Minnesota’s legal weed market finally gets rolling as first license is issued

Minnesota issued its first cannabis business license on Wednesday, a moment entrepreneurs and consumers have been waiting for since the state legalized marijuana for recreational use nearly two years ago.

A Pine County business, Herb Quest, received a social equity license, which is intended to help veterans, individuals who have been harmed by cannabis prohibition and those who live in areas of high poverty enter the legal marijuana industry.

“With our first licensed cultivator now able to begin growing plants, and more than 600 businesses within the final steps of completing their applications and securing approvals from local governments, we are now seeing the first pieces of Minnesota’s adult-use market fall into place,” said Eric Taubel, interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), in a news release.

Herb Quest is a microbusiness in Brook Park that will now be allowed to grow, process and sell marijuana products on a small scale. Its initial focus will be outdoor cultivation, according to the agency.

Brian Coonradt, the business owner who received the license, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Herb Quest’s approval comes almost two weeks after OCM held the first licensing lotteries to qualified applicants, with 776 applicants competing for 249 licenses. Retailer licenses will be awarded to general applicants in a July 22 lottery.

The OCM also announced that it will open an application window for cannabis testing facilities on Aug. 1 to obtain licenses while they move through the accreditation process.

“We wanted to provide a shorter runway for labs who wish to enter Minnesota’s cannabis market in such an essential way while also helping other cannabis business owners get up and running with safe, tested products,” Max Zappia, OCM’s chief regulatory officer, said in a statement.

OCM also plans on Aug. 1 to start accepting applications for cannabis event organizer licenses, which will authorize the holder to plan and host cannabis-related events.

While Herb Quest is the first cannabis non-tribal business to receive a license, others are likely to follow soon.

The White Earth Band of Chippewa last month signed a cannabis compact with the state and opened its first retail marijuana dispensary outside of tribal lands in Moorhead over Memorial Day weekend. Taubel said earlier this month he expects Gov. Tim Walz’s administration to finalize similar agreements with other Minnesota tribes.

According to OCM data, as of Wednesday, 706 businesses have preliminary approval and most of those are microbusinesses in the final stages of authorization.

The Smoking Tree is one of those.

Jacob Schlichter, a 29-year-old Albert Lea resident who owns the Smoking Tree, said he had his final inspection from the OCM on Monday morning and will receive a license once he pays the licensing fee.

Prospective applicants will have another chance to have their social equity status verified between July 7 and July 21, the OCM said Wednesday. The list of qualified criteria for the licenses now includes applicants who have received stays of adjudication and adjudications of delinquency.

Schlichter began the application process a year ago. He hasn’t set a date for his opening day yet, but is planning a soft opening before the end of June.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Schlichter said. “It’s taken a lot of forethought.”