MARSHALL — The legalization of recreational marijuana in Minnesota – and how it could affect the city of Marshall – was part of the discussion at this week’s city council meeting. Marshall City Attorney Pam Whitmore told council members that while it was clear that the city couldn’t prohibit cannabis use under a new law, there were still questions about how retail and other cannabis-related businesses would be regulated.

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions with respect to what some of this means,” Whitmore said Tuesday.

Whitmore recommended that Marshall repeal a temporary moratorium it had placed on the sale of lower-potency THC products, and replace it with a shorter moratorium until some of those questions could be answered.

Whitmore said she was in the process of reviewing the more than 300-page bill legalizing adult cannabis use in Minnesota.

“We are getting through it, you will be seeing a memo from me that outlines it,” she said. “Basically what it does, it sets up these products as a higher-level potency product, and the lower-level potency products that are legal today.”

“The bill covers everything from use, to what you can have at home, to what public safety can do, to different employment settings, so it really is an expansive bill that covers a lot of different areas,” Whitmore said. “But the part that cities need to be thinking about with respect to their interactions with the public and the business piece of it, is that there are up to 14 different types of licenses that have been created under this bill.”

The licenses regulate the sale, transport and manufacturing of different types of cannabis products, she said.

“It really does take away the ability for cities to do much with respect to these products,” Whitmore said. A new state Office of Cannabis Management will be established starting July 1 to handle license applications for cannabis-related businesses.

Whitmore said potential business owners would apply directly to the Office of Cannabis Management, and the office would give cities a 30-day period to comment on whether the land use fits with municipal zoning. The bill also gives cities the ability to put in some restrictions for “reasonable time, place and manner,” for cannabis retailers, she said.

“They have not defined specifically what that is, but they have made some suggestions and given the authority for up to 1,000 feet, if the city so chooses, they can put restrictions in,” she said. For example, a city might be able to keep cannabis retailers a set distance from a school, day care or park. However, there would still need to be work done to define terms on those restrictions, Whitmore said.

Cities could also decide whether they want to limit the number of cannabis retail licenses issued based on their population. Whitmore said cities could opt to set a limit of one cannabis license for every 12,500 people in the city.

The new laws would also have an effect on a temporary moratorium on the sale of THC edibles that the city of Marshall put into effect last year. The moratorium is currently set to expire on July 22.

Whitmore recommended that in June, the city council consider taking action to repeal that moratorium, and put a new temporary moratorium in place to allow time for the Office of Cannabis Management to answer their questions.

Council member consensus was to start working on Whitmore’s recommendations.

“I hope as city leaders we take a step back and really think about this, and make smart decisions that are going to be good long-term for the community, so that when this is brought in, it’s brought in with reason,” said council member Craig Schafer.