Marijuana legalization marks new era for state, but will Minnesotans embrace it?

On a blocked-off street in downtown Minneapolis, a carefree crowd of Minnesotans lit up their first legal joints here and puffed smoke into the air in front of police officers patrolling the area.

The scent of cannabis grew stronger by the hour outside First Avenue on Tuesday, where hundreds of people gathered for a marijuana legalization block party outside the famous club to celebrate a new chapter in Minnesota's history. Joint in hand, Ryan Ferring grinned widely as he watched it unfold.

"It's just cool to see the open-mindedness," said Ferring, 29, who recently moved back to Minneapolis from Colorado. "It'll be nice to see people accept it more."

Cannabis enthusiasts in Minnesota are commemorating the historic end to marijuana prohibition with smoking parties, visits to the state's first tribal dispensary and classes teaching them how to grow at home.

But as weed's dank aroma shamelessly rises around the state, not everyone is embracing it.

Several cities are moving to prohibit public marijuana use, citing concerns about the drug's odor and exposure to minors. Just like alcohol and tobacco, some Minnesotans have mixed feelings about marijuana use and possession becoming the norm.

"For the same reasons I don't want to smell cigarette smoke, I don't want to smell pot smoke," said Jim Rogers of Duluth, who supports his city's proposed public pot smoking ban and wants to see it further strengthened. "As it stands, I can be standing on the corner and someone can be crossing the street next to me and blowing that smoke in my face."

Lakeville City Council members heard similar concerns during a July meeting where they discussed an ordinance that would ban marijuana use in public spaces.

"We worry about the deterring effect of a family wanting to come into our restaurant and they walk past people who are smoking cannabis," Lakeville Brewing Company co-owner Don Seiler told the council.

Conversations like this will play out in city halls across the state as communities figure out pot's role in their part of the world post-prohibition. Legalization does not guarantee acceptance.

Nevertheless, marijuana is having its most mainstream moment yet in Minnesota.

As throngs of people smoked joints and sampled hemp-derived cannabis products at the legal marijuana block party outside First Ave, some of the state's most recognizable politicians were celebrating inside the music venue.

Several DFL state legislators took the stage under a lime-green spotlight to proudly tout the law they passed. Former Gov. Jesse Ventura drew cheers and laughs from the crowd as he recalled how he once saw Jimi Hendrix while high. And Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar jammed on stage with local band Marijuana Deathsquads later in the evening.

At events across the metro area, some Minnesotans said they were eager not only to partake in legal marijuana use, but to grow their own cannabis at home and potentially get involved in the new industry.

Minnesota's new marijuana law allows people 21 and older to grow up to eight cannabis plants per residence, though no more than four of them can be mature and flowering at the same time.

Bridgette Pinder, owner of Grounded Gardens hemp shop in St. Paul, is selling cannabis seeds and teaching classes on marijuana home-growing. Pinder said those who sign up for the class, which costs around $1,100, will be given almost everything they need to grow indoors: cannabis seeds, grow lights and fans, an air filter and a tent to manage heat and humidity.

About 20 people have signed up so far, she said, and many more have expressed interest.

"People are coming from all over the state for these classes," Pinder said. "We definitely have all walks of life — different ages, different areas. Somebody's coming from Duluth. People are coming from Stillwater."

Those who grow their own marijuana at home may give some of it to other people, but it's illegal for them to sell it.

Christopher Parrington, a partner at law firm Zuber Lawler in Minneapolis, has represented cannabis clients throughout the country for nearly a decade. During a cannabis law conference at the Minneapolis City Center on Monday, Parrington said he expects some Minnesota home-growers to try to sell their weed regardless.

"They're going to start selling to their buddies ... I've had people come up to me and tell me that they actually plan on doing that," Parrington said, before urging the several dozen lawyers at the conference to be careful whom they choose to represent.

A local cannabis company tried to sell plants in the parking lot of a tobacco shop in Faribault on Tuesday and had them confiscated by police. The cannabis company owner argued that because the plants were immature and contained no THC — yet — he should be able to sell them.

Cops disagreed with that interpretation. Minnesota businesses are allowed to sell cannabis seeds under the new law, but they can't sell immature marijuana plants or flower until they receive state licenses, which aren't expected to be issued until early 2025.

State law enforcement agencies have said they're ready to enforce the new law, particularly on Minnesota's roads, where it's illegal to smoke cannabis while driving.

"Driving while impaired often has devastating consequences," State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said during a news conference in late July.

Dr. Will Nicholson, president of the Minnesota Medical Association, is concerned with how legalized marijuana could affect public health. He wants Minnesotans to be aware of the risks, especially for those under age 25, whose brains may not yet be fully developed.

"We want people to understand that cannabis can increase the risk of people developing psychiatric disorders, depression and anxiety," Nicholson said. "I think that's not always well understood."

Legalization has brought "mixed feelings" for Cohl Hernandez, who has been sober for the past few years.

Yet there he was in Minneapolis on Tuesday photographing the launch of his friend's cannabis brand.

"It's hard. You see people happy, but there's the inner conflict," Hernandez said. "I'm hoping it will bring people together."

Hernandez was among the dozens who came out to support Jake Webb, who launched a hemp-derived THC-infused drink at a lemonade stand on Lake Street to mark day one of legalization.

Webb is among the "legacy operators" — former pot dealers — who are trying to carry the torch of cannabis culture into legal businesses.

Wake and Bake Jake's, Webb's THC-infused lemonade, is the result of his long history with cannabis and his entrepreneurial spirit. It's precisely the kind of homegrown craft business the state's marijuana law explicitly seeks to promote.

"This could be a six-figure business in the next year if things go right," said Webb, who also hopes to start a cannabis delivery app.

The 35-year-old Bloomington software consultant earned the nickname-turned-brand after showing up stoned to an early-morning math class at Tuskegee University in Alabama. Webb said he briefly sold pot to make money to get back to college after taking a year off, and he sold some brownies while he was there.

When it comes to legalization, Webb says: It's about time.

"Twenty-two other states have this," Webb said after announcing on social media he was running low on the strawberry lemonade. "It's normal."