The city of Isanti is going to refrain from diving into the marijuana business, or at least it will until at least one council member changes his mind or a new council is in place.
Part of the Minnesota Legislature’s legalization of recreational marijuana was a first-of-its-kind provision that allowed municipalities to apply for a license to own and operate its own cannabis store — similar to what it currently can do with liquor stores. The state did put other restrictions on this, such as marijuana could not be sold from municipal liquor stores, and municipalities that do get licensed don’t necessarily have automatic exclusive sales — that is dependent on the population of the county and city.
Even though marijuana isn’t officially legal to possess and grow until Aug. 1, and sales won’t be legal until most likely 2025, the Isanti City Council has held multiple discussions regarding its vision for its role in the blossoming business.
Falling on the side of the city not applying for a license is Mayor Jimmy Gordon, plus councilmembers Steve Lundeen and George Hemen. Meanwhile, council member Luke Merrill is pushing for the city to apply for it.
Mayor Gordon, who owns Jimmy’s Pizza in Isanti, is not in favor of municipalities owning any business — including liquor stores.
“I’m a fan of capitalism,” Gordon said. “It could be a resident down the street who opens that business and makes a bunch of money and donates to Illuminate Isanti or something like that. I think the free market should decide who wins or loses, not us keeping everyone out.”
Gordon is also uncertain if the city should be promoting smoking marijuana. “I don’t have a problem with people smoking, but I don’t think it is something we as a city necessarily should endorse. I feel the same way about the liquor store.”
While Lundeen appreciates the financial benefits of a city-owned business, he is very concerned about the legalities of getting into selling marijuana.
“The federal government doesn’t recognize it,” Lundeen said. “So we’re going to be limited in what we can do. I look at it as totally illegal. You have to take cash, you can’t accept a credit or debit card. So how are you going to show proof of tax?
“After looking at all this, I am on the side of letting someone else have that license,” Hemen said. “It’s too complicated.”
On the flip side, Merrill is looking at the possibility of alleviating the yearly levy even further. Plus, Merrill points out how at least the city could use taking up one of the licenses as a form of control over who else obtains a license.
As the current legislation reads, cities must allow at least one license for every 12,500 residents, but there is no maximum to the number of licenses the city can tell the state to grant. Anyone interested in selling cannabis must apply for a license through the state, plus register the business with either the city or the county where the business is going to be located. It appears the only local control cities have in the process is regulating how far away from schools or daycare centers a business could operate.
“I usually hate to have government in business, but I think the fact the benefit would go directly back into the citizens is huge,” Merrill said. “And the fact we could regulate ours better than if we had an outside business come in — we can’t regulate them as well as we can regulate ourselves. I’m really concerned about a bad business coming into town and we can’t do anything about it if it’s not ours.”
Lundeen doesn’t dispute the sales potential of cannabis, however, he is quick to point out that profits for the city would not come instantly.
“We’re going to have to pay the ten grand (licensing fee) just like anyone else. The state isn’t going to give us a free ride,” Lundeen said. “Then you have to get a building and hire employees, and then you have all kinds of other things that go along with that. It’s going to take a while to recoup that money. It’s going to cost us a half-million dollars and we’re not going to get that back tomorrow. It could be five, ten years down the road before we make a profit.”
Ultimately, with the three votes from Gordon, Lundeen, and Hemen to not apply for a license versus the two in favor from Merrill and Collison, the city opted to not apply for a license.
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