Do you have employees in the Viking state? If so, keep reading!  On July 1, 2022, Minnesota adopted a new law legalizing the sale, purchase, and consumption of edible cannabinoid products to people aged 21 and over. The law legalized the use of edible cannabinoid products made from substances extracted from certified hemp plants.  The product can contain no more than 0.3% of any hemp-derived THC and no more than five milligrams of THC per serving (or more than 50 mg of THC per package).  Products fitting the parameters of this law were removed from the state’s schedules of controlled substances.

What does the change mean for Minnesota employers? This change in Minnesota’s recreational marijuana laws means Minnesota employers may be required to update their workplace policies, procedures, and handbooks as edible cannabinoid products are now considered a “lawful consumable product.”

Minnesota law restricts employers from disciplining employees and job applicants for using a “lawful consumable product.” More specifically, an employer may not discipline, discharge, or refuse to hire an individual because that person engages in, or has engaged in, the use of “lawful consumable products” if the use takes place off of employer-grounds and during non-working hours.

Minnesota employees may have the right to consume these newly legalized edible cannabinoid products outside of work and employers may not have any right to object. With the addition of edible cannabinoid products as a lawful consumable product, employers may need to review their hiring and employment practices to ensure they do not run afoul of Minnesota employment law related to employee or job applicant use of edible cannabinoid products.