Minnesota Cannabis Regulators Say Nearly 400 Weed Shops Will Open Amid Crackdown On Illicit Sales

Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) predicts that the state will need at least 381 dispensaries to meet the requirement for local governments to provide at least one retail shop per every 12,500 residents.

Though Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana in August 2023, tribal lands were the first and only to launch legal cannabis sales shortly thereafter when the White Earth Nation Tribal Council began to sell on the reservation to both tribal and nontribal members the first week of August.

The OCM anticipates dispensaries will launch retail sales next year, once the office issues applications and establishes regulations for retailers.

In its report, issued earlier this week, the regulatory body noted that the situation is complicated by the absence of a well-regulated market for fully legalized marijuana.

"It is impossible at this time to understand the necessary supply of cannabis vs. hemp needed to accommodate total demand without further research," the report authors wrote. "Until the adult-use market is launched and sales for both types of outlets can be thoroughly assessed, estimates of adequate product supply and outlets for the adult-use program will likely be inaccurate."

Lack Of Regulated Cannabis Sales Boosts Illicit Market

The report also stressed that more Minnesotans are turning to illicit sources to obtain marijuana.

The "high prevalence of obtaining cannabis from a dealer, an illicit source, among Minnesota residents," can be attributed to the absence of "legal adult-use sources," according to the report.

Simultaneously, OCM is working on an interagency plan to put an end to hemp retailers that are selling marijuana buds that exceed the state's limit of 0.3% delta-9 THC as industrial hemp, reported Hemp Today.

The regulators are allegedly exploring the possibility of involving inspectors from the Office of Medical Cannabis and the Department of Agriculture to look into the sales of these products.

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