Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
One of the companies that will grow and distribute medical marijuana in Minnesota is running into a problem: City councils in the western suburbs aren't keen on the idea of people shopping for pot in their towns.
Richfield and Bloomington have already passed marijuana-dispensary moratoriums, while Edina is scheduled to vote on its own moratorium Tuesday night.
That's causing issues for Minnesota Medical Solutions LLC, one two companies that won state licenses to grow and dispense marijuana in the state.
State law requires that MinnMed open four dispensaries, with one of those dispensaries going in Minnesota's third congressional district.
That district covers much of western Hennepin County, from Bloomington to Waconia to Rogers to Brooklyn Park.
When MinnMed started scouting sites in Bloomington, the City Council responded with a year-long moratorium to study the issue. That took MinnMed CEO Kyle Kingsley by surprise, because he had what he thought was a positive meeting with city officials.
Kinglsey told me last week he would move on to other cities because he wanted to get all four of his company's dispensaries open by July 1, when they become legal. (MinnMed is supposed to have all four of them open by July 1, 2016).
Kinglsey also has been looking in Edina, according to an Edina City Council agenda.
"This use has not been anticipated in the City's zoning and land use regulations," an Edina memo reads. "A moratorium is proposed to study medical cannabis manufacturing facilities and dispensaries. This study period will allow the City to determine whether City Code needs to be amended to address these types of facilities."
In Bloomington, the moratorium was met with resistance by Patrick McClellan, a city resident who suffers from muscular dystrophy and will be eligigble for medical marijuana.
"People who are in my position and people who are terminally ill don't need any more obstacles to get medication that the state says in now legal," McClellan told the Council.
Duluth and Vadnais Heights have passed similar moratoriums.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Western suburbs wary of pot shops - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Author: Nick Halter
Contact: nhalter@bizjournals.com
Photo Credit: Menahem Kahana
Website: Business News - The Business Journals
Richfield and Bloomington have already passed marijuana-dispensary moratoriums, while Edina is scheduled to vote on its own moratorium Tuesday night.
That's causing issues for Minnesota Medical Solutions LLC, one two companies that won state licenses to grow and dispense marijuana in the state.
State law requires that MinnMed open four dispensaries, with one of those dispensaries going in Minnesota's third congressional district.
That district covers much of western Hennepin County, from Bloomington to Waconia to Rogers to Brooklyn Park.
When MinnMed started scouting sites in Bloomington, the City Council responded with a year-long moratorium to study the issue. That took MinnMed CEO Kyle Kingsley by surprise, because he had what he thought was a positive meeting with city officials.
Kinglsey told me last week he would move on to other cities because he wanted to get all four of his company's dispensaries open by July 1, when they become legal. (MinnMed is supposed to have all four of them open by July 1, 2016).
Kinglsey also has been looking in Edina, according to an Edina City Council agenda.
"This use has not been anticipated in the City's zoning and land use regulations," an Edina memo reads. "A moratorium is proposed to study medical cannabis manufacturing facilities and dispensaries. This study period will allow the City to determine whether City Code needs to be amended to address these types of facilities."
In Bloomington, the moratorium was met with resistance by Patrick McClellan, a city resident who suffers from muscular dystrophy and will be eligigble for medical marijuana.
"People who are in my position and people who are terminally ill don't need any more obstacles to get medication that the state says in now legal," McClellan told the Council.
Duluth and Vadnais Heights have passed similar moratoriums.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Western suburbs wary of pot shops - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Author: Nick Halter
Contact: nhalter@bizjournals.com
Photo Credit: Menahem Kahana
Website: Business News - The Business Journals
