ST PAUL, Minn. — The Office of Cannabis Management is tasked with coming up with rules for cannabis businesses seeking to operate in Minnesota such as growers, manufacturers and retailers. Now, the state's newest department is turning to the public for help.
OCM is releasing surveys on everything from pesticides and fertilizers to labeling and packaging.
"There are people who are really excited because it's an opportunity to right some of the wrongs as a result of the war on drugs and criminalization of cannabis," Interim Director Charlene Briner told KARE 11 on Tuesday. "There are also folks who are really concerned about some of the implications and impacts that legalization could have. Everyone from public health advocates to employers who wonder what this means for some of their workplace safety concerns and so we want to cast the broadest possible swathe to gather input from everybody."
The current questionnaire, Survey 5, asks how to create a fair licensing system for people referred to as "social equity applicants," or those who were harmed by the war on drugs and now want to start a business all while larger operations also want in on the industry.
That survey's due Friday, Jan. 26 and there are at least two more scheduled. Survey 6 runs Jan. 29-Feb. 11 and is on laboratory standards and edible products standards. Survey 7 runs Feb. 12-26 and is on medical cannabis and patient registry program.
Briner says the office will then present a rough draft of the rules sometime this spring, and says potential stakeholders will be asked to check whether the language is simple and expectations are clear.
"And then allowing us some time based on that second round of feedback to do some adjustments if we need to," she said.
Available surveys are listed on the Office of Cannabis Management website under Rulemaking Overview.