Need assistance getting a cannabis business license? Schedule a Free Consultation
Minnesota cannabis stakeholders are concerned that the forthcoming adult-use market will be undersupplied and/or delayed if cultivators can’t begin growing before lawmakers finish deliberating over the program’s rules.
Legislators voted against a proposed amendment to a bill that would allow state regulators to pre-approve cultivators, according to CBS Minnesota.
Adult-use cannabis sales are scheduled to begin in early 2025.
With rulemaking still under deliberation, cultivators won’t have enough time to ramp up marijuana supply before the adult-use market launches next year, Vicente LLP attorney Jason Tarasek said in an interview with CBS Minnesota.
“I’ve had concerns that we’re going to be a bit behind,” Tarasek told the station.
“If we wait until rulemaking is finished to get plants in the ground, that’s probably going to be first-quarter/second-quarter 2025. Then we’re looking at a market launch in 2026, potentially,” he added.
In the meantime, the state Senate is working on updating adult-use legislation, and both chambers likely will agree to a compromise by the end of the legislative session, CBS reported.
Tarasek said the Office of Cannabis Management is receptive to finding a way to ensure cultivators have enough time to supply the new market.
“Perhaps we are going to get plants in the ground sooner than maybe we thought even yesterday,” Tarasek said.
