Handful of Minnesota cities pause cannabis edible sales as they develop local rules

In the past month, the cities of Marshall, Robbinsdale and St. Joseph approved moratoriums on sales. Other cities across Minnesota are also considering moratoriums as they weigh how they’ll tackle enforcement.

ST.PAUL — As cities across Minnesota figure out how they’ll regulate food and drinks containing the component of cannabis that causes a high, some cities have opted to block sales altogether.

In the past month, the cities of Marshall, Robbinsdale and St. Joseph approved moratoriums on sales. Other cities across Minnesota are also considering moratoriums as they weigh how they’ll tackle enforcement, including Waite Park near St. Cloud, and the Twin Cities suburb of Prior Lake. Stillwater enacted a one-year moratorium on all cannabis product sales in November 2021, including the nonpsychoactive hemp product CBD.

Food and beverages containing THC, the psychoactive part of cannabis, became legal in Minnesota on July 1 . The new law allows products to contain 5 milligrams of THC per serving so long as it is derived from hemp, not marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law. Packages can contain a total of 50 milligrams of THC. Sales are restricted to those 21 and older.

Ahead of passing an emergency ordinance banning the sale of THC edibles on July 12, city council members in the southwestern Minnesota city of Marshall expressed concerns about what legalization might mean for their community.

“We have no regulations. We have no monitoring. We have no taxing. I worry about the people who are most at risk: the children, the young, the elderly people on multiple medications,“ said council member Steve Meister, later adding: “Taking a timeout just to do a little research on the pros, the cons, the benefits, the risks and figuring out how we’re going to deal with this not only in the city of Marshall, but the state, is a great idea.” [Read More @ The Duluth News Tribune]

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