On July 1st, Minnesota legislature begun the regulation of THC products. These changes come as THC products were being sold to 18-year-olds and minors. This does not mean that Minnesota has legalized marijuana, instead it has made hemp-derived THC legal to consume, as long as it is below 5mg per serving — half of a regular dose.
THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that gets you high, was made legal – but is a little more complicated. Minnesota requires that the THC must be hemp derived, meaning that the THC must be under o.3% and must not exceed that limit.
It is still considered a schedule 1 controlled substance, and could land you in jail if it does not meet the Minnesota required substance and quantity. Selling a controlled substance is still considered a felony-level offense in Minnesota.
Minnesota law also states that the packaging must not resemble child products in any way, that means packaging must be child proof and gummies can not resemble gummy bears. This change comes as many minors were purchasing THC derived delta 8 and 9.
Delta 8 and 9, were hemp-derived products being sold unregulated in many stores across the country. Delta 8 started appearing after the Agricultural Act of 2018, when hemp was removed from the Drug Enforcement Agencies schedule of controlled substances.
The owners of Central Tobacco in Blaine were happy to happy to hear the law changed because many residents did not want to take part of consuming a product that was in a legal gray-area. Now that it is legal, the store has been flooded with customers asking about the newly legal THC products.
“People in Blaine have been supportive, especially more now than a couple years ago when the farm bill in 2018 passed. When delta 8 first showed up people didn’t really trust it and were scared to try, they didn’t want to try something that wasn’t THC that was getting them high,” said Yassine Baani, Central Tobacco. “Now after a couple years of people doing research and trying it they got more comfortable. We see people that have never tried it before come in and try the edibles.”
