Outdoor cannabis cultivation proposed for two five-acre fields in Chisago County have complied with a local review as part of a state licensing process. The county is required to certify zoning and land use regulations are being met for the sites, which Environmental Services Director Kurt Schneider says has been completed. A state inspection will be performed and state standards need to be verified before the license is issued.
These two local cultivation business enterprises are coming in at the forefront of the recreational cannabis industry in Minnesota. The state announced last week the first-ever cultivation/packaging approval for a non Native American applicant, had been issued to an operation in Brook Park, in Pine County.
Schneider stressed the two Chisago County applicants are outdoor cultivation. Should there be any grow operations looking to use a greenhouse in rural areas under county jurisdiction, the process is different. Greenhouse uses are only permitted in Rural Retail & Tourism Centers and not in townships in general.
And any retail cannabis sales (stores) need a license from the state Office of Cannabis Management and a local government retail registration. The Office of Cannabis Management holds a lottery July 22 for retail licensees and it is a second chance for the social equity entrepreneurs who were not drawn in the first lottery.
Read more at Chisago County Press