Minnesota Hemp Challenge

Minnesota legalized medical cannabis in 2014. The small state, which became operational for medical cannabis in 2015, currently has 16 dispensaries from two companies that are operating and serving just 48K patients (mainly with chronic pain or PTSD) as of June 30. In August 2023, cannabis became legal for adult-use in the state, and the state has one cannabis program now overseen by the Office of Cannabis Management.

On October 1, the OCM opens a license application window for lower-potency hemp edible retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers. That window closes on 10/31, and this was laid out by the agency.

The letter included two big issues:

The entire letter can be read here:

ocm-director-taubel-letter-from-hemp-beverage-coalition-09-23-2025.pdf

Download PDF • 120KB

The signers included Total Wine, which has made a big effort in the hemp-derived THC beverage industry, and six others. Interestingly, it did not include RYTHM, Inc. (RYM), the public company that was formerly Agrify and that is controlled by Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF). GTI is one of the two companies (the other is Vireo Growth) that holds medical cannabis licenses and that is in the Minnesota adult-use program now.

There are many states that face the regulatory issues that are coming up in Minnesota. The low-potency hemp edible market is federally legal, though there could be an effort federally to push back the law that was passed in 2018 that enabled hemp products. There is no federal regulation currently, and we should expect more state regulation.