@ap.news FILE – Marijuana plants grow at a lab in Cottage Grove, Minn., June 17, 2015. Minnesota’s top cannabis regulator says, Thursday, March 7, 2024, the state probably won’t meet its goal of launching full-scale retail marijuana sales in the first quarter of 2025. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota probably won’t meet its goal of launching full-scale retail marijuana sales in the first quarter of 2025 because of the time it will take to draft regulations and issue licenses, the state’s top cannabis regulator acknowledged Thursday.
While Charlene Briner, interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management, didn’t totally rule out the possibility of some retailers opening early next year, she conceded during a briefing for reporters that she doesn’t know how long it will take until legal marijuana is widely sold across the state.
“I don’t think any of can answer that question,” Briner …