Sauk Rapids to be Home to Area’s First Approved Commercial Marijuana Operation

(KNSI) — The Sauk Rapids City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a Conditional Use Permit for Uncle Hippies Cannabis.

The business is the area’s first approved commercial marijuana operation. Uncle Hippies had prior approval under the initial social equity application process and lottery by the Office of Cannabis Management, which allowed it to get fast tracked at the state level when that system was scrapped. Still, it has been over a year to get from the application process to a green light from local government.

Uncle Hippies will operate in the industrial park and feature no signage. For most people, they’ll hardly know it is there, as Chief Operating Officer Josh Severson notes early on, there won’t even be a retail operation.

“Our business plan is just strictly wholesale and grow. Just get going. We’re focusing on just growing a really good, high quality product.”

He expects to move fast now that he has the okay for the business. The build-out may have a delay or two, but when the plants go in, it won’t be long until the business will be producing at commercial scale. “It takes an adult cannabis plant to flower to maturity within about 60 days. You can veg it for as long as you want, but when you flip it, it’s gonna take about 60 days.”

Severson boasts experience at a medicinal growhouse and says he knows how to produce cannabis without odor or other side effects impacting the neighbors. The canopy will be roughly 2,400 square feet to start, with marijuana for sale possibly as early as October.

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