Moratorium Approved for Cannabis Businesses

The Meeker County Board of Commissioners approved of a moratorium this week on cannabis businesses. The moratorium will give the Board time to make sure they get an effective ordinance in place prior to January 1st of 2025.

Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze says the State of Minnesota legalized marijuana as of August 1st of last year, and there were arguments that it reduces crime, but the data, from states that have legalized marijuana, show that crime numbers have increased. He says you can now legally grow 8 marijuana plants (4 of them mature), and use it yourself or give it away – and only in your own home or a private setting, but it’s not legal to sell it at this point, which is giving the black market a foothold before the laws for selling it legally are put into place.

Sheriff Cruze says it is legal to sell hemp-derived products such as gummies with low levels of THC, but not marijuana which has a high potency of THC. He says you can’t drive if you are under the influence of marijuana, just like drinking, but it can be difficult to test a driver to determine if they are under the influence of marijuana.

Sheriff Cruze says marijuana stays in your system for several days, so you may not be high or impaired, but it would still show up on a test. He says when it becomes legal to sell marijuana, there will likely be more marijuana-related calls to law enforcement and other related crimes and they will just deal with it because that’s what they do.