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MINNEAPOLIS — What’s called an “expedited comment period” opened Monday for recreational marijuana in Minnesota, but how close are we to actually seeing cannabis businesses open up?
It has been nearly two years since legal cannabis passed the Minnesota legislature with the original goal of getting the recreational market up and running this month.
“I can’t imagine that they will be able to issue licenses before the end of the year,” said Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch.
Koran, a former co-chair of the Medicinal Cannabis Taskforce, said he believes the marketplace won’t even be ready by the end of this year due to a judge’s ruling that halted the cannabis lottery following several lawsuits.
“Now they have to complete the rule-making process which they’re in, they won’t likely complete that for the next four, five, six months,” Koran said.
Minnesota attorney Carol Moss, who specializes in cannabis law and serves on Gov. Tim Walz’s Cannabis Advisory Council, is more optimistic.
“We are on the path to have dispensaries open later this year,” Moss said.
While Moss acknowledges roadblocks, the path for small, microbusinesses to receive licenses, once the laws are drawn up, is still running smoothly.
Large businesses — the ones tied up in the lawsuits — may see some hiccups.
“Those microbusinesses can start getting seeds in the ground in a couple of months, and we can start seeing stores within the end of the year,” said Moss.
Last month, the Office of Cannabis Management acknowledged the hurdles but said the first cannabis businesses could just be months away from sprouting up.
“This is going to be a slower rollout,” Moss said. “I do think that this is a situation that can be very beneficial to our industry in the long run.”
A spokesperson with the Office of Cannabis Management told WCCO on Tuesday that draft rules in the State Register “call for open for a statutorily required 30-day public comment period,” with rules expected to be adopted by the first quarter’s end.
“In fact, there are more than 200 qualified applicants who are in line to receive licenses immediately after rules are adopted, who could conceivably begin the steps of starting their business before summer,” the spokesperson said.
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