As western Minnesota counties regulate cannabis use, bigger questions arise of who sells it

GRANITE FALLS

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Yellow Medicine County

joined the growing list of area counties adopting ordinances to regulate the use of cannabis and cannabis products, and with the action on Nov. 14 came the bigger questions now confronting all area counties.

“How many cannabis facilities and licenses do you need in a community,” asked Liz Auch, director of Countryside Public Health. She told the

Yellow Medicine County Board of Commissioners

that her chief concern as a public health nurse is this: “How accessible are we going to make this product?”

How many licenses to make available, and how to decide who will hold those licenses, are the questions now surfacing as counties begin the process of regulating cannabis to conform to the new state law opening the way for its sale and use.

Adult use and possession became legal Aug. 1, and the state

Office of Cannabis Management

expects the first retail sales outside of tribal nations to begin in the first quarter 2025.

Yellow Medicine and Chippewa counties have both adopted ordinances regulating cannabis use. Countryside Public Health assisted the counties in its service area to develop the ordinance. Swift County is now in the process of considering the ordinance, said Auch. Big Stone and Lac qui Parle counties are the other counties served by Countryside.

The ordinance prohibits the use of cannabis in public areas, such as parks. “This has a very similar feel to the tobacco ordinance,” said Yellow Medicine County Commissioner Ron Antony as the commissioners opened a public hearing on the ordinance. They subsequently adopted it on an unanimous vote after hearing no comments against it.

The ordinance makes it a petty misdemeanor to consume cannabis in public spaces, according to Sheriff Bill Flaten in response to a question about what the ordinance would do. “We are not going to put anybody in jail for it.”

The Sheriff’s Office will respond to calls or complaints about possible violations. The sheriff said it’s most likely that responding officers will ask offenders “to please go somewhere else and not use it in this public area.”

He described the ordinance as a tool, no different than the county’s current regulation banning alcohol consumption in parks.

The new state law requires that local governments provide at least one license for retail sale of cannabis and cannabis products for every 12,500 residents. That means Yellow Medicine County must provide at least one license, but it could open the way for more. Municipalities in the county can also allow for additional licensed vendors within their boundaries.

Auch pointed out that there are both economic and health issues to consider. Most rural communities are interested in helping grocery stores, gas stations and other businesses remain and thrive. Will they take the same approach toward cannabis in supporting the retail outlets as part of the community’s economic infrastructure?

It’s material for thoughtful discussion, she said. “How many do you need?”

“My answer to that one, Liz, is as little as we have to allow,” Antony responded.

“What makes a public health person happy might not make a business owner who is trying to thrive in a community happy,” Auch said.

Yellow Medicine and Chippewa counties will now work with Countryside Public Health to determine how many licenses they will make available, and what criteria to consider in selecting who gets them.

Both counties have already heard interest from individuals looking for licenses to sell cannabis at retail establishments. Five or six inquiries have already been made in Yellow Medicine County, according to information at the meeting.

Chippewa County has not made any decisions yet on licensing and is waiting for more information to come from the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management and rule-making bodies at the state level, County Auditor/Treasurer/Coordinator Michelle May told the West Central Tribune.
Along with private businesses, municipalities as well as counties could get into the business of cannabis sales. The city of Benson is currently exploring the possibility of selling cannabis at its municipal liquor store, according to Kyle Harris, city manager.

There have been some conversations exploring the possibilities and what that might look like, but no decisions have been made, Harris said. There have also been discussions about selling the low-potency, edible gummies that are now legal at the liquor store to see how that goes, he added.

Antony attended a recent district meeting for the Minnesota Association of Counties, and said he learned that some counties are also looking at the possibility of opening their own cannabis stores. It would allow them to control its sale just as municipal liquor stores allow municipalities to control alcohol sales and generate revenues for city coffers from it.