Minnesota Cannabis Market
The cannabis consultants at Point Seven Group are experts in the Minnesota cannabis market. We have successfully helped our clients obtain cannabis licenses, design dispensaries, build identifiable cannabis brands, and operate compliant cannabis businesses. Our team of cannabis experts can help you reach your business goals in the Minnesota cannabis market!
WHAT IS MINNESOTA'S CURRENT CANNABIS MARKET STATUS?
Cannabis is now legal for adults 21 and older to use and possess in Minnesota, making it the 23rd state in the country to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
Learn more about the Summer 2024 Minnesota Cannabis Business application round for social equity applicants, as well as the upcoming general application round in 2025, by exploring our detailed Point7 Minnesota Overview.
RECREATIONAL CANNABIS IN MINNESOTA
A recent application period for pre-approval licenses took place in the summer of 2024, exclusively for verified social equity applicants. Submitted applications are now undergoing a comprehensive review process, and qualified candidates will be entered into a lottery scheduled for the fall of 2024. The general application period for non-social equity cannabis business licenses is set to open in 2025, providing broader opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses to enter Minnesota’s emerging cannabis market. A firm date is yet to be released, but Point7 expects this by Q2 of 2025.
Although Minnesotans gained the right to possess and consume cannabis on August 1, 2023, dispensaries will not be operational until the state's licensing system is fully established, which is expected by early 2025. In the meantime, tribal governments, including Minnesota’s 11 Native American tribal nations, have the authority to independently operate their own dispensaries. On August 1, the Red Lake Nation took the lead by opening the first recreational marijuana dispensary, NativeCare, providing cannabis access for adults 21 and older.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN MINNESOTA
Medical cannabis legislation was signed into law in Minnesota on May 29, 2014 and the first dispensary opened a little more than a year later, on July 1, 2015. There are around 40,000 patients in the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program.
The Minnesota Medical Marijuana Act allows patients with qualifying conditions to register for medical cannabis with conditions such as cancer, severe epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, Tourette’s syndrome, ALS, and Crohn’s Disease. Though the state has legalized the use of medical cannabis flower and expanded the list of qualifying conditions since the law’s initial rollout, Minnesota’s medical cannabis program is still considered to be one of the most restrictive in the country.
OUR SERVICES IN THE MINNESOTA CANNABIS MARKET
MINNESOTA CANNABIS NEWS
Minnesota Cannabis Business Development
June 17, 2023How to Win a Cannabis Business License in Minnesota
June 17, 2023How to Win a Minnesota Cannabis Cultivator License
September 17, 2023How to Win a Minnesota Recreational Cannabis Dispensary License
August 27, 2023A Guide to Minnesota Cannabis Laws
June 16, 2023Minnesota Cannabis Business License Types
June 16, 2023MINNESOTA CANNABIS LAWS
Although recreational cannabis use has been decriminalized since 1976, adult-use cannabis was only recently legalized in Minnesota. On May 30, 2023, Governor Tim Walz signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana use in Minnesota, making it the 23rd state in the U.S. to do so. The new law allows adults aged 21 and older to legally possess and consume cannabis. It also includes provisions for expunging minor marijuana-related convictions and sets the groundwork for a regulated commercial cannabis market.
Minnesota’s existing medical cannabis laws remain in effect, regulating patient eligibility and protecting the medical cannabis system. These cannabis laws dictate the role of Minnesota’s Department of Health in regulating the medical cannabis program and overseeing the state’s cannabis business licensing process – but this role may change with the passing of recreational cannabis legalization.
MINNESOTA HEMP LAWS
The 2014 Farm Bill contained a provision to allow state departments of agriculture to administer pilot programs to study the growth, cultivation, and marketing of hemp. In 2015, the Minnesota Industrial Hemp Development Act (IHDA), Minnesota Statutes Chapter 18K, became law. This allowed the MDA to create a hemp pilot program. The Minnesota pilot program operated in 2016 through 2020.
The 2018 Farm Bill officially legalized hemp cultivation for commercial purposes and removed it from the Controlled Substances Act. On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the Final Rule (7 CFR part 990), which forms the regulatory framework for all hemp cultivation nationwide. Each state and tribal authority has to submit a plan for approval to USDA if they want to continue to regulate hemp at the state/tribal level. The Minnesota State Plan was approved on May 6, 2021. Visit the USDA website to view the entirety of the Minnesota hemp plan.
