Laserfiche WebLink
www.publichealthlawcenter.org 2Lower-Potency Hemp Edibles & Cannabis: Minnesota City Retailers <br />August 12, 2024. Full licensing of cannabis businesses and hemp businesses will occur after <br />rulemaking is completed in 2025. Hemp businesses, including lower-potency hemp edible <br />retailers, are currently required to register with the state; the requirement to register with the <br />Minnesota Department of Health began Oct. 1, 2023, and the authority over these registrations <br />transferred to OCM beginning July 1, 2024. Since legalization, some local governments have <br />enacted moratoria, licensing, and other ordinances to regulate cannabis businesses and lower- <br />potency hemp edible retailers. State law requires that -local moratoria and licensing over these <br />entities must expire on January 1, 2025. Local units of government are required to register <br />cannabis and lower-potency hemp retailers that are pre-approved for licenses and licensed by <br />the state. While local units of government do not have licensing authority, they may use their <br />registration authority as a framework to set local regulations for the sale of these products <br />through authority granted in the state cannabis law, their authority to regulate to protect the <br />general health, safety, and welfare of the community, and, in some cases, their public health <br />authority. From a public health standpoint, local units of government may wish to explore these <br />other areas of regulatory authority that may be aimed at reducing youth exposure and access, <br />in addition to other areas that emphasize public health and prevention surrounding the sale of <br />adult-use cannabis and lower-potency hemp edibles. <br />While hemp businesses are subject to OCM licensing requirements, they are not explicitly <br />included in all aspects of the “cannabis business”1 regulatory scheme. As such, local <br />governments may have broader authority to regulate hemp businesses more stringently <br />beyond the time, place, and manner restrictions prescribed for the regulation of cannabis <br />businesses by local units of government. However, local units of government are not allowed to <br />outright prohibit cannabis and hemp businesses. <br />It is important to note that local regulation of the retail sale of cannabis and lower-potency <br />hemp edibles is untested in Minnesota courts. While the law is clear about some areas of <br />local regulation that are permitted and not permitted, there is ambiguity in the law. For more <br />information on authority for local regulation of the retail sale of cannabis, please see the <br />Public Health Law Center’s resources: Minnesota Regulation of Legalized Cannabis: FAQ Public <br />Health Options and Minnesota’s New Cannabis Law. A jurisdiction planning to adopt this model <br />ordinance, in whole or in part, should first review it with its attorney to determine suitability <br />for the jurisdiction’s circumstances. The city or county attorney should review the planned <br />ordinance to ensure it conforms to applicable state and federal laws. <br />1 Cannabis businesses are defined to include the cannabis-specific businesses that will be licensed under the law, <br />including cannabis microbusinesses, mezzobusinesses, cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, trans- <br />porters, testing facilities, event organizers, delivery services, and medical cannabis combination businesses. Minn. <br />Stat. § 342.01, subd. 14 <br />September 2024