![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-03.44.26-1024x592-2.png\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Minnesota\u2019s top cannabis regulator gave a committee of lawmakers an update on implementation of the state\u2019s adult-use marijuana law on Tuesday, touching on matters such as staffing up the new office and the forthcoming launch of a new business license application portal. But issues such as who would qualify for equity advantages under the plan drew ire from some Republicans on the panel.<\/p>\n
Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (R), for example, questioned why proposed equity rules would allow people with past criminal convictions for selling marijuana to not only operate retail outlets but also receive social equity status in licensing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d think if we were trying to find a safe, regulated market,\u201d he said, \u201cthat would be a surprising first proposal coming from the regulatory agency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) interim Director Charlene Briner responded by pointing out that she\u2019s a parent of someone currently incarcerated on drug charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a son who has been convicted of drug offenses and is currently incarcerated,\u201d she told members of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. \u201cAnd while I will never defend his choices, I have to believe as a mother in second chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy hope is that as a state, we will give opportunity for second chance to people who have paid their dues and who have proven that they are reintegrated into society and have become contributing members,\u201d Briner continued, adding that those people would \u201chave an opportunity to reduce some of the collateral consequences that they\u2019ve experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n
OCM officials have been working to provide updates in recent months on the status of Minnesota\u2019s legal marijuana rollout and to detail changes recommended by the office. Briner has said the proposals are designed both to speed the opening of the legal market and to \u201cstrengthen the already robust social equity goals in the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that the intention of the law is very clear but that there are opportunities to make some of those social equity opportunities even more robust,\u201d she said during an earlier presentation last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n The proposal includes plans to begin temporary licensing of some businesses as soon as this summer, emphasizing businesses at least two-thirds controlled by those impacted most by prohibition. It\u2019s that advantage that prompted criticism from Rasmusson at the Senate committee hearing.<\/p>\n The change would allow equity-owned businesses to secure licenses ahead of time, according to the presentation, \u201cso when the market opens, they have the first availability to launch.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Tim Walz (D) has said he supports the plan<\/a>, though he said he wants the equity program to be crafted in a way that avoids legal challenges.<\/p>\n Rasmusson, however, said regulators should reconsider their priorities.<\/p>\n \u201cI would just encourage the agency to think about the health and safety of Minnesotans,\u201d he said at Tuesday\u2019s hearing, \u201cand not how we can make money for certain groups.\u201d<\/p>\n For the most part, Briner\u2019s presentation<\/a> to the committee on Tuesday went smoothly. The first design phase of the state\u2019s new licensing application system is complete, she said, and OCM has begun internal testing to better understand a user\u2019s experience on the platform. The department has also been working with other state agencies on issues such as banking and tax collection.<\/p>\n There are also six appointments yet to be made to the Cannabis Advisory Council, an oversight board that Briner said is aiming to have its inaugural meeting in the first quarter of this year.<\/p>\n She also outline efforts OCM has made to solicit public feedback, such as by launching a series of public surveys on topics like retail business operations<\/a>, packaging and labeling, edibles standards and the state\u2019s medical marijuana system.<\/p>\n Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hundreds of people have replied to each of seven separate surveys put out by the department. The most recent\u2014on medical cannabis\u2014has received the most submissions, with more than 4,400 so far.<\/p>\n Additionally, officials have hosted public webinars and met with legislative bodies and outside stakeholders to gather feedback on the legal market\u2019s rollout.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is novel work in state government. It is rare to build an agency from the ground up,\u201d Briner said. \u201cWe are creating new positions and creating new standard operating procedures, and so we want to make sure that we are being intentional about it\u2014to both capture the intended outcomes that are very clear in the law, not the least of which is our social equity outcomes that we hope to achieve, but also to establish sound regulatory practices for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n Of everything OCM has been engaged with, rulemaking \u201cis perhaps of the most interest,\u201d she acknowledged.<\/p>\n Drafting of rules is expected to stretch into this summer, with a notice of intent to publish proposed rules likely coming in the fall. At that point there will be a public comment period and regulators may make revisions to the proposed rules. The governor also has an option to veto the rules.<\/p>\n Ultimately, final rules won\u2019t be decided until early 2025.