Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis law takes effect today, August 1, making it the 23rd state to pass sweeping cannabis legalization reforms. Under the new law, adults in Minnesota aged 21 and older can possess up to two ounces of cannabis flower in public and up to two pounds of cannabis in the privacy of their own homes. Legal cannabis consumers can also home-grow up to eight plants with a maximum of four flowering plants at once.
Additionally, the law includes automatic expungement provisions for cannabis misdemeanors or petty possession charges. There are an estimated 66,000 Minnesotans with misdemeanor cannabis charges eligible for automatic expungement, Minnesota Public Radio reports.
August 1 also marks the first day of recreational sales for NativeCare, a medical cannabis dispensary in Minnesota’s Red Lake Nation that announced last month it would commence adult-use sales once the reforms have formally taken effect. The retailer is expected to be the first operational adult-use cannabis retailer in the state.
The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management will oversee the licensing of medical and adult-use cannabis operators and set up regulations for the licensed production, manufacturing, and distribution of both cannabis and hemp-derived consumer products. Adult-use licenses for the rest of the state are not expected until sometime next summer, with statewide sales likely launching in January 2025.
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