I personally don’t care much one way or another about legalizing cannabis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as I’ve heard from people running ma and pa cannabis, THC and CBD product shops, the DFL’s cannabis law is full of carve-outs to big pharma, and has regulations that are pretty sure to smother most small businesses. Tales <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the DFL was buying votes, so no biggie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All that was foretold, has come to pass<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n IRRR is funded by mining industry taxes \u2014 about $25 million a year \u2014 and was created to diversify the economy by promoting economic development and job creation in 13,000 square miles of northeastern Minnesota. It provides loans and grants to a\u00a0variety of public and private<\/a>\u00a0projects, including broadband development and manufacturing facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n HWY35 is led by Jack Mitchell<\/a>, who is president of Besa Group and Mitchell Hospitality in Kansas City that grow, manufacture and sell cannabis in Missouri. Another principal in HWY35 is John Hyduke, the chair of a Minneapolis-based marketing company, Modern Climate<\/a>. Mitchell and Hyduke are also the leaders \u2014 vice chair and chair, respectively \u2014 of a newly formed trade association called the Minnesota Marijuana Association<\/a>, which has tapped former Mining Minnesota leader Frank Ongaro as its interim executive director. Other board members are with companies from Missouri, Nevada, Maryland, Colorado and Minnesota. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Portions of a shuttered plant in Grand Rapids that used to make oriented strand board<\/a> would be turned into HWY35\u2019s planned facility, according to the staff presentation<\/a> to the IRRRB. In addition to the state loan, the project would be part of a tax increment financing district approved by the Grand Rapids City Council and would also be supported by private investment that would equip a growing and manufacturing facility to produce oils for edibles and other THC products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n So – the state giving money to out of state companies to do a job plenty of Minnesota companies would love a shot at?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are questions. Layers of them, in fact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n