MNisReady but cities are not…[part 1]
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There’s so much to report this week that we’re doing a Part 1 and Part 2. This is Part 1—stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow!
1. Let’s Get PoLITical
Minnesota’s cannabis community is firing on all cylinders to elect a pro-legalization majority to both chambers of the Minnesota legislature this November—and the press is all abuzz with news of our efforts.
Last week, the Star Tribune published an article about the MNisReady Coalition, which held it kick-off event last Wednesday in uptown Minneapolis, and the MNisReady Political Action Fund. The MNisReady Coalition consists of Minnesota’s leading cannabis advocacy organizations—Minnesotans for Responsible Marijuana Regulation, Sensible Change Minnesota and Minnesota NORML—as well as members of Minnesota’s cannabis industry. The Coalition’s focus is voter outreach and engagement. From the article:
MN is Ready (sic) has created an online voter guide showing which candidates for state and federal offices support recreational marijuana legalization and who doesn't. The group is advertising its online voter guide on flyers and via social media. It's posted videos on its TikTok account showing Minnesota lawmakers' past statements on marijuana legalization, with some clips garnering more than 10,000 views.
The MNisReady Political Action Fund, per the article, “will focus its money on battleground races where third-party candidates could again cost a Democrat victory.”
The Minnesota Reformer also published an article last week about the MNisReady Coalition focusing especially on the role that Minnesota’s cannabis industry will play in that effort. From the article:
The MNisReady Coalition, which is a partnership of regional advocacy groups and cannabis businesses, hopes to use customer loyalty and access to email addresses to turn occasional voters into dedicated legalization voters.
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The coalition is capitalizing on the explosion of cannabis sales following Minnesota’s recent legalization of hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages. They’re planning to meet potential voters at the businesses where they buy cannabis products to tell them about the November election.
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[The coalition is] enlisting the help of businesses to put the guide directly in cannabis voters’ hands, which is easier for businesses with a storefront than advocacy groups. Member retailers, she said, will leverage businesses’ customer email lists and pass out fliers with a QR-code that links to the voters’ guide.
The article includes additional details and quotes from some of the Coalition’s industry partners, including Duluth and Minneapolis’ Legacy Glassworks, Silver Lake and Hutchinson’s Grounded Gardens, and St. Paul’s Nothing But Hemp.
FLASHBACK: MinnPost published an article last month about the MNisReady Political Action Fund that focused on the independent expenditure (IE) campaign’s unique cross-party collaboration. The IE campaign is chaired by Michael Ford—who is the Chair of MN NORML and the former Legal Marijuana Now (LMN) Party chair and candidate who secured LMN’s major party status in 2018. From the article:
“This year we’re hoping to educate voters that voting for Legal Marijuana Now or Grassroots candidates isn’t going to get us closer to legalization. It can actually hurt us,” Ford said. “The only way we’re going to get there is either by the Republicans magically saying, ‘hey we changed our minds,’ or by electing legislators who have already taken stands.”
The IE campaign is managed by DFL political operative and Blunt Strategies partner Leili Fatehi. From the article:
[The] independent expenditure campaign to spend money in targeted districts where a legalization candidate could be the difference between a DFL victory and a DFL defeat. Fatehi said it will be a challenge to reach the type of voter who makes legalization their top issue. They are, by nature, not as engaged in politics as other single-issue candidates might be.
“That’s why it is important to do this in collaboration with leaders from that third-party movement, leaders who are recognizable to single-issue cannabis voters,” she said. The recent legalization of THC-infused edibles has provided some momentum.
“This election cycle is very exciting,” Fatehi said. “It feels like the community has really coalesced together that hasn’t existed before.”
The MinnPost article also provided additional details about the MNisReady Coalition, whose director is Sensible Change MN Policy Director Maren Schroeder:
The coalition is offering a seal of approval for candidates who pledge to work for legalization that can be included on campaign materials and mailers. Schroeder said the voter education part of the new coalition will try to raise money from advocates of legalization as well as those who might profit from a new market, now including retailers and producers of hemp-derived THC edibles. That could be another challenge, however.
