Minnesota is inching ever closer to a fully operational adult-use cannabis market.

On Tuesday, the Office of Cannabis Management submitted its proposed rules governing the recreational cannabis market to the Office of Administrative Hearings. If a judge signs off, some cannabis businesses will finally be able to obtain licenses and begin operations — possibly within the next two weeks.

At St. Paul Cannabis, David Mendolia, store owner, is already planting a vision for the future.

“We’re hoping to shuffle this around so we have flower front and center,” Mendolia said.

Mendolia and at least 200 other business owners are waiting for official state guidance to sell recreational marijuana.

RELATED: Public comment period now open for draft cannabis regulations

“We have some concerns about especially potency limit and concentrates, which was one of the things that everyone was really hung up on,” Mendolia said. “They were trying to put a low cap on concentrate products, which just doesn’t work in a rec market.”

The OCM first published its draft rules in January and gathered public feedback for 30 days. An administrative judge will now consider whether to approve, approve with changes, or reject the final draft.

Officials said in a statement that they took that feedback into consideration while drafting a new set of proposed rules.

“With the rules now in the hands of an administrative law judge for final approval, we’ve reached a crucial milestone,” Interim OCM Director Eric Taubel said. “Following approval, prospective businesses will be able to complete their final steps and receive a cannabis license.” 

OCM officials say the roughly 200 social equity applicants who were pre-approved for non-capped license types — including single-location retailers — will be in line to receive their licenses once the rules are finalized and entered into the State Register.

“The adoption of rules will mean that the social equity applicants who passed the application review last fall are ready to be the first wave of cannabis business owners in Minnesota,” said Jess Jackson, OCM director of social equity.

Applicants for capped license types will be selected through lotteries later this year — one exclusively for social equity applicants and another for general applicants.

The application deadline for those licenses elapsed on March 16; no date has been set for the lotteries.

In the meantime, Native American tribes are allowed to operate all types of cannabis businesses — including a 13-acre campus operated by the Prairie Island Indian Community between Red Wing and Hastings.

That proposal is now in the hands of the administrative law judge (ALJ), who has 14 days to approve, reject or change the draft.

“I don’t want to see the store be delayed towards rec sales, but I would also not like to see a botched version of rules hurried through just so that we can get there,” Mendolia said. “It’s both exciting and scary.”

Mendolia is one of many Minnesotans ready to enter the billion-dollar industry where money grows on trees. “Once the rules are finalized, we’re looking at next steps to actually getting an approved site for sale,” he said.

Industry officials said in a statement that later this year, there will be more lotteries held for capped license types like cultivators and manufacturers.

Read the final proposed draft rules below.