Public health and safety experts, legislative leaders and treatment providers all gathered at Betty Ford Hazelden Treatment Center in St. Paul on Oct. 25 to participate in the first major interdisciplinary discussions and exchange of information about the state of cannabis legalization and regulation in Minnesota. The event was co-organized by Hamline psychology professor Dr. Serena King, in partnership with Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School and Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota.
This event was the first of its kind in bringing together a broad field of experts to closely examine the evolving landscape of Minnesota’s cannabis legislation, policy, legalization, research and lived experience.
“We started to have a conversation about what all of this might mean for an emerging retail cannabis market come fall 2025, but also to get ahead of training clinicians, public health experts, college students and administrators about what the current landscape looks like,” Dr. King said. “We also wanted to provide thought leadership and discussion around cannabis generally and what the community might see on the ground level.”
Over the course of the summit, which included a keynote address, expert speakers and a panel discussion, several pertinent themes emerged. Drs. Tracy Toomey and Sanem (U of Minnesota Cannabis Research Center), Dr. Ken Winters, (Oregon Research Institute), and Rachel Callanan (Mitchell Hamline Public Law Center) were the main speakers. There was a panel of community leaders and experts led by Dr. King in the afternoon.
“One take-home message was that we need to have a lot of cross-disciplinary communication between policy experts and scientists who are studying cannabis in Minnesota, so that we can stay on top of what is developing nationally,” King noted.
Participants also identified an important need to educate the community moving forward about current trends, policies and diverse products that will be on the market, as well as developing early discussions on high potency cannabis research and examining trends that indicate strong popularity among youth populations.
“We will also need to improve the understanding and preparedness for mental health and addiction counselors as they face a new landscape of cannabis use in Minnesota,” King said.
Only days after the event, organizers began seeking feedback and now plan to send a survey out to participants to gauge opinion on future iterations of the summit. King said many of the involved parties have shown interest in hosting another summit in 2025. Some possible themes include K-12 education and support, have already been proposed.
“We’re hoping to get more funding and support behind the project so we can have a greater impact and potentially bring in some speakers with experience nationally.
The Cannabis Summit reflects a strong Hamline partnership with Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School, which has provided a pathway for more than 20 Hamline undergraduates to receive their graduate degree and licensure as alcohol and drug counselors or clinical counselors from Hazelden Betty Ford. Multiple alumni now work at Hazelden Betty Ford and attended the summit, in addition to a host of Hamline undergraduate students.
“We’ve had a really successful partnership with them and students feel they have a pathway forward towards studying mental health and addiction counseling through this partnership,” Dr. King said. “They also get a really rich experience because we bring Hazelden Betty Ford counselors and professionals into the Hamline classroom.”
