John SchroyerMinnesota, once one of the most restrictive medical marijuana markets in the country with only two vertically integrated licensed companies allowed to sell cannabis, now has more than 3,100 would-be entrepreneurs preapproved for recreational business permits, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
The initial screening window opened in June for social equity candidates, and then another for “full license applications” began on July 24.
The market has attracted “thousands more” – beyond the 3,100 who submitted to the formal screening process – that have “expressed interest in setting up shop” in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, MPR reported, citing information provided by Charlene Briner, the interim director of the state Office of Cannabis Management.
What comes next will be a lottery that will eliminate many of the applicants, but it’s not clear yet when that will be or how many permits will ultimately be awarded.
“We are certainly on track to have our regulations in place, our rules adopted in early 2025,” Briner told MPR. “That really kicks off the final stages of a pre-opening inspection, the local approvals that are required and a business being ready to open their doors.”
On Wednesday, the Minnesota OCM also released an 111-page draft of industry rules for recreational and medical marijuana as well as hemp businesses, covering a broad range of business mandates and requirements from product labeling to inventory storage.
All recreational cannabis goods, for instance, will be required to have a warning label with an image of a marijuana leaf, the letters “THC,” a 21+ age notation, and a poison control emergency phone number, MPR reported.
Gov. Tim Walz told reporters earlier this month that his administration is still trying to recruit a permanent full-time director for the OCM, but hasn’t had much luck.
“It’s hard, we’re trying to find a regulator type. The money that we can offer is one that’s, you know, it’s hard to attract,” Walz said.
Full recreational cannabis sales are still expected to launch sometime in 2025, Briner said, given that the rules must yet be finalized and adopted.
In the meantime, a handful of sovereign Native American tribes have taken the initiative and begun adult-use cannabis sales at their reservations, including the Prairie Island Indian Community, the Red Lake Nation, the White Earth Nation and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
