Medical cannabis patients in the Bemidji area, some of whom have driven more than 100 miles to Baxter, Moorhead or Duluth for their products, will soon have a closer option. Until now, their main local source has been Red Lake’s NativeCare. Coconut Cannabis, a recreational dispensary that opened north of town in February, is adding medical sales, the Bemidji Pioneer reported.”

Coconut Cannabis’s expansion into medical is possible due to Minnesota’s 2026 Omnibus Cannabis Bill, which Gov. Tim Walz signed May 26. It lets microbusinesses apply for a medical retail endorsement. Most of the law’s provisions took effect Aug. 1.

Previously, only the state’s two medical cannabis companies could sell both medical and recreational cannabis, MPR News reported. Now smaller businesses like Coconut Cannabis can apply to serve medical patients too, according to the state Office of Cannabis Management’s summary of the law.

More changes arrive Jan. 1, 2027. Businesses serving both markets will no longer have to grow, process and track medical and recreational products separately. The two existing medical companies’ licenses will each convert to a “macrobusiness” license, and no more than eight such licenses will be allowed statewide until 2030. Smaller businesses get a path to grow: after two years of growing cannabis for medical patients, they can apply to move up to a larger license, according to MPR.

The medical cannabis market is sizable. Through April, Minnesota recorded $36.79 million in medical sales, compared with $60 million in recreational sales, MJBizDaily reported.

New obligations come with the growth. Beginning Jan. 1, retailers with a medical endorsement must stock a state-designated list of “high medical need” products, such as pills, tinctures and lozenges, the Marijuana Herald reported. Retailers can face penalties if they don’t make a listed product available within 24 hours of a patient’s request.