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02.a Letter from Kirsten Libby to Council re Cannabis and Hemp Ordinance LanguageTo: Scandia City Council From: Kirsten Libby Re: Cannabis and Hemp Ordinance Date: September 30, 2024 The City of Scandia is contemplating a new ordinance for the regulation of low potency hemp and cannabis, and there are two open issues right now including limiting of registrations and placing age restrictions on the retail shops who sell low dose hemp. Age Restrictions on Retail Shops I strongly urge you to consider no age restrictions on the retail shops who sell low dose hemp along with other consumer goods. This would heavily impact my store, Apothecary’s Daughter. Apothecary’s Daughter sells bulk herbs and spices, jams, jellies, pickles, salsas, organic bath and body products, and is home to 25 local artisans who sell their product in the store. Apothecary’s Daughter has been in business since 2019, and (I always hope) offers a great place to shop in our community. I opened right before covid, and even in the best of times it is a struggle to keep a small shop open. Hemp has helped my sales, and I am very in favor of its medicinal qualities. I have always used Minnesota companies, offer the highest quality product, and my customers have come to trust and rely on that product. My store is regulated by the Ag Department, the Health Department, the Office of Cannabis Management, and the Department of Revenue to keep and renew all my licenses. Lower-potency hemp edibles are already highly regulated through age requirements, testing requirements and label content, advertising, and display standards. For the purposes of the age restriction, Minnesota statute requires that lower-potency hemp edibles may not be sold to any individual under the age of 21. Minn. Stat. § 151.72, subd. 3 (2024). Currently, sellers of lower-potency hemp edibles that don’t specialize in solely hemp sales, can allow individuals of any age to shop within their stores. Lower-potency hemp edibles are highly regulated through advertising rules that protect underaged customers within the store. To further that agenda, lower-potency hemp edibles must clearly indicate that the product is an edible cannabinoid product. Id. at subd. 5a(7). Lower- potency hemp edibles must be sold in a child-resistant package. Id. at (7)(c). Finally, the product must state “Keep this product out of reach of children.” Id. at (e)(4). The rules pertaining to the display and storage of lower-potency hemp edibles are extremely crucial to the safety of customers at any age. Minnesota statute requires that all lower-potency hemp edibles must be displayed behind a checkout counter where the public is not permitted or in a locked case. Minn. Stat. § 342.46, subd. 4 (2023). This specific rule protects underage customers from illegally accessing any lower-potency hemp edibles. The current state of rules allows for sellers of lower-potency hemp edibles to be penalized when they do not comply with Minnesota statute. An individual who is in violation of any of the regulations is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and may be sentenced to imprisonment up to 364 days or given a fine of up to $3,000.00. Id. at subd. 7. I have been inspected on a regular basis. I have passed my hemp product inspection with zero violations. I need these products to help keep my doors open. There is nowhere in the state that I am aware of that requires “over 21” in a store that sells other lawful “underage” products, whether it be a convenience store, pharmacy, a family restaurant, where an adult over the age of 21 may purchase alcohol along with their meal, while a child can purchase food or other stores like Apothecary’s Daughter that sells a hodge podge of product based on what its customers want to purchase. Please allow me to continue my business. Limitation of Licenses I also urge you to NOT place a restriction on the number of licenses for cannabis. The legalization of adult use cannabis will be one of the most regulated businesses in Minnesota. The folks who have the money and sophistication to get through the application process, lottery process, and finally get to open one of these businesses will be very serious about wanting to be in a community that wants them. Why would we turn them away before we have any idea of what it might mean through increased revenues coming to the city for other projects, expansion of the tax base through economic development. The market will certainly be a factor in where these businesses locate.