NEW HOPE, Minn. — We’re roughly three months away from recreational marijuana becoming legal to sell and purchase in Minnesota, but that big change is sure to lead to other changes when it comes to medical marijuana.

More than 48,000 Minnesotans already purchase cannabis thanks to the state’s medical marijuana program, which began enrolling in 2015. Two licensed retailers, RISE and Green Goods, operate 15 dispensary locations between them across the state.

“I had such a stigma on it and when I gave it a try, I will never go back. I will always be on medical marijuana,” Chelsea Swanson, a patient from St. Francis said. “It has helped with my nausea, with my pain, and it has helped me function. I have gotten off prescription drugs and it is because of marijuana.”

Swanson drives nearly 30 miles to shop at a dispensary in New Hope, but she wouldn’t necessarily have to travel that far or enroll in any regulatory program once recreational dispensaries open in Minnesota, which could happen as soon as next year.

Still, Swanson insisted it is worth the trip.

“What you are getting here is top quality. It is something grown and made in Minnesota,” she explained. “The plant is a plant, except for we know it’s grown here and it’s not under any harmful chemicals or fertilizers or anything else like that.”

If other states’ transitions are any indication though, the medical cannabis industry is likely to take a hit once recreational weed gets the green light in Minnesota. According to data from Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency, medicinal sales grossed roughly $1.2M in August 2024, while recreational sales topped a whopping $294 million.

State officials at Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management maintain the protocols regulating medical marijuana are the foundation for what will govern general adult use: everything seed to sale happens in Minnesota, not to mention the very cannabis plant and how it’s grown will be subject to the same safety standards.

Where things do differentiate, however, is at the cash register, as medical marijuana will remain tax-free.

“Every dollar counts, especially with this economy,” Swanson said. “With putting taxes on it, that would be a few hundred dollars a year for me.”

The other difference, according to state officials, is that recreational marijuana will still be subject to limits on possession and potency, while medical marijuana will not.

Besides competing with the recreational market, the medicinal market will see other changes come 2025, including dropping the $200 annual enrollment fee for patients. Also next year, patients will need recertification every three years by a physician instead of every year. 

Additional changes to the medical program under the new law include allowing patients in programs in other states to buy products in Minnesota under a “visiting patient option” beginning in two years, and the age threshold for registered caregivers to purchase cannabis flower will be lowered from 21 to 18.

Well, that was a baseball season. I’d say it was one to forget but sadly this epic disaster of a second half will not likely be leaving our memories any time soon. Now that all 162 games are in the books, it’s time to reflect and evaluate the individual contributors. We’ll start today with the hitters. Seventeen different players made at least 50 plate appearances for the Twins. Here I assign them all letter grades, in alphabetical order.

Byron Buxton: B
It got lost in the in the fact that he once again was sidelined by multiple injuries, but this was a big bounce-back year for Buxton. He reached 100 games played for just the second time in his career, and posted All-Star caliber production while on the field. Still, he did miss about two months of action, and showed some signs of diminishing athleticism at age 30. 

Willi Castro: B
Castro made his first All-Star team and led Minnesota in games played, setting a new MLB standard for positional flexibility (and a franchise record for HBP!). His durability and versatility made him an indispensable asset for the manager. Those positives solidly outweighed his power outage in the second half, although that did hurt.

Carlos Correa: B
On a rate basis, Correa would be graded an A or even an A+. He was hugely impactful while on the field, hitting as well as he ever has while playing stellar defense. Unfortunately, another bout with plantar fasciitis cost him nearly the entire second half, and his absence played a big part in the team’s downfall.

Kyle Farmer: D
For most of the season, Farmer was about as bad as a player could possibly be. But he surged enough toward the end to bring his numbers back into the range of respectability, and to his credit, he did it at a time where the rest of the offense was in hell. Still, on balance, a poor campaign.

Ryan Jeffers: C
Jeffers failed to back up his stellar 2023 season, experiencing a major offensive backslide after starting strong in April. He completely disappeared in September. Jeffers was still an average MLB hitter and launched 21 home runs; that does have quite a bit of value for a catcher. But his defense behind the plate was generally pretty rough.

Edouard Julien: F
It’s tough to shine any kind of positive light on Julien’s year. He struggled in the majors, went to Triple-A, failed to dominate minor-league pitching, and then got called back up only out of roster necessity. Julien was so uninspiring in his second stint that, by season’s end, he was mostly sitting even against right-handed pitchers.

Max Kepler: D
A sad end to Kepler’s lengthy Twins career. Battling a sore knee for much of the season, Kepler produced a career-worst 91 OPS+ while also showing decline defensively in right field, and he missed all of September. 

Alex Kirilloff: F
He had a solid first couple of weeks, then went into a prolonged tailspin, and revealed only after being optioned to the minors that he’d been playing through injury – to the team’s detriment. He didn’t appear in a game after June 11th, batting .201 on the season.

Trevor Larnach: B+
Larnach was one of the few unclouded bright spots of the 2024 Twins. Putting several years of underwhelming, injury-impacted performance behind him, Larnach played in 112 games and was usually in one of the lineup’s money spots against righties while producing at a well above-average rate (115 OPS+).

Brooks Lee: D
Ranked as one of the best prospects in baseball, fresh off torching Triple-A, Lee arrived on the big-league scene with a splash, batting .458 in his first six games. From that point forward he batted .182 with a .500 OPS in 44 games, showing minimal ability to drive the ball despite a contact-heavy approach. Better days are ahead for the 23-year-old.

Royce Lewis: C
Through his first 40 games, Lewis slashed .279/.356/.664 with 15 home runs, looking the part of an elite slugger. In his last 42, he slashed .191/.236/.256 with one home run as the team nosedived. On balance, his production was still certainly better than average, but he again missed tons of time with injury and his defense regressed noticeably. 

Austin Martin: D+
Martin played more than expected, and probably more than he earned, but his ability to handle center field somewhat competently kept him on the roster for much of the season, and his speed was an asset on a team that had almost none. But Martin was a punchless hitter, and not particularly sharp at any of the defensive positions he played.

Manuel Margot: F
His modestly good numbers against left-handed starters were not enough to offset his general lack of production, his shoddy defense, and his almost inconceivable ineptitude as a pinch-hitter. One of the more annoying Twins players to watch in memory.

Jose Miranda: D+
What a weird season for Miranda, whose hot hitting in June and July – including an MLB record-tying string of 12 straight at-bats with a hit – gave way to a .543 OPS with no homers in the second half, during which he may have never been healthy. He again looked poor defensively at third and first.

Carlos Santana: B
The veteran first baseman proved to be an excellent addition in the context of his modest price tag, delivering a number of clutch hits while leading the team in home runs and providing defense worthy of a Gold Glove. A .748 OPS from a first baseman is ultimately nothing to write home about, but Santana was a quality contributor all-around.

Christian Vázquez: D
To his credit, Vázquez rated well defensively again, but rather than rebounding from a horrendous season at the plate in 2023, he was somehow even worse offensively, ranking among the worst hitters in the league. Even for a role with low offensive standards, Vázquez came up well short of expectations for a second straight season. 

Matt Wallner: B+
He stumbled badly out of the gates and spent most of the first half in Triple-A as a result, but after returning from the minors, Wallner was the team’s most productive player for the remainder of the season, blasting 13 homers with a nearly .900 OPS in 75 games.