Bachman's owners might branch out into medical marijuana

Medical marijuana has caught the eye of some very mainstream business interests in Minnesota.

The Health Department began accepting applications Friday from entrepreneurs interested in opening one of the state's two new medical cannabis manufacturing facilities. Among the investors who may apply are the owners of Bachman's Inc., the Twin-Cities based chain of florist shops.

"There are several family members that are interested," said company spokeswoman Karen Bachman, who declined to identify which family members might be submitting an application.

While individual Bachmans might be interested in getting into the medical marijuana business, she emphasized that Bachman's, the company, is not.

"Bachman's, the company itself, is not including this in our core mission of delivering beautiful products at a real value," Bachman said.

Many investors from across the country are eyeing Minnesota as the next frontier in the expanding medical marijuana market. Medical marijuana is legal in 23 states and recreational marijuana is legal in two. Legal marijuana sales nationally could top $2.3 billion this year and quadruple by 2018.

But getting the medical cannabis industry off the ground in Minnesota won't be cheap or easy. Just to apply, investors will have to write a $20,000 nonrefundable check to the state. The two who will be chosen will have less than a year to get their operations up and running before the first patients begin lining up on July 1, 2015.

The state's selection criteria will be slanted heavily toward applicants with deep pockets, detailed business plans and a solid grounding in agriculture and finance.

"We're looking for folks who can grow plants and turn it into medicine," said Assistant Health Commissioner Manny Munson-Regala, who will be screening the 40-page applications for indications that entrepreneurs know how to turn out a medical product that is safe, of consistent quality and free from contaminants or toxins. "And do it at a scale and with the capabilities to do it in a long-term, sustainable way. We'd hate for someone to open operations and three months later go out of business."

Medical marijuana has been a profitable venture in many states, but the Minnesota Legislature tightly limited the types of medical conditions that were eligible for the drug and limited its sale only to non-smokable forms.

Other restrictions, like a provision banning employees under age 21 from working at a cannabis facility, would make it hard for companies like Bachman's, which employs a number of college-age workers during the summer, to get into the business directly.

Despite the restrictions, and the hefty application fee, more than 200 people showed up for an informational Health Department meeting about medical marijuana manufacturing last month.