<\/p>\n A number of Republican lawmakers have taken aim at the new system, however. In addition to Rasmusson and others\u2019 criticisms on Tuesday, another pair of GOP lawmakers recently warned that cannabis cultivation could put a strain on the state\u2019s electrical system<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGet ready for blackouts and brownouts. That\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen,\u201d said Sen. Eric Lucero (R), who called growing the plant \u201cunsustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n Legalization itself has been broadly opposed by Republican politicians. When the legislature passed the legislation last year, just five Republican House members and one GOP senator voted for the legislation.<\/p>\n Sen. John Jasinski (R) last year spoke out against legalization, saying it would lead to early retirement for drug-sniffing dogs.<\/p>\n \u2014 Elsewhere in Minnesota party politics, Democrats recently asked the state Supreme Court to\u00a0decertify the Legal Marijuana Now Party as a major political party<\/a>. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party says the pro-marijuana party has failed to comply with state election laws.<\/p>\n Ahead of the planned launch of legal sales next year, the city of Osseo is\u00a0considering whether to open the state\u2019s first municipally run marijuana retailer<\/a>\u2014a move leaders say would provide more local control over the look, feel and operations of the store.<\/p>\n A city report published last month said officials are currently waiting on the state\u2019s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to hire a new director and proceed with opening license applications. If all goes as planned, products would likely be available April 2025, it said.<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s cannabis law has already allowed\u00a0tribes within the state to open marijuana businesses<\/a>\u00a0before the state begins licensing traditional retailers, and some tribal governments\u2014including the\u00a0Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians<\/a>, the\u00a0White Earth Nation<\/a>\u00a0and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe\u2014have already entered the legal market.<\/p>\n But after a controversy in which a Red Lake Nation Tribal Council member was accused stealing from the store, NativeCare, the tribal government reportedly has\u00a0pressed pause<\/a>\u00a0on cannabis operations.<\/p>\n Adults 21 and older in Minnesota can already legally use, possess and grow marijuana for personal use. In August, the governor clarified that\u00a0homegrown cannabis cannot be sold commercially<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following legalization, minor violations of possession or home cultivation limits can result in petty misdemeanors, charges some advocates have said\u00a0should include state-provided legal representation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even before Walz signed the reform bill, the state\u00a0launched a website that serves as a hub for information<\/a>\u00a0about the new law. Officials have also already started soliciting vendors\u00a0to help build a licensing system<\/a>\u00a0for recreational marijuana businesses.<\/p>\n Walz has also\u00a0renewed his search for a top marijuana regulator<\/a>\u00a0to lead OCM. In September, the\u00a0office\u2019s former head, Erin DuPree<\/a>, a cannabis industry consultant, stepped down after one day of work following a\u00a0Star Tribune\u00a0report that her hemp shop allegedly sold illegal products. Lab results reportedly showed elevated THC levels and the presence of banned synthetic ingredients.<\/p>\n Also in September, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that\u00a0the odor of marijuana, on its own, does not establish probable cause<\/a>\u00a0for police officers to search a vehicle.<\/p>\n Aside from OCM, another body created by Minnesota\u2019s marijuana law is the Cannabis Expungement Board, which will\u00a0facilitate record sealing for people with eligible marijuana convictions<\/a>\u00a0on their records. The review process for eligible cases began in August. In the meantime, officials recently added a new notice to cannabis criminal history records, essentially letting reviewers know that\u00a0certain marijuana records that appear on records checks may be pending expungement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Justice Department Researcher Says \u2018We May Need Better Tests\u2019 For Marijuana Impairment, Questioning \u2018Per Se\u2019 THC Limits For Driving<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Max Pixel<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Questioned On Equity, Minnesota Marijuana Regulator Tells Lawmakers Her Son Is Incarcerated For Drugs<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Minnesota\u2019s top cannabis regulator gave a committee of lawmakers an update on implementation of the state\u2019s adult-use marijuana law on Tuesday, touching on matters such as staffing up the new office and the forthcoming launch of a new business license application portal. But issues such as who would qualify forContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":72674,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72673"}],"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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72675,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72673\/revisions\/72675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Surveys](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-03.44.26-1024x592-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-26.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: Questioned On Equity, Minnesota Marijuana Regulator Tells Lawmakers Her Son Is Incarcerated For Drugs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"