As the much-anticipated first round of applications roll into the state’s new cannabis office, there is a growing concern within the industry over who will test new products about to hit the market.

Just like the current low-dose hemp products on the market, new full-strength marijuana products are required to be tested by a certified lab to prove that it’s safe and its potency matches the label.

But finding a lab could become a challenge.

“There is not enough lab capacity. I think all of us in the industry are aware of it. Regulators are acutely aware of it,” said Kyle Marinkovich, owner of Northern Diversified Solutions.

Marinkovich’s business in Burnsville currently processes Minnesota-grown hemp and then sells the finished product to makers of gummies and drinks sold in the state.

“Minnesota saved us. Had Minnesota not passed that legislation or the series of legislation that we’ve had, we’d either be processing something else or we’d be out of business,” he said.

Marinkovich hopes to expand his business into the legal cannabis market if granted a license.

But there’s a key difference in testing.

Right now, manufacturers can send hemp-derived products to any lab in the country, as required under the law to ensure it’s safe and compliant.

However, all the out-of-state labs will be off-limits for legal cannabis, because the drug can’t be sent across the state lines since the federal government still considers it illegal.

As it stands today, there are only two certified labs in Minnesota.

“I would say that’s not nearly enough,” said Charlene Briner, interim director of Minnesota’s new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

“It’s one of the things that keeps me up at night,” she said. “The original law that was passed last year didn’t contemplate the need to stand up additional lab capacity.”

Briner expects new labs to apply for a license after the office finalizes the rules later this summer.

To complicate the issue, Marinkovich said he already knows some manufacturers in the low-dose market are lab shopping — sending samples of the same product to multiple labs seeking the most potent and compliant result. It’s an issue that has plagued other states with legal marijuana.

“You wasted that time and money and stressed capacity at the lab because there shouldn’t be a need for that much testing,” he said.

OCM hopes a newly approved state reference lab will cut down on the issue by acting like a referee during testing disputes.

The agency partnered with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for the testing, but that lab is just getting off the ground.

“Other states haven’t had a reference lab at the very outset, and that’s what’s caused problems,” Briner said. “So one of the safeguards that we really wanted is to have that reference lab in place early.”

These issues add to the question about when recreational cannabis will actually be on the market in Minnesota.

“Every day, there’s people that ask, ‘When are you going to have it? When is it available?’” said Nathan Philippi, who owns Mr. Nice Guys Smoke Shop in St. Cloud.

Briner, the temporary director, said she’s “hopeful” sales will begin in the first quarter of 2025.

“I would also remind people that tribal dispensaries are opening,” she said. “We’re really in a pretty good place compared to other states, especially when you think about the unique approach Minnesota has taken.”