Two dozen marijuana dispensaries
slated to open in 2025

By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | December 2024

By next summer, about 24 cannabis businesses will be given the green light to open in St. Paul and sell recreational marijuana to adults ages 21 and older. Per city ordinances recently adopted by the St. Paul City Council, the retail cannabis businesses will be allowed to open anywhere in downtown, and in commercial and mixed-use zoning districts in other parts of the city as long as they’re 300 feet from a school. Cannabis production and cultivation businesses will also be permitted in those zones, as well as in industrial districts. More cannabis businesses could be allowed in the future if the council amends its ordinances, but the city is only required to permit 24 based on its population.

In West St. Paul, two cannabis retail businesses will open. Per a city ordinance set to be adopted by the end of the year, the businesses will be required to be in business or industrial zoning districts and at least 1,000 feet from schools. More cannabis retailers could be allowed in the future if the council amends the ordinance, but the city is only required to have two based on its population.

The West St. Paul Planning Commission recently recommended approval of the city ordinances at a public meeting and the city council is expected to review the ordinances again and adopt them in December.

A slew of bars, liquor and tobacco stores, and other businesses in both cities have already been selling gummies, seltzers and other edible products that contain small levels of THC, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis, following legalization in 2022. Businesses selling these low-potency THC products don’t count toward the number of businesses that will be allowed to sell high-potency marijuana. However, they will be required to obtain a license from the State of Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which was established in 2023 and is expected to begin issuing licenses by May 2025.

Restaurants can also be licensed to sell edible THC products if they have a liquor license, but they may not serve alcohol and THC products to a patron at the same time, and no more than two servings of THC products can be served to a person in an hour. As with alcohol, opened THC products may not leave the premises, and a retailer that sells THC products to a minor may be charged with a misdemeanor and have their license suspended or revoked.

Cannabidiol (CBD) and THC are both chemical compounds found in the cannabis plant. Federal law differentiates cannabis plants between hemp and marijuana based on the percentage of THC in the plant. Cannabis plants with .3% THC or less are referred to as hemp, and those with higher percentages are identified as marijuana.

In 2025, state law will require cities to allow temporary cannabis sales events in select zoning districts, although both St. Paul and West St. Paul have decided it will be illegal to consume cannabis at those events. Cannabis retail businesses in industrial districts will be allowed to cultivate or manufacture cannabis indoors – similar to breweries that operate taprooms – as long as cannabis odors are undetectable at the property line. All cannabis businesses will be required to have surveillance systems to help ensure that sales aren’t made to underage people and to help deter theft. Sales of recreational cannabis will be cash only as it is not legal on the federal level.

South St. Paul
By next summer, two cannabis retail businesses will be given the green light to open in South St. Paul and sell recreational marijuana to adults ages 21 and older. Per a city ordinance set to be adopted by the end of the year, the businesses will be required to be located along Concord Street North in mixed-use and industrial zoning districts, far from schools, daycares and parks.

The South St. Paul Planning Commission recommended approval of the city ordinances at a public meeting on November 6. The City Council plans to adopt the final ordinance at its Dec. 2 or 16 meeting. More cannabis retailers could be allowed in the future if the city council amends the ordinance, but currently the city is only required to have two based on its population.

State law
Recreational cannabis for adults was legalized in Minnesota last year. Residents may legally possess two ounces of marijuana flower in public and two pounds at home, grow up to eight marijuana plants on their property and use marijuana products in private areas. It is illegal to use marijuana while in a motor vehicle and the penalty for public marijuana use is a petty misdemeanor. Also, legalization automatically expunged the criminal records of people with low-level marijuana convictions and established a review board to determine eligibility of expungement for high-level marijuana offenses.

Some Indian reservations have been the exception to the state law, as they’ve been cleared to sell marijuana since August 2023. The first to open was NativeCare on the Red Lake Reservation in Red Lake. Overall, Minnesota is the 23rd state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana.

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