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Minnesota officials are already soliciting vendors to help build a licensing system for recreational marijuana businesses\u2014even before the governor has officially signed the legalization bill that lawmakers recently sent to his desk.<\/p>\n
In a request for proposal (RFP) posted on Wednesday, the state Department of Information Technology Services (MNIT) said that it is partnering with Departments of Health and Agriculture, as well as the yet-to-be-established Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to find a \u201cvendor to provide the software required to accept license applications, process applications, issue licenses, and allow licensees to manage their licenses related to Adult Use of Cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n
The RFP also included an estimated timeline for licensing implementation, with officials saying that they expect to start processing license applications in May 2024. Retails sales are anticipated to begin January 1, 2025.<\/p>\n
Gov. Tim Walz (D) said over the weekend that he will be signing marijuana legalization into law<\/a> at a \u201cbig\u201d ceremony after Memorial Day next week, but the state isn\u2019t waiting around to prepare the infrastructure. Even before this latest notice was posted, a government website launched to provide information to consumers and businesses about the forthcoming cannabis policies.<\/p>\n \u201cMinnesota is becoming the 23rd state in the nation to legalize cannabis use for adults 21 and older,\u201d MNIT said in the RFP. \u201cThe proposed legislation creates the framework for adult-use cannabis in Minnesota and establishes a new state agency\u2014the Office of Cannabis Management\u2014that will regulate cannabis (including for the adult-use market, the Medical Cannabis Program, and for low-potency hemp edibles) and issue licenses and develop regulations outlining how and when businesses can participate in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe State prefers a software solution that can be implemented quickly with no custom development required,\u201d the notice says.<\/p>\n MNIT also listed basic requirements for businesses that are interested in being contracted to facilitate licensing.<\/p>\n They should be able to easily integrate the licensing software with the state\u2019s Metrc system, process license applications, provide an applicant\/license holder portal, receive and track online complaints \u201cvia work queues,\u201d provide a compliance and enforcement inspection module, host a platform for the state to create custom reports, management payments and more.<\/p>\n The contract is projected<\/a> to run from July 2023 to June 2025, \u201cwith the option to extend up to an additional 3 years in increments determined by the State.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cResponders are encouraged to propose additional tasks, activities, or goods above and beyond the scope of what is requested in this solicitation if they will substantially improve the results of this procurement,\u201d MNIT said. \u201cAny costs associated with these additional tasks, activities, or goods should be clearly marked and separated from costs associated with the tasks activities, or goods specifically requested under this solicitation.\u201d<\/p>\n Applications for prospective vendors will be judged based on work plans, qualifications and experience, business\/functional\/non-functional\/security requirements, accessibility of products and services, cost details and \u201cpreference points\u201d if applicable for military veterans.<\/p>\n Here are the main components of the\u00a0final<\/a>\u00a0marijuana legalization bill,\u00a0HF 100<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n As of August 1, adults 21 and older could purchase and possess in public up to two ounces of cannabis and they would be allowed to cultivate up to eight plants at home, four of which could be mature. People could possess up to two pounds of marijuana in their residences.<\/p>\n Gifting up to two ounces of marijuana without remuneration between adults would be permitted.<\/p>\n It\u2019s expected to take 12-18 months for licenses to be issued and sales to start. As of March 1, 2025, existing medical cannabis businesses could receive new combination licenses that would allow them to participate in the adult-use market.<\/p>\n Certain marijuana misdemeanor records would also be automatically expunged, with implementation beginning in August. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be responsible for identifying people who are eligible for relief to the courts, which will process the expungements. A newly created Cannabis Expungement Board would also consider felony cannabis offenses for relief, including potential sentence reductions for those still incarcerated.<\/p>\n In addition to creating a system of licensed cannabis businesses, municipalities and counties could own and operate government dispensaries.<\/p>\n On-site consumption permits could be approved for events, and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill.<\/p>\n Local governments would not be allowed to prohibit marijuana businesses from operating in their areas, though they could set \u201creasonable\u201d regulations on the time of operation and location while also limiting the number of cannabis business licenses based on population size.<\/p>\n There would be a gross receipts tax on cannabis sales in the amount of 10 percent, which will be applied in addition to the state\u2019s standard 6.875 percent sales tax.<\/p>\n Eighty percent of revenue would go into the state\u2019s general fund\u2014with some monies earmarked for grants to help cannabis businesses, fund substance misuse treatment efforts and other programs\u2014and 20 percent would go to local governments.<\/p>\n A new Office of Cannabis Management would be established, and it would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. There would be a designated Division of Social Equity.<\/p>\n The legislation would promote social equity, in part by ensuring diverse licensing by scoring equity applicants higher. People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing. People convicted of cannabis offenses, or who have an immediate family member with such a conviction, would also qualify.<\/p>\n \u2014 Following their election win in November,\u00a0Democrats internally agreed to discuss the issue<\/a>\u00a0imminently.<\/p>\n A poll released this month found that 64 percent of Minnesota registered voters\u00a0support creating a regulated marijuana market<\/a>, including 81 percent of Democrats and a 49 percent plurality of Republicans.<\/p>\n Two polls released in September found that the majority of Minnesota residents\u00a0support adult-use marijuana legalization<\/a>\u2014and one survey showed that even more Minnesotans approve of the state\u2019s move to legalize THC-infused edibles that was enacted last year.<\/p>\n A\u00a0survey conducted by officials with the House<\/a>\u00a0at the annual State Fair that was released in September also found majority support for legalization. That legislature-run poll found that 61 percent of Minnesotans back legalizing cannabis for adult use.<\/p>\n Support was up this year from 58 percent when the House Public Information Services\u00a0polled fair goers on the issue in 2021<\/a>. In 2019,\u00a0the House poll found 56 percent<\/a>\u00a0support for legalization.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Minnesota legislature sent a large-scale health policy bill to the governor<\/a> on Monday that contains provisions to create a psychedelics task force meant to prepare the state for possible legalization.<\/p>\n And last week, the governor signed legislation<\/a>\u00a0that contains provisions to legalize drug paraphernalia possession, syringe services, residue and testing\u2014a win for harm reduction advocates in the state.<\/p>\n Strong Majority Of New Hampshire Residents Continue To Support Marijuana Legalization\u2014Though Opinions Are Mixed On Governor\u2019s State-Run Store Plan<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of WeedPornDaily<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Minnesota Officials Seek Marijuana Licensing Contractor To Prepare For Legalization Even Before Governor Signs Reform Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Minnesota officials are already soliciting vendors to help build a licensing system for recreational marijuana businesses\u2014even before the governor has officially signed the legalization bill that lawmakers recently sent to his desk. In a request for proposal (RFP) posted on Wednesday, the state Department of Information Technology Services (MNIT) saidContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":65302,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65301"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65303,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65301\/revisions\/65303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Minnesota Officials Seek Marijuana Licensing Contractor To Prepare For Legalization Even Before Governor Signs Reform Bill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"