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Minnesota's OCM has issued 350 cannabis licenses with 1,255 more preliminarily approved, and a new public dashboard shows $122.5M in sales. We break down the hemp flower crackdown, the 2026 omnibus bill, the Nov 13 federal hemp cliff, and Legacy Cup 2026.
Minnesota's legal cannabis market just got real: 350 licenses issued, a public OCM dashboard showing $122.5M in sales, and two regulatory clocks ticking. We unpack the enforcement crackdown on illegal hemp flower, the omnibus bill changes already in effect, and what the November 13 federal hemp cliff means for MN beverage brands.
In this episode:
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Will: —and that's the thing, like, I keep telling people the market didn't just turn on overnight, it's been building.
Matilda: Right, but from a normal shopper's perspective? It kinda DID turn on overnight.
Will: Fair.
Matilda: Like one week there's nothing on the shelf that's actually MN-grown, and then suddenly there's, you know, a whole wall of it.
Will: Okay yes, from the consumer side I get it.
Matilda: I'm just saying, the "we've been working on this for years" line only lands if you were in the room.
Will: Which most people weren't.
Matilda: Most people were just waiting to buy a gummy without driving to a smoke shop that also sells vape juice and, I don't know, a katana.
Will: The katana shops. Ope, we've all been there.
Matilda: We have ALL been there.
Will: Okay so — real news. The OCM just dropped their late-August scoreboard and it's, honestly, kinda wild.
Matilda: Give me the number.
Will: 350 licenses issued. Twelve fifty-five more preliminarily approved.
Matilda: Wait, three hundred and fifty are LIVE live?
Will: Live live. Issued. And the preliminary bucket is, like, the on-deck circle.
Matilda: Okay that's a real market. That's not a pilot program anymore.
Will: That's a real market.
Matilda: What's the breakdown look like, because I feel like everyone assumes it's just retailers.
Will: So the bulk is microbusiness — 254 of those. Then you've got 22 mezzo, 20 cultivators, 16 retailers, 12 transporters, 10 wholesalers, six delivery, five testing, three manufacturers, two medical combo.
Matilda: Only 16 retailers issued so far?
Will: Sixteen full retailer licenses. Which is why when you drive around the Cities you're not seeing a dispensary on every corner yet.
Matilda: Right, but the microbusinesses can sell too, kinda?
Will: They can, within their tier. So the retail footprint is actually bigger than "16" makes it sound.
Matilda: Okay that tracks.
Will: And here's the part I actually think is the story — OCM also launched a public market dashboard.
Matilda: A dashboard dashboard?
Will: Public URL, they show sales, transaction counts, the whole thing. Trailing twelve months is showing $122.5 million in combined adult-use plus medical, across more than 1.2 million transactions.
Matilda: Wait, 1.2 million transactions?
Will: 1.2 million.
Matilda: That's not a niche. That's a grocery run.
Will: That's people going, "yep, I'm stopping at the dispensary the way I'd stop at the co-op."
Matilda: Okay so — pushback moment.
Will: Bring it.
Matilda: 122 million sounds huge if you say it fast. But compared to, like, a mature market? That's still pretty small.
Will: Yeah, it's small compared to Michigan, it's small compared to Illinois, of course.
Matilda: So why are we treating this like a milestone?
Will: Because a year ago the honest answer to "how big is the legal MN market" was "we don't know, it's mostly hemp beverages and vibes."
Matilda: Hemp beverages and vibes.
Will: Now there's a dashboard. Now there's a number. Journalists can cite it, city councils can cite it, the OCM can defend its budget with it.
Matilda: Okay, transparency as the story. I'll take that.
Will: Transparency as the story.
Matilda: Speaking of the OCM flexing — the enforcement stuff.
Will: Oh, the hemp flower crackdown.
Matilda: Yeah, walk me through it because I've had, like, four people ask me if their gas station gummies are about to disappear.
Will: Okay so OCM signed an interagency agreement with the Minnesota Department of Health.
Matilda: Two agencies teaming up. Fun.
Will: Two agencies teaming up specifically to inspect hemp retailers and stop the sale of hemp flower that's over the legal cannabinoid limits.
Matilda: What does that actually look like on the ground?
Will: Surprise site visits. Shelf sampling. COA audits — that's Certificate of Analysis, the lab paperwork.
Matilda: Ope.
Will: And they can shut down unregistered sellers.
Matilda: So the vape-and-katana shop selling loose flower under the counter —
Will: — is exactly who this is aimed at.
