The Hubbard County Board approved a local cannabis ordinance.
It passed unanimously at the Sept. 19 meeting.
The newly revised ordinance prohibits a retail establishment from selling cannabis and/or cannabis products within 500 feet of a church, school, licensed day care facility or public park.
Hubbard County Attorney Jonathan Frieden adjusted the distance from churches from 1,000 to 500 feet, based on county commissioners’ recommendations.
Frieden said he was not opposed to this change.
The ordinance also prohibits the use of “cannabis, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles or hemp-derived consumer products in a public place or a place of public accommodation unless the premises is an establishment or event licensed to permit on-site consumption of adult-use cannabis flower and adult-use cannabis products.”
Exceptions are “a private residence, including the individual’s curtilage or yard; a private property, not generally accessible by the public, unless the individual is explicitly prohibited from consuming cannabis or cannabis products, lower potency hemp edibles or hemp-derived consumer products on the property by the owner of the property; or an establishment or event licensed to permit the on-site consumption.”
Public use of cannabis will be a petty misdemeanor offense in Hubbard County, with a fine up to $300.
“Other counties run the gambit – 500, 1,000 feet is common. It’s also common for other counties, especially our surrounding counties, to not actually put in a specific number but just say the board can take it into consideration and deny it, regardless of how close it is,” Frieden said.
Most of the regulatory authority for use sits with the state agency, he noted. The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management will license the sale of marijuana at retail establishments, beginning in 2025.
County commissioner Ted Van Kempen said that the Minnesota bill allowing recreational marijuana does not list churches in its restrictions. “Do you think that’s going to be an issue?” he asked.
“No, I don’t. I think it falls into a specific category that can be regulated,” Frieden replied.
The Hubbard County liquor license ordinance, adopted in 2015, prohibits an establishment within 1,000 feet of a church or school.
Earlier in September, the county board voiced support for a 500-foot restriction so that both ordinances are consistent.
A notice of intent and public hearing is required to amend a county ordinance.
Neighboring counties, cities
The new Becker County ordinance, approved in August, is a slightly tweaked version of a model cannabis ordinance put out by the Minnesota County Attorneys Association and the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association, according to Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald in the Detroit Lakes Tribune.
For now, the ordinance limits the use of recreational cannabis to home use. But in the future, licenses will be an option for establishments or events to allow cannabis use on the premises, kind of like liquor licenses and permits are available now.
Cass County has drafted an ordinance regulating the use of cannabis in public places. Public hearings are scheduled for Oct. 17 in Backus and Nov. 7 in Walker.
A proposed ordinance that would have restricted the use of cannabis products in public was dropped by the Bemidji City Council in August.
Shannon Geisen is editor of the Park Rapids Enterprise.
