Minnesota
About the Data: Under the state’s adult-use program, local governments in Minnesota may adopt interim ordinances to regulate, restrict or prohibit the operation of a cannabis business within the jurisdictions or a portion thereof, until Jan. 1, 2025, according to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). The OCM does not have data on how many municipalities have adopted an interim ordinance, Peter Raeker, communications planner for the Department of Agriculture, Office of Cannabis Management Implementation (OCMI), told Cannabis Business Times.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, “a local unit of government may not prohibit the establishment or operation of a licensed cannabis business within its jurisdiction,” according to Raeker. “However, a local unit of government may, by ordinance, regulate the time, place and manner in which cannabis businesses operate. Additionally, a city may limit the number of licensed cannabis retailers, cannabis mezzobusinesses with a retail operations endorsement, and cannabis microbusinesses with a retail operations endorsement to no fewer than one registration for every 12,500 residents.”
Still, “Minnesota Statutes 342.13 (j) also states that if a county has one active registration for every 12,500 residents, a city or town within the county is not obligated to register a cannabis business,” according to Raeker. So, cities or towns may still, by default, not effectively permit cannabis businesses. Even after the Jan. 1, 2025, transition, some towns will not have retail sales, and because the OCM does not track data on city and towns, Minnesota is listed in this report as “data not available.”
Data Source: Minnesota OCMI
About Minnesota’s Adult-Use Cannabis Program: Minnesota became the 23rd state to legalize adult-use cannabis when the state Legislature voted to pass House File 100 and the governor signed it into law May 30, 2023. Adult-use sales are slated to begin in early 2025.