Office of Cannabis Management & the 840-Day Rollout

Legal Disclaimer: This information reflects Twin Cities cannabis law as of July 2026 and is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Laws and regulations change — always verify current rules with the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management or a qualified attorney. Cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

Last verified: April 2026

The Office of Cannabis Management

HF 100 created the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), headquartered in St. Paul, as the sole state regulator. OCM’s mandate covers:

License issuance and oversight (cultivator, manufacturer, retailer, microbusiness, mezzobusiness, transporter, testing facility, event organizer)
Compliance enforcement (rule violations, license revocations)
Product testing and recall coordination
Tribal-state compact administration
Medical cannabis program (transferred from Department of Health March 1, 2025)
Public-health and youth-access guidance

The Director Carousel

OCM’s leadership history was rocky from the start:

Erin Dupree — appointed first Director by Gov. Walz; resigned within one day amid allegations she had sold illegal hemp products through a company called Loonacy Cannabis Co.
Charlene Briner — Interim Director; built the office from scratch, hiring over 100 staff and overseeing the rulemaking process. Stepped down January 2025.
Eric Taubel — OCM’s first General Counsel; took over after Briner; made permanent in August 2025 by Gov. Walz.

The 840-Day Gap

From HF 100 signing (May 30, 2023) to first non-tribal state-licensed retail sale (September 16, 2025) was 840 days — the 4th-slowest U.S. cannabis rollout ever. The gap reflected several intertwined challenges:

Rulemaking complexity. Minn. Rules Chapter 9810 required formal regulatory drafting, public comment periods, and final adoption. Adopted April 14, 2025.
Director turnover. The Dupree resignation and the Briner-to-Taubel transition consumed bandwidth.
Social-equity preapproval lottery canceled. In November 2024, OCM canceled an early preapproval lottery after investigators uncovered suspicious applications from straw applicants attempting to game the equity provisions.
License processing. The first state cannabis license was issued June 18, 2025 — a microbusiness for outdoor cultivation in Pine County. Building a working pipeline of cultivator + manufacturer + transporter + testing + retailer licenses takes time.
Testing capacity bottleneck. Only 3 licensed testing facilities operated as of late 2025; ChRi Laboratories in St. Paul became the first licensed lab on September 10, 2025.

The 2025 Numbers

By December 31, 2025:

119 licenses issued across all categories
~1,404 preliminary approvals in the pipeline
3,563 total applications received in OCM’s first full application window (February 18–March 14, 2025)
$27 million in 2025 cannabis tax revenue
$122.5 million in combined adult-use and hemp sales

License Caps

Current OCM license caps:

50 cultivators
24 manufacturers
150 retailers
100 mezzobusinesses (mid-tier vertical operators)

A mandated reassessment of license caps is scheduled for July 2026, which could significantly expand the market.

The First Wave (September 16-17, 2025)

The first non-tribal retail cannabis sales occurred on September 16, 2025, when Green Goods (Vireo Growth, headquartered in Minneapolis) opened at eight statewide locations including five in the Twin Cities metro. Twin Cities locations:

Green Goods 207 S. 9th Street, downtown Minneapolis (the historic first sale)
Plus four other metro locations

The following day, RISE Dispensaries (Green Thumb Industries) launched adult-use sales at five locations including Brooklyn Park, Eagan (2795 Pilot Knob Road), and New Hope.

In total, 15 dispensaries opened in the first week, with 9 in the metro area.

The 2026 OCM Outlook

OCM reopened LPHE retailer, manufacturer, and wholesaler license applications on a rolling basis as of April 1, 2026. The July 2026 license-cap reassessment could significantly expand the market.

Meanwhile, a November 2025 federal law banning hemp products exceeding 0.4 mg THC takes effect November 12, 2026, potentially devastating Minnesota’s $122.5 million hemp-derived THC industry — including the beloved THC seltzers and gummies that preceded HF 100. See our THC Beverages page for the full picture.

OCM projects adult-use sales will top $430 million in 2026 as more licenses activate and supply chains mature. The market’s current shape will look very different by year’s end.