Minnesota is gearing up for the launch of its recreational marijuana market in 2025.
The state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has released a draft of the regulations outlining how licensed marijuana businesses will operate once the legal market is up and running, which the group says is still on track for next year, likely in the spring.
While the OCM is gathering feedback on a second draft of the rules, which are expected to be finalized by early 2025, many businesses are in a holding pattern until they can officially start operations.
Shawn Weber, owner of Crested River Cannabis in Morgan, noted the frustration felt by many in the industry, telling WCCO, a CBS affiliate, “Everybody that is either interested or in the industry, we’re in a hurry up-and-wait situation.”
Interim OCM director Charlene Briner acknowledged the impatience within the industry but reassured stakeholders that her office is working diligently to address the needs of operators, consumers, and medical patients.
“I know people are impatient”, Briner told WCCO, a CBS affiliate. “I know they are excited to get started. But I would reassure them that we are working to meet the needs of operators and consumers and medical patients. They should have confidence in the people doing the work in this office.”
Briner says the state is still on track for stores to open in the first half of 2025, saying licensed would be issued by the end of this year.
“I would also remind folks that this is the first time that we’re doing this—this the first round of licensing,” said Briner. “So we want to make sure that our processes are clear, that we’re not making mistakes, and that we’re not giving people who shouldn’t be in the lottery that opportunity or giving people false hope about how this process is working.”
Of the approximately 1,800 social equity applicants, 282 licenses will be distributed via a lottery. Briner emphasized that the OCM is taking its time to thoroughly review applications, ensuring compliance with the law and avoiding any predatory ownership structures.
In 2023, Minnesota lawmakers legalized marijuana for adults 21 and older and established a regulated system for retail outlets, supplied by licensed growers and processors. Possession and cultivation of marijuana became legal in August 2023, and over 3,000 business licenses have already been preapproved.
In August the University of Minnesota School of Public Health launched the state’s first Cannabis Research Center (CRC), funded by a $2.5 million state appropriation.
