Minnesota first legalized cannabis for adult use when Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed HF 100 in May 2023. The first provisions of the law, which legalized recreational cannabis in Minnesota, took effect on August 1st, 2023. Cannabis possession and cultivation by adults over 21 years old became legal on that date over 2 years ago, but adult-use cannabis sales in Minnesota have largely remained elusive outside of indigenous tribal lands.
“The first legal sale of recreational marijuana in Minnesota was made on the Red Lake reservation on Tuesday to a tribal employee before a throng of journalists and tribal leaders.” reported Minnesota Reformer in its local coverage two years ago.
“Red Lake’s NativeCare is the only legal recreational marijuana dispensary in Minnesota, as state officials have yet to establish a licensing system. That gives tribes at least a year’s headstart in the Green Rush to stake a claim of what’s projected to be a $1.5 billion industry.” the outlet also reported.
Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management issued its first adult-use cannabis producer license in mid-June 2025, and didn’t select non-tribal applicants for retail licenses until about three weeks ago. That has resulted in a supply gap.
“The first wave of microbusiness licenses has finally cleared regulatory hurdles, but cultivators aren’t ready to supply them.” reported KARE11 in its local reporting. “The Office of Cannabis Management has looked to help fill that gap with assistance from willing tribes and medical marijuana businesses.”
It isn’t just indigenous tribes and citizens of Minnesota applying to sell cannabis. Over a dozen city governments have also applied to become cannabis retail license holders.
“In total, 13 Minnesota cities are in line to launch their own cannabis retail businesses, blazing a new trail in this country, where no other state has a city-run pot shop.” reported Fox9 in its recent coverage. Below is a list of the cities that applied:
- City of Mounds View
- City of Anoka
- City of Elk River DBA Cannabound
- City of Osseo DBA Osseo Municipal Cannabis Store
- City of Byron
- City of Owatonna DBA Owatonna Cannabis Dispensary
- Saint Anthony Village Cannabis Dispensary
- Grand Rapids Municipal Dispensary
- City of Buffalo
- City of Blaine
- City of St. Joseph DBA St. Joseph Municipal Dispensary
- City of Wyoming
- City of Lauderdale
It is worth noting that while Minnesota cities’ efforts are being billed as ‘the first city-run dispensaries’, that designation actually goes to the small town of North Bonneville, Washington, which launched its city-run recreational cannabis dispensary in 2015.
Still, the effort to launch city-run dispensaries in Minnesota is noteworthy, and a sign of how far cannabis acceptance has come in Minnesota in recent years.