Albert Lea City Council delays first pot shop approval, state office responds

ALBERT LEA, Minn. — On Thursday, the biggest names in the cannabis industry held the 3rd Annual Cannabis Law Conference to answer big questions still swirling in the industry.  

The MN Office of Cannabis Management’s (OCM) Interim Director Eric Taubel says recreational marijuana will be worth more than $1.4 billion by 2029.

The state legalized recreational marijuana two years ago, but still, some cities are outright defying it. 

On Monday, the Albert Lea City Council voted against registering the business license of what would be the state’s first pot shop not on tribal land. 

The mayor said the city had more questions about the process, while several residents spoke out against the business. He said the council plans to revisit the issue as early as next month’s meeting.

Both the city attorney and cannabis lawyers have said state penalties and other lawsuits would be inevitable, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“The city council told me they just received a bombardment of 11th-hour dissent,” said Jacob Schlichter, the owner of the Smoking Tree. He’s renting a space in the city and had planned to open the business as soon as this.  

“This is a challenging industry and everyone involved in it is doing it for the first time, including our local partners, and so I know they’re working through what the local process means for them and what sort of role they have,” said Taubel at Thursday’s conference. 

According to the law, local governments can use zoning ordinances to restrict where businesses, like Schlichter’s, can operate. But they also need to allow at least one retail registration for every 12,500 residents, meaning Albert Lea can have two. 

Jurisdictions can’t choose to entirely opt out of the industry.

“A lot of the work to ensure that these businesses operate in a way that prioritizes public health and safety and consumer confidence, that’s work we’ve been doing for the last two years at the Office of Cannabis Management,” said Taubel. “Realistically, these local jurisdictions should have been planning for this moment.”

Taubel says the state has issued three other retail licenses, not only in Albert Lea, but also in Duluth. It also issued one manufacturer and four cultivator licenses.

Taubel says he’s confident the Albert Lea dispute isn’t a precursor to other local governments sparring with licensees, although there is little the OCM can do to mediate. 

“As we see more of these businesses open, I think it’ll start to get a little bit smoother as other jurisdictions have a blueprint of how it looks, how the registration process can go,” said Taubel. 

Minnesota also doesn’t have enough product to satisfy the burgeoning retail market. It will still take months to grow enough, and Taubel expects it could be the start of the new year before the product is on store shelves.