Dodge County passes ordinance regulating cannabis businesses

Dodge County commissioners last week passed the ordinance regulating the operation of cannabis businesses in the county as the state prepares to issue licenses for the businesses in 2025.
The ordinance deals with the registration of cannabis businesses, including compliance checks prior to retail registration and annually, the application submittal process and fees and limits on the number of businesses permitted in the county.
It also deals with land use and zoning requirements as to where the businesses can be located and regulations regarding temporary cannabis events.
Dodge County Public Health will be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the ordinance.
Although Minnesota State Law permits the issuance of cannabis licenses effective Jan. 1, 2025, the rules regarding licenses are still being developed by the Office of Cannabis Management and the state has not given a date when it will actually begin issuing those licenses.
Although the license to operate a cannabis business will be issued by the state, all licensed cannabis businesses must go through a local registration and compliance check before they can begin operation. Once operating, there will be a minimum of one compliance check each calendar year to determine if it is meeting age verification requirements. The business will also have to renew the registration annually at the same time at the OCM renews the license. The number of cannabis retail businesses in the county is limited to two, based on the current population of under 25,000.
Under Dodge County Zoning regulations cultivation of cannabis will be permitted as a conditional use permit in the Industrial District — Indoor and Ag District — Outdoor. Businesses licensed as cannabis manufacturer will be permitted in the Industrial District, Wholesale in the Industrial District and retail in the Industrial District.
Minimum buffer requirements established by the county in prohibiting a cannabis business include within 1,000 feet of a school, church, place of worship or another cannabis retail business. A cannabis retail business is prohibited within 500 feet of a day care, residential treatment facility, an attraction within a public park that is regularly used by minors, including a playground or athletic field, and dwellings unless the applicant is the homeowner.
Retail sale of cannabis, cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles or hemp-derived consumer products is limited to 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Temporary cannabis events will require a permit and registration. No onsite consumption except low potency is permitted and no sales are allowed. These events can be held for a maximum of four days between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
County Public Health Director Amy Evans said that an ordinance needed to be in place effective with the new year to replace a temporary county cannabis ordinance that expired on Dec. 31, 2024.
The state is still working on the exact rules and regulations to implement the state law, she said, and she expects that changes to the county ordinance will be needed once the state regulations are completed.
As of now, she said, it is still not legal to sell the cannabis products in the state. She said the state will likely not begin to issue licenses until May or June.
Cities in Dodge County are also developing their own ordinances relating to operations of cannabis businesses within their boundaries, she said, relating to their zoning ordinances. Municipalities may also decide to defer the process in their city to the county. Public Health, she said, will be the authority county-wide dealing with compliance of the retail businesses.