“There’s been a lot of work on the advocacy side at little to no pay while private industry is making a boatload of money,” she said. So far, little of that has flowed into politics or issue advocacy.
2. Speaking of Fundraising…
If you receive or catch wind of fundraising emails from a new political committee called Marijuana for America, there’s no need to be alarmed. It’s a federal IE formed by a local ally and political fundraising expert to raise small-dollar contributions from donors across the country. The effort is aligned with the MNisReady efforts. If you’ve got questions, email leili@bluntstrategies.com.
3. Is a Law Without Enforcement is Just a Suggestion?
The Star Tribune featured an article this week about the lack of enforcement authority and funding to keep non-compliant THC products off the shelves in Minnesota. From the article:
[I]ntermingled with the legal products on many store shelves are highly potent delta-8 vapes, gummies and flower — prohibited under state law.
Minnesota retailers have little incentive to quit selling non-compliant products given the lack of a licensing structure and dedicated funding to enforce the state's peculiar legal THC market.
"The enforcement is almost non-existent," Jason Tarasek with Minnesota Cannabis Law said at a conference last week. "We need a seed-to-sale tracking system. We need licensing. We need to do this so that consumers are protected."
The article says that Star Tribune reporters visited five metro-area retailers and found “numerous violations”:
One smoke shop was selling a variety of edibles with the right dosage, packaging and labeling, but it had several non-compliant products as well. Another smoke shop's inventory was nearly all illegal: vapes, gummies and hemp flower with high doses of delta-8 THC.
At a store that focuses on CBD products, some legal THC edibles had the right dosage but were missing required labels, such as "keep out of reach of children" warnings and manufacturing/testing information.
A vape shop sold gummies with 10 milligrams of THC per serving — twice the legal dose — as well as cookies infused with 500 milligrams of delta-8 THC.
One area where enforcement authority is not lacking: driving under the influence of cannabis. From CNHI News article this week:
“Just because the Legislature legalized those products doesn’t make it legal to drive impaired,” said Nicollet County Sheriff Dave Lange.
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While THC products may be legal to consume in Minnesota, unlike with alcohol, there is currently no “legal amount” of THC a person may have in their bloodstream when operating a vehicle. Furthermore, THC products can stay in a person’s bloodstream for weeks following initial consumption. As a result, Minnesotans could test positive for THC intoxication and find themselves facing DWI charges, long after the psychoactive effects have worn off. In order to enforce the new law, law enforcement will have the power to request a search warrant for a blood draw if they believe a driver may be intoxicated, or in the event of a serious or fatal crash. That blood test will detect the presence of even trace amounts of THC in the bloodstream, but it won’t clarify whether it came from an illegal or now-legal source.
National law firm Littler published an article on its website about the employment implications of Minnesota’s new THC laws:
The new law does not contain any explicit protections for applicants or employees who choose to consume now-legal THC products and does not directly modify Minnesota’s drug-testing statutes. By legalizing the consumption of edible and drinkable hemp-derived THC products, however, the new law may affect an employer’s administration of its drug-testing programs. Whereas before, an employer could consider most THC-positive results indicative of illegal drug use (with medical cannabis being one significant exception), the same positive test result might now be explained by the applicant’s or employee’s lawful use of THC products under Minnesota’s law.
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An employer that receives a THC-positive test result in Minnesota must be mindful of the state’s “lawful consumable products” law. Minnesota is one of several states with a law that protects employees from discipline based on partaking in certain “lawful” activities outside of work. Minnesota’s law defines “lawful consumable products” as products whose use or enjoyment is lawful and which are consumed, and specifically includes food, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, and tobacco within its protection. Whether that definition includes THC food products now legal under Minnesota state law, but remain controlled substances under federal law, is an outstanding question that Minnesota’s courts or legislature may need to resolve.
