Minnesota Agencies

At a minimum, the division must: engage with the community and administer grants to communities that experienced a disproportionate, negative impact from cannabis prohibition and usage in order to promote economic development, improve social determinants of health, provide services to prevent violence, support early intervention programs for youth and families, and promote community stability and safety; act as an ombudsperson for the office to provide information, investigate complaints under this chapter, and provide or facilitate dispute resolutions; and report to the office on the status of complaints and social equity in the cannabis industry.

The legislation that legalized cannabis for adult recreational use in 2023 also established many grant programs. The Division of Social Equity is responsible for awarding CanRenew grants, which are available to eligible organizations for investments in communities where long-term residents are eligible to be social equity applicants (see Laws of Minnesota 2023, chapter 63, article 1, section 69).