Things to fix: disparities, taxes & child safety

PLUS: Our local government tracking tool & behind the scenes intel for our paid subscribers

The Pre-Roll curates the most important cannabis news and developments at the intersection of policy, politics, and industry development. With over 1,500 subscribers, the Pre-Roll is Minnesota’s premier source for cannabis-related information and intelligence.

The Pre-Roll is written by Blunt Strategies, Minnesota’s first and only full-service strategic consultancy cultivated exclusively for the cannabis industry.

Got a hot tip? Interested in sponsoring? Wanna get to know each other better? Email us at preroll@bluntstrategies.com.

---

1. State Fair Recap

• Kare11 reported on the sale of THC products by vendors who set up booths outside the gates of the Minnesota State Fair. The State Fair prohibited the sale of any products containing cannabinoids, but issued the following statement:

  Since the law around THC products was changed just eight weeks prior to the start of the 2022 Minnesota State Fair and there is a lot to learn and understand about the sale of these products, the decision was made to not allow the sale of any THC or CBD products at this year’s fair. State Fair staff will take the time to analyze and learn from others around the state before we make a decision on how to move forward with these products for the 2023 Minnesota State Fair. As this is a relatively new industry, we are pleased that there will be opportunities for fair guests to learn more. The Minnesota Hemp Growers Cooperative will be providing educational information about the processing and the products derived from hemp and will be located on the North End. Green Goods/Vireo and RISE Cannabis will have education on medical cannabis as part of the Health Fair 11 exhibit and Hemp Solutions of Minnesota will be located in the Dairy Building during the 2022 Minnesota State Fair.

• A huge hip-hip-hurray to the Minnesota Hemp Growers Cooperative for showcasing and educating fairgoers about Minnesota’s hemp industry and, especially, for providing a venue and platform for both political and policy advocacy around not just hemp but also cannabis legalization. An equally huge hip-hip-hurray to the MNisReady Coalition filling the Coop’s stage all week with amazing interviews and conversations with lawmakers, legislative candidates, community activists, business leaders, and subject matter experts. We’ll have videos of those interviews and conversations next week!

2. Politics

• A new poll by the Minnesota House Public Information Services of Minnesota State Fair goers found that 61 percent of Minnesotans support the legalization of adult-use cannabis compared to 30 percent who oppose legalization and 8 percent who are undecided. The same poll found 58 percent support last year and 56 percent support in 2019. Marijuana Moment provides additional details.

• In a live interview with the Star Tribune at the Minnesota State Fair, GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen said he thinks the state should consider decriminalizing possession of “trivial amounts” of cannabis and, accordingly, expunging criminal records. Asked about full adult-use legalization, Jensen said, “If we can have a discussion and then put it on the ballot as an amendment, I think that makes a lot of sense.” On the topic of the state’s new THC edibles law, Jensen said he believes the state should evaluate the market in six months to determine how it should be taxed or further regulated. Marijuana Moment covers Jensen’s interview plus his past statements and positions on the issue.

3. Medical Cannabis

• Minnesota’s Office of Medical Cannabis is now accepting public comment on petitions to add new qualifying medical conditions to the state’s medical cannabis program. The medical conditions under consideration are gastroparesis, irritable bowel syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, and opioid use disorder. The deadline to submit comments is Wednesday, October 5. For information, including copies of the petitions and instructions for submitting comments, are available on the MN Department of Health’s website.

4. State Legislature

• MedCityBeat features an article discussing what the Minnesota legislature’s next steps may be on regulating products containing THC:

  On the state level, a repeal is unlikely to occur without a full-on Republican sweep of both houses and the governorship. [Republican] Sen. [Carla] Nelson believes that both parties are interested in looking into two lage [sic] concerns: mood altering substances being accessed by children and the lack of an adequate field sobriety test. 

  
  “Those are two important things that I think will be looked at in the next legislative session. By both parties,” predicts Nelson.

  
  …

  
  [DFL Representative Tina] Liebling says more enforcement needs to be set up and taxes to fund it explored. Rules regarding municipal control of regulations are also on the table.

  
  “We do need to make sure that it's being enforced, the packaging, all of it. There should just be more resources put into the monitoring and enforcement of it. And you can't do that unless you have some taxation to pay for that,” says Liebling.

