THC moratorium stays in place; business questions policy

A moratorium on the sale of hemp-derived edibles remains in place for Rock County, despite a public hearing meant to lift the ban for sales to resume locally.
Commissioners conducted the hearing Tuesday morning, Oct. 18, with four people speaking during the 30-minute public comment portion of the hearing.
Commissioners voted 4-1 to table adopting the proposed ordinance as written.
“Do we need an ordinance? Or are we doing something about nothing?” asked Commissioner Gary Overgaard.
Commissioner Jody Reisch, who cast the lone ‘no’ vote, favored the proposed ordinance that would regulate the sales of food and beverages containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
A county subcommittee spent a couple of weeks developing a local ordinance modeled after existing alcohol and tobacco ordinances. The ordinance established sale times, restricted sales to anyone younger than 21, required sellers to obtain a license and undergo compliance checks.
“At the end of the day we are trying to protect not-age-appropriate items from getting into (the hands of minors),” he said.
“That’s why it was easier to mirror a little bit of the tobacco ordinance so we can have a little bit of control so someone can’t just set up a corner stand and sell products.”
The commissioner-appointed committee will reconvene to review comments from the public hearing and bring a revised ordinance back to the commissioners.
Another public hearing is necessary before the revised ordinance is adopted and the moratorium is lifted.
The ordinance follows the state-established THC levels in the edible products.
“In holding another meeting, I think you have to go with ‘at the state level is at the state level’ and you’re not going to change that at the county or state level,” said Ann Orren with Southwest Health and Human Services public health office.
“The main point is that we don’t want every town and city to have their own regulations, but try to make a countywide ordinance for those who want to regulate this so we have some reason to know who is doing what.”
 
Hearing gathered testimony about 12-page ordinance
Three people addressed commissioners during the Oct. 18 public hearing, conducted during the commissioners regular monthly meeting.
Their comments brought doubt to the commissioners, as a group, who admitted their lack of knowledge about THC- and cannabis-derived products.
However, they agreed some local control is necessary since the state mandate did not provide any local guidance.
Terry Gray is a Luverne business owner. He opened the tobacco shop, Herb N’ Legend on Main Street 12 years ago. He’s sold hemp-derived products since the federal government legalized THC sales in 2018.
The commissioners passed a moratorium on THC sales under the state’s new mandate in July in order to study the issue and consider zoning, licensing and sales management controls.
Gray said the state ordinance is too restrictive.
“This needs to be reworked or done away with all together,” he said.
“Minnesota law became the strictest in the country. In passing the bill they did, it superseded the .3 percent THC or below. So, all the products we were currently selling and all the other places in town became illegal because the Minnesota law is way more restrictive than the federal government law.”
Gray suggested that those with tobacco licenses be grandfathered into the proposed ordinance.
“I don’t think we should have all this bureaucracy and having to reapply, especially when you have a business who is operating legally for a long time and has passed all compliance checks.”
Tim Jungers and Christina Perez echoed Gray’s concern that the Minnesota statute is too restrictive and that the federal law sufficiently regulates businesses and the sale of hemp-derived products to the public.
“At Terry’s place, the staff check IDs and products are behind glass and not available to children,” she said. “I feel there is a big gap in the decisions being made and what is really going on. We need to close that gap somehow.”
 
THC will have its own regulating ordinance
Commissioners agreed that the hemp-derived product ordinance needs to be a stand-alone document. The regulation of THC- and cannabis-derived products is expected to change as legislators reconvene this spring.
SWHHS handles the alcohol and tobacco compliance checks for Rock County.
“To avoid some confusion about what’s changing when, we decided to create a completely separate ordinance so if there are retailers that only sell these products and retailers that only sell tobacco products, there is no confusion about why and what is changing,” Orren said.
Commissioner Sherri Thompson said the commissioners want to adopt a fitting ordinance.
“What we don’t want is to take away someone’s business but we want to work with them to find out more about this, to understand and regulate it so we know what is happening out there with it,” she said.
“I just think that it’s a good thing for the sheriff’s department to know where this is being sold.”
The commissioners’ next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 8. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the courthouse.