Minnesota’s Recreational Marijuana Market Launches, With First Sales At Non-Tribal Dispensaries

Minnesota’s first adult-use marijuana sales from non-tribal retailers have
officially launched.

Two years after Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed legalization into law, the state’s
market is now up and running, with the cannabis company Vireo Growth
announcing the first sales at its Green Goods dispensaries on Tuesday.

While certain tribal governments across the state have been permitted to
sell marijuana on their reservations–and tribes have also agreements with
the governor to sell at retail locations outside of their territories–this
marks the first time a non-tribal entity has been able to market marijuana
for adults.

“As a Minnesota company founded with a long-term vision for cannabis, we
are proud to begin making our products available to all Minnesotans,” Vireo
President Amber Shimpa said in a press release. “We will always remain
committed to our medical patients and product portfolio as we have for over
10 years, and look forward to this new opportunity to serve adult-use
customers with the same standard of quality and care.”

Alexandra Breant, Vireo’s head of market in Minnesota, said Tuesday
represents “a historic day for our team which we have been preparing for
since 2023, and we are honored to share it with patients and new customers
across Minnesota.”

“This milestone is more than just expanding access, it’s about building
community, fostering inclusion, and continuing to serve Minnesotans with
care and responsibility,” she said. “We are grateful for the trust placed
in us and look forward to being part of this new chapter together.”

Another multi-state operator, Green Thumb Industries (GTI), said its
dispensary chain RISE will also start serving adult consumers beginning on
Wednesday.

We’re excited to announce RISE Dispensaries will launch adult-use cannabis
sales in Minnesota on September 17th! 🎉 We can't wait to see you there!
Read more: https://t.co/Ii27OJACga pic.twitter.com/G8Mo7nombi

— Green Thumb Industries (GTI) (@GTIGrows) September 15, 2025

“We are excited to celebrate this historic day in Minnesota with the launch
of adult-use cannabis sales,” Anthony Georgiadis, GTI’s president, said.
“Our team is looking forward to introducing more Minnesotans to our
industry-leading brands including RYTHM, Beboe, and Dogwalkers, while
continuing to prioritize medical patients with the trusted service they
expect from RISE, including exclusive curbside pick-up and priority parking
at select locations.”

Notably, Minnesota sits in a geographically unique position with respect to
cannabis, as it’s surrounded by states that maintain prohibition. Many of
the newly authorized retailers sit within driving distance of borders with
those jurisdictions.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s House of Representatives recently circulated a poll
at this year’s State Fair that asked attendees about the idea of allowing
localities to enact bans on marijuana businesses within their borders. Most
respondents who have an opinion on the issue agree with the policy, despite
it not currently being a part of the state’s cannabis laws.


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Ahead of the enactment of legalization in Minnesota, lawmakers’ separate
State Fair polls found majority support for the reform.

The governor has also selected a top cannabis regulator for the state who
will oversee the adult-use market rollout. And while there may be some
jurisdictions in favor of a local control option for licensees, over a
dozen Minnesota cities have signaled interest in government-run cannabis
retailers.

In June, Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) issued the state’s first
recreational marijuana license for a cultivation microbusiness.

OCM said at the time that it’s taking further steps to build up in the
industry and create opportunities to entrepreneurs, including opening a new
licensing window for cannabis testing facilities, accepting the first
applications for marijuana event licenses and verifying more social equity
status requests.

Separately, after Minnesota lawmakers passed a bill to end the
criminalization of bong water containing trace amount of drugs, the
governor signed the measure into law in May.

The change addresses an existing policy that had allowed law enforcement to
treat quantities of bong water greater than four ounces as equivalent to
the pure, uncut version of whatever drug the device was used to consume.

In April, meanwhile, state officials moved to delay a separate drug
reform—the opening of safe drug consumption sites, meant to allow people to
use drugs in a safer, supervised setting.

“More work needs to be done on a state and federal level before these
services can be implemented in a way that is safe for participants and Harm
Reduction programs,” a representative for the Department of Human Services
(DHS) Behavioral Health Administration said at the time.

In March, lawmakers also filed legislation that would create a system to
allow legal access to psilocybin for medical purposes. That came just days
after the introduction of a separate bill that would legalize personal
psilocybin use and possession among adults.

The post Minnesota’s Recreational Marijuana Market Launches, With First
Sales At Non-Tribal Dispensaries appeared first on Marijuana Moment.