"We just want to do it in an orderly way": City councils mull new regulations in response to THC edibles

ST. LOUIS PARK -- Municipal governments across the Twin Cities are considering adding their own ordinances related to the sale of snacks and drinks with hemp-derived THC.

"We're not a city that's saying no to cannabis or recreational use," Stillwater mayor Ted Kozlowski explained to WCCO. "We just want to do it in an orderly way."

In November, Kozlowski said the city imposed a moratorium on new stores selling CBD and other cannabinoids as lawmakers debated whether or not to expand access to other cannabis products.

"So there can't be any rush to take over Main Street with a whole bunch of CBD shops," he added. "In Vail and Breckenridge (Colorado, where marijuana is legal for recreational use), it just seemed like overnight there were 30 dispensaries, and then because of competition and demand going up and then down, 28 of them go out of business. Then there's just a bunch of empty store fronts which just looks terrible."

Rep. Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina), the author of the edibles bill, said Thursday that she has recently engaged in conversations with the League of Minnesota Cities, mayors, council members, and city managers. 

"The new law gives a great deal of local control to municipalities to implement what will work best in their respective communities," she wrote in a statement.  "The ability for municipalities to offer important guidance and clarity on day-to-day operations and compliance within a city is vital."

Among the options Edelson proposed are licensing stores the way tobacco products are sold, as well as zoning restrictions like what's being considered in Stillwater.

"I don't want to see 15 ice cream shops show up in downtown Stillwater," Kozlowski quipped. "It's more of a zoning and usage issue to me than it is about is cannabis good or bad."

The mayor told WCCO he's had discussions with law enforcement in Colorado where he said officers are concerned about security; adding a security protocol, then, might be another regulation the city can impose.

"Dispensaries are notorious for having loads of cash on hand, and it was bringing some pretty big, organized crime trying to rob them,"  Kozlowski said. 

City councils in St. Louis Park and Golden Valley will also be discussing potential ordinances at upcoming study sessions next week, according to spokespeople. Rep. Edelson's office said Minneapolis, St. Paul and Edina governments are among the others reviewing their next moves as well.

Jai Bowie, owner of Grow To Life Health Alternatives store in St. Louis Park, told WCCO he had no problem with city councils considering new regulations. 

"The last thing you want is people coming in getting sick or getting something they didn't know what was going to get them high," he said. "That's what makes the industry bonkers. Regulation is important. because it helps making sure all those ingredients going into bodies are coming from a trusted source."