Jason Tarasek Discusses Minnesota Cannabis Shortages and Rollout Challenges on DriveTime with DeRusha Podcast
Aug 28, 2025
Vicente LLP’s Minnesota partner Jason Tarasek recently joined the DriveTime with DeRusha podcast to share his perspective on Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis rollout.
Drawing on years of experience with Minnesota cannabis law, Jason outlined the challenges and opportunities businesses and consumers should expect as legalization moves forward.
In the episode, Jason explains that Minnesota’s adult-use program is launching with a limited supply of cannabis.
“At this moment, the only folks growing in the state of Minnesota legally are tribal nations, two medical providers, and a handful of microbusiness licensees who probably planted their crops in the last couple of weeks. Those won’t be ready for a while.”
Unlike many other states, which allowed medical operators to transition into the adult-use market, Minnesota has not extended that opportunity, creating an early product shortage. Licensing setbacks, including the cancellation of a social equity lottery, have also slowed the rollout.
“Had the plan gone a little better, we would’ve had plants on the ground by last year. Unfortunately, there was a lottery for certain social equity folks that was cancelled for a variety of reasons, but we are where we are. I think it’s fair to say this year is going to be a soft launch and 2026 will be the year Minnesota cannabis really comes alive.”
Jason highlighted Minnesota’s strict oversight, including a seed-to-sale tracking system required of every business. He also raised concerns about testing capacity:
“The absence of testing labs is making me nervous because we have one serious contender at the moment. I think there are others in the pipeline, but there’s only one existing lab in the state. And then all of our hemp-derived products are going to need to be tested in in-state labs as of the first of the year. That’s just a lot of burden to be placed on one lab.”
With both hemp-derived and adult-use products requiring in-state testing in 2025, bottlenecks could pose serious challenges unless more labs come online quickly.
Despite these challenges, Jason remains optimistic about Minnesota’s cannabis market. While 2025 may be a “soft launch” year marked by shortages and regulatory hurdles, 2026 is expected to bring a more stable and thriving adult-use industry.
Listen to Jason's full interview here!
About Jason Tarasek
Jason Tarasek is a partner at Vicente LLP and manages the firm's Minnesota office. He assists clients throughout the Upper Midwest. With more than 20 years of legal experience as a transactional attorney and litigator, he has handled hundreds of civil litigation matters and first-chaired several trials in state and federal courts. Recently, Jason recovered nearly $2 million for cannabis entrepreneurs who had been defrauded by potential investors. Learn more about Jason.