Minnesota Regulators Say State Needs At Least 381 Dispensaries

Minnesota cannabis regulators said in a report this week that officials will need to license at least 381 cannabis dispensaries to properly service the state.

Under the state’s legalization law, there must be at least one cannabis retailer per 12,500 residents, calling for at least 381 locations, the report said.

The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management commissioned the report to better understand cannabis consumers and cannabis demand in the state. In their investigation, officials surveyed a large number of Minnesota-based cannabis consumers (i.e. people who had consumed within the past year) and found the following:

• The percentage of surveyed cannabis consumers in each county matched the percentage of actual Minnesotans in each county, showing the study and its findings hold about 99% accuracy.
• Survey participants obtained about 24.8 grams of cannabis on average within the past month, slightly higher than the national average, which suggests a “robust market” for the cannabis industry, the report said.
• 83% of survey participants had consumed cannabis at least once a month, with 40% consuming daily or almost daily.
• Cannabis consumption patterns for past-year cannabis consumers matched national trends.
• One-quarter of respondents said they were growing cannabis plants at home, with an average of two plants growing at a time.
• More than half of respondents said they had consumed at least one alternative cannabinoid (i.e. CBD, delta-8, or delta-10 THC) within the past month, and 68% said they had tried such products at least once previously.
• 17.6% of participants said they got their cannabis from a dealer, 16.6% from friends and family, and 16.1% said they purchased the products from one of the state’s dispensaries selling low-potency hemp products.

Minnesota became the 23rd state to legalize adult-use cannabis last August. Under the law, Minnesotans aged 21 and older can possess up to two ounces of cannabis in public and up to two pounds at home. Legal consumers can also cultivate up to eight plants at home, with a maximum of four flowering plants at once.

Unlike other states, Minnesota had already established legal access to low-dose cannabis products but that program was limited to consumable products with a maximum of 5mg of THC, including both delta-8 and delta-9 THC.

Earlier this month, lawmakers and state officials convened to investigate a loophole in the state’s current system that facilitates the sale of hemp flower products that may contain high levels of THC.