Local Governments Deal with Filling a Different Type of Pot Hole
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1. Shifting From “What Happened?” to “What’s Next?”
KSTP provides its post mortem investigation of how and why some GOP state legislators were caught by surprise that they had voted to legalize and regulate certain edible products containing hemp-derived THC. After reviewing videos and transcripts of the hearings for the legislation, lobbyist Brian McDaniel summed it up well:
“There’s lots of people that would have been involved in this, and it just seems as though they either didn’t ask any questions or didn’t ask the right questions and thus didn’t fully understand what they were voting on.”
Cannabis Wire also looked into how and why the legislation came to pass. Blunt Strategies’ own Leili Fatehi said:
“There were hemp-derived cannabis products as well as products that consumers were able to purchase online that were entering the market here that were wholly unregulated. And, so, there was a need for an initial regulatory framework to enact some consumer safety measures.”
State Representative Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina), the legislation’s chief author in the MN House, said:
“It became this complicated thing of — what do we do? Either seize everything from the shelf, or, maybe we can go in and say we’ll have five milligrams per serving or 50 per package. That would be okay.”
But, the Cannabis Wire article further delves into what challenges lay ahead, namely (1) the need for a dedicated cannabis regulatory agency and, more pressingly, (2) the need for local governments to figure out their roles and responsibilities in regulating THC products:
[League of Minnesota Cities general counsel Patricia Beety] said cities are nimble and will figure out how to navigate the landscape for the newly approved edibles. “Some of the words out there that you hear—it’s a ‘free for all’ or ‘wild west’ or whatever,” Beety said. “I don’t think that is the case in Minnesota. We have a state statute, there’s frameworks in the statute. And we do have local governments that are looking at it, and will put forth, I’m confident, some reasonable proposals.”
RESOURCE: League of Minnesota Cities’ FAQ on “Cities and Regulation of Edible Cannabinoid Products”
2. Speaking of Cities and ‘Free for All’…
Cities across Minnesota are scrambling to enact local ordinances. With all due respect to Ms. Beety and the LMC, if “free for all” isn’t an apt description, then perhaps “pandemonium,” “frenzy,” or “clusterf***” fits the bill.
The Star Tribune reports St. Joseph and Marshall have imposed one-year moratoriums on the manufacture and sales of hemp-derived edibles. Waite Park tabled approving a moratorium to see how other surrounding cities handle the issue. St. Cloud is working with the LMC to draft an ordinance based on those for tobacco products.
Sartell passed a five-month moratorium as it works on drafting an ordinance that will include requirements for checking IDs and zoning shops carrying cannabis products away from schools and “other places frequented by children.”
Kasson City is considering a moratorium and while waiting to see if Dodge County imposes county-wide restrictions and rules.
Circle Pines is also waiting on guidance from Anoka County while White Bear Lake, Lino Lakes, and Shoreview all consider their options.
Prior Lake approved a year-long moratorium on the sale of edible THC products. So did Maple Grove. And Cold Spring, too.
Edina approved an “interim ordinance prohibiting sale, testing, manufacturing, and distribution of THC products.”
Stillwater, which imposed a moratorium on CBD products last November, is considering detailed revisions to that ordinance. Per the city’s attorney, “We are going to limit all THC sales and products to exclusive CBD stores and then we will license the exclusive CBD stores and limit the licenses to two.”
Monticello tabled approving a moratorium until later this month, which is when St. Michael and Big Lake also plan to take up the issue. Northfield is also assessing its options and plans to take up the issue later this month.
The city of Orono imposed a one-year moratorium on the “sale, testing, manufacturing, and distribution of THC products.”
The town of Sleepy Eye received an informational hearing on the issue.
Hastings’ City Council referred the issue to its citizen Public Safety Advisory Committee.
And this is just a sampling of what’s going on at the local level, and it’s only getting more complicated and hectic every day.
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.
3. There’s No D or R in Cannabis
The Star Tribune reports that THC edibles have quickly found a market at Minnesota’s musical festivals and venues, including at the Twin Cities Summer Jam in Shakopee and WE Fest in Detroit Lakes, both of which took place earlier this month. From the article:
[Waseca-based CBD Centers co-founder Matt] Little’s stand at the Blake Shelton-headlined Summer Jam was rather tellingly set up next to Busch Light and Southern Comfort booths. Fans in cowboy hats and pro-Trump T-shirts lined up to buy the goods, often with lots of questions and a few giggles. THC is not just for hippies anymore. "The old stereotypes of who's into it are going away fast," Little noted.
[…]
Outside of Mike Drummer's THC stand at Summer Jam, customers gave a universal thumbs-up to the products being sold. "You can definitely feel it and taste it, but it's not overwhelming," said a customer named Cassidy, who had come back for her second THC-infused lemonade.