BEMIDJI — Since last summer’s legalization of the recreational use of cannabis in Minnesota, local governments have continued to grapple with the “where” and “when” of weed businesses coming to town.
While tribal nations in the state are leading the way with official dispensaries and growing operations, sales have yet to begin in much of the state and regulatory infrastructure underwent more changes in the 2024 legislative session.
But the day when businesses can begin to sell cannabis is fast approaching. Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management has opened its social equity applicant process for cannabis growing and manufacturing with pre-approval beginning July 24 and the application window closing Aug. 12. Businesses licenses for growing cannabis are expected to be issued this fall.
The legislation legalizing marijuana prioritized those groups most harmed by cannabis prohibition as among the first to get licenses to operate in the cannabis business. This includes those convicted of marijuana offenses, as well as their parents or children; military veterans, including those who lost honorable status due to a marijuana offense; and Minnesota residents who, for the past five years, lived in areas with high poverty and cannabis enforcement rates.
Bemidji’s city government is currently in the process of establishing a moratorium on cannabis businesses, with a public hearing scheduled for its Monday, July 15, agenda. In a work session last month, City Attorney Katie Nolting advised the council to enact a moratorium, allowing the city’s planning and zoning board and commission an opportunity to plan for cannabis businesses.
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City of Bemidji
“We can even have public hearings — more than what’s required in our ordinance process— to get public input on planning and zoning,” Nolting said. “Where do you want any growing, manufacturing, retail [business] in regard to the city and where they should be located?”
According to guidance from the League of Minnesota Cities through updates passed by state lawmakers in the most recent session, cities can set moratoriums through Jan. 1, 2025. That is the expected time when most dispensaries off tribal lands will be able to operate.
Bemidji city staffers advised it could take at least three months to add cannabis-business related measures to its regulations. Council member Josh Peterson urged the council to also consider ordinances regulating personal cannabis use in public spaces.
“I mean, most progressive cities in Minnesota have ordinances, like Minneapolis and St. Paul, on use and where it can be used,” Peterson said. “If cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul have ordinances within their park systems, we need to look at that as well for where it can and cannot be used.”
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In the city of Nisswa in Crow Wing County, a cannabis moratorium has already been in place for two years. The sales prohibition in the city began shortly after the Legislature legalized low-dose THC edibles in an omnibus bill that caught many lawmakers in the area by surprise.
The City Council there recently issued a cease-and-desist order to Schaefer’s Foods, a local family-owned grocery store, for selling cannabis-infused seltzer beverages while the city was under a THC moratorium.
Owner Andy Schaefer told the council he began selling the drinks since before the moratorium was in place and wasn’t aware of it. The city also didn’t know the drinks were being sold at Schaefer’s. It came to leaders’ attention around the time neighboring Roundhouse Brewery requested the moratorium be lifted early to allow the business to sell THC beverages on tap — another measure clarified in this year’s tweaks to the cannabis legislation.
The Council, including Mayor John Ryan, expressed frustration with the lack of clarity from the Office of Cannabis Management on local government control of cannabis businesses.
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City of Nisswa
“This is something that’s been an ongoing conversation with our elected officials … down in St. Paul — between myself and them anyway — ‘cause it’s clear as mud [with] everybody down there,” Ryan said.
After receiving the cease-and-desist order, Schaefer requested an opportunity to sell through his supply during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. He jokingly suggested he might be able to get through the THC seltzer supply on his own.
“I could give it the old college try, and I guess, I got ‘til February before it’s outdated, and then I might get a little weird,” Schaefer said to a humored council.
The Nisswa City Council unanimously voted to allow Schaefer’s Foods through July 15 to comply with its cease-and-desist order.
After moratoriums end in January, local government entities can either zone for cannabis business through ordinance or take a more hands-off approach, which would allow cannabis business in any commercial area.
The Brainerd City Council just moved forward a set of ordinances regulating cannabis businesses there. The Brainerd Dispatch reported that with Brainerd’s population of over 14,000 people, the city will allow up to two cannabis businesses. This is in accordance with state regulations of no fewer than one cannabis business per 12,500 residents.
The new ordinance in Brainerd prohibits cannabis businesses from operating within 100 feet from a school, residential treatment facility, playground or athletic field. Retail cannabis will be allowed in commercial zoning districts; while growing and manufacturing of cannabis products will be permitted in industrial zones.
All cannabis that can be legally sold in Minnesota must also be grown in Minnesota, prompting the move to start growing operations in the state this fall ahead of anticipated commercial cannabis sales off tribal lands beginning in 2025.
