Sep. 20—NORTH MANKATO — The city of North Mankato appears headed toward requiring licenses for businesses selling THC products, but the council wants a little more time to refine the proposed ordinance.

A recently enacted state law that legalized the sale of edibles and beverages containing the buzz-inducing THC from cannabis plants has sent cities scrambling to decide if or how to regulate the sale and use of the products in their communities.

North Mankato plans to treat the sale of the products similar to how they regulate tobacco and liquor sales — requiring a city license along with related regulations the businesses would have to follow or risk fines or losing their license.

During their meeting Monday night, the council heard from the city attorney and the police chief about possible changes they might want to make to the proposed draft ordinance.

The draft ordinance limited the number of licenses available for selling the THC product to five, but Police Chief Ross Gullickson and some council members said that number may be too limiting.

Gullickson said the council may also want to consider limiting what types of businesses can get a license to sell THC. The draft ordinance prohibits liquor stores from getting a license but Gullickson wondered if restaurants or some other businesses should perhaps also be barred from selling THC.

And there was discussion about making any ordinance clear that THC licenses could only go to commercial businesses and not to someone wanting to sell the products out of their home.

Councilwoman Sandra Oachs suggested tabling a decision on an ordinance until the next meeting so staff could refine the draft ordinance. "I'm not comfortable making a decision based on what I've heard. It sounds like there's a lot of changes that can be made."

Others agreed to pause the discussion and the issue was tabled unanimously.

While North Mankato and some other cities are heading toward licensing the sale of THC products, some cities are doing nothing or doing less.

Mankato is not planning to license the sale of products, but is making it illegal for anyone under 18 to possess the products.

Mankato City Manager Susan Arntz told The Free Press earlier that they shied away from licensing because it could require a lot of staff time to issue and regulate a potentially large number of licensed sellers.

While alcohol and tobacco sales are mostly limited to bars, liquor stores, convenience stores and smoke shops, cannabinoids can be sold by virtually any retail shop that wants to sell them, she said.