In addition to the 15 dispensaries that opened this week and the existing ones operated by tribal governments, more could be coming soon.
Why it matters: The Legislature legalized recreational marijuana in 2023, and the Rockefeller Institute of Government says Minnesota has been the third slowest of 24 states to roll out legal weed.
By the numbers: The state has issued 23 licenses to "microbusiness" that intend to sell cannabis. Hundreds more have received preliminary approval, according to the Office of Cannabis Management.
Yes, but: Those businesses are still waiting to get ample supply before opening. Some are already buying from tribes, which got a head start on growing.
Others would like to buy from Rise and Green Goods, but state rules still make it tough to buy from the medical manufacturers, Kovler said.
The other issue, OCM executive director Eric Taubel told Axios, is that the state has issued a license to only one testing facility — in St. Paul — and testing is required before products can be sold from growers and manufacturers to retailers.
He expects OCM to issue a second license in the next couple weeks, and three or four more could open by the end of the year.
"The Venn diagram of people that are interested in the cannabis industry and also have a Ph.D. in biochemistry is a pretty small slice," he said. "We've done some outreach to try to identify potential additional applicants."
