Minnesota Governor Signs Omnibus Marijuana Bill Into Law

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed into law a sweeping omnibus marijuana bill that makes wide-ranging changes to the state’s legal marijuana system, including new licensing rules, expanded medical marijuana protections, new hemp product provisions and greater regulatory authority for the Office of Cannabis Management.

Senate File 4401, sponsored by State Senator David Dibble (D), State Senator Lindsey Port (D) and State Representative Jessica Hanson (D), was signed by Walz on May 26 after receiving final approval from the Legislature earlier this month. The House passed the bill 92 to 42, and the Senate concurred with the House changes and repassed it 35 to 32.

A key provision in the new law creates a cannabis macrobusiness license, replacing the existing medical cannabis combination business license beginning Jan. 1, 2027. The new license will allow certain operators to combine cultivation, manufacturing, retail sales and other approved activities under one license. Macrobusinesses will be allowed up to eight retail locations and an indoor canopy limit of 38,000 square feet, with additional canopy allowed after future renewals if the business remains in good standing.

The law also merges Minnesota’s medical and adult-use marijuana supply chains, allowing businesses with a medical marijuana endorsement to serve patients and adult-use customers from a unified operation. Supporters say the change will reduce duplicative requirements while maintaining access for patients.

Businesses with medical marijuana endorsements will face added patient-service requirements, including consultations through a licensed pharmacist or medical cannabis consultant, priority service protocols and access to products identified by regulators as having high medical need. Other marijuana businesses must be prepared to provide certain medical products within 24 hours of a patient request.

The law also creates incentives for businesses that obtain medical endorsements. Microbusinesses, mezzobusinesses and cultivators with medical cultivation endorsements may receive additional canopy allowances, while retail businesses with medical endorsements may qualify for additional locations in high-medical-need areas. Retailers with a medical endorsement may also deliver products directly to registered patients and designated caregivers.

Another major section of the law gives hemp businesses a pathway into the state’s regulated marijuana system by allowing a person or entity to hold both a hemp business license and a marijuana business license. The law also authorizes a new “ratio hemp-infused cannabis product” category, with limits including 10 milligrams of THC per serving and up to 200 milligrams of THC per package for edibles.

Local governments will continue to have authority over marijuana retailers, but they may not limit retail registrations below one retailer for every 12,500 residents. The law clarifies that local governments must round up after each 12,500-resident increment. Local governments must also conduct at least one unannounced age-verification compliance check each year for every marijuana or hemp business with a retail registration.

The law expands the Office of Cannabis Management’s enforcement authority over unlicensed commercial activity, allowing regulators to inspect premises where marijuana, hemp-derived consumer products, artificially derived cannabinoids or lower-potency hemp edibles are being cultivated, manufactured, processed or sold without proper authorization. If illegal products are found, regulators may seize, detain or embargo them, issue civil penalties and seek a court order allowing products to be destroyed.

The measure also makes changes to licensing eligibility. Regulators may not issue a marijuana business license to a person or business convicted of illegally selling marijuana after Aug. 1, 2023, unless five years have passed. Similar restrictions apply to certain violations of state marijuana law, with an exception for good-faith mistakes that did not involve gross negligence, illegal marijuana sales or harm to the public.

The new law also revises labeling and consumer information requirements for marijuana products, lower-potency hemp edibles and hemp-derived consumer products, while changing what application and license-holder information is public. Data reported to the Office of Cannabis Management through the statewide monitoring system will be classified as nonpublic.

In addition, the law requires the Office of Cannabis Management to publish recommendations by Jan. 15, 2027, for administering a psilocybin therapeutic use program for adults 21 and older with qualifying medical conditions. The office must also regularly review federal funding opportunities that could support such a program.

Most provisions take effect Aug. 1, while provisions tied to the macrobusiness license and conversion of existing medical cannabis combination businesses take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana in 2023, allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to two ounces in public and up to two pounds at home. State-licensed recreational marijuana stores have not yet fully launched, with regulators still building out the licensing and oversight system.