Sartell City Council passes moratorium on THC sales through end of year

SARTELL ― Sartell has temporarily banned the sale of edible cannabinoid products extracted from hemp until the end of the year at its Monday City Council meeting, effective immediately.

Violating the moratorium will be considered a misdemeanor. According to city documents, "each day a violation occurs shall be considered a separate offense."

Earlier this month, Minnesota legalized small doses of hemp-derived THC edibles and other products. St. Joseph is the only other St. Cloud-area city that has also imposed a moratorium so far. Waite Park is considering one, too.

At the meeting, City Administrator Anna Gruber said she is not aware of any businesses selling THC products in Sartell, but the moratorium would shut down anyone currently selling. Sellers would have to comply with a future ordinance.

More:St. Joseph passes THC moratorium; other St. Cloud-area cities consider regulations

City staff recommended the council approve a moratorium on hemp-derived THC food and beverages "in orderto allow the city time to study the issue and consider licensing and rules, and sales management controls" for these sales like "behind the sales counter, checking identifications (ID’s), enforcement, compliance and license fees."

The moratorium can be enforced until Dec. 31, and the city said it intends to lift the moratorium "as quickly as the permitting and administrative processes are adopted by the city."

"I want to ensure the public that we're going to move as fast as possible on this," said Mayor Ryan Fitzthum at Monday's meeting. "But I also don't want to handcuff our staff so we can't get the appropriate work done."

Sartell said the city has "significant health and safety concerns" about the impact of edible sales in city limits and "has significant land use and planning concerns regarding the compatibility of businesses that sell edible cannabinoid products within the city."

At the meeting, several city officials expressed concern about sales happening in close proximity to schools or hemp-derived THC products being sold to someone under 21.

More:THC edibles are now legal in Minnesota. Here’s how demand has changed in St. Cloud

Moving forward, city documents indicate Sartell wants to develop a permitting and administrative process for the sale of hemp-derived THC products and conduct a study of how to best develop the permit process, study what ordinances may need to be revised and develop the proper permitting standard.

Gruber said Sartell has been in close communication with St. Cloud and other area cities to implement similar regulations moving forward.

Drafting an ordinance can take six to 12 weeks before it is brought to a public hearing and council approval, Gruber said. Sartell does not have the same staffing capability as St. Cloud, she said.

Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-241-8213 or bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at @becca_most. 

"It's not an overnight process and we want to make sure during that time we have the chance to draft exactly what the council wants to see. And then also do it collaborating with our neighboring communities," Gruber said. "It's not effective if Sartell is going on its own, approving something that is wildly different from our neighboring communities … I'm certain it will not take a year. We'll move as quickly as we possibly can, but we also want to make sure that we do this right the first time."

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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Sale of THC edibles in Sartell banned through end of 2022