Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Here are Some Places Where You Can Buy Weeeed
THC edibles and drinkables are legal today, baybee! According to the language of the bill, pretty much any place can sell this stuff. So, where do you go to get your Delta-8 and Delta-9 gummies... like, right now, for the weekend? Frankly, there are a ton of places here in the Twin Cities. But, you might have a rough time finding a place that still has supplies. Some shops have already broken online sales records, and have had lines out the door since opening. Look for vape stores, look for smoke shops, look for neon signage. Check your local gas station—especially if they were selling unregulated Delta-8 before this whole thing passed.
- Nothing But Hemp has Delta-8 and other products, and has shops in the Twin Cities and suburbs. Folks have already reported long lines at Nothing But Hemp in White Bear Lake and St. Paul!
- Simply Crafted CBD has curbside pickup at their NE Minneapolis space.
- Smokeless Vape and CBD is also in NE Minneapolis as well as Bloomington.
- Love is an Ingredient has locations in Brooklyn Park and Columbia Heights.
- Chaska CBD, a Nothing But Hemp affiliate, IS VERY BUSY: "Due to unprecedented demand and limited supply, we are temporarily suspending online Delta 9 THC sales, but still have new products in-store," their website reads. They might have some stuff in stock if you stop by.
If you can wait, a lot of these places will deliver, though they might be stretched pretty thin this weekend. Hemp House does same-day delivery. Also, buying stuff online is a-OK, as long as you’re 21 and up and buying items within the legal limits. Twin Cities Cannabis is a local online shop, for example, that also maintains a brick 'n' mortar shop in Hopkins at 907 1st St N.
OK, So Backing Up: What the Fuck is Going On, Exactly?
Valid question! Ryan Faircloth at the Star Tribune has been doing some great reporting and tweeting around this; it was Faircloth who yesterday reported that Republican Senator Jim Abeler wasn’t aware that passing this law actually meant legalizing THC edibles. Did other Republican leaders—who, it’s worth noting, control the senate—know about the impact of the bill? So far, it’s tough to say. Speaking with Faircloth, Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) declined to comment. Just incredible stuff. DFLers, meanwhile, are taking a victory lap, and folks like Rep. Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina) want you to know that this was not an accident, thank you very much, but the result of good old fashioned legislating.
Hm, it Sounds Kiiind of Like an Accident
In speaking with the Minnesota Reformer's J. Patrick Coolican, Edelson is a little less assured. "I asked one of the bill’s chief architects, Rep. Heather Edelson, DFL-Edina, who would regulate this newly legal intoxicant. First she said it would be the state Department of Agriculture. She corrected herself in a text and said it would be the Board of Pharmacy," Coolican reports. Lol. That Reformer story—and they admit, it's a buzzkill—does a great job outlining how messy this whole thing is. The Board of Pharmacy employs just 23 people, who now have the responsibility of regulating potency, packaging, and age requirements of these THC products. The board doesn’t have a lab or a contract with a lab that can test their potency and safety. There's no state agency focused on regulating cannabis, as there is in other states with legal weed.
And also? THC edibles can be sold almost anywhere. "Manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of products containing hemp-derived substances are not required to be licensed," Star Tribune's Matt DeLong reports. It's hard to overstate how little regulation there is. (The law does prohibit restaurants and bars—any place that prepares food and beverages for consumption—from using cannabinoids as an ingredient. Our apologies to the breweries who were no doubt already scheming up a THC beer.)
For a visual indicator of just how silly this situation is, please enjoy the following very good map:
Lesbian. Goth. Foxes.
Are you stoned yet? Here’s something to blow your mind: Their names are Mala and Esmae and they are gay for eachother. “When we let them out in the morning they're just really excited to see each other and then they spend all day together — like they lay together and make calls to each other, so it's just very sweet,” Mikayla Raines, founder of SaveAFox Rescue in Faribault, tells MPR. Apparently it’s very rare for non-related foxes to bond, but these two chirp and chase each other and interact like lovers do. Also, their black-and-white fur totally makes them look metal. Watch this precious video of the pair reuniting after Esmae recovered from a foot injury.
