John SchroyerThe Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management issued a formal warning to roughly 4,000 retailers in the state to quit selling prohibited cannabis product variants, including intoxicating hemp-based cannabinoids such as THC-V.
In a letter, officials reminded retailers that only delta-8 and delta-9 THC are allowed in hemp products, not variants such as the so-called “diet weed” THC-V or others.
The letter is the vanguard of a new crackdown in the cannabis space overall, Fox 9 reported. The state created its Office of Cannabis Management just this past January, in part with a mandate to get control of the state’s hemp market. That market has flourished since 2022, when lawmakers approved a broad new hemp law that allowed for THC-infused edibles to flood the state via sales at convenience stores and other common retailers.
The same has happened in many other states that haven’t regulated hemp production or sales. In Minnesota, confusion has set in among businesses over what’s legal and what isn’t, OCM spokesman Josh Collins told Fox 9.
“The regulations from state to state can be different,” Collins said. “Its complicated for retailers. If they’re working with a supplier working with product that’s legal in one state and not in another – its complex.”
Businesses will be able to petition the OCM starting in 2026 to request that additional cannabinoids be legalized for commercial use.
Until then, some companies – such as THC-V edibles manufacturer Retro Bakery – will have to cease operations and pivot to legal cannabinoids – or face the penalties, Fox 9 reported.
The new crackdown was also initiated in part by the legislature’s decision last year to legalize adult-use marijuana sales, with a bill that also created the OCM and gave the agency new oversight powers. Recreational marijuana sales aren’t expected to begin widely until next year, however.
