State warns Minnesota sellers about cannabis flower sales

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management warned THC business owners on Thursday about selling cannabis flowers under the guise of "hemp flower".

The warning was sent to state-registered THC product sellers late Thursday morning.

Currently, while businesses are allowed to sell hemp-derived THC products, they can't sell full, recreational cannabis products until the state starts issuing licenses – which hasn't happened yet. However, officials asked lawmakers on Thursday to tweak the law to allow them to speed up the process.

The Office of Cannabis Management says it's received complaints about cannabis flower being sold by businesses and labeled as hemp flower.

Hemp flower looks similar to cannabis flower but contains significantly less THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Some shops will sell hemp flower sprayed with legal Delta 9 THC – which is hemp-derived – as an end-around to the law.

In its warning, the state says the Minnesota Department of Health will begin inspecting hemp flower sold by shops. If a shop is found to be selling cannabis flower, the state can assess a fine in excess of $1 million.

While you aren't yet legally allowed to sell it, it is legal to possess and grow cannabis flower in Minnesota, at least under state law.