Apple Valley, MN Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Products covered
- Cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles, hemp-derived consumer products
- Where use is banned
- City public property and any public place
- Penalty class
- Petty misdemeanor
- Carve-out
- Premises State-licensed for on-site consumption
- Adopted
- Resolution 2023-108 (7-13-23); Ordinance 1125 (7-27-23)
Summary
In the City of Apple Valley, Minnesota, § 130.09 bars using cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles or hemp-derived consumer products on city property or in any public place. A violation is a petty misdemeanor. Premises licensed by the State of Minnesota for on-site consumption are carved out of the public place definition.
PUBLIC PLACE. Property that is generally open to or accessible by the public, except on those premises licensed by the State of Minnesota to permit on- site consumption. PUBLIC PROPERTY. Property, real and personal, that is owned, manages, or controlled by the city, including but not limited to: city buildings and all the land thereon, parking lots, parks, golf course, pathways and trails, and city rights-of-way consisting of both the traveled portion and the abutting boulevard, sidewalks and trails, and any city personal property, such as motor vehicles, city equipment, and the like. (B) Prohibition. No person shall use cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles, or hemp-derived consumer products within public property or in a public place. (C) Penalty. A violation of this section is a petty misdemeanor.
Full Breakdown
Section 130.09, titled Cannabis Use Prohibited, was adopted by the Apple Valley City Council in Dakota County through Resolution 2023-108 on 7-13-23 and Ordinance 1125 on 7-27-23. It borrows its product terms from M.S. § 342.01, so cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles and hemp-derived consumer products all fall inside the ban. The operative sentence is short: no person shall use any of those products within public property or in a public place.
The two definitions do the work. A public place is property open to or accessible by the public, except premises licensed by the State of Minnesota to permit on-site consumption. Public property is anything owned, managed or controlled by the city, and the code lists city buildings and all the land under them, parking lots, parks, the golf course, pathways and trails, and city rights-of-way. The right-of-way reach covers both the traveled portion and the abutting boulevard, sidewalks and trails. It also covers city personal property such as motor vehicles and city equipment, so using cannabis inside a city vehicle is inside the ban.
The section regulates use, not possession or sale. Its wording is about using the products in the two defined settings, and it says nothing about what an adult does inside a private residence. Retail businesses are handled elsewhere in the code, in Chapter 121, Cannabis and Hemp Retail Businesses. The Apple Valley Police Department writes the citations for public-use violations.
Violations & Fines
Section 130.09(C) makes a violation a petty misdemeanor. Under § 10.99(B), a petty misdemeanor conviction carries a fine not exceeding the maximum fine for a petty misdemeanor set forth in M.S. Chapter 609. The section names no jail term of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use cannabis in an Apple Valley city park?
Does the Apple Valley cannabis ban reach sidewalks and boulevards?
What is the penalty for public cannabis use in Apple Valley?
Do hemp-derived drinks and edibles count under the Apple Valley ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Apple Valley
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