification card. The business must ensure the product has a patient-specific label, inform the patient of anything required by the OCM and create a report of the transaction. The bill also protects tribal nations from any civil penalties due to the patient misusing the cannabis product. Under the bill, schools can not refuse to enroll a patient or penalize them and landlords can not refuse to lease a property or penalize a patient solely because cannabis is a controlled substance. This proposal is supported by the OCM, Walker said. This bill received a do-pass recommendation from the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee and has been re-referred to the Health and Human Services Committee.

SF2878: Requires the OCM to review all social equity licensing applications before reviewing the general business license applications. This bill has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

Outside of legislation

The cannabis industry has hit some speed bumps on the road to actualization in Minnesota. The state’s social equity applicant lottery, an effort to give a head start to those harmed by the past criminalization of cannabis, faced legal setbacks. The OCM has also delayed issuing general cannabis business licenses.

The OCM announced in December that it would issue licenses for both social equity applicants and general applicants through a lottery in the spring of 2025.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s push for state tribal cannabis compacts, which were a requirement in the original legislation legalizing cannabis, has faced scrutiny for their lack of transparency. The compacts, an agreement between Minnesota and 10 of the 11 tribal nations in the state, would allow tribal nations to establish off-reservation cannabis dispensaries, according to a leaked draft of one of the compacts. Once finalized, these compacts will be publicly available.

Walz defended the policy last month and said he was “comfortable with the direction we’re going.”

]]>

'I'm tired,' says outgoing interim director of Minn. Office of Cannabis Management

Cathy Wurzer, Lukas Levin and Gracie Stockton / MPR News — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 19:59:12 GMT

ST. PAUL — Friday was the last day for the director of Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management, Charlene Briner. She was appointed in 2023 as interim director, which was supposed to last just a few months, but it stretched into a 20-month-long job.

Briner has been nicknamed the Swiss Army knife of state government because of her versatile talents. She was overseeing the rollout of legal recreational marijuana in Minnesota.

Briner has said that she would serve until she felt comfortable, or until the “governor made a decision that somebody else was in a position to take the reins.”

As Briner leaves, she’s proud of the team they’ve assembled.

“I have always said, this isn’t about one job. I’m tired. I did not plan on staying for a year and a half,” she said.

Eric Taubel as general counsel will be taking the reins, she says.

The office has posted their rules for comment, which they will be adapting in a few weeks, and on Wednesday, they open for the next round of licensing. Licenses will be handed over in a few months, and Briner says now is a good time for her to step away.

Briner said part of the struggle to get a permanent director for this office is due to the challenging workload and content. She has heard from other states’ directors that the average tenure of the first director of a cannabis office is 17 months.

“This is not easy work,” Briner said. “It is not for the faint-hearted, and it’s for people who are really committed to this kind of work.”

She said the difficulties are that the job is high profile, high scrutiny and lacks a federal roadmap. She says the office works with people who “for legitimate reason, sometimes suspect (of) or not comfortable working with government,” and aren’t always accustomed to coming into a regulated space.

Something unique about Minnesota’s challenges is that it was the first agency in decades being built from the ground up, she said, since it was not housed under another agency or in regulatory oversight.

“I didn’t have an HR director or a finance director or a building to operate out of, and so really building those pieces while you actually have legalized something without that regulatory scheme added a layer of challenge,” Briner said.

“All of that said, I think it’s a legitimate choice to say that if we decided not to criminalize, if we decided to stop criminalizing this activity and not penalizing people for this behavior, or this choice prolonging penalty and prolonging the punitive approach doesn’t make a lot of sense either,” she added.

Looking back on how things came to fruition, Briner says they have made incredible progress.

“We’re building this from the ground up, and for better or for worse, this is where we’re at,” she said.

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org
]]>

Minnesota’s Cannabis Office director steps down amid industry delays

Mary Murphy — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 22:38:20 GMT

ST. PAUL — Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan announced Monday, Jan. 6, that Charlene Briner will step down as director of the Office of Cannabis Management. General Counsel Eric Taubel will serve as director for the time being.

Briner’s resignation comes after repeated halts to the cannabis industry’s launch, which was intended for this month but is now slated for early summer. The office was created in August 2023 following the Minnesota Legislature legalizing recreational marijuana and is responsible for overseeing Minnesota’s new regulated cannabis market.

