Well, after trying years,
now Minnesota is closer than
ever to be legalizing marijuana.
And now, some of the most
critical moments in Saint Paul.
Let's go over those On Tuesday,
the House passed its bill
after hours of debate,
and tomorrow the Senate is scheduled
to talk about its version of the bill.
But that's not all both chambers
expect that to happen and
recreational marijuana to become.
Legal, but there's uncertainty
about what that's going to mean
for hemp derived THC products that
have already been in stores all
around our state for the past year.
We're talking about those THC drinks,
gummies, other products that
are really popular right now.
So Kent went into that industry
today to ask some questions.
I can't, yeah, I did, Jana.
Now
both of these bills would add
regulations and licensing requirements
for those THC products, but.
It wouldn't treat them like
recreational marijuana, for example.
Only dispensaries would be able
to sell the high potency stuff,
while these hemp based products
could be sold at even more
stores than they are now.
But whether that expands this
industry remains to be seen.
Hemp derived THC seltzer's and
gummies have become popular
offerings at Indeed Brewing Company
in Minneapolis in the past year.
For example, here in this tap room,
every few minutes someone's making a
purchase of some sort of THC product.
It's become popular and and that's
come at a time when people are
consuming a little bit less alcohol.
Indeed's cofounder and CEO Tom Wisnan says.
It appears recreational marijuana
bills in both the House and Senate
would allow the brewery to keep
producing those drinks and finally
clear the way for legal sales in.
Liquor stores.
But he says whether they stay on
the menu will likely come down to
details that have yet to be decided.
If you add on a huge tax on top of that,
if you add on a lot of backend regulation
that it caused us to incur costs here
at the brewery or any other hemp Dr.
manufacturer, then that can cause
the products to basically be
unviable at the commercial levels.
The ultimate goal is to.
Keep a thriving hemp industry,
a low potency THC industry Ryan
Winkler is the chair of the Pro
legalization Minnesota is Ready
campaign and helped pass the current
THC law as a legislator last year.
But he says the current bills would
add some guardrails to an industry
that has started without them.
We're making clear that breweries
can create these products.
We're making clear that
liquor stores can sell them.
We are making clear that there
are limits and how much THC you
can actually sell in a serving or
in a product as you're making it
and selling it across the state.
So we're keeping open
widespread availability,
but we're creating stronger rules
for making sure that it actually
is a low potency product that
is being sold across the state.
We're
for legalization. The hemp portion of
the bill needs serious fixes. Steven
Brown is owner of nothing
but hemp and president of the
Minnesota Cannabis Association,
a group that is opposed to
including hemp products in this
legislation at all and is arguing
for that low potency label to be
above 5 milligrams per serving.
In most recreational markets,
you're looking at 10 milligrams.
Of Delta 9 THC, so it's about half of
the strength is allowed in this state,
Brown says. Other unanswered questions
surrounding taxes and uncertainty
around the licensing process could
also have a major impact. We
would probably go out of business
in Minnesota very rapidly,
and so we have plans on moving
out of state completely to another
market because of the way that
this law is written or we've
been participating in that market, Tom
says. Indeed brewing isn't going
anywhere, but these products may be.
That feel like the future of THC
drinks here will depend on that last
negotiation between the two bills.
Yeah, I think it does.
You know the devil is going to be in
the details and how this all works
out economically and regulation
wise on the on the other end.
Now part of the concern here is that
both bills would tax low potency THC at
the same rate as recreational marijuana.
The House bill calls for an 8%
tax for the first four years,
after that it would drop to 5%.
In the Senate it would be a flat 10% tax.
That's a big difference and it's still
relatively low for high potency marijuana,
but it's high for hemp based products.
They haven't faced any extra taxes in
Minnesota for the last year, Janice,
So it's hard to adjust your economics
there, right? I understand it.
So the consumer that might have been
enjoying these products that they've
already had access to for the last year,
they see a 10% price increase.
They may just say forget it.
Well, especially if you've got higher
potency Thc's that you can get elsewhere
and that's kind of the concern that this
market in the middle might evaporate,
yeah. And those higher potencies
just in dispensaries, right, Right.