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The Chisago County Board is required to hold a public hearing in order to put the final touches on a county ordinance regulating cannabis retail (cultivation) businesses within areas where Chisago County has been delegated authority to regulate and register cannabinoid operations.  This draft ordinance will include outlying rural areas and any towns that do not do their own zoning.  The county public hearing is coming up at the November 6 Board meeting.

The county is proposing to allow five registered cannabinoid business locations in these non-urban areas. The number comes from state law that requires one business allowed for every 12,500 population.

The ordinance will also establish a fee schedule for registering at $500.  Renewal registration with the county will be half the state fee, whatever this is at the time of renewal.   

The draft ordinance sets distances for cannabis and low dose hemp derived edibles sales from:  schools, daycare centers, trails/parks, and other places where juveniles might gather.  

There will be required compliance checks to verify that adults (defined for cannabis as age 21) are the only customers and employees, and that a host of other regulations are being observed.  

Hours for the sales at this time are proposed to stop at 10 p.m. and not begin before 8 a.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. Sundays.

The public hearing on the county ordinance is Wednesday, November 6 starting at 7 p.m. at the Government Center Board meeting room.

Medicinal use of cannabis has been legal in Minnesota for about 10 years.  Adult-use, personal possession, and growing small quantities of marijuana  plants was approved by the state effective as of August 1, 2023.

The phase underway now requires the State to license sales and cultivation operators for commercial uses that are not based on Native land.  The State license will also require the local governing unit to sign-off that the licensee is meeting any local standards. 

Local governing bodies who desire to have their own rules in addition to state requirements,  are putting their local standards in writing now,  in anticipation of an initial round of State approved applicants coming forward early 2025.  Similar to alcoholic spirits, there could be “municipal” cannabis stores established, which no city in Chisago County has pursued at this time.

Chisago County is adjacent to Wisconsin, which still has laws that prohibit marijuana sale, possession, consumption, etc.  

There are locations along the Wisconsin border where county commissioners have informally discussed the possibility for problems, as customers may opt to transport the product back across the border.  Commissioner Ben Montzka expressed concern the issue may cause confusion and wanted the information on law differences made clear to the public.  

Commissioner Dan Dahlberg agreed this next door customer base makes Chisago County attractive to cannabis retailers, but added that Minnesotans go to Wisconsin and purchase fireworks— and they need to be responsible for their own consequences, and so too must future inter-state cannabis patrons.  

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