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Jan. 16, 2026
In this issue:
As we enter a new year with both licensed cannabis and hemp businesses entering the market, we are reworking this newsletter with a refocused audience to match. Going forward, after this issue, future iterations of the Compliance Connector will be sent only to cannabis and LPHE applicants or license holders. Previous registrants, members of the public, etc. may still access and read the newsletter directly from the OCM website newsletter archive.
Continue reading to learn more about:
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As of Oct. 31, 2025, the application window for lower-potency hemp edible (LPHE) licensing has closed, which means the transition from hemp registrations regulated under Minnesota Statutes, section 151.72, to licensing under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 342, is officially underway. The office is continuing to partner with businesses to make this regulatory changeover as smooth as possible.
OCM announced in July that there would be a product transition period for existing hemp-derived cannabinoid product registrants operating under Minnesota Statutes, section 151.72, who are pursuing an LPHE licensure under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 342. We expect to issue all currently pending LPHE manufacturer and wholesaler licenses by April 1, 2026. For more details on the transition period, including the transition, licensure timeline, for lower potency hemp edible retailers, manufacturers, and wholesalers, specifics, and who can sell what, please refer to the Product Transition Webpage and Guidance Memo 2025-03, recently updated on Dec. 19, 2025.
Hemp businesses: please familiarize yourself with the updated Hemp Business Overview page on the OCM website. Here you will find a number of helpful documents to aid in the transition to licensure and maintain compliance under a new statute.
Important: Any business without a pending cannabis or LPHE application or license must cease all hemp-derived cannabinoid product (HDCP) sales immediately. OCM will investigate and inspect complaints received. The office will resume accepting new applications for LPHE licenses in 2026. Details will be shared here and on the OCM website when they are available.
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Registrant to license holder: what you will be authorized to sell with a lower-potency hemp edible license
Under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 342, lower-potency hemp edible (LPHE) retailers may sell only LPHEs, defined as products that are: Intended for human consumption by eating or consuming as a beverage, containing hemp concentrate or artificially derived delta-9 THC in combination with food ingredients.
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Contain an artificially derived cannabinoid other than delta-9 THC.
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Contain cannabis flower, cannabis concentrate, or a cannabinoid derived
from cannabis.
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Exceed allowed serving sizes and packaging limits as detailed below.
Important: Hemp flower and hemp concentrate (including vapes) are no longer allowed for sale in the low-dose hemp market. These products, now defined as hemp-derived consumer products, may only be manufactured or sold by cannabis license holders, not LPHE license holders.* Products containing delta-8 THC are no longer allowed for sale in Minnesota by any businesses.
*Some exceptions for product export may apply.
Allowed serving sizes and packaging limits
Maximum serving size of an LPHE (not beverage): 5 mg delta-9 THC, 100 mg of CBD, CBG, CBN, or CBC, and 0.5 mg of any other cannabinoids.
Maximum package size of an LPHE (not beverage): 50 mg delta-9 THC, 100 mg of CBD, CBG, CBN, or CBC.
Maximum package size of an LPHE beverage: 10 mg delta-9 per single container, 200 mg of CBD, CBG, CBN, or CBC, and 0.5 mg of any other cannabinoids.
For all three: The ratio of delta-9 THC to all other artificially derived cannabinoids may not exceed 20 to 1 (95% purity).
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Hemp retail approved product types
| Hemp product type |
Approved product category |
Licenses allowed to sell retail |
Hemp flower (below
0.3% THC) |
Hemp-derived
consumer products |
Microbusiness, mezzobusiness,
cannabis retailer, med-combo |
| Infused hemp flower |
Not allowed |
None |
Hemp concentrate
(below 0.3% THC) |
Hemp-derived
consumer products |
Microbusiness, mezzobusiness,
cannabis retailer, med-combo |
Hemp-derived topical
(>0-0.3% THC) |
Not allowed |
None |
Hemp-derived topical
(0% THC) |
Allowed |
No license needed |
Hemp-derived edible
*includes beverages*
(below 0.3% THC) |
LPHE products |
LPHE retailer,
microbusiness, mezzobusiness,
cannabis retailer, med-combo |
Hemp-derived tincture
(below 0.3% THC) |
LPHE products |
LPHE retailer,
microbusiness, mezzobusiness,
cannabis retailer, med-combo |
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Approved product categories for hemp-derived consumer products are outlined in Minnesota Rules, part 9810.2100, subpart 3. There is not currently an approved ingestible hemp-derived consumer product category, therefore neither cannabis nor LPHE businesses can manufacture hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages that exceed the potency limit for LPHEs. LPHE products may not exceed 5 mg per serving and 50 mg per container, or 10 mg per container for LPHE beverages. Furthermore, cannabis products may not contain any hemp concentrate.
