On Thursday, March 7, MN-OCM announced that it will be looking for non-hemp raw cannabis flower in its inspections. (Background from Jen: OCM had to reach an inter-agency agreement to do this, and we knew it was coming, so I hope this is not a surprise to my clients.) Office of Cannabis Management interim director Charlene Briner said that retailers have started to be contacted regarding inspections.

Takeaways:

-Inspectors will likely ask retailers for COAs (certificates of analysis from a testing lab) for any raw flower being sold, and/or will take samples to test.

-Retailers may still sell hemp (CBD) flower with less than 0.3% THC by dry weight. Remember, pre-rolls are also not allowed (because they are designed to be smoked).

-OCM has the authority to impose fines or embargo any product it has probable cause to believe “is being distributed in violation” of the law.

-Violations may be considered in OCM’s future licensing decisions.

Need help reviewing your product assortment in advance of an inspection? Let us know.

The Minnesota Legislature is in session, and many bills to change various matters with regard to cannabis law and enforcement have been introduced. Here's some that I am watching:

House File 4029 would remove the 'five hour rule', the current provision in HF100 that, effective March 1, 2025, would prohibits servers from selling a patron alcohol and THC beverages in the same five hour period.

Instead, the new bill is similar to an existing state law regarding alcohol: “No person may sell, give, furnish, or in any way procure for another lower-potency hemp edibles for the use of an obviously impaired person.”

We expected the two MSOs who hold medical cannabis licenses in Minnesota to ask the legislature for more this session. I've seen HF 4195/ SF4299, which would establish a pilot program allowing the medical cannabis manufacturers to sell to tribal governments and businesses, and SF 4798 expands medical companies' footprint to 90,000 square feet of canopy (vs. 60,000 in HF100) and more.

HF3766 / SF4734 is the caregiver bill, which would allow persons enrolled in the medical registry to homegrow up to 16 plants or designate registered caregivers to grow those plants for them.

HF4757 is OCM's bill, which I did a deep dive on in last Friday's newsletter. You can find the newsletter HERE.

Find your Minnesota Senator and Representatives and their contact info HERE.

Ready for a strategy session for your business?

Schedule time with attorney Jen Reise here, or call her at (651) 384-2819 or e-mail at jen@northstarlaw.com