we need your help
Make an
impact today
Help us maintain our South Uptown/East Harriet store as a full recreational dispensary and continue providing you with access to cannabis in a premium and elevated environment.
why we need your help
Our store will not qualify as a dispensary location under the current MINNEAPOLIS cannabis zoning regulations
The city of Minneapolis has released its first set of cannabis zoning criteria that lays out where dispensaries are allowed to operate. Flipside’s current store meets all but one regulation, carried over from an outdated liquor law—a dispensary must be located within a contiguous commercial or industrial area of at least five acres. At this time, the regulations also do not allow for amendments of custom use permits.
Due to the layout of the neighborhood, with a mix of commercial and residential, our store falls outside of the qualifying contiguous five acres of commercial by two homes.
Support local small businesses
Not only do small, locally-owned cannabis businesses like ours face displacement due to Minneapolis' restrictive five-acre zoning, it places a significant risk on homegrown businesses, many who have been operating successfully as hemp businesses, being squeezed out in favor of large, out-of-state corporations due to limited and competitive retail space and capital.
This regulation, with no amendments for custom use permits or variances, is a relic of the past, hampering accessibility, stifling entrepreneurship, and preventing the city from fully realizing the benefits of a thriving, equitable cannabis market.
Surrounding cities like St. Paul have not adopted similar restrictive zoning, putting Minneapolis at a competitive disadvantage.
Many of the cannabis businesses this will affect have been thriving in their communities as hemp based dispensaries and whom’s customers and neighbors want to stick around as adult use shops.
The 5-acre rule is a 70+ year old liquor zoning amendment that fails to reflect the modern cannabis landscape and consumer demands.
Unlike alcohol, cannabis provides effective treatment for a wide range of medical conditions, from chronic pain to anxiety, making it an essential service for many residents.
What can be done
advocate for the city to
remove the five acre zoning requirement for cannabis dispensaries
or
provide an amendment to allow for conditional use permits or variances for cannabis businesses that were established before the city released their zoning regulations
How you can help
Take action before Sept. 29, 2024.
sign online petition
Sign the petition to amend zoning laws to support established cannabis businesses & local entrepreneurs in Minneapolis.
BIGGEST IMPACT
Write a Letter to city council
Draft your own letter or submit one of the templated options below showing your support. Letters help make the biggest impact for show of support.
Printed versions of templated and drafted letters also available in store.
Complete one of the templated options or send personal signed letters to info@flipside.com—we’ll take care the mailing.
contact your rep
Email or call our district or your local city council representative and mayor sharing your concern for the impact of the cannabis zoning rules and advocating for the amendment of the five acre requirement.
Mayor: Jacob Frey Jacob.Frey@minneapolismn.gov
District 13 Representative: Linea Palmisano Linea.Palmisano@minneapolismn.gov (612) 673-2213
