Medical cannabis sales kick off in North Dakota

Don’t miss our MJBiz LinkedIn Live covering “Women Leaders in Cannabis: Shattering the Grass Ceiling” on Wednesday, March 27, at 2 p.m. ET. Visit LinkedIn to register!


North Dakota’s first medical marijuana dispensary opened for business Friday in a Fargo mini-mall, but potential customer numbers remain relatively low.

The state began accepting applications in October from residents for medical marijuana cards, but only 122 people were certified as of this week, according to state regulators.

North Dakota expects that number to climb to as many as 4,000 in coming years.

Nevertheless, a spokesman for the state’s first dispensary, The Botanist, operated by New York-based Acreage Holdings, said the company was satisfied with the opening.

“We have been very pleased with the amount of people visiting the store, despite Fargo being hit by a winter storm,” Acreage spokesman Howard Schacter wrote in a statement emailed to Marijuana Business Daily.

“Unfortunately, we can’t divulge sales and traffic information.”

Acreage, a multistate marijuana operator, said initial products on the shelves were flower, concentrate and shatter.

Patients in North Dakota eventually will be able to buy products in six forms, including dried leaves and flower, concentrates, tinctures, capsules, topicals and transdermal patches.

Here are some other details surrounding the launch:

  • The Botanist is getting its product from a Bismarck processing facility. A second processing facility, in Fargo, is probably a month or two from having product available, state regulators said.
  • North Dakota has approved 17 qualifying medical conditions for MMJ including epilepsy, debilitating pain and cancer.
  • The state’s medical cannabis program was approved by voters in November 2016.

– Associated Press and Marijuana Business Daily