Rochester smoke shops are having to get creative in recent months

Apr. 23—ROCHESTER — After the legalization of recreational cannabis usage on Aug. 1 2023, the CBD and THC industry has changed significantly due to the new regulations and laws in place.

Alex Thompson is the owner of two smoke shops in Rochester.

The Fridge

is located on the southside of town and specializes in THC beverages. They still carry the popular items but the location is more of a subgenre of smoke shops and really specializes in drinks.

Thompson also owns The Melting Clock on the north side of town. That location is more of a stereotypical smoke shop location. However, the shop looks a lot different now than before the new laws and regulations went into place.

"With the new laws, we have a five milligram THC limit per gummy with a 10 gummy per bag maximum and we have five and 10 milligram THC beverages," said Thompson. "A 10 milligram beverage counts as two servings but you cannot go over 10 milligrams with the new laws. We're not allowed to sell any delta hate cartridges, disposables, waxes and flowers. You can sell CBD flower if it has 0.3% or less."

Since there is a heavier restriction on what customers can and cannot buy, many regular customers have stopped coming in as often. The only way to decrease someone's THC tolerance is to take a break for a while and let it decrease naturally.

"We have lost clientele by following the laws by following the new Minnesota laws," said Thompson. "Before the laws were enacted you could sell higher milligram gummies and then also different cannabinoid gummies."

When new regulations pass, there isn't a grace period to get rid of leftover inventory. Not every supplier allows companies to sell back products so Thompson has been taking hits from inventory he can no longer sell. The lack of variety has caused Thompson to look into other options to keep the store fully stocked with products. Recently they added a section of glass art from local artists in The Melting Clock.

"In the last seven or eight months, I have filled the melting clock with different items to fill the void of the old items that were made illegal in August of 2023," said Thompson. "We now sell growing supplies and have quite a large selection."

Growing is getting more and more common in Minnesota now that it's legal. Smoke shops still are not legal dispensaries for recreational use so growing is one of the only legal ways to acquire marijuana.

Stores like The Urban Grow Store have begun to pop-up now that the growth of marijuana is legal. Hunter Evans-Clement and Zobec Ness

opened the Urban Grow Store in August of 2023.

They knew the laws were passing soon and were prepared to open the same month as the legalization.

The laws are still changing for growing as well but currently the law is that each household can have up to eight plants but only four can be mature at a time. No matter how many people are in the residence, that is the current law. Also if anyone under 21 resides in the house, the plants must be under lock and key.

"So you can have eight plants total, but only four of them can be mature at a time," said Evans-Clement. "That's our current law. I suspect that could change in the next year or two, but for now, that's just what it is."

Since opening, business has been really good for them. Surprisingly, their main demographic right now is 40-60 year olds and less of the younger generation. Evans-Clement encourages people to research the stage of the plant they have and talk to an expert if they have any questions.

"Lately a lot of people have been asking when can they start their plants outdoors and now's like the perfect time for that," said Evans-Clement. "So, you start them inside, and then you can move about after Mother's Day, or around June 1."

Unlike many other stores in the cannabis industry, they haven't really been affected by the laws changing since they don't sell cannabis products.

"They've added things like chronic pain to the list of things that would qualify for a medical card and if you're trying to obtain it legally in the state, currently, you have to go through the medical program," said Evans-Clement. "Other than on tribal lands, you probably aren't going to see any full cannabis retail until like 2025. That's what I hear from the Office of Cannabis Management."

The only other way to acquire marijuana legally is at a dispensary on a Native American reservation. Prairie Island is opening their own dispensary later this year.

Island Peži,

a Native Cannabis Company to be located near Treasure Island Resort and Casino next to the Dakota Station convenience store in Welch.

The Melting Clock and the Fridge both cannot carry marijuana or other cannabis products that are outside of their guidelines, but many people don't know what those guidelines are. Everyday people call or come in asking for products they can no longer carry or legal marijuana. It's frustrating to Thompson, but he also knows it's frustrating to them. He hopes to get the licensing to become a dispensary in the future, but everything is uncertain as of now.

"From what they're telling us, there isn't going to be an unlimited amount of licenses given out, it should be very limited," said Thompson. "They go back and forth on deciding who will get the licenses. It is not clear who will be getting licenses. It is not clear how to get a license. It is not clear what they expect from a dispensary. It is all still being worked on and we're all kind of just left waiting."

One positive thing about the legalization of recreational cannabis is the destigmatizing of smoke shops and cannabis use. People are more social when they come in and less scared to talk about their usage. Thompson has been encouraged by the older generations' acceptance of the drug and the benefits that could potentially come with it. Many of his clientele use the drug to sleep better or as pain relief.

"I just think people are happy that it's legal, so they can talk about it more openly in smoke shops instead of always having to use a keyword," said Thompson. "They almost had to talk in code, where now they can talk more freely about it. People really like that and I think that's another key to destigmatizing, THC in general. So being able to talk about it."

Gummies will continue to be popular but Thompson has beverages rising in popularity. The benefits to a beverage over gummies is the time it takes to feel the effects. A THC beverage can kick in as soon as 15 minutes after consumption unlike gummies that usually take 30 minutes to an hour.

"The gummies are always gonna stay popular. They've always been very popular," said Thompson. "But drinks are definitely the fastest rising market. There are many different breweries that are switching to mostly canning THC beverages because it's more profitable for them. I believe this is not just a trend but I think it's here to stay in Minnesota."