Minnesota’s first cannabis license is issued to Pine County business

First MN recreational cannabis business license

The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management marked a huge milestone on Wednesday, issuing the state’s first-ever cannabis business license.

Herb Quest LLC in Brook Park, a town in Pine County about 65 miles north of the Twin Cities, received its microbusiness license for cultivating cannabis plants outdoors.

“With our first licensed cultivator now able to begin growing plants, and more than 600 businesses within the final steps of completing their applications and securing approvals from local governments, we are now seeing the first pieces of Minnesota’s adult-use market fall into place,” OCM Interim Director Eric Taubel said in a statement.

As of Wednesday, 706 applicants across all license types had gained preliminary approval and were in the final stages of securing a license, according to the OCM’s online dashboard. Those last hurdles include securing a business location, meeting all local zoning and business regulations and passing a pre-licensure inspection.

Earlier this month, the OCM held its first lotteries for social equity applicants and general applicants for cultivator, manufacturer and mezzobusiness licenses. A general lottery for cannabis retailers is scheduled for July 22.

Microbusiness licenses like Herb Quest’s are not capped under state statute, but there was a limited window to apply for them. In all, the OCM received 1,854 microbusiness applications, and 124 were either withdrawn or denied.

Tribal businesses and municipal cannabis retailers are not subject to lotteries for licensing.
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