Hemp-based cannabis production, sales thrive on both sides of Mississippi River despite patchwork of laws
Caden Perry
Updated
Stacks Family Farms, based in La Crosse, Wis., is the largest indoor hemp farm in the Coulee Region. The farm grows a form of cannabis which contains levels of THC under the state's legal limit of 0.3%, and produces an array of products including edible gummies, beverages and smokable flower.
Depending what side of the Mississippi River you find yourself on, your ability to purchase legal marijuana is drastically different. As of August 2023, Minnesota residents can buy, grow and use marijuana as long as they are 21 or older. Wisconsin still criminalizes the plant.
CBD and CBG products are seen at The Rippled Leaf in Winona in May 2023. While marijuana is now legal for recreational use in Minnesota, the drug is not widely commercially available in the state.
Gio Donisi tends to the hemp plants at Stacks Family Farms in La Crosse on Tuesday, April 16. The farm produces a form of cannabis which contains levels of THC at or under the state's legal limit of 0.3%.
Dan Schmidtknecht, co-owner of Stacks Family Farms, stands in a storage room at the company's facilities in La Crosse on Tuesday, April 16. The company produces an array of products including edible gummies, beverages and smokable flower.
Inside the Stacks Family Farms indoor cannabis farm
Mature Cannabis plants grow in a hermetically sealed room at Stacks Family Farms in La Crosse.
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Gio Donisi tends to the hemp plants at Stacks Family Farms in La Crosse on Tuesday, April 16. The farm produces a form of cannabis which contains levels of THC at or under the state's legal limit of 0.3%.
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Dan Schmidtknecht, co-owner of Stacks Family Farms, stands in a storage room at the company's facilities in La Crosse on Tuesday, April 16. The company produces an array of products including edible gummies, beverages and smokable flower.
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Gio Donisi sorts clones of a hemp plant at Stacks Family Farms in La Crosse on Tuesday.
Saskia Hatvany, River Valley Media Group
Jamey Wing makes pre-rolled joints with Cannabis produced at Stacks Family Farms in Wisconsin.
Gio Donisi tends to the hemp plants at Stacks Family Farms in La Crosse on Tuesday, April 16. The farm produces a form of cannabis which contains levels of THC at or under the state's legal limit of 0.3%.
Dan Schmidtknecht, co-owner of Stacks Family Farms, stands in a storage room at the company's facilities in La Crosse on Tuesday, April 16. The company produces an array of products including edible gummies, beverages and smokable flower.
CBD and CBG products are seen at The Rippled Leaf in Winona in May 2023. While marijuana is now legal for recreational use in Minnesota, the drug is not widely commercially available in the state.
