MARSHALL — Minnesota’s legalization of recreational marijuana still poses questions for Marshall. While the state is creating an Office of Cannabis Management to handle cannabis business licenses and other regulations, it may take some time to get established, city staff said this week.

In the meantime, the Marshall City Council will be considering another pause on the sale of cannabis products in the city. On Tuesday, council members had a first reading of an interim ordinance, and called for a public hearing on the ordinance at their next meeting.

Marshall City Attorney Pam Whitmore said Tuesday that the interim ordinance would allow the city time to study the impact of higher-potency cannabis products in the community.

The city currently has an emergency ordinance that was put in place last year, putting a temporary stop to the sale of hemp-derived THC edibles in Marshall. That emergency ordinance is set to expire July 12. Whitmore said the new cannabis bill passed this spring also included those lower-potency products, and the original bill legalizing THC edibles would sunset in 2024.

Whitmore gave council members some background on the new cannabis bill.

“As we’ve been discussing, this bill has passed. it’s created a whole new licensing structure,” Whitmore said. “It will be treated, the best way to explain it is, similar to alcohol. There’s an Office of Cannabis Management.”

Minnesota’s cannabis bill includes different licenses for different types of cannabis products, including medical marijuana, the retail and manufacturing of lower-potency hemp-based products, and higher-potency cannabis product businesses, Whitmore said. All those licenses would be managed by the OCM.

Whitmore said the OCM still has to go through a rule-making process, but as of right now it’s not certain how long that will take.

“The bill itself allows for an interim ordinance to have a study of what’s going to happen with those higher-level cannabis products in our community,” she said.

It would give the city a chance to look at issues like zoning regulations for cannabis businesses.

The interim ordinance proposed at Tuesday’s meeting would put a temporary moratorium on the commercial sale, growing, manufacturing or distribution of cannabis products and lower-potency hemp products in the city. The exception would be that lower-potency edible products could be sold at the municipal liquor store.

The interim ordinance couldn’t last longer than a year, although the city could repeal it at any time before then, Whitmore said.

Council members had some mixed responses to the proposed interim ordinance, and how quickly the city should address the possibility of cannabis-related businesses in Marshall.

“I think it’s in our best interest to figure this out sooner, rather than later,” said council member James Lozinski. “There’s cities that have capitalized a ton of money on this stuff. We haven’t.”

“I have a real concern about trying to go into it before we have a good road map,” said council member Craig Schafer.

“I guess my point is we should start working on it now, and not keep pausing,” Lozinski said.

Council members voted to call for a public hearing on the proposed new interim cannabis ordinance at its June 27 meeting. However, they did not take action to repeal the city’s current moratorium on lower-potency hemp products.