It may be the best guarded greenhouse in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Medical Solutions operation in Otsego, about 40 minutes northwest of downtown Minneapolis, is growing marijuana — legally. One of two manufacturers picked by the state to produce medical cannabis, the company is readying for July 1, when it will be legal to sell the product in pill or oil form.

Security, though, is at a premium. The federal government still considers marijuana growing illegal. As officials walked reporters through the plant on Tuesday, they left no doubt they’re serious about keeping the operation safe.

OTSEGO, Minn. (WCCO) — On Tuesday, WCCO got an early look inside one of the places where cannabis plants are now legally grown in Minnesota.

Minnesota Medical Solutions in Otsego is one of two registered manufacturers responsible for growing, processing and distributing medical cannabis products in our state.

Beginning July 1, registered customers will be able to buy the marijuana in a few different forms: capsules, oils or liquids.

OTSEGO, Minn. - Kim Kelsey is ready to start getting medical marijuana to treat her son's epilepsy. The state's two manufacturers are almost ready, too.

On Monday, Kim joined the team from Minnesota Medical Solutions to give a guided media tour of the Otsego marijuana grow facility.

The greenhouses there are under such strict security measures that a former U.S. Secret Service agent has been employed with keeping it's facility completely secret and completely manned by cameras and armed guards every minute of every day.

Dr. Kyle Kingsley, the CEO of Minnesota Medical Solutions, says his facility is on schedule to produce the oil based marijuana medicines for the patients authorized to receive them by July 1st, when it is legally official.

In an Otsego greenhouse, Minnesota’s first medical cannabis crop is in bloom.

Young marijuana plants, fuzzy and pungent, stretched toward the skylights as Dr. Kyle Kingsley threaded between the plant beds, leading state media on a tour of the Minnesota Medical Solutions facility that will supply half of Minnesota’s legal medical marijuana.

Police chiefs across the state are preparing for the launch of Minnesota's medical marijuana program this summer.

Minnesota passed one of the country's most restrictive medical marijuana laws last year. It prohibits personally growing marijuana or smoking marijuana and can be prescribed for less than a dozen conditions.

Kevin Sabet, a former senior adviser at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and head of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida, is speaking at a gathering of police chiefs in St. Cloud this week. Sabet said he's so far been impressed with the narrowness of Minnesota's medical marijuana program.

Kevin Sabet speaks Tuesday during a keynote address on marijuana legalization at the annual Police Chiefs’ Conference in St. Cloud.(Photo: Dave Schwarz, dschwarz@stcloudtimes.com)Buy Photo

Police chiefs from around Minnesota heard a case against the legalization of marijuana Tuesday from a former White House drug policy adviser.

As the summer opening of the state's medical marijuana program approaches, Kevin Sabet, a former senior adviser at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, spoke at the annual Police Chiefs' Conference in St. Cloud about the dangers of making the drug's use legal.

Minnesota Medical Solutions (MinnMed) has closed on $16.6 million in capital as it prepares to open medical marijuana dispensaries this summer.

The Edina-based startup is one of two licensed medical marijuana growers in the state. MinnMed raised the funding from individual investors, most of whom live in Minnesota, said CEO Dr. Kyle Kingsley.

The 20-employee business was able to raise capital quickly, he added.

"There was pretty dramatic support," Kingsley said.

High Times magazine’s New York-rooted editor-in-chief Dan Skye has spent plenty of time in Colorado researching and photographing the state’s medical and recreational systems, but his current, pre-Cannabis Cup trip to the state has been uncommonly eye-opening.

“The Colorado cannabis industry is an economic miracle,” Skye said Monday from a stop in Pueblo, where he’s meeting cannabis business owners and reporting on the state’s first-of-its-kind legalization. “Everyone in the United States is following Colorado’s lead.”

Now that medical marijuana is legal in Minnesota and disbursement is set to begin July 1, employers should review their policies regarding such workplace procedures as drug testing and the Americans With Disabilities Act to ensure they protect the business, as well as the employee.

Minnesota’s law authorizes the use of medical marijuana for patients suffering from several medical conditions including glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, certain cancers, seizure disorders, Crohn’s disease and illnesses causing severe and persistent muscle spasms. Individuals eligible for the medication are required to enroll in a statewide registry.

As legalization spreads, in a variety of forms, managers and workers are facing some tough questions about how the new laws impact policies and practices. Let's take a look at how marijuana legalization is being handled in the workplace. First, here are a couple of things you should know.

Be sure you know your state's laws.

Regardless of your own personal feelings about marijuana, It's important to stay current on the state of the drug laws in your area, as well as your company's individual policies on drug use — especially if you're a manager. Keeping up to date with policies, whether you agree with them or not, is a crucial first step to understanding the way the changes impact your company and your team.