Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management Fails To Mention Lottery Failure In Their Latest Newsletter Update

Sigh yet again this morning…

Here’s the newsletter- remember it’s only positive upbeat news we’re interested in, not actually what’s reallly affecting people on the ground. and so on and so forth

News by omission I think this is called.

Then again their newsletter is called “Cannabis Implementation Insider” so I presume as they didn’t implement anything it’s not newsworthy!

News & Updates

Megaphone

Next Steps for Cannabis Licensing

Last Wednesday, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced its next actions to launch Minnesota’s cannabis industry following a Ramsey County District Court judge’s decision to stay the cannabis license preapproval lottery originally scheduled for Nov. 26.

To avoid further delay and risks to social equity, OCM is ending the license preapproval process and moving forward with plans to open a licensing cycle for both social equity and general applicants beginning early next year. This step allows the office to prevent delays to the market launch due to ongoing litigation and retain some benefit to social equity by allowing applicants for license preapprovals to move into this new round.

Read the news release for more information.

Watch the Social Equity Division Grant Information Session Online

OCM hosted virtual information sessions on Nov. 15 and Dec. 10 to brief community members about the CanRenew and CanGrow grants. Do you want to learn more about the grants but missed these information sessions? Access a recording of Dec. 10 informational session.

Access more information on the OCM grants webpage.

Medical cannabis program will not expand medication options in 2025

In the end of November, OCM announced that the medical cannabis program will not add any new medical delivery methods (the form in which a medication is taken) to the medical cannabis program in 2025.

Three petitions considered for the program this year were to allow for dry powder inhalation, infused flower, and concentrates. OCM evaluated the petitions based on a review of scientific evidence and potential health and safety impacts for patients.

“Minnesota’s medical cannabis program has been in place for a decade, and during that time has prioritized its responsibility to balance our patient’s need for relief from acute diagnosed medical conditions with the responsibility to ensure products available to them are safe and beneficial,” said Charlene Briner, interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management. “That balance is the lens we used to make determinations on the three petitions that were considered this year.”

Find out more information in our news release.

Resources and Reminders

Bell

Updated Local Government Guide now available!

OCM has launched updated guidance for local government partners. The updates can be found on the office’s webpage specific to local governments and in the “Guide for Local Governments on Adult-Use Cannabis”. Version 2.0 of this guidebook contains updated information about the implementation of Chapter 342 and the key role of local governments. This guidebook also contains new forms and items in the Appendix, including new guidance related to compliance checks and current hemp-derived enforcement work.

Additionally, as part of the launch of version 2.0, OCM is asking for information from local government partners. We are asking for each local unit of government to:

To complete these two requests, please visit our new Contact and Delegation From & Accela Account Registration Process webpage. This page includes instructions and background information to help our partners with these steps. We are grateful for your time and partnership as we continue to prepare for the implementation of the adult-use licensing framework.

As always, check out the local government section on the FAQ page for more information.

Cannabis Advisory Council meeting held Dec. 12

The quarterly meeting of the Cannabis Advisory Council was held last week. The meeting agenda is posted on the Cannabis Advisory Council webpage.

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