Matilda: Devastating news for the katana community.
Will: The katana lobby is furious.
Matilda: Okay but for a normal beverage buyer? Someone grabbing a Stigma at the liquor store?
Will: Legit hemp beverage brands operating within the limits — they're fine. This is about people selling smokable flower with THC levels that were never legal on the hemp side to begin with.
Matilda: Got it. So if your Simply Crafted seltzer is on the shelf next to the White Claws, you're good.
Will: You're good. That's a licensed, tested product.
Matilda: Okay. But — and this is the part that's actually scary if you're in that business — there's a federal cliff coming.
Will: The farm bill thing.
Matilda: The farm bill thing. Explain it like I don't read Foley Hoag summaries for fun.
Will: Fair. So back in November 2025 the federal farm bill got amended, and it redefined "hemp."
Matilda: Redefined how?
Will: The new federal definition caps hemp at 0.4 milligrams of THC per package.
Matilda: Per PACKAGE?
Will: Per package. Not per serving.
Matilda: That's basically zero.
Will: That's basically zero. That is a hard cliff for the hemp-derived beverage and edible cottage industry.
Matilda: When does it hit?
Will: November 13, 2026.
Matilda: So like, two months from now.
Will: Two months from now.
Matilda: Okay so every hemp beverage brand in Minnesota is doing what right now?
Will: They are scrambling to get onto the cannabis side of the licensing structure so they can keep selling the same product, just under a different regulatory umbrella.
Matilda: Which brings us to the omnibus bill.
Will: Which brings us NEATLY to the omnibus bill, yes.
Matilda: Walz signed it — when?
Will: May 26, 2026. Most of it took effect August 1st.
Matilda: So this stuff is already in play.
Will: Already in play. Right now. Today.
Matilda: Okay, top hits.
Will: Top hits. Edibles package cap went from 100 milligrams of THC per package to 200.
Matilda: Doubled?
Will: Doubled.
Matilda: Okay, second pushback.
Will: Go.
Matilda: Doubling the package cap sounds like a "more is more" move, but a lot of consumers don't need 200 milligrams sitting in their cabinet. Isn't that kinda risky?
Will: It's a fair concern. But the reasoning I've seen is it's not about a single serving being bigger — it's about pack size flexibility, especially for medical patients who were buying two packages every trip.
Matilda: Ah. So it's a "how many boxes do I have to buy" issue.
Will: Right. Not "how big is the gummy."
Matilda: Okay, I'll accept that. Conditionally.
Will: Conditionally accepted, noted.
Matilda: What else in the omnibus?
Will: Big one — medical and adult-use supply chains got merged.
Matilda: Merged how?
Will: If you're an endorsed operator you can serve patients AND adult-use customers from the same operation.
Matilda: So Green Goods in Bloomington, for example — historically a medical spot —
Will: — under the new framework, if they take the endorsement, they could serve both.
Matilda: That's a huge shift for patients.
Will: Huge. And frankly it's cheaper for operators. You don't have to duplicate the whole supply chain.
Matilda: What else.
Will: They created a new license tier called macrobusiness.
Matilda: Macro. So micro, mezzo, macro. We got the whole burrito menu.
Will: We got the whole menu.
Matilda: And?
Will: And hemp license holders can now also hold a cannabis license.
Matilda: That's the bridge!
Will: That's the bridge. That's the state going, "hey, we know the federal cliff is coming, we're not gonna let a whole industry evaporate on November 13th."
Matilda: Okay that's actually smart policy.
Will: It's actually smart policy. I don't say that often.
Matilda: Noted for the record.
Will: One more from the omnibus — social equity licensees can now take outside investment up to 33%, across up to four licensed businesses.
Matilda: Okay, that's the one I want to sit on for a second.
Will: Sit on it.
Matilda: Because the original social equity framework was very much like, "this is YOUR business, no outside capital, keep it local, keep it in the community."
Will: Right.
Matilda: And now we're opening the door to outside investment. Isn't that how equity programs in other states got, uh, quietly hollowed out?
Will: It's a real risk. That's a totally legitimate concern.
Matilda: So why'd they do it?
Will: Because a lot of the equity licensees were sitting on paper licenses they couldn't actually build out. No capital, no buildout, no revenue.
Matilda: So the license was worthless.
Will: The license was worthless. And you can't equity your way to a storefront if you can't afford the buildout on the storefront.
Matilda: So 33% is the compromise.
