“The goal here is to get the illicit stuff off the street, to make sure that adults make good decisions,” Walz told MPR News’ Morning Edition last month. “And to make sure, as you’ve seen, we’re regulating what people are taking. That’s really important.” 

Until dispensaries are more widely up and running, one of the only legal options for obtaining marijuana in its pure form is to grow it yourself. Some businesses, like Legacy Glassworks in Minneapolis, sell seeds in accordance with state law. The retailer also sells custom, artist-made marijuana paraphernalia — like bongs and pipes. Owner Josh Wilken-Simon, who also runs the cannabis-themed convention Legacy Cup, is moving into the dispensary business with Legacy Cannabis. 

“The first thing we’re doing is getting, you know, the specific dispensary locations in place,” said Wilken-Simon. Currently, his old glassworks shop in Duluth has been rebranded as a Legacy Cannabis shop. A Woodbury location is forthcoming. 

Right now, he said, he’s focusing on following guidelines on where cities say you can and can’t operate a dispensary: “so many feet from schools, and you know, playgrounds, etc.” 

Wilken-Simon is confident in the cannabis office and lawmakers’ ability to get everything situated by early 2025 for recreational dispensaries to be able to sell marijuana directly.  

He said he sees Minnesota’s cannabis market “on a knife’s edge.” He sees two potential paths: one where massive marijuana operators dominate the industry or another where the state develops a “craft cannabis utopia” where small businesses can thrive.   

“I’m optimistic we can, you know, tilt that way,” he said.  

Other people working in the cannabis space are optimistic but have a healthy level of skepticism that recreational dispensaries will be able to open in early 2025.  

“There’s a lot of signals I’ve seen lately that give me the impression that we’re making moves toward that right direction,” said David Gonzalez, head of growth for Minnesota THC and CBD chain Hemp House. “Early 2025, I would say that’s still on the table. If it does get pushed, if it’s for the good of the industry, that’s, you know, it’s OK.” 

Hemp House also sells seeds for those looking to grow their own marijuana, but Gonzalez says that there is keen public interest in when recreational marijuana will be commercially available. 

“Customers are very hungry and eager to get their more-potent flower, if you will,” he said. 

For those without a green thumb, the other current legal option to obtain cannabis is to visit Tribal Nations, such as the Red Lake Nation and White Earth Nation. Through tribal sovereignty, these nations have been able to implement their own structure and regulations for dispensaries.  

Otherwise, those looking to buy marijuana legally will just have to wait.