Minnesota House passes cannabis omnibus bill
The Minnesota House on Thursday approved a handful of amendments before passing its cannabis omnibus bill, HF 4757, by a 69-62 vote. The legislation includes a number of law changes backed by the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) as well as a collection of other proposed changes.
A companion bill, SF 4782, is awaiting approval in the Minnesota Senate. If passed, the two bills would then go to conference committee, and both houses would vote on the final bill by the end of session on May 20 before the governor could sign it into law.
Here's the summary from the Star Tribune:
HF 4757 would:
-Change how cannabis licenses will be awarded from a points-based system for scoring applications to random lotteries for qualified applicants.
- Allow social equity applicants – people who were harmed directly or indirectly by cannabis prohibition — to be pre-approved for licenses to allow them to begin preliminary work to set up their businesses, but it would not allow them to begin operating until rules are in place, expected sometime in 2025.
- Set caps on the total number of cannabis business licenses issued for most license types for the first two years.
- Speed up the transfer of oversight of the state's medical cannabis program and hemp-derived cannabinoid market from the Department of Health to the Office of Cannabis Management.
- Permit doctors to recommend medical cannabis to treat any condition, not just those designated as qualifying conditions by the Office of Medical Cannabis.
- Allow patients enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program to designate a caregiver who could grow up to eight cannabis plants for them. Caregivers would be allowed to grow plants for one patient. A separate bill introduced this session would have allowed caregivers to grow up to 16 plants per patient for up to six patients.
New amendments approved by the House on Thursday would:
- Require the OCM to launch the application process for license preapproval by Nov. 15 and issue preapprovals to eligible applicants by Dec. 31.
- Allow cities or counties seeking to open a municipal cannabis store to automatically receive preapproval for a license without entering a lottery. These licenses would not count against overall license caps.
- Allow qualified applicants who fail to obtain a license through a lottery to enter subsequent lotteries without incurring additional license fees.
- Eliminate the OCM’s authority to grant an extension to cannabis business licenses holders if they fail to begin operating within 18 months of issuance.
- Require the Cannabis Advisory Council to study the impact of legal cannabis on minors.
Jen's take: I'm disappointed that an amendment to allow for early cultivation by successful social applicants failed (narrowly!) It's possible that we'll still see a legislative or rulemaking route to getting seeds in the ground earlier rather than later.
Big picture, while this bill is not everything I would want, it is another step in the right direction.
Other News:
This is the first 4/20 that weed is legal in Minnesota. The Strib did a roundup of events to celebrate legally: Read more.
St. Paul proposal would allow cannabis businesses throughout commercial corridors: A St. Paul proposal would allow cannabis businesses throughout the city's commercial corridors, though retailers would be prohibited within 300 feet of a school, Katie Galioto reports for the Star Tribune. The state allows cities to ban cannabis businesses within 1,000 feet of a school and 500 feet of day cares, residential treatment facilities and parks. But in St. Paul, those maximum distance requirements would restrict cannabis businesses in more than half of the city's retail parcels, according to city planners. Under staff's recommendation, cannabis retailers, cultivators and product manufacturers with up to 15,000 square feet would be allowed in most commercial corridors, while larger businesses would be limited to areas zoned for greenhouse and industrial uses. Read more.