Will: 33% is the compromise. You keep control, you get the capital.
Matilda: I still want to see how it plays out. Ask me again in a year.
Will: Ask you again in a year, noted.
Matilda: Okay — retail. Give me the fun stuff. Who's open.
Will: Okay so — Anoka.
Matilda: Anoka?
Will: Anoka opened the first municipally owned adult-use dispensary in the entire United States. February 7th of this year.
Matilda: The CITY owns it?
Will: The city owns it. Revenue goes back to the city.
Matilda: That's kinda genius, actually.
Will: It's kinda genius. And Osseo's targeting a mid-2026 opening for their city-run spot.
Matilda: So Osseo's next.
Will: Osseo's next. And out-state — Cann.dev had a nice roundup back in April — you've got Black Bear Dispensary and Winona Dispensary both in Winona. Silver Cannabis Co. up in Stillwater.
Matilda: Stillwater's cute. Good day trip.
Will: Great day trip. Cross the lift bridge, grab an edible, walk the river.
Matilda: A Minnesota nice afternoon.
Will: A very Minnesota nice afternoon.
Matilda: What about the Cities specifically? Because people ask us this constantly.
Will: Cities-wise, the ones I keep sending people to — Wildflower up in the North Loop is doing the whole curated experience thing really well. Edina Canna if you're southwest metro.
Matilda: I've been to Wildflower. The staff actually knows their stuff.
Will: They actually know their stuff. That's the differentiator honestly, budtender quality is EVERYTHING right now.
Matilda: Because if you're new to this, walking into a dispensary is intimidating.
Will: It's intimidating. And a good budtender is worth their weight in, well, flower.
Matilda: Nice.
Will: For menus and reviews, honestly — mncannabishub.com. That's the one-stop.
Matilda: Not a plug, just true.
Will: Not a plug, just true. Okay — you wanted to do a terpene thing.
Matilda: I wanted to do a terpene thing. Because I keep seeing myrcene TikToks and I don't fully trust them.
Will: Rightfully so.
Matilda: Give me the actual science, or the actual not-science.
Will: Okay so — myrcene. Most abundant terpene in a LOT of cannabis chemovars.
Matilda: How abundant?
Will: In a myrcene-dominant cultivar, it can be up to about 65% of the strain's terpene profile.
Matilda: 65%? That's a majority.
Will: That's a majority. Also shows up in hops, mango, lemongrass, thyme.
Matilda: So beer, basically.
Will: Beer, basically. Which is why the "mango before your edible" thing is a whole TikTok subgenre.
Matilda: Does it actually work though?
Will: Here's the honest answer. Preclinical and animal research does point to sedative effects, muscle relaxant effects, some analgesic activity.
Matilda: Animal studies.
Will: Animal studies. And there's some interesting stuff about it possibly modulating how cannabinoids get taken up by receptors.
Matilda: But?
Will: But the large human trials are just not there yet.
Matilda: So when someone on TikTok is like, "myrcene is why this strain gives you couch-lock" —
Will: — the honest framing is, it's the couch-lock terpene, but the human evidence is a lot thinner than TikTok makes it sound.
Matilda: I appreciate that framing.
Will: The industry loves to overclaim on terpenes because it makes marketing easier.
Matilda: "This one has limonene so it'll make you happy" —
Will: — is a vibe, not a study.
Matilda: A vibe, not a study. Put that on a shirt.
Will: Print it.
Matilda: Okay, will you admit something for me.
Will: Uh oh.
Matilda: The myrcene-cannabinoid receptor uptake thing. Do you actually understand the mechanism?
Will: Honestly? No. I've read the summaries, I can tell you the claim, I cannot tell you the mechanism.
Matilda: Thank you.
Will: I'm not gonna fake it. That's a real "ask a pharmacologist" question.
Matilda: That's the right answer.
Will: The wrong answer would've been to make up a molecule.
Matilda: The wrong answer would've been to invent a receptor.
Will: Cannabinoid receptor 7.
Matilda: There is no 7.
Will: There is no 7. Okay — events.
Matilda: Please. I need something on my calendar.
Will: Legacy Cup, September 26th. Saturday. Noon to eight. Surly Festival Field in Minneapolis.
Matilda: Lineup?
Will: Big Boi. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Nappy Roots. Sa-Roc.
Matilda: Big Boi?
Will: Big Boi.
Matilda: Okay I'm going.
Will: There's also Cup Awards for best MN flower. Joint-rolling contest. Bong-pong.