Beginning July 1, 2026, a person can petition the office to approve a new product category, subject to any statutory potency limits if applicable. Refer to Minnesota Rules, part 9810.1003 for more information.
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Per state law, license holders have different transportation and delivery allowances depending on the license type and endorsements they have.
Cannabis businesses
- Microbusinesses and mezzobusinesses can transport between their own facilities, operated by the same license holder subject to statutory requirements.
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Cannabis transporters can transport adult-use and medical products to and from other licensed businesses. Refer to the next section for instructions on how to find licensed transporters.
- Cannabis delivery services can deliver adult-use and medical products from other licensed businesses to retail customers.
- Medical cannabis combination businesses can transport between their own facilities and to other licensed businesses. They can also deliver medical products to registered medical patients.
Any cannabis delivery service, cannabis transporter, cannabis microbusiness, cannabis mezzobusiness, or medical cannabis combination business that will transport or deliver products must complete a Vehicle Disclosure Form as part of their application and final plans of record submission for approval by OCM.
OCM understands that transporter and delivery businesses, generally, would not store regulated product. However, Minnesota rules require that in the event regulated product cannot be delivered or returned, the business must have procedures in place to properly and safely store those cannabis products. Cannabis transporter and delivery workers cannot leave regulated product in a vehicle overnight or outside the operating hours of a cannabis transport or delivery business (Minnesota Rules, part 9810.1500, subp. 17C(3)). Additionally, cannabis businesses must develop procedures for storing regulated products (Minnesota Rules, part 9810.1104). Thus, all cannabis businesses, including transporters and delivery, must have a site in which they must properly store regulated products. In the event regulated product is in the possession of a transporter or delivery business, and cannot be delivered or returned, the business must have procedures in place to properly and safely store those products. Although it is best practice for delivery businesses is to return product as soon as possible, it is not required that the product be returned the same day. If products are not returned the same day, then the products must be placed in a secure storage area at a location that has been approved by the office. Storage requirements are listed in Minnesota Rules, part 9810.1104, which should be reviewed and includes, in part, a product storage area in a non-dwelling site, that has alarm(s) and surveillance with a controlled environment free from contamination. It is not required that the vehicles be stored at the same site that the regulated products are stored.
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Lower-potency hemp edible businesses
LPHE wholesaler license holders intending to transport LPHE products to other businesses are required to hold an LPHE transporter endorsement. However, LPHE manufacturer and LPHE retail license holders may transport LPHE products without the endorsement. Endorsements and activities must be approved by OCM during the application process and final plans of record review. Additional guidance for transporters can be found on pages 16 and 17 of the Hemp Businesses Guide.
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How to find licensed transporters and testing facilities
Businesses looking for a list of licensed transporters to work with can download the list of all licensed cannabis and hemp businesses from the OCM website. In the future, this information will be available as an interactive mapping tool.
Reminder, all licensed cannabis businesses must test their products in accordance with the Cannabis Technical Authority by a licensed testing facility located in the state of Minnesota.
After March 31, 2026, all licensed hemp businesses must test their products in accordance with the Cannabis Technical Authority by a licensed testing facility located in the state of Minnesota.
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Growing green: free environmental help for cannabis businesses
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Small Business Environmental Assistance Program (SBEAP) offers free, confidential compliance assistance to small businesses including those in the cannabis industry. SBEAP helps small businesses with fewer than 100 employees understand and comply with environmental rules related to air quality, waste management, and wastewater. SBEAP can help navigate permitting, calculate air emissions, and identify cost-saving pollution prevention opportunities.
SBEAP also offers 0% interest loans for capital equipment purchases or site cleanups that help with environmental compliance and sustainability.
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Important updates and reminders
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Keep up to date on important updates published by OCM via guidance memos, also found on the website.
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If you want to keep track of this newsletter, make sure to bookmark the OCM newsletter archive. This newsletter is sent out every few months.
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