Yo, peeps! Listen up! The Minnesota Department of Health just dropped a knowledge bomb on us. They straight up warned everyone that some stores out there be sellin’ illegal cannabis products that got way too much THC in ’em. Ya feel me? Minnesota may have legalized recreational marijuana, but the state-licensed dispensaries ain’t open yet. We gotta wait till early 2025, fam.
In their bulletin, the health department said they went and checked out 167 stores that sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products between August and November. Guess what? More than one-third of those shops, like 39% of ’em, were pushin’ illegal high-potency stuff. That ain’t cool, man. According to Minnesota law, any edibles or drinks made from hemp sold in the state gotta have no more than 5 milligrams of THC per serving and a max of 50 milligrams per package.
The health department straight up said, “These illegal, high-dose hemp products could have hundreds of milligrams of THC per serving. And with multiple servings in a package, we talkin’ ’bout thousands of milligrams of THC. That’s way above the legal limit.” Now, listen close, peeps. If you go and consume these illegal products, you might face some serious health issues like becomin’ unresponsive, havin’ seizures, or even goin’ through psychotic episodes. That ain’t no joke!
Garry Bowman, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, spilled the tea and said over 70% of the stores they checked had some kinda problem. They either had messed-up labels or puttin’ products in the wrong places. Damn!
Before this year, Minnesota didn’t have any regulations on those hemp-derived products. So many stores were sellin’ untested stuff that could actually mess you up. But this summer, the Department of Health got the power to inspect businesses and their products to make sure they follow all the rules. They gotta do testing, stick to the right dosage limits, use proper packaging, and follow other regulations.
Oh, and check this out! The Minnesota Department of Revenue reported that they collected almost $3.4 million in taxes from cannabis products between July and October. That means they sold around $34 million worth of hemp products in just four months! They on track to hit over $100 million in THC edibles and drinks every year. That’s some serious green, my friends.
These inspections on the hemp stores are done by the Office of Medical Cannabis, a new agency that’s part of the Department of Health. Chris Elvrum, the assistant director of the office, ain’t surprised by how many stores were sellin’ those high-potency hemp products. He said, “The marketplace just wasn’t regulated for a while, you know?”
But hold up, there’s more! The department only had one inspector when they did all these checks. But now they got five more inspectors on board, and they hirin’ another one next month. Yo, Minnesota got around 3,000 businesses registered to sell or make hemp stuff. They gotta check all of ’em!
Elvrum said they gonna focus on places that usually have hemp products that don’t follow the rules. “So, smoke shops, hemp stores, and even some convenience stores. There’s ’bout 800 of ’em registered right now.” And eventually, they gonna check out liquor stores, bars, and restaurants too. You know those places that sell hemp THC seltzers and other beverages? They ain’t been a priority ’cause they mostly follow the rules better than others. But no worries, they’ll get inspected too.
When the inspectors find any illegal hemp products, they tell stores to destroy them right then and there. Or in some cases, they watch the stores do it later. No illegal stuff allowed, my friends!
Now, if any of these retailers keep sellin’ illegal hemp products, they can get fined up to $10,000 per incident. Dang! And if a business sells hemp stuff without registerin’ with the state, they can also get fined up to $10,000. Elvrum said they ain’t been givin’ out fines yet, but that could change if a store keeps breakin’ the rules.
“We’re gonna give ’em the benefit of the doubt on the first visit,” Elvrum said. “But repeated violations of the same thing might end up with a penalty.” So don’t mess around, peeps. Follow the rules and stay outta trouble!
Stay woke and stay safe out there, fam! This is Dan signin’ off. Peace!
