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For Immediate Release

Office of Cannabis Management announces more than $250 million in retail cannabis sales since statewide launch of adult-use market one year ago

Office offers update on industry progress as state reaches important milestone

St. Paul, Minn. – Today, the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced that consumers and patients have purchased more than $250 million in combined adult-use and medical cannabis products from Minnesota businesses since the launch of legal sales at state-licensed businesses across the state one year ago. The milestone comes at a time of significant growth for Minnesota’s emerging cannabis market as the state works to foster an equitable cannabis industry that prioritizes public health and safety, consumer confidence, and market integrity.

State-licensed businesses across the state began retail sales of adult-use cannabis one year ago this week, on Sept. 16, 2025, following the beginning of cannabis retail sales on Tribally regulated lands shortly after the passage of the original cannabis bill in August 2023. Over the last year, consumers and patients have purchased approximately $150 million in adult-use cannabis products and $100 million in medical cannabis products, totaling more than a quarter of a billion dollars in sales.

"After visiting with business owners, local officials and community members around the state this year, I am more enthusiastic than ever about how Minnesota's cannabis market is taking shape," said OCM Executive Director Eric Taubel. "More than 300 new cannabis businesses have launched in the last year bringing with them new jobs and opportunities for Minnesotans. Doing something right takes time, and we are building a market that is sustainable and supports the opportunity for success for businesses all along the supply chain."

When combined with sales of lower-potency hemp edibles and beverages (LPHEs), this has generated $45.6 million in tax revenue for the state for the 10-month period from September 2025 to July 2026, the latest figures available from the Minnesota Department of Revenue (DOR). Sales of LPHEs are not required to be tracked in the state’s seed-to-sale monitoring system, so sales figures for those products are not available.

Looking back at the last 12 months, Minnesota has made notable progress in establishing the cannabis market, and the evidence shows up in a variety of ways.

Social equity businesses play a major role in the state’s market

The Minnesota Legislature charged the state with building a state cannabis market that lifts up small, craft businesses and is centered around principles of social equity and the opportunity to redress harms caused to communities through the enforcement of antiquated cannabis laws.

Today, 43% of Minnesota's 369 licensed cannabis businesses are owned by verified social equity applicants, demonstrating that equitable access to ownership remains a defining feature of Minnesota's marketplace. The vast majority (86%) of business licenses issued in four of the largest license types that the Legislature limited in number (cannabis cultivators, mezzobusinesses, manufacturers and retailers) have gone to verified social equity businesses.

Further, nearly three-quarters of license holders endorsed for cultivation activities are microbusinesses (the state’s smallest license type), suggesting that it is individuals owning small and craft businesses who form the foundation of cannabis cultivation in Minnesota.

Support for applicants, businesses and communities

Over the last year, OCM’s Division of Community and Economic Development has led a series of events featuring expert panel discussions and technical support to verified social equity applicants at different stages of business development, community-based organizations, technical assistance partners, local government representatives, and others working to better understand Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis framework. In total, these sessions served more than 250 participants, offering practical information, resources, and opportunities to connect with peers and community support.

The data show these sessions are making an impact. Participants reported increased readiness in both business skills and regulatory understanding after attending each session. In the coming year, OCM will expand this series to help entrepreneurs further develop their understanding of the industry's risks and opportunities to building compliant, sustainable cannabis businesses.

OCM also supports businesses and communities through two grant programs: CanRenew community restoration grants and CanGrow technical assistance and loan financing grants. In CanRenew's first year of funding, announced in August 2025, the state awarded grants to 12 organizations totaling $1 million. Grantees across the Twin Cities metro area, Virginia, Owatonna, and Bemidji worked to repair harm caused by cannabis prohibition through seven projects serving youth, three projects supporting jobseekers and entrepreneurs, one community arts project and one project supporting housing stability. More than 350 individuals were directly served by CanRenew projects in the first year with a reach of more than 2,500 people through broader education, outreach and awareness activities. As OCM heads into its second year of the program, the demand for continued funding can be seen from the 145 proposals received requesting more than $55.9 million.

In CanGrow’s first funding round, announced in April 2026, OCM awarded four organizations with approximately $50,000 each for CanGrow training grants to offer compliance training, education, business planning, mentorship, assistance with legal and environmental concerns, and opportunities to share knowledge and best practices. One of those organizations also received a CanGrow loan grant for $382,910 for administering loans to individual farmers seeking to expand or enter the cannabis space and will focus engagement in the Northeast and Northwest regions of the state.

