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The Minnesota Senate gave final legislative approval Monday to a bill that allows the state’s hemp-THC industry to continue testing low-dose beverages and edibles out of state.

The bill is now headed to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk. It 

 for all hemp-derived products to be tested at a Minnesota lab from Jan. 1 of this year to May 31 of next year.

“We only have two fully functional labs at the moment, with more on the way,” said bill author Senator Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville. “This is creating a backlog, particularly for the more specialized med products, like meds for children with epilepsy, is creating a wait for patients that is unacceptable.”

The bill passed on a 41-26 vote after virtually no debate on the floor.

The state’s Office of Cannabis Management had already pushed the deadline for in-state testing and licensure of hemp producers to April. Minnesota’s two cannabis testing labs are facing wait times of four to six weeks because of the recreational cannabis market, which is now delivering its first wave of products to Minnesotans.

The legislation would free up the labs to focus on adult-use cannabis while the hemp-THC industry continues to use out-of-state testing. The clock is ticking though on the cannabis office’s extended in-state testing deadline of March 31.

Port hopes Walz signs her bill before then so the testing labs are not overwhelmed with demand from Minnesota’s hemp market.

The bill would also give some wiggle room as the state’s multi-million dollar industry prepares for the worst in November — a federal hemp ban on Nov. 12.  Bipartisan efforts are underway to delay the ban, including one congressional bill that’s sponsored by Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

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Marijuana in Minnesota

Nicole Ki

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The legislation seeks to extend the deadline for the state’s hemp-THC industry to test products at a Minnesota lab.

Bill to allow Minnesota hemp producers to continue out-of-state testing heads to governor’s desk

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