When Minnesota lawmakers return from Spring Break on Tuesday, they will be faced with proposed fixes and tweaks to the state's legal cannabis laws.
Gov. Tim Walz recently signed a bill extending out-of-state hemp testing through 2027, but there are still a lot of questions about how to boost the budding retail marijuana market while demand outpaces supply.
Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management issued its first two recalls of products last month, stating both contained higher THC content than advertised on the label.
OCM Director Eric Taubel told Morning Edition that those recalls mean the office is running as it should as the state rolls out new regulations for legalized cannabis.
“We're gonna see these kinds of products that have been slipping through the cracks be identified more, and as we find them, we're going to initiate recalls and we're going to tell the public about these products so that consumers are informed when they're making purchases,” Taubel said.
The state’s retail market, Taubel said, is still growing as more licensed sellers ramp up operations. More tribal nations, too, are signing cannabis compacts with the state, adding options for consumers. But it’ll take time for some growers to get operational.
“Especially for a state like Minnesota, where sometimes it snows in April, outdoor grow is a sort of limited option, so most of our cultivation is going to occur indoors, and these facilities cost millions of dollars to build,” Taubel said.
Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player button above.