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Morning Edition
Cathy Wurzer and Lukas Levin

Minnesota cannabis regulator on what's ahead for THC edibles

A person holds orange gummie candy
“You want to ensure that consumers have a safe product, that what it says on the label is in the actual package and that people feel informed about the products that they are consuming," Minnesota's chief regulator of hemp-derived THC products tells MPR News.
Courtesy Elsa Olofsson at CBD Oracle via Flickr

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Edibles containing hemp-derived THC became legal in Minnesota last year without a lot of state oversight. Chris Tholkes, director of medical cannabis at the Minnesota Department of Health, was among those expressing early concerns.

Since then, her office has taken over regulation from the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy. She said she’s working now to educate as well as regulate across the state.

“We’re really spending a lot of our time right now doing exactly that: educating folks,” she told MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Friday. “We’re finding that retailers are welcoming us into their shops and that they are hungry for information about how they can be compliant with the law.”

Her office has shifted one of its medical cannabis inspectors to work on hemp-derived products and is working now to hire more inspectors. Tholkes said she’s also able to tap other agencies for help.

“We want to make sure that we have a safe reliable cannabis marketplace,” Tholkes said on MPR News’ Morning Edition. “You want to ensure that consumers have a safe product, that what it says on the label is in the actual package and that people feel informed about the products that they are consuming.”

The full conversation on Minnesota’s THC landscape can be found in the player above.