Minnesotans can now buy recreational cannabis at non-tribal dispensaries for the first time since legalization in 2023.
RISE Dispensaries and Green Goods, the state’s two medical-marijuana providers, began selling adult-use products to customers 21 and over this week. According to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, both were issued a medical cannabis combination business license on Monday.
“As the medical cannabis dispensaries transition to serving both medical patients and adult-use customers, we will closely monitor product levels to ensure they comply with this requirement,” said Eric Taubel, head of OCM.
The new license allows RISE and Green Goods to convert one third of their supply to recreational stock and lets them wholesale their cannabis products to other licensed dispensaries. There are also more restrictions for recreational customers compared to medical patients, like caps on the amount they can purchase and the potency of products.
Minneapolis-based Green Goods, which has been operating since 2014, kicked off recreational sales on Tuesday at their eight storefronts across the state.
“Yesterday was a historic day for us and the state of Minnesota launching adult-use cannabis. We have been at this now for over 10 years and were the first company to serve medical cannabis patients, dispensing the first three patients in the state on July 1 of 2015,” said Amber Shimpa, president of Vireo Growth, the parent company of Green Goods.
Shimpa says selling the first adult-use cannabis product at their downtown Minneapolis dispensary was a full-circle moment. RISE also had grand openings on Wednesday at five locations, and its other three sites will soon follow.
The cannabis company operates in several other states and entered the Minnesota market with medical marijuana in 2021. RISE is run by Green Thumb Industries, which is headquartered in Chicago.
“We’re ready to rock,” said Ben Kovler, CEO of Green Thumb Industries. “More Americans need more wellbeing now than ever, and it's awesome that Minnesota is stepping into it to offer cannabis for adults 21 and over.”
RISE, Green Goods want to supply other dispensaries
Previously, access to recreational cannabis was limited to dispensaries on tribal lands and two off-reservation cannabis stores in Moorhead and St. Cloud run by White Earth Nation. The opening of sales at Green Goods and RISE means access will vastly expand, while the majority of the state’s cannabis industry is still working to become operational.
This all comes at the same time as the first microbusiness retailer, Legacy Cannabis in Duluth, started selling recreational cannabis with supply from White Earth Nation on Tuesday. And last week, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe became the second Minnesota tribe to sign a compact with the state allowing them to sell cannabis off their land.
Kovler says RISE is planning to supply licensed cannabis dispensaries in the future. He said that as a medical provider, RISE faces fewer restrictions on cultivating cannabis than recreational cultivators do.
“We'd like to do what we do in every other state: make tons of product available for everybody. Incept micro businesses, hire more people and get the program rolling. And we think, over time, that's exactly where Minnesota is going to be.”
Green Goods is beginning talks about supplying microbusiness retailers. Shimpa says the company is excited to work with other licensed retailers and bring their products to more shelves.
“It’s no secret that it is going to be a supply-constrained market to start, and so we really do need to evaluate our ability to supply our locations as well. And so those are things we're looking into now,” said Shimpa.
She says as Minnesota’s recreational market shapes up, she wants to support all businesses that will contribute to a thriving industry.
“It's just so important that the industry itself is amplified,” said Shimpa. “This is less about Vireo Green Goods and just more about — the launch of this is so important for the cannabis community.”
‘I’m jumping for joy’: Minnesotans excited to buy legal recreational cannabis
The first in line at RISE’s Eagan location on Wednesday morning were Ryan Gonzalez and Matthew LaFlex. They woke up at 7 a.m. and drove over to the store at 8 a.m. By 9 a.m., when doors opened, the line had grown to about 20 people.
“It's like one of those things I never thought was gonna happen in my state. So now that it's finally happening, I'm jumping for joy,” said LaFlex. He says it’s worth paying a premium for safer product than buying off the streets.
Gonzalez walked out of the store by 9:20 a.m. with two boxes of pre-rolls and an eighth of flower.
“It just feels crazy,” he said. “I travel a lot — California, Las Vegas, recreational states — and I always told myself I wish I could do this in my home state. Now you can walk into a store, buy. It's safe, you don't have to rely on other people.”
Both LaFlex and Gonzalez are looking forward to seeing Minnesota’s cannabis market in a year, when more businesses are open. Others who are out-of-state visitors were happy about their timing on Tuesday, visiting Green Goods as they sold recreational marijuana products to hundreds of customers.
One of them was Khalid Dickerson of Kansas City, whose first stop after landing in the Twin Cities was Green Goods’ downtown Minneapolis store.
“I just got off the plane,” said Dickerson with a smile. “I gotta get to the weed. This was right on time for real.”
Dickerson is a recreational user and says cannabis helps with calming his mood. He was in town for work and comes from a state where recreational cannabis is legal, so he was excited that he had access to cannabis in Minnesota.
MPR News reporter Feven Gerezgiher contributed to this story.
