OUR EXPERTISE

We take a proactive approach to shaping policy—not just reacting to harmful proposals, but working directly with lawmakers, industry leaders, advocates, and community stakeholders to drive sound policies and legislation.

Our policy development work includes:

• Conducting policy research to identify best practices, analyze legal and economic impacts, and develop evidence-based solutions.

• Facilitating stakeholder working groups to surface industry challenges, gather community input, and build consensus around policy solutions.

• Crafting legislation and regulatory frameworks that reflect the best available evidence, industry realities, and community priorities.

• Identifying gaps and conflicts in existing cannabis and drug laws and proposing solutions to improve market stability, access, fairness, and safety.

• Advising legislators and regulators on the practical and long-term impacts of policy decisions to ensure that new laws and regulations work as intended.

• Leading proactive proposals that advance criminal justice reforms, strengthen civil liberties, and address emerging issues such as fair lending practices, market access, and regulatory modernization.

We develop and execute advocacy strategies and campaigns to pass sound policies and stop harmful ones.

Our policy advocacy work includes:

• Assessing the legal, political, and economic landscapes to identify and create windows of opportunity for advancing favorable policies, securing political leverage, and neutralizing opposition.

• Crafting and executing legislative strategies to build political support, secure votes, and move bills through the legislative process.

• Building and managing coalitions within and across diverse stakeholder groups to present a unified front to policymakers.

• Mobilizing stakeholders to engage directly with legislators and regulatory agencies through testimony, meetings, and public comment.

• Driving political pressure and public engagement through targeted media outreach, grassroots organizing, and direct advocacy.

• Running rapid-response advocacy efforts to quickly counter harmful policy proposals and defend hard-won legislative gains.

We help build unified and diverse coalition of stakeholders to develop and advance shared policy agendas and collectively advocate for shared interests.

Our coalition-building work includes:

• Developing working groups focused on specific policy challenges and opportunities.

• Facilitating strategic partnerships between industry, advocacy groups, and community groups and organizations to strengthen policy outcomes.

• Creating shared advocacy platforms that give small businesses and marginalized communities a stronger collective voice.

• Ensuring that all stakeholders—especially those from historically excluded communities—are represented in policy discussions.

Our mobilization efforts focus on activating stakeholders to engage directly with policymakers and influence decision-making. Our stakeholder mobilization work includes:

• Creating action networks to mobilize direct outreach to legislators and agencies.

• Organizing stakeholder roundtables and listening sessions to surface key industry and community concerns.

• Training stakeholders on how to effectively engage with lawmakers, provide testimony, and participate in the rulemaking process.

• Strengthening relationships between policymakers and the communities they serve to ensure that legislative and regulatory decisions are grounded in lived experience.

We strengthen the capacity of media to provide in-depth, accurate coverage of Minnesota’s cannabis and drug policy landscape. Our media strategy includes:

• Connecting journalists with credible sources to ensure that stakeholders and communities most affected by policy decisions have their stories told and that their voices are reflected in press coverage.

• Facilitating investigative reporting by helping journalists uncover complex regulatory and political challenges through background information, access to key stakeholders, and insights into government accountability issues.

• Organizing press briefings and media events to highlight key policy initiatives, advocacy efforts, and industry challenges.

• Placing op-eds and thought leadership pieces to shape the narrative around cannabis and drug policy through targeted placements that reflect our policy goals and advocacy priorities.

We work to ensure that Minnesota’s cannabis and drug policy framework is implemented openly and fairly—and when agencies overstep their authority or act outside of the public interest, we push back.

Our government accountability work includes:

• Filing data practices requests to obtain information on how regulatory decisions are being made, how enforcement actions are being carried out, and whether agencies are operating within their legal authority.

• Driving legislative oversight by working with lawmakers to initiate inquiries, request reports, and compel testimony from agency officials when decisions appear inconsistent with legislative intent or public interest.

• Demanding consistency and fairness in rulemaking and enforcement by holding agencies accountable when decisions create unequal market conditions or unfairly target certain businesses or communities.

• Pushing for increased transparency in the rulemaking process by advocating for more accessible public input opportunities, clearer communication from regulators, and timely disclosure of policy changes.

When necessary, MN Cann pursues legal action to protect businesses, consumers, and communities from harmful and unfair regulatory decisions and government overreach. We take a strategic approach to litigation—not just as a defensive tool, but as a way to drive broader policy change and establish stronger legal protections for Minnesota’s cannabis and drug policy framework.

Our litigation work includes:

• Challenging unlawful regulatory decisions that undermine legislative intent, market fairness, or equitable access.

• Defending civil liberties by challenging policies and enforcement actions that violate individual rights, target marginalized communities, or create barriers to personal autonomy.

• Using litigation strategically to clarify and strengthen Minnesota’s cannabis and drug policy framework, ensuring that laws and regulations work as intended and reflect the public interest.