“Charlene Briner has gotten Minnesota’s emerging cannabis industry off the ground in a safe and responsible way,” Walz said in the release. “It’s no easy task to build a regulatory framework around an entirely new industry from scratch, but under Charlene’s leadership, Minnesota laid the foundation for a successful marketplace for years to come.”

Taubel served as the Office of Cannabis Management’s general counsel for the last year and oversaw the drafting of cannabis regulations and tribal compact negotiations, according to the release. He will assume the interim director role after Briner’s last day on Jan. 17.

“I am incredibly proud of the team we’ve built and the milestones met in our ongoing work to stand up this new office and implement Minnesota’s cannabis law,” Briner said in the release. “I am confident the talented public servants continuing their important work will do so in a way that exemplifies OCM’s commitment to launch a safe, accessible, and equitable cannabis industry.”

]]>

An overview of Minnesota’s cannabis industry in 2024 and what to expect in 2025

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 20:12:37 GMT

It continues to be a slow roll for Minnesota’s legal recreational marijuana business.

Ahead of the new year and the start of another legislative session, reporters Dana Ferguson, Hannah Yang and Melissa Olson joined Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer with updates on the budding enterprise.

Legal speedbumps and roadblocks in 2024

There have been some surprises as Minnesota developed a framework for the new industry.

A lot of attention focused on a planned social equity applicant lottery in November to give select entrepreneurs a head start, but the issue ended up in court.

Some people denied access to the lottery sued over being excluded, arguing they met the parameters outlined in state law. In turn, state regulators said some applicants tried to game the system by applying on behalf of business groups that might not otherwise be eligible. Ultimately a Ramsey County judge halted the lottery.

Earlier this month, the Office of Cannabis Management announced it will hold two lotteries in 2025: one for social equity applicants and one for other applicants seeking permits for cannabis businesses.

In the meantime, the OCM is scaling up its team. Just recently it posted four high-level positions around communication, finance, government relations and planning — and the office is hoping for quick hires. There are no plans right now to switch from an interim director.

When might Minnesota see widespread dispensaries?

On the OCM’s current timeline, the first licenses won’t be approved until May or June. After that, it will take business owners anywhere from weeks to months to get up and running. In all likelihood, the first businesses to open will get off the ground in late summer or early fall of 2025. That’s two years after it became legal to possess, use and grow cannabis in the state.

It’s important to note that timeline is tentative. There could be other hiccups that crop up along the way, or possibly action from lawmakers to speed things up.

Do lawmakers plan to take action in January?

The lawmakers who wrote the legislation initially legalizing cannabis have been quiet about whether they want to streamline its industrialization in Minnesota. They were frustrated by the Ramsey County judge’s ruling halting the November lottery, saying the decision blocked the early license opportunity for applicants previously harmed by the legal system. Lawmakers reconvene on Jan. 14, and MPR News will be on the lookout for updates, as well as for a ruling in an appeal of the Ramsey County decision.

How are tribal nations navigating the evolving market and rules?

When cannabis was legalized in Minnesota, the law made room for compacts, or agreements, between the state and the 11 tribal nations in the state around medical cannabis and adult-use recreational cannabis.

The state and each individual tribal nation can choose to enter into an agreement and all parties stand to benefit from those compacts. In theory, that could lead to tribes providing wholesale supplies of cannabis to dispensaries statewide, or even setting up dispensaries outside reservations.

For example, the head of the cannabis company owned by the White Earth Nation recently confirmed the tribe purchased a building in Moorhead for a dispensary.

In an email to MPR News in mid-December a spokesperson for the Office of Cannabis Management reported the state is close to signing compacts with several tribal nations, though did not reveal which. Those compacts include how the state will tax tribal nations for the sale of cannabis products to a licensed wholesaler or dispensary. The OCM representative believes those compacts could be signed by the governor in the coming weeks.

How are individual communities preparing for the new business?

Each city has its own set of rules and policies they created based on what they think is best for their community. For example, Mankato is taking a more cautious approach to cannabis by limiting the number of high-potency retailers to just four; there’s no cap on smaller businesses setting up shop.

Mankato city officials tell MPR News they’re concerned about what enforcement of these rules will look like since each jurisdiction is different. They’re seeking guidance ahead of the retail market opening in Minnesota, and they want clarity about what happens if someone violates the law. Cities can revisit these rules in the future, but Mankato officials say they’re waiting to just see how things go in the first year of cannabis sales in the community before considering further action.

