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Minnesota state agencies are setting a target for a year from now to begin issuing retail licenses for legal marijuana sales.

A request for vendors offers the timeline for a program buildout after the Legislature 

 allowing adults at least 21 years old to possess and buy cannabis. Gov. Tim Walz has said he plans to sign the bill into law, making Minnesota the 23rd state to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

The state is seeking a software vendor to manage applications and information around retail licenses. The bid package says the project would start in July and license applications would start in May 2024. The estimated start of marijuana sales from dispensaries is listed as January of 2025, although that could shift. 

In the meantime, people will be allowed to grow their own marijuana plants at home within limits beginning this August. They can keep up to two pounds of cultivated cannabis and give away small amounts to people of legal age who they know.

What lawmakers got done in the 2023 legislative session

Minnesota has had a medical marijuana program for nearly a decade that started with oils, pills and other non-smokable forms. Leaf form was authorized for that program in 2021. Fewer than half of the other states allow people to grow their own.

Under the proposal awaiting Walz’s signature:

Minnesota News

Politics and Government News

Health

Marijuana in Minnesota

Brian Bakst

Author

Anna Haecherl

The estimated start of marijuana sales from dispensaries is listed as January of 2025, although that could shift. 

Minnesota state agencies set target to begin issuing retail licenses for marijuana

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