Excitement builds for July 1!
1. Excitement for July 1 is building —
→ Minnesota’s new laws legalizing and regulating edible products that contain up to 5mg per serving and 50mg per package of hemp-derived THC go into effect on July 1. KEYC aired and published a piece featuring Mankato’s CBD Centers as they prepare for the change.
Note that KEYC and other news outlets have reported that the new law takes effect August 1. This is incorrect–the law takes effect on July 1.
2. — But not for everyone
→ Last week, the Star Tribune editorial board voiced its approval for the state’s new cannabis laws while urging consumers to be responsible with their consumption. This week, the Strib published a counterpoint by local charlatan and addiction recovery profiteer Judson “Kim” Bemis who, as usual, is self-credited only as the co-founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota (SAMMn) without mention of his day job as co-founder of two for-profit businesses that specialize in interventions for “families of wealth” and “prevention and early intervention” programs for teens whose parents are “worried that [their] child may be influenced to experiment with substances” at some point in the future.
3. Speaking of charlatans and profiteers
→ Now that the new laws are going into effect, Minnesota is suddenly full of lobbyists and other public affairs consultants who are passionate experts about the industry. If you’ve never seen them at an industry or advocacy event, or if they get the name of the state’s governing regulatory agency wrong in their proposal, consider the possibility that they’re peddling snake oil.
4. Political Update
→ MPR News reports that the race in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District between DFL Congresswoman Angie Craig and GOP challenger Tyler Kistner is currently a toss-up with Republicans feeling bullish on their prospects for flipping the seat. Per the article:
“The biggest challenge facing Craig’s reelection effort might have nothing to do with the unpopular Democratic president and rising prices, [Kyle] Kondik [of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics], said, noting the presence of the third-party Legal Marijuana Now candidate, Paula Overby. Kondik said Overby is likely to attract thousands of voters, many of whom would otherwise cast ballots for Craig.”
Angie Craig has been a champion for cannabis legalization in the U.S. House. She cosponsored the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, challenged President Biden on his administration’s stance against White House employees who disclosed past cannabis use, and vocally praised the Minnesota House of Representatives for passing H.F. 600 to legalize adult-use cannabis.
→ The Post Bulletin published an article profiling Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party gubernatorial candidate Steve Patterson who is not a cannabis user or cannabis advocate but, rather, running because he’s “sick of it all” and by “it all” he means the bygone COVID restrictions.
If you support the election of viable state and federal legislators who will champion cannabis legalization, send us an email at politics@bluntstrategies.com to learn how you can help the MNisReady Coalition and the MNisReady Political Action Fund.
5. Nothing to see here…
→ Wisconsin Public Radio published an in-depth story about Clifford Skinner, a Minnesota medical cannabis patient who had $10,000 from recently cashed COVID stimulus checks seized by the Wisconsin State Patrol during a routine traffic stop which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency intends to keep even though Skinner hasn’t been charged with a crime. In Wisconsin, cannabis is treated as a Schedule I narcotic and is not legal for medical use. Skinner was issued a municipal citation for possession of less than a quarter ounce of cannabis. Even though he produced receipts to show that the seized cash came from the stimulus checks, the State Patrol informed him that they suspected the cash was tied to drug trafficking and handed it over to the DEA. Skinner, who is Black, believes the Patrol’s suspicions are due to racial bias.
6. Off, Wisconsin!
→ Speaking of Wisconsin, the city of Stevens Point is considering a proposed ordinance change that would set the penalty for marijuana possession to $5 plus court fees for individuals over 17 years old found in possession of 25 grams or less. The current ordinance sets the penalty at $100 plus court fees for 5 grams of less. The Stevens Point Police’s public information officer said in response “I will advise the PD wants to remind residents that no matter what the Council decides to do, it is still illegal under Wisconsin Law to possess, sell, or manufacture marijuana.”
See item #5 above.
7. Cannabis banking in Minnesota
→ BankBeat published an article on the state of cannabis banking featuring St. Cloud-based Stearns Bank, which launched a pilot cannabis banking program in October.
Stearns Bank is one of only fourteen financial institutions that issues loans directly to marijuana-related businesses (MRB). Per the article, the cannabis banking program “focuses on CRE lending, construction loans and equipment financing, generally wrapped into a blended loan product . . . Staff tackles compliance, analysis, lending, sales and underwriting. The bank’s compliance committee must unanimously approve every cannabis applicant before the loan heads to the loan committee for approval.”
Quoted in the article is Minnesota Cannabis Law’s Jason Tarasek who explains why most banks continue to stay away from MRBs due to cannabis’s federally illegal status.
8. Don’t forget: Great things to attend in June
RSVP for 40 Acre Co-op's second annual Juneteenth Celebration this Saturday, June 18, from 11AM-3PM.
Grounded Gardens is hosting its second annual Hemp Fest on Saturday, June 25, from 12-6PM in Silver Lake.
The Hemp Roundtable rides again on Wednesday, June 29, from 3-5PM at the offices of Hellmuth & Johnson in Edina.