The Albert Lea City Council on Monday approved the first reading of an amendment to the city’s ordinance surrounding cannabis and tobacco, including a change that would increase the number of cannabis retail registrations in the city from two to four.
Albert Lea Mayor Rich Murray and Third Ward Councilor Ted Herman voted against the amendment, while all others voted in favor.
Murray said he voted against the change because he is not in favor of cannabis.
“I still believe it leads to other things, and I represent that part of the community that believes the same thing, so I will stand strong with them,” the mayor said.
Sixth Ward Councilor Brian Anderson said increasing the number of registrations is something he has long supported.
The council in August approved registrations for two companies, Matchbox Farms, at 2316 Hendrickson Road, and Black Husky, at 2706 Ekko Ave., but neither has opened so far.
Chris Gracia of Matchbox Farms said since his registration was approved in August, his whole family has relocated to Minnesota and his store was ready to open in October, but there have been concerns about supply.
He said he was the fifth license approved by the Office of Cannabis Management, but by that time, there was only one cultivator that had been approved for a license. He talked about the amount of time it takes to grow the plants and harvest the product, put it through testing and prepare the final product to put on shelves.
With that in mind, the company’s new target date is June.
He said as of Friday, there are 12 licensed cultivators that could potentially have product throughout the state, along with 109 retailers, and so far, he’s aware of only five nontribal dispensaries that have opened.