MMA Submits Comments on Expedited Rules for Minnesota’s New Cannabis Industry

February 13, 2025

On February 12, the MMA re-emphasized its concerns with Minnesota’s new cannabis industry and its potential effects on the health, safety, and welfare of Minnesotans. 

The MMA first voiced these concerns during the Office of Cannabis Management’s (OCM) August 2024 proposed rules comment period. After these concerns went unheeded, the MMA submitted its comments again earlier this week to an administrative law judge.  

The MMA requested: 

• Appropriate health warning labels must be included on all cannabis products. 

• Cannabis products must be stored in child-resistant packaging or containers; and must be stored out of children’s reach or in locked locations. 

• The medical cannabis consultant, who will advise consumers on cannabis products, must be a medical professional. If the medical cannabis consultant is not a medical professional, they must only be able to provide advice on dosage, advice on the best type of cannabis product for a particular condition, etc., in consultation with a pharmacist. 

“Minnesota’s cannabis industry needs to ensure that the rules designed to regulate the adult-use cannabis, medical cannabis, hemp-derived consumer products, and lower-potency, hemp-derived edibles markets in Minnesota have public health and safety at their core,” said MMA President Edwin Bogonko, MD, MBA. 

The cannabis law that established a regulatory framework for Minnesota’s new cannabis industry passed in 2023. The law created the OCM, which intends to adopt rules under the expedited rulemaking process following the rules of the Office of Administrative Hearings and the Administrative Procedure Act.  

The proposed expedited rules are initial rules designed to regulate the adult-use cannabis, medical cannabis, hemp-derived consumer products, and lower-potency hemp derived edibles markets in Minnesota. The rules cover all parts of a licensee’s activities, including application, cultivation, manufacture, packing, labeling, transportation, sale, delivery, record-keeping, testing, and office processes for oversight and enforcement.