MINNESOTA, USA — It's been almost seven months since Governor Walz signed the bill legalizing cannabis for adults.
Five months ago, that law went into effect. But today, one of the first boxes on the state's to-do list still hasn't been checked - hiring a permanent director for the Office of Cannabis Management.
The first appointed director of the new regulatory agency, Erin Dupree, resigned in September amid reports that she sold illegal cannabis products in the state.
One of the chief architects of the state's cannabis legalization policy, Leili Fatehi, said she's not concerned about the open position.
"They took quick accountability and action and I think now they're taking the time to find the right person," said Fatehi, who's also a leader at Blunt Strategies - the state's only cannabis strategy and consulting firm.
She expects hundreds of people will apply for a business license to grow and sell recreational marijuana, long before anyone will be able to buy it.
"Do you want to be a grower, do you want to be in manufacturing, do you want to be a retailer," Fatehi said. "It's really important to think through what role it is you're interested in playing in this marketplace and then beginning to build strong relationships."
The state doesn't plan to accept applications until 2025 because it's taking all of next year to first craft rules and regulations, according to a cannabis law attorney Jason Tarasek.
"It's a complicated process and it's going to take some time, but everything I'm hearing from inside the government is that we're on track," said Tarasek.
There are still a lot of details to iron out in the 300-page statute that, in part, includes about 16 license categories from background checks to security plans to help ensure responsible businesses and safe products.
"We're not inventing everything from scratch, but the Minnesota statute is unique enough that it does have some quirks that we will be addressing for the first time," said Tarasek.
"Under this new framework of legalization, we’re going to have resources that are dedicated to mitigating those kinds of challenges and at the same time, we ensure that the wealth that is created by this industry is invested back into our workforce," said Fatehi.
Come February, the legislature will reconvene and Tarasek says it will likely make tweaks to the law while rule-making is going on. Experts, like Tarasek, are ready to watch how policy consultants and professionals from other state agencies will work with lawmakers - together.
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