Legacy Cannabis in Duluth opens for recreational sales Tuesday

DULUTH – Legacy Cannabis opened for recreational sales Tuesday in the Lincoln Park neighborhood — and its owners were cheeky about when they would start selling.

The cannabis microbusiness, with flower grown by the White Earth Nation, opened to the public at 4:20 p.m., a nod to the slang associated with pot smoking.

“It’s been a journey,” said Josh Wilken-Simon, who started the company by selling glass pipes at music festivals before opening brick-and-mortar shops that in recent years have offered low-potency hemp beverages and edibles.

The shop at 1906 W. Superior St. has been prepared for weeks, right down to a license from the city posted on the wall. A sign in the window had indicated opening was days away. And inside, the space was reconfigured for an employee to check IDs as shoppers came through the door.

Since then, the process has been slowed by making sure the tribe’s laws sync with state laws.

“All parties involved really wanted to nail it,” Wilken-Simon said.

Right at 4:20 Tuesday, Wilken-Simon addressed the line of dozens who had gathered in the hour before the shop opened.

“We have such an amazing Minnesota cannabis community,” he said, before snipping a green ribbon that crossed the main entrance. “It’s not just about us, it’s about a small Minnesota craft cannabis community and saying ‘no’ to corporate cannabis, saying ‘no’ to multistate operators.”