Guidance Memo | GM-2025-02

Background
Minnesota Statutes, sections 342.34, subdivision 5(b)(1)-(2) and 342.455, subdivisions 3(b)(1)-(2) provide two ways a cannabis wholesaler or low-potency hemp wholesaler license holder may import hemp-derived products from another state:

The manufacturer is licensed in another jurisdiction and subject to regulations designed to protect the health and safety of consumers that the office determines are substantially similar to the regulations in this state.
The hemp or cannabis wholesaler establishes, to the satisfaction of the office, that the manufacturer engages in practices that are substantially similar to the practices required for licensure of manufacturers in this state.

This memorandum provides a list of states determined to have substantially similar regulatory environments under sections 342.34, subdivision 5(b)(1) and 342.455, subdivision 3(b)(1), and the standards for which the office will review manufacturers under sections 342.34, subdivision 5(b)(2) and 342.455, subdivision 3(b)(2). OCM may have additional requirements depending on information submitted.
States with substantially similar regulations
The following states have substantially similar regulations for the manufacture and production of hemp-derived products. Like Minnesota, these states use a total THC definition, regulate the age at which a person can purchase hemp products, impose THC milligram limitations, prohibited synthetic cannabinoids, and limit certain artificially derived cannabinoids, limit the form or product categories for hemp products, specifically regulate hemp beverages, and impose testing requirements beyond potency.

Hawaii
Kentucky
New York
Utah

A wholesaler must still ensure that the product being imported meets all Minnesota statutory and regulatory requirements, including potency or milligram limits, packaging and labeling requirements, and product form.
Standards necessary to establish practices similar to Minnesota standards
A hemp or cannabis wholesaler or an out-of-state manufacturer seeking to have their products imported into Minnesota must submit documentation to the office regarding ALL of the following five standards. Documentation should be submitted by email to [email protected] in the form of a letter, and may include, as part of the submission, audit/inspection report(s) from the regulatory body overseeing the manufacturer, an independent qualified entity providing analysis of the practices of the manufacturer, the standard operating procedures of the manufacturer, or any other documentation that addresses the manufacturer’s operational practices for each of the standards discussed below.

1. Methods of extraction and concentration standards
M.S. § 342.26, subd. 3(b); M.S. § 342.45, subd. 3(b)
A business licensed or authorized to manufacture cannabis products must inform the office of all methods of extraction and concentration that the manufacturer intends to use and identify the volatile chemicals, if any, that will be involved in the creation of cannabis concentrate or hemp concentrate. A cannabis manufacturer may not use a method of extraction and concentration or a volatile chemical without approval by the office.
Required documentation
Provide documentation of the regulatory body that oversees the manufacturer and the standards for which that body holds the manufacturer, or an independent qualified entity tasked with overseeing similar standards, for each method of extraction or concentration used in the production of the products sought to be imported. This documentation should include, at a minimum, that each method was assessed for health and human safety and effective residual chemical mediation.

Further describe your plan for complying with the requirement to provide buyers with a written statement, upon the sale of hemp concentrate or artificially derived cannabinoids, that includes:

The method of extraction and concentration or conversion used
Any solvents, gases, or catalysts involved (including, but not limited to, any volatile chemicals)

Please explain how you will prepare, maintain, and deliver this information to each Minnesota buyer.

2. Approved non-intoxicating cannabinoids standards
M.R.P. 9810.2100, subp. 4
The following cannabinoids are approved for use in lower-potency hemp edibles:

Hemp-derived delta-9 THC

The following cannabinoids are designated as nonintoxicating:

Cannabichromene (CBC)
Cannabidiol (CBD)
Cannabigerol (CBG)
Cannabinol (CBN)

Required documentation
Provide documentation for ensuring that only the approved cannabinoids are used in lower potency edibles imported into Minnesota.

3. Minnesota food law standards
M.S. § 342.45, subd. 4(b); M.R.P. 9810.2204, subp. 2
A manufacturer must manufacture ingestible cannabis products and lower-potency hemp-derived edibles in accordance with Minnesota Food Law, including applicable sections of Code of Federal Regulations that are adopted by reference in Minnesota Statutes, section 31.101, exc