It was not anticipated that non-tribal licences would be issued so soon after the start of tribal programs and operations.
The Loon Smoke Shop is located in Minneapolis, among the many coffee shops and cocktail lounges at the corner of West 25th Street & South Lyndale Avenue. Here you will find a group of friendly loiterers who enjoy vaping and smoking late into the night.
This scene could be found a few streets south, at the new dispensary of the smoke shop. The business is currently in the last stages of state licensing and hiring “passionate people” for the cannabis industry.
Instagram posted: “We are currently seeking budtenders as well as store managers, and lead budtenders.”
Governor Tim Walz signed the legislation to legalize cannabis by 2023. The retail goal was that all stores in the state should be open no later than 2025. Tim Walz, DFL signed the legislation that legalized cannabis by 2023. The retail goal was to open stores in the entire state no later than 2025.
MinnPost is a diligent chronicler of this. Last week, when asked which law passed by the DFL controlled Legislature in 2023 was most difficult for implementation, Gov. Walz was quick with his answer.
This could be changing.
The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management has approved five retail businesses to sell cannabis. These are the first retailers not owned by any of Minnesota’s eleven tribal nations.
Minnesota is expected to see upto 150 Eric Taubel is the interim director of Office of Cannabis Management. He said that marijuana businesses owned by tribal members are illegal.
Taubel stated in an interview, that the state’s cumbersome licensing process is no longer to blame for a slow-moving cannabis business.
Taubel explained that “the onus now lies with the business applicant or owner.”
What is the status of legalizing marijuana in Minnesota?
Now I’m ready to buy legal marijuana. What is the legal marijuana in Minnesota?
Only tribal operators can sell marijuana, with the exception of drinks infused in bars or liquor stores that contain hemp-derived THC.
Minnesota’s marijuana legalization law gives tribes the right to control how their operations are run.
Taubel said, “Minnesota has a leading role in the nation when it comes cannabis and tribes. “Gov. “Gov. Flanagan, Walz and Lt. Gov.
Minnesotans should stop reading the article now and head to tribal retailers. The Red Lake Nation has been operating stores since 2023.
These tribes are also allowed to operate marijuana businesses under the law outside If they accept an overall regulatory compact, the Office of Cannabis Management will grant them reservation land. In May, the first of these compacts was signed with White Earth Nation. Since then, they have opened shops in St. Cloud, Moorhead and Moorhead.
Leila Fatehi, lawyer with Blunt Strategies in Minneapolis, which represents marijuana businesses, said, “I do not think that any other state is using a similar model.” I don’t believe it was expected that tribal operations and program would begin so early compared to non-tribal licensing.
How about those five tribal licenses?
The Office of Cannabis Management approved the final approval of Herb-Quest’s operation of a Pine County cultivation center.
Concentrate Labs – doing business under the name Roots and Resin Farm – received approval from state officials to establish its own growing site in Chisago County.
The Smoking Tree and Fairwater Farm, as well as Loon Lab Extracts and Research, (not be confused with Loon Dispensary), were awarded licenses in Albert Lea and Isanti to sell marijuana.
The five companies listed above not only passed state requirements, but they also had to go through the approval processes of their respective counties and cities.
Jacob Schlichter of Smoking Tree told MinnPost he still needs to get the final approval at an Albert Lea City Council Meeting on July 28. Schlichter, however, described the step as being merely formal. He is fully expecting to open the shop within a few weeks.
Was is the cannabis lottery I see?
The Office of Cannabis Management held a lottery in June and 249 people won, among them the dispensary on Lyndale Ave. Loon.
The criteria for social equality status can be veteran status or being from an area of high poverty.
In a separate lottery held on Tuesday, there were 75 winners from 569 candidates, including those applicants that did not meet the equity requirements.
The winning of these lottery is not the only step to getting a state licence. While city or county governments cannot legally reject pot businesses, they are allowed to set requirements. For example, a shop must be at least a specified distance from schools.
Taubel acknowledged that each municipality handled zoning in its own way. The county and the city might only meet once a month.
The Cannabis Management interim manager described “checker boards” with additional steps. These included submitting to criminal background checks (Whilst the state is willing to aid victims of strict drug possession laws but does not wish to support convicted white collar criminals), and signing a contract that gives employees certain rights, in exchange for refraining from picketing, boycotting or striking at cannabis businesses.
After completing these steps, lottery winners can then apply to the state and receive final approval.
Why weren’t there recreational cannabis shops open by the end of 2025?
Walz said that the Office of Cannabis Management was experiencing delays due to a change in leadership. Taubel replaced Charlenebriner, the interim director who had been in place since January. In 2023, the Office of the Legislative Auditor reviewed a botched hiring that occurred before Briner.
Walz stated that Taubel had done an excellent job. Governor Walz declined to comment on whether or not Taubel will become the permanent director.
Governor also stated, “there really wasn’t a model on how to do this,” and that all 22 states before Minnesota legalized pot had “struggled in some degree.”
It is not surprising that the model chosen by the government was also unusual.
Fatehi stated that the Minnesota roll-out was a little slower than other states which depended on existing medical marijuana dispensaries. Minnesota created a structure to allow for a greater pool of applicants.
Taubel explained that the choice made by Taubel is bearing fruit. By the end the year, dozens legal marijuana stores will be open, most of them founded by young entrepreneurs who are newcomers to the cannabis industry.
Some non-tribal business owners are concerned that tribes have a too big head start. Fatehi did not share this view. However, she said that Minnesota’s early retailers would likely purchase from Native cultivators.
A second concern is the possibility that legal marijuana will become too costly. The state budget, which was otherwise void of any new revenues, raised the tax on cannabis from 10% to 15%.
All in all, the customer will have to pay a tax of around 20 percent on any cannabis purchased.
Fatehi: “There’s a huge reason to be concerned that the taxes are too high.”
Taubel described the tax as “middle-of-the road” in comparison to the other states. It is a long road metaphorically. According to the Tax Foundation Connecticut is the state with the lowest excise taxes on marijuana, at just 3 percent. Washington State has the highest tax at 37 percent.
Taubel: “I have a suspicion that a 5 percent rise will cause ripples.”
Brian Arola of MinnPost contributed to the story.
This article first appeared on MinnPost and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Mike Latimer provided the photo.
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