A little over a year after legalizing recreational marijuana, Minnesota has preapproved over 3,000 marijuana business licenses in hopes of getting the legal marijuana market up and running in early 2025.
According to Charlene Briner, the interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management, over 3,100 individuals have been pre-approved for a state license since the application window opened this summer.
After the application period concludes, eligible candidates will enter a lottery system to determine who will proceed. Briner says the state is “on track to have our regulations and rules in place by early 2025,” indicating that this will initiate the final stages of pre-opening inspections, necessary local approvals, and business readiness.
This week, the office published a comprehensive 111-page draft of rules and regulations for the adult use, medical, and hemp-derived cannabis markets. These guidelines detail the requirements for product storage, labeling, testing, and the roles of inspectors, local governments, and other regulatory bodies.
The draft rules, which span the entire cannabis supply chain from seed to sale, include labeling requirements such as displaying a cannabis leaf with the words “THC,” a 21-plus age warning, and a poison control number on all retail cannabis products.
These rules must be finalized and adopted before manufacturing and retail operations can commence. The state anticipates that this process will be completed by early 2025, allowing businesses with pre-approved licenses to begin planning their operations.
Under Minnesota’s marijuana law, those 21 and older are allowed to possess up to two ounces of marijuana, eight grams of marijuana concentrates and 800mg of marijuana edibles. Once marijuana stores are open, marijuana will be taxed at 10% on top of the state’s standard sales tax.