• The article also highlights the perspective of Rochester, MN business owners who sell THC products in their shops and are constituents of Sen. Nelson and Rep. Liebling:

  “Limiting who's able to sell it, that would be probably a good idea, instead of letting it be widely available,” says [Alex] Thompson [owner of The Melting Clock Smokeshop]. “I think they should just legalize it,” adds [Peter] Andrews [manager of Downtown Intimates].
  
  “I mean, honestly, the House bill that passed for recreational [marijuana] had everything you needed in it: regulation, licensing, help for social programs… Now they passed this, and they [have] no regulations other than packaging and dosage size.” 

• A group of organizations that represent Minnesota counties, cities, school boards, and other entities are continuing to press state leaders to convene a special session to address, among other things, the need for a more comprehensive regulatory framework for THC products.

  The Austin Daily Herald, Star Tribune, and Mankato Free Press each published the letter that the organizations sent to Governor Walz, Lt. Governor Flanagan, and members of the Minnesota House and Senate. From the letter:

  Local governments also are faced with issuing local regulations as a result of the new THC law.  Prompt establishment of a state framework and parameters for regulation, established by  lawmakers in partnership with local governments, is needed now. Not addressing a framework  until next year is a recipe for a patchwork quilt of local laws that are likely to be inconsistent  from one community to another.

• As KSTP reports, Governor Walz has repeatedly stated that he will only call a special session if there is an agreement among lawmakers as to what specific legislation will be under consideration. Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller says the GOP will only agree to a special session if it includes a tax cut package, which is a poison pill for Democrats and makes the chances of a special session exceedingly unlikely.

5. New Research on Impact of Legalization on Cannabis Use

• A new study by researchers at the University of Minnesota and University of Colorado found that cannabis use is 24% higher in states where adult-use cannabis is legalized versus in states where it is still illegal. From ScienceDaily:

  The authors note that it is unlikely that legalization would cause those who abstained from marijuana before to pick up the habit.
  
  And preliminary results from their broader ongoing research project suggest increased use may not necessarily be a bad thing.
  
  "In other analyses, we are finding that this increased use is not accompanied by increased problems, may be associated with less alcohol-related problems, and otherwise does not, in general, seem to have adverse consequences," said [co-author Professor John] Hewitt.

6. Keeping Edibles Away from Kids

• WCCO reports that Minnesota Poison Control officials have noted a sharp increase in calls about children under the age of 12 accidentally ingesting THC edibles.

• Minnesota Parent features an article by Dr. Gigi Chawla, Vice President and Chief of General Pediatrics at Children’s Minnesota, offering advice on how to keep THC edibles away from kids, how to talk to kids about THC edibles, and what to do if your child accidentally ingests THC edibles.

7. Racial Disparities Persist in MN Marijuana Arrests

• The Minnesota Reformer published a must-read article about the continued disparity in arrests between Black and white cannabis users. The latest data from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shows that Black Minnesotans are five times more likely to be arrested on marijuana charges than white Minnesotans, despite similar rates of usage. From the article:

  Racial disparities on marijuana arrests are considerably higher in Minneapolis and St. Paul than [sic] elsewhere in the state. In Hennepin and Ramsey counties, Black residents are nearly 8 times more likely than white residents to be arrested on marijuana charges. The available data suggests that Black and white Twin Cities residents use marijuana at similar rates, as they do across most of the country.

8. Cash on the Table

• The Bureau of Business and Economic Research and the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Labovitz School of Business and Economics published a blog post on analysis the Bureau conducted to determine “how much money the state [of Minnesota] could be leaving on the table given the lack of tax provisions in the new [THC edibles] bill.” According to the post, “In the end, Minnesota is likely not taking advantage of $5.0 million, at minimum, and possibly closer to $46.0 million in tax revenues in 2023, plus even more in coming years.”

SUBSCRIBER-ONLY PREMIUM CONTENT

This week’s premium content includes:

• The latest in local government actions AND access to our new real-time local government tracking tool developed in partnership by O’Rourke Strategic Consulting and Blunt Strategies.

• Analysis of the legal status of beverages containing THC and the sale of products containing THC in brewery taprooms and liquor stores.

• Intel and materials from inside the League of Minnesota Cities’ meetings on THC products