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(ABC 6 News) – Albert Lea could soon be home to the state’s first cannabis retailer, but the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) is in no rush to issue a license.
Jacob Schlichter is the owner of The Smoking Tree, a business he hopes to soon open, once the OCM issues him his license fee and begin selling cannabis products.
“Everything else is done, that’s the last bridge to cross and I unfortunately don’t know when I’ll be able to cross it,” Schlichter said.
Josh Collins, a spokesperson, for the OCM said efforts to remain equitable in the license distribution process caused an internal slowdown.
“When you combine that with the need to do inspections for more than 1,000 businesses and getting through all those final plans, it’s a complicated process,” Collins said.
The OCM issued its only cannabis license so far to Herb Quest in Pine County. However, unlike The Smoking Tree, that license was for cultivation.
Schlichter isn’t the only one anxious to get the ball rolling. Albert Lea’s city manager said city staff are on standby, ready to register two of their six pre-approved cannabis licenses.
“The Office of Cannabis Management needs to complete their work and do their job,” Rigg said. “We are simply the people whio register the license businesses from the state.”
For Schlichter though, selling cannabis is not all about making a few bucks. He said he’s motivated by his mission of investing in his community’s education system.
“I think improving education pretty much will lead to improvements in every aspect of life,” Schlichter said.
On top of investing in education, Schlichter said he also wants to provide an alternative substance that he says has less harmful effects than others.
“Having a substance like cannabis would be a great fallback for people trying to ween their usage off of harder substances,” Schlichter said.
As of Friday evening, Schlichter does not have a timeline for when his store will open but said people can find the latest updates on The Smoking Tree’s social media pages.
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