Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management issued the state’s first cannabis business license on Wednesday to a company based out of Pine County.

The office granted the license to Herb Quest, LLC, a microbusiness in Brook Park, which will primarily work to cultivate cannabis plants.

“With our first licensed cultivator now able to begin growing plants, and more than 600 businesses within the final steps of completing their applications and securing approvals from local governments, we are now seeing the first pieces of Minnesota’s adult-use market fall into place,” said OCM Interim Director Eric Taubel.

 According to state data, more than 1,854 microbusinesses had applied for a license as of June 18. Of those, 667 had been “preliminarily approved.” 

The office also announced several opportunities for prospective business owners to enter the market: a new application window for cannabis testing facilities and applications for cannabis event organizer licenses will open on Aug. 1.

It’s been legal to smoke cannabis and grow plants at home since 2023 in Minnesota. 

• Cannabis