DULUTH, Minn. — At 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, Legacy Cannabis debuted as the state’s first licensed adult-use dispensary, offering cannabis flower and other products.
“It’s historic,” Josh Wilken-Simon, lead consultant for Legacy Cannabis Duluth, said of the opening and its quirky timing, a nod to marijuana slang. “In most other states, the first licensed dispensaries are all your big, multi-state corporations. So for a small, independent, family-owned Minnesota business to be the first state-licensed dispensary in Minnesota is groundbreaking.”
Minnesota legalized adult-use cannabis in 2023. Legacy began the complex application process to become compliant in a highly regulated market about a year ago.
Now that the Lincoln Park business has broken the seal, Wilken-Simon anticipates more small dispensaries will soon follow suit to create a strong craft cannabis market statewide — one not solely driven by massive corporations, he said.
“A lot of us fought for many, many years to try to ensure that Minnesota’s legal cannabis industry would be focused on small, craft businesses with an emphasis on social equity for people who were negatively affected by the ‘war on drugs,’ and time will tell how that plays out,” Josh Wilken-Simon said.
The business first opened as Legacy Glassworks in 2010 and moved to 1906 W. Superior St. last year after a rebrand.
Upon entering the storefront, identification is scanned to ensure all occupants are at least 21 years old. Digital payments are accepted. The facility has a state-of-the-art camera system, employee badge entry and security gates over the windows when closed.
The 1,500-square-foot shop operates as a dispensary, offering more than 100 THC beverages, more than 100 different edibles, cannabis seeds and more.
“We currently offer a ton of locally made glass pipes. We offer the low-potency hemp edibles,” Wilken-Simon said Tuesday morning. “And then starting this afternoon, we’ll have actual cannabis flower and vapes and carts from the White Earth Nation.” Legacy sells 16 strains.
The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management said in a news release that the state’s 37 licensed cannabis businesses — including 23 microbusinesses — have been waiting for the product supply to be established.
“With Tribal-state cannabis compacts now in place with the White Earth Nation and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, state-licensed retail businesses are working in partnership with Tribal Nations to procure safe, tested cannabis products at wholesale in order to stock their shelves,” the news release said. Tribal cannabis dispensaries have been selling their own recreational cannabis for more than two years.
On Monday, the state’s regulatory office issued medical cannabis combination business licenses to Green Goods and RISE, which will offer both medical and adult-use products.
“All eight of Green Goods’ dispensaries (located in Minneapolis, Blaine, Bloomington, Burnsville, Duluth, Moorhead, Rochester, and Woodbury) opened adult-use sales” Tuesday morning, the news release said. “RISE will begin adult-use sales on Wednesday at dispensaries in Brooklyn Park, Eagan, Mankato, New Hope and Willmar, and their three other sites will follow soon.”
Once more products become available, 20-milligram beverages, in addition to 200-milligram cannabis edibles, will be offered at Legacy, Wilken-Simon said.
The shop will shine a spotlight on local growers, producers and extractors, in addition to the local glass artists supplying its pipes. Legacy also sells handcrafted pipes by 93 local glass blowers, work from over 100 nationwide artists, clothing and other merchandise.
All products are securely displayed in locked glass cases.
Secured smell jars with a sample of the product will allow customers to take in the aroma and observe it under the light.
All cannabis products will be stored in a vault until purchased for security. All items are displayed in terms of packaging.
“There’ll be a bunch of different strains offered, different sizes, from just flower to pre-rolls, and then carts and vaporizers,” Wilken-Simon said. “As the days go on, and more tribes sign their compact, more state-licensed folks get plants in the ground, our product selection will just expand.”
Staff are available to educate customers on terpene profiles. Terpenes are natural compounds that affect the strain’s aroma, flavor and effect.
“We pride ourselves on having a very knowledgeable staff and being able to help someone brand new to cannabis, also somebody that’s a well-seasoned vet,” Wilken-Simon said.
Customers are limited to buying 2 ounces of cannabis flower, up to 800 milligrams of edibles and 8 grams of concentrate at a time. Purchases are entered into a database to track.
The state cannabis tax is currently 15%, in addition to the sales tax.
On Sept. 27, Legacy Cannabis will host the Legacy Cup, the largest cannabis festival in the Midwest, at Surly Brewing Festival Field in Minneapolis from noon to 8 p.m.
The Office of Cannabis Management notes that it continues to accept cannabis-event applications, which have been available since Aug. 1. The event license authorizes the holder to plan and host temporary cannabis-related events featuring on-site sale and use of adult-use cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles, and hemp-derived consumer products.
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