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SPEAKER: It's becoming more likely that Minnesota will legalize recreational marijuana now that Democrats control state government. That follows the new state law allowing the sale of THC-infused edibles and drinks, which took effect back in July. But an NPR News investigation found there have been worries over the state's oversight of the newly legal goods, and more people are questioning the safety of the products. Tom Scheck has our report.

TOM SCHECK: Minnesota's so-called "edibles law" allows for the sale of products containing less than 5 milligrams of THC derived from hemp. Hemp is a cousin of marijuana, but it doesn't contain the major chemicals that can get a person high. After years of limiting hemp sales and production, the federal government allowed for the sale of the plant in 2018, and scientists quickly learned how to extract and synthesize intoxicating cannabinoids from hemp. That legal gray area allowed retailers to sell high-potency goods. This worried state representative Heather Edelson.

HEATHER EDELSON: Consumers think because they're being sold in a store that it is safe, and it is not necessary. Those were-- there was no regulation at all.

TOM SCHECK: Edelson, an Edina democrat, was the chief author of the edibles bill that became law. Her goal was to ban high-potency goods and vaping products, but she also wanted to keep lower dose items on the shelves.

HEATHER EDELSON: So what I've really been focusing on is how do we make some of these things more accessible, but in a safe way and try to balance that.

TOM SCHECK: But even as it became law, Edelson was expressing concerns about the measure. Public records from June show her asking for updates on sales and suggestions on how to fix a law that didn't even take effect yet. Minnesota has seen an explosion of THC-infused products that became broadly available. There's THC gummies, THC chocolate, pumpkin spice cookies with THC, even THC seltzers.

LAURA MULLEN: This is the taproom. And it's early, so it's being cleaned.

TOM SCHECK: Earlier this summer, Laura Mullen was busy preparing Duluth's Bent Paddle Brewery for the sale of its seltzer-containing THC and CBD. She's excited to offer the new product.

LAURA MULLEN: We have a lot of people coming into the taproom and whatnot who don't want an alcoholic beverage. Maybe they came with a group of friends or we host events over here, and we have very little to offer them that we make.

TOM SCHECK: Mullen says Bent Paddle buys its hemp from a farmer in Two Harbors. A lab in the Twin Cities processes the plant and tests it to meet legal standards. Since Bent Paddle sells beer, Mullen says they know how to deal with government regulators. She believes the new THC market will be no different.

LAURA MULLEN: It's a new space for everybody, including the regulators. So we'll flow with them as things adjust and change. And I think it's a good thing for Minnesota.

TOM SCHECK: But not everyone agrees. There are worries that cannabinoids extracted from hemp could be harmful to public health. Chris Hudalla, a chemist with Proverde Labs in Massachusetts, reels off a list.

CHRIS HUDALLA: We don't know how they impact the body. We don't know if they're toxic. We don't know if they cause birth defects. We don't know if they cause cancer.

TOM SCHECK: Hudalla tested cannabinoid-related products for more than a decade. He said the so-called synthetic cannabinoids extracted from hemp almost always contain unknown byproducts that may be harmful.

CHRIS HUDALLA: We know nothing about them. We have zero information that says these are safe compounds to ingest.

TOM SCHECK: Some government officials also privately shared those worries. Public records show the State's Director of Medical Cannabis, Chris Foulkes, suggesting it would have been better to have banned products containing synthetics such as delta-8. Several states, including Colorado, have taken that step. In an interview, Foulkes says her email was aimed at sharing what other cannabis regulators were saying about Minnesota's law.

CHRIS FOULKES: No other state has products like these available, except in a largely regulated adult-use market. And we just don't have a handle on what's out there right now.

TOM SCHECK: That's because Minnesota doesn't require licensing of the goods. That means it's difficult to know if the edible purchased at a Minnesota retailer is manufactured in a high-tech lab or by a fly-by-night operator working out of a trailer. Neither need government approval. The lack of licensing worries Lezli Engelking, who created the Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards. Her group advocates for health and safety policies around cannabis products.

LEZLI ENGELKING: There's been a lot of bad cannabis laws passed in the States across the country, most of them, but this takes the crop for sure. Like, this is just not-- it does not make sense.

TOM SCHECK: Engelking says, Minnesota and other states are creating a patchwork system of oversight because the federal government hasn't set minimum standards. She says, lawmakers in Minnesota looking to solve one issue actually created even bigger problems.

LEZLI ENGELKING: You don't see bills that come through to regulate something that don't have any of the actual, like, implementation components to it. I mean, I've never seen a bill come out that doesn't say how they're going to enforce or how they're going to license. And I've read almost every cannabis bill in this country.

TOM SCHECK: In Minnesota, the limited oversight responsibilities fall on the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy. And a review of public records from this summer shows board employees apprehensive about their new roles. Some asked supervisors to not advertise that the board will investigate complaints, obtain samples, or issue ceasefire and desist orders.

The board's executive director declined interview requests. She did reveal her office received 39 complaints that are under active investigation. She refused to give additional details. In a written statement, the director said they're working with other state agencies to investigate the complaints. But even in states with more stringent enforcement, there are shortcomings.

MICHELLE PEACE: Consumers have the right, the absolute right to know what it is that they are consuming, and they do not.

TOM SCHECK: That's Michelle Peace, an associate professor in the Laboratory for Forensic Toxicology Research at Virginia Commonwealth University. Peace conducted a study of edibles and other products containing cannabinoids. She says some products contained little to no THC. Others contained far greater amounts than listed on the package.

MICHELLE PEACE: Even if they think that they're controlling their dose, there's no way to try to control a dose in these products that consumers don't know what's in them.

TOM SCHECK: Poison control centers nationwide also say they've seen an increase in reported poisonings due to edible use. The reports are especially high among children who accidentally took the products. Jon Cole is the Medical Director of Minnesota's Poison Control.

JON COLE: When speaking with our colleagues in other states where cannabinoids change legal status and the public has greater access to them, the experience almost uniformly is that accidental poisonings go up. And we expect that to be the case in Minnesota.

TOM SCHECK: Marijuana advocates, including Kurtis Hanna with Minnesota Norml, say there's an easy fix to those worried about the sale of hemp-derived THC, just legalize recreational marijuana.

KURTIS HANNA: That product is definitely much easier for the public and our organization to trust because it's been used by humans for thousands of years.

TOM SCHECK: But it still may be difficult for consumers to differentiate THC from the traditional marijuana plant and hemp, especially if THC is an ingredient in other goods. It's one of the many issues that Governor Walz and Democrats in the legislature will have to sort out in the upcoming session. Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio News.