The article goes on to discuss the role that federal marijuana laws play, as well as exemptions and possible penalties that may exist.
Fox9 reports that sales of THC products will not be permitted at this year’s Minnesota State Fair:
"That’s not really enough time to develop any meaningful policies about controlled substance sales," [State Fair general manager Jerry] Hammer told reporters. "We’ll sure be looking at it. But for this year, no."
Asked if the fair will be doing inspections to ensure compliance, Hammer said regulars check every vendor that sells food and beverages at the fair.
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4. State Guidance and Resources
The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy met yesterday and approved an updated draft of its Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids Guidance document. In comparison to the prior version, the updated guidance document:
Explicitly states that the guidance “is not binding in any court or other adjudicatory body.”
States that the Board’s interpretations of Minn. Stat. 151.72 requirement that “[a]n edible cannabinoid product must not contain more than five milligrams of ANY tetrahydrocannabinol in a single serving, or more than a total of 50 milligrams of ANY tetrahydrocannabinol per package” as meaning “any and all THCs.”
States that HHC, THC-P, THC-O acetate, and non-specified “other substances derived from hemp” and products containing may not be sold legally in Minnesota.
States that “The testing required by Section 151.72 must be completed and certified before a manufacturer’s product is offered for sale in Minnesota.”
States that the requirement for child-resistant packaging is satisfied by packaging that has been certified as child-resistant under the federal Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
Further states that, when investigating packaging complaints, the Board will take into consideration the requirements for hemp-derived products adopted in other states.
Earlier this month, the Board of Pharmacy published information about and a form for filing complaints about non-compliant cannabinoid products. The Board also published a “THC Inspection Checklist” for use by local law enforcement.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue issued a statement on its website that all cannabinoid products that contain CBD or THC are subject to state sales tax. Prior to this statement, there was some confusion about the taxable status of edible cannabinoid products—while foods are not subject to sales tax in Minnesota, Minn. Stat. 151.72 explicitly defines edible cannabinoid products as NOT food.
5. Local Government Activities
Building on our last issue’s list of local governments scrambling to enact moratoriums and regulations on THC products (and, in some instances, other cannabinoids, too), here’s who’s jumped in since:
The League of Minnesota Cities sent a letter to Governor Tim Walz requesting a special session to address, among other things, the lack of a state framework for local regulation of THC products.
The city of Jordan passed a one-year moratorium on the sale, testing, manufacturing, and distribution of THC products.
The town of Nisswa passed a one-year moratorium on “the establishment of new uses or the expansion of existing uses related to sales, testing, manufacturing and distribution of THC products.” The ordinance states that the moratorium “is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public space, health, morals, safety and welfare because of the inherent risk of injury to persons related to the recently legalized sale of edible cannabinoid products containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).”
Litchfield’s city council met to discuss how it will regulate THC products. The majority of council members indicated a preference for “a strict ordinance and licensing fees instead of unlimited sales of cannabinol edibles within city limits” and all council members agreed that sale of THC products should be restricted to business zones. Litchfield’s city administrator has been tasked with consulting other local governments and bringing forth recommendations to the council at a future meeting.
Alexandria’s city council rejected a temporary moratorium and will work to enact specific regulations at a later date.
Wadena passed a moratorium that prohibits any person or entity from selling any edible cannabinoid products, as well as developing or constructing any business or receiving a permit for any activity involving edible cannabinoid products.
White Bear Lake tabled enacting a moratorium pending additional discussion and information.
Mankato passed an ordinance banning minor possession of THC edibles.
Again, this is just a handful of examples from the last couple of weeks.
COMING SOON: Blunt Strategies and O’Rourke Strategies are partnering to provide paid subscribers of The Pre-Roll with real-time tracking of local government activities (hearings, proposals, policies and ordinances, etc.) pertaining to cannabis products and businesses.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this week’s Pre-Roll.