City officials in Le Sueur, meanwhile, say the cannabis industry aligns well with their existing agribusiness and think it will lead to positive economic development. The Minnesota Valley Cannabis Company purchased the former Green Giant building there to process cannabis. However, they can’t move forward with renovating the facility until the state hands out licenses, so the lottery delay put the company in limbo.

Could tribal grow facilities meet demand amid delays?

The OCM believes tribal nations will likely have the capacity to grow enough cannabis flower to help support the state’s commercial market. The tribes already own and operate several large grow facilities around the state.

The newest grow facility is owned by Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures — the business entity owned by the Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe. This fall, the company completed the construction of a 50,000-square-foot grow facility on tribal land near Onamia.

There’s also a growing intertribal cannabis marketplace. For example, Waabigwan Mashkiki, a cannabis business owned by White Earth Nation, operates a large grow facility and dispensary. It also sells cannabis products to dispensaries owned by the Leech Lake reservation and the Prairie Island Indian Community.

What about Red Lake Nation’s mobile dispensary?

Red Lake Nation elected officials told MPR News their long-discussed mobile dispensary is up and operating. It’s a pop-up unit akin to a food truck. It’s been stationed in the communities on Red Lake Nation including Ponemah, Redby and near the casino on Highway 89. Since Red Lake Nation has trust lands in Warroad and Thief River Falls, the mobile dispensary could stop there, too. Red Lake also hopes to build a brick-and-mortar dispensary in Thief River Falls.

]]>

Minnesota’s cannabis office says it expects to issue licenses early next summer

Mary Murphy — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 21:00:39 GMT

ST. PAUL — The Office of Cannabis Management on Wednesday, Dec. 11, said it expects to issue cannabis business licenses in May or June in what will now be a combined “social equity” and “standard” lottery.

The OCM had planned to issue licenses on Nov. 26, beginning with a “social equity lottery,” a stipulation in Minnesota’s cannabis bill from 2024 to help mitigate the societal harms of the war on drugs. This lottery aimed to prioritize licenses for those from high-poverty areas and military veterans, for example.

But in late November, after plaintiffs filed almost 10 lawsuits against the office, claiming a lack of explanation for their removal from the license lottery, a Ramsey County judge ordered the OCM to halt their social equity lottery.

“We stand by that approach, and we believe it is the correct way to operationalize the pre-approval portion of the law,” said Charlene Briner, the office’s interim director. “However, as you know, last month, a Ramsey County District Court judge issued a stay, which halted the license pre-approval lottery that was planned for Nov. 26. That decision left 648 qualified social equity applicants in limbo.”

The OCM explained on Wednesday that Minnesota’s law, passed in 2024, does not require the cannabis industry to launch with the social equity lottery, and given the delays, they feel it is best to move forward with a standard lottery that includes those social equity applicants.

The OCM said it will begin the process in January of combining its “social equity lottery” with a standard lottery. All 648 applicants who were part of the final social equity lottery pool will have the opportunity to automatically move forward to the next lottery, which is expected to occur in early summer.

The office said it will also be reaching out in February to applicants denied during the first social equity lottery. The OCM will ask these applicants for more information and consider whether they are eligible to re-enter into the standard lottery come spring.

Amid delays, some lawmakers have praised the social equity lottery for its roots in equity and opportunity, while others argue the social equity process overcomplicated Minnesota’s cannabis industry and ultimately caused the delays in its launch.

Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, and Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, who were authors on the 2023 legislation, released a joint statement saying they were disappointed in the court’s actions to halt the OCM’s social equity lottery.

“While this significant shift in the licensing timeline and social equity process is certainly a setback, it is not the final word on inclusivity and equity in our process,” the statement said.

The joint statement from Port and Stephenson pointed to bad actors who applied for the social equity lottery, saying they believe this is the reason for ongoing delays, rather than the substance of the bill.

“The few bad actors who flooded the preapproval pool with duplicate or misleading applications have delayed the process for those who followed the rules, erasing the opportunity for social equity applicants to get their head start,” the statement said. “It was foundational to the intent of this law that those who were most harmed by prohibition get a first shot at building Minnesota’s legal cannabis industry.”

The OCM on Wednesday said going forward, they intend to keep focus on this social equity aspect, despite needing to drop the lottery.

“We remain committed to launching an equitable, sustainable, and responsible cannabis marketplace in Minnesota,” Briner said. “Our path forward ensures we remain on track to launch Minnesota’s new cannabis market and also preserves some of the social equity benefits that were at the heart of the preapproval process and that are foundational to the law as it was originally conceived.”

]]>