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MARSHALL -- The city of Marshall is going through with another pause on sale of cannabis products in the city. However, the same ordinance putting a temporary halt to commercial manufacturing or sales of cannabis also opens the door for the municipal liquor store to offer lower-potency THC products.
On Tuesday, Marshall City Council members voted to approve an interim ordinance putting a temporary stop to the commercial sale, manufacture or distribution of cannabis. They also repealed an already-existing temporary ordinance prohibiting the sale of lower-potency THC edibles. Both actions would officially go into effect this weekend, city staff said.
The city held a public hearing on the proposed ordinance Tuesday. City Attorney Pam Whitmore said the interim ordinance would help the city while questions about cannabis licensing and rule-making are being worked out.
"As a result of all those moving pieces, we do have an interim ordinance in front of us recommending that we put a pause," Whitmore said. "This allows us to study what different states and different cities will be doing, how it's going to impact our city, what the Office of Cannabis Management's expectations are, and what the rule-making is going to be related to both higher and lower-level products."
Whitmore clarified that the moratorium would not prohibit people from possessing cannabis products in Marshall, or growing marijuana for personal use.
"Just to make that clear, this is on the commercial business activity," she said.
The interim ordinance passed by the council puts a temporary moratorium on the commercial sale, growing, manufacturing or distribution of cannabis products and lower-potency hemp products in Marshall. There was one exception, however. Under the new ordinance, the Marshall municipal liquor store would be able to sell lower-potency edible THC products.
Tall Grass Liquor manager Eric Luther said he was also in the process of learning about the marijuana legislation, as well as talking to other Minnesota liquor stores that had started selling lower-potency THC beverages and edibles. Luther said these products could be a potential revenue source for the store, but Tall Grass wasn't immediately ready to start selling them.
Last year, the city passed an emergency ordinance that put a temporary stop to the sale of lower-potency THC edibles in Marshall. The emergency ordinance was set to expire in July. However, at Tuesday's council meeting, council members took action to repeal the ordinance instead of letting it expire.
E.J. Moberg, director of administrative services for the city, said both the new interim ordinance and the repealing of the emergency ordinance on THC edibles would take effect as soon as they could be published, which would be Saturday.
Whitmore and Mayor Bob Byrnes said the council will likely have future work sessions on the topic of cannabis sales, as more information becomes available. Whitmore estimated that these sessions could be in the winter or spring.
"The purpose is to give the Office of Cannabis Management some time to see how far they're getting in adopting their regulation and providing direction," Whitmore said.
Council member James Lozinski said he hoped the city could address the issue quickly.
"I don't want it to drag out a whole year," Lozinski said. "This is a growth business."