State cannabis officials publish draft regulations for businesses. Here's what they are.
MINNEAPOLIS — State cannabis officials this week published draft regulations for the new industry in Minnesota as it eyes market launch next year. It provides the first glimpse at the rules prospective businesses will need to follow in order to remain compliant.
"It's another milestone among many achieved and more to come in our work to ensure a safe, equitable, and sustainable cannabis industry that will benefit Minnesotans across the state," wrote Charlene Briner, interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management, in a newsletter Wednesday.
Among the provisions are details about training requirements for employees, how to properly store products, potency limits and mandated security measures. Businesses would need to be a part of a statewide tracking system, tracing inventory from seed to sale and have uniform labels that the agency provided a sample of in its 100-page document.
The rulemaking process puts a finer point on what the state legislature passed in its sweeping law that legalized recreational marijuana, which took effect one year ago Thursday, in order for regulators to implement the law.
The first retail sales are still several months away, with the exception of a few dispensaries on tribal lands. But the insight is welcome news for Minnesotans eager to plan for what's to come.
"These draft rules being released is a really significant point in the trajectory for getting our market opened up in 2025. And that's because these rules have to be finalized and take effect, before adult-use cannabis licenses are effective and businesses can open their doors and operate," said Leili Fatehi, partner and principal of Blunt Strategies, who pushed for legalization at the state capitol and worked closely on crafting the provisions.
Fatehi said the rules are what she expected they would be and praised provisions she said would destigmatize the experience and make it easier for customers, like allowing online ordering for in-store pickup and delivery.
But she added that some regulations as proposed right now could be onerous, including extensive record-keeping requirements.
"There's requirements for logs for employee and contractor entries, for all of the handling of the cash, for all ingredients that are used in manufacturing. It's definitely compliance and reporting heavy," she explained.
That mirrors the initial response from Calandra Revering, owner of hemp THC product store Good Zen in Brooklyn Park who wants to transform it into a marijuana dispensary upon approval of a license.
"The biggest takeaway I get is lots of documentation, tons of it. So we need to be ready for that," she told WCCO. "There are a lot of things in the rules I know that owners are not going to be ready for, so I'm glad they came out early so that we can start to get ready for that."
These rules are far from final. Minnesotans can provide feedback on the current plan online through the end of August and there will be a public comment period this fall.
The Office of Cannabis Management put these initial regulation proposals together based on "substantial input OCM has received through surveys, meetings, and conversations," over the last several months, its website says.
The state is now accepting applications for the first business licenses in the state for applicants who meet "social equity" criteria. Those approved won't be able to open dispensary doors any sooner than when rulemaking is complete—likely Spring 2015—but it will give them an opportunity to get a head start.
Businesses awarded pre-approved cultivator licenses, though, may start growing cannabis flower on a commercial scale later this year, thanks to a change approved by lawmakers this year in order to ensure there is product available for retail sales.