"The Minnesota Legislature recognized that cannabis legalization presents an opportunity to invest in people, to strengthen communities across the state, and build long-term economic mobility for those disproportionately impacted by prohibition," said Jess Jackson, OCM’s director of community and economic development. "Our success in this work won't be measured in license numbers—we want to see legalization create opportunity that lasts for generations."

A significant amount of support for businesses was also provided by OCM’s customer service team who fielded nearly 11,000 emails and phone calls over the last year. During that same period, OCM’s public outreach team and leadership has attended or hosted more than 60 community events, including five stops to communities on the office’s Connecting with Community Listening Tour and five meetings with the Cannabis Advisory Council, which has expanded OCM’s connection with Minnesotans across the state.

Increased cultivation capacity and business inspections

OCM’s compliance and enforcement team has conducted approximately 3,000 pre-licensure, routine and regulatory inspections of businesses. The work of inspecting businesses in advance of opening to the public increased dramatically this summer with 95 newly licensed cultivators in June, July and August alone, representing 60% of all businesses currently engaged in cultivating cannabis.

Over the last 12 months, there has been a 575% increase in the number of cannabis plants growing in the system—from 11 license holders with 72,083 plants in their inventory now up to 102 license holders with 486,720 plants. This burst in licensed cultivators and active plants across the state will translate to an increase in available cannabis flower and other products this fall, as manufacturers begin to convert flower into concentrates for edibles and inhalable products like vapes.

Partnerships between Tribal Nations and state licensed businesses were crucial to market launch

Between May 2025 and March 2026, the state entered into intergovernmental agreements—cannabis compacts and a cooperative agreement—with nine of the 11 federally recognized Tribal Nations sharing territory with Minnesota to promote a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship between the state and Tribes that enhances public health and safety, ensures a lawful and well-regulated cannabis market, encourages economic development, and provides financial benefits to both the state and Tribal Nations.

These agreements led to new partnerships between Tribal Nations and state-licensed businesses to supply retail shelves with cannabis products during the early stages of the market launch, before this summer’s acceleration of plant cultivation across the state. Many state-licensed businesses would not have had access to cannabis products to retail without these important partnerships.

Increasing interest in the state’s medical cannabis program

Minnesota’s medical cannabis program has more than 90,000 registered medical cannabis patients who use cannabis to manage symptoms of various diseases, including chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions.

While most states see a decrease in patients enrolling in medical cannabis programs following the legalization of adult-use cannabis, enrollment in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program has more than doubled (up from just over 41,000) since the Minnesota Legislature eliminated patient fees in 2023 and expanded qualifying conditions in 2024.

Looming federal hemp changes

As Minnesota’s cannabis market has taken shape, there has also been a major change to the federal definition of hemp set to go into effect this coming December, which has added complexity and uncertainty to the industry. In November 2025, President Trump signed a federal spending bill that changed the definition of hemp, effectively banning hemp-derived products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per package, unless additional federal action occurs.

OCM has worked to ensure that Minnesota businesses know that this federal definition change does not change how Minnesota law defines lower-potency hemp edible products—or the legality of those products in the state—and to provide operators with options for making changes to align their business plans and license status with the anticipated federal changes.

What’s next and additional information

Download an infographic (PDF) and a folder of social graphics (ZIP) offering data points that illustrate the state's work to launch its legal cannabis industry.

OCM’s work to launch the state’s cannabis market is ongoing and is occurring alongside other important work of the office. Last week the office released a report on patients’ use of medical cannabis to relieve symptoms associated with cancer. Reports on the use of medical cannabis for autism spectrum disorder and terminal illnesses are coming later this fall.

On Oct. 22, OCM will host a resource and hiring fair that will highlight grantee progress, investment impacts, local capacity building, workforce development opportunities, and resources available to communities preparing for participation in Minnesota’s cannabis industry.

In addition, preparations are underway to implement legislative changes beginning Jan. 1, 2027, regarding streamlining the medical and adult-use cannabis supply chains, and changes to the event organizer license type.

For additional data about cannabis cultivation, sales activities, and cannabis licensing in the state of Minnesota, visit Cannabis Market Monitor on the Office of Cannabis Management’s website.

Review the latest application and license holder data.

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