Matilda: Bong-pong is a sport now?
Will: Bong-pong is a sport now. This is our culture.
Matilda: This is where we are as a state.
Will: And then two weeks later — Autumn Brew Review, October 10th, Boom Island Park, 1:30 to 5.
Matilda: The beer one.
Will: The beer one. But this year they're adding hemp-derived THC beverages to the lineup.
Matilda: Interesting.
Will: Yeah — crossover moment. Beer festival adding cannabis beverages, that's the market maturing in real time.
Matilda: That's also probably some of the last big public showcases for those hemp beverages before the November cliff.
Will: Yeah. Depending on how brands transition, yeah.
Matilda: Get 'em while you can.
Will: Get 'em while you can, but also, most of the big brands will keep making the product — just under the cannabis license instead of the hemp one.
Matilda: Right, the omnibus bridge.
Will: The omnibus bridge.
Matilda: Okay — community stuff. Because we can't do a whole episode about a market and not talk about who's actually building it.
Will: Yes. So — Minneapolis has stood up city resources specifically to help Black entrepreneurs navigate the licensing process.
Matilda: What does that look like practically?
Will: Application support, technical assistance, connecting people to capital, walking through the paperwork.
Matilda: Because the paperwork is not casual.
Will: The paperwork is not casual.
Matilda: I've seen the application. It's a book.
Will: It's a book. And then on the OCM side, there's the CanRenew grant program.
Matilda: The million-dollar one?
Will: The million-dollar one. Targeted at communities hit hardest by prohibition.
Matilda: And advocates are pushing on the pace.
Will: Advocates are publicly pushing OCM to move faster on payouts. Which — fair. That's the job of advocates.
Matilda: How much cannabis tax revenue is there overall?
Will: Roughly $38.2 million collected through early 2026, earmarked for community reinvestment, workforce, expungement support.
Matilda: Okay, expungement is the one people forget about.
Will: People forget about expungement.
Matilda: If you got a possession charge in 2015, that follows you into every job application, every apartment application.
Will: Every apartment application. Yeah.
Matilda: And now the same thing you got charged for is being sold in a store owned by the city of Anoka.
Will: The whiplash is REAL.
Matilda: So expungement isn't a nice-to-have, it's kind of the point.
Will: It's kind of the point. And the tax dollars are supposed to be going there.
Matilda: Supposed to.
Will: Supposed to. We'll be watching.
Matilda: Okay — takeaway. Give me the one thing.
Will: The one thing. Okay. The next 60 days are the interesting ones.
Matilda: Why.
Will: Because the November 13th federal hemp cliff is coming. And the state's July 1st statutory license-cap review is on the books.
Matilda: So both clocks are ticking.
Will: Both clocks are ticking. Which means the next two months are where the policy actually meets the storefront.
Matilda: For consumers, translate that.
Will: For consumers — if you love a specific hemp-derived beverage brand? Follow them on socials. Know how they're transitioning. That product might be on the same shelf in December, but the label might look different.
Matilda: And it might be in a different section of the store.
Will: Might be in a different section of the store.
Matilda: Also — go visit a licensed shop.
Will: Yes.
Matilda: Because if you've been buying online, or you've been buying at the gas station, the licensed shop experience is genuinely different.
Will: It's genuinely different. And the more people who show up at licensed retailers, the healthier this market gets.
Matilda: The dashboard number goes up.
Will: The dashboard number goes up, transparency wins, the whole thing gets more legitimate.
Matilda: Okay, before we go — where do people find, like, everything you just said?
Will: Mncannabishub.com. Dispensary menus, reviews, coverage of everything we talked about today.
Matilda: Not spendy either. It's free.
Will: It's free.
Matilda: Uff da, imagine paying to read cannabis news.
Will: Imagine.
Matilda: Alright. Legacy Cup. September 26th. I'll see you there.
Will: You'll see me there. I'll be the guy losing at bong-pong.
Matilda: I'll bring you a Stigma.
Will: Bring me a Stigma. We'll cheers to a market that finally has a dashboard.
Matilda: To the dashboard.
Will: To the dashboard. Take care of each other out there, Minnesota.
Matilda: Skol.
Minnesota's weekly cannabis news, dispensary updates, and policy briefings. Recreational and medical, OCM moves, new strains, dispensary openings, and the people running the industry. Brought to you by mncannabishub.com and Leafwell (code MNHUB — $99 medical card visits).