Law Minnesota

[momofthegoons]

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears 12th And Final House Committee, Advancing To The Floor​

A bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota has been approved by its final House committee and will now advance to the floor.

The road to get to this position has been long and winding, with 12 panels hearing and voting on the measure since it was introduced in February.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and other lawmakers filed the proposal, which would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to eight plants, four of which could be mature.

Members of the House Ways & Means Committee approved the legislation in a 16-10 vote on Friday.

Winkler previously said that he expects a floor vote this month, though that has yet to be scheduled. The legislature is slated to adjourn on May 17.

The bill “helps to correct wrongs that have been done for too long in Minnesota to communities who’ve been over-policed who have been targeted for cannabis enforcement to further a prohibition of cannabis that does not work,” the majority leader said in opening remarks.

Winkler said that “legalizing and creating a safe marketplace by taxing cannabis and using the proceeds from those taxes to pay for cannabis regulation to help invest in a cannabis industry” would reflect “the values of Minnesotans and help to address the harm that is caused by cannabis prohibition on our black and brown communities.”



The panel adopted an amendment from Winkler that expands the definition of social equity applicants to include those from communities disproportionately impacted by prohibition and makes changes to how regulators would address rules violations by businesses. It would also revise the amount of funding for various state agencies, including a reduction in appropriations for the Department of Corrections.

A proposal to require that the label on marijuana products include information about the maximum dose that is considered safe within a 24-hour period was also approved.

An additional amendment that would have required marijuana products to be labeled with a warning that cannabis remains illegal under federal law was rejected.

Prior to taking up the legalization bill, members adopted an amendment to separate budget legislation that would provide funding for the implementation of the cannabis program for the first biennium, after which time marijuana tax revenue would more than cover costs



It the measure does clear the full House chamber, it’s still expected to face a significant challenge in the Republican-controlled Senate, where lawmakers have signaled that they’re more interested in revising the state’s existing medical cannabis program than enacting legalization of adult use.

That said, a GOP member of the Taxes Committee, which approved the legalization bill on Wednesday, indicated that he felt an amendment he introduced and that was adopted could bolster Republican support.

That revision from Rep. Pat Garofolo (R) directs remaining cannabis revenue to a tax relief account after implementation costs are covered and substance misuse treatment and prevention programs are funded.

“The adoption of this amendment is a gamechanger,” Garofalo said in a press release. “The Democrat majority accepting this amendment means that if signed into law, this bill will result in lowering taxes Minnesotans are FORCED to pay, financed with the revenue generated from taxes that people are CHOOSING to pay.”

Before the Taxes Committee, the bill passed the Health Finance and Policy Committee, Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee, Education Finance Committee, State Government Finance and Elections Committee, Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee, Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee, Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee and Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.



“At the beginning of the year, a House committee had never passed a legalization bill. Now, we’re on the verge of passing a bill off the House floor,” Winkler said in an email to supporters on Friday. “We have the ability to change laws in a way that improves people’s lives, whether it’s expunging cannabis-related records, targeting economic opportunity for those impacted most by the war on drugs, providing relief for veterans suffering from PTSD and serious health conditions, and more.”

The litany of committees the bill has gone through makes it perhaps the most thoroughly vetted legalization measure to move through a state legislature—and it means that a solid portion of the House has already had the chance to review, propose amendments to and vote on the legislation it as it advances to the floor, presumably increasing its chances of passage in the chamber.

The majority leader’s bill as introduced was identical to a proposal he filed last year, with some minor technical changes. Winkler, who led a statewide listening to gather public input ahead of the measure’s introduction, called it the “best legalization bill in the country” at the time. It did not advance in that session, however.

Under the legislation, social equity would be prioritized, in part by ensuring diverse licensing and preventing the market from being monopolized by corporate players. Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged.

On-site consumption and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill. And unlike in many legal states, local municipalities would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas.

Retail cannabis sales would be taxed at 10 percent. Part of that revenue would fund a grant program designed to promote economic development and community stability.

The bill calls for the establishment of a seven-person Cannabis Management Board, which would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. It was amended in committee month to add members to that board who have a social justice background.

People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing.

Cannabis retails sales would launch on December 31, 2022.

Gov. Tim Walz (D) is also in favor of ending marijuana prohibition, and in January he called on lawmakers to pursue the reform as a means to boost the economy and promote racial justice. He did not include a request to legalize through his budget proposal, however.

Walz did say in 2019 that he was directing state agencies to prepare to implement reform in anticipation of legalization passing.

Winkler, meanwhile, said in December that if Senate Republicans don’t go along with the policy change legislatively, he said he hopes they will at least let voters decide on cannabis as a 2022 ballot measure.

Heading into the 2020 election, Democrats believed they had a shot of taking control of the Senate, but that didn’t happen. The result appears to be partly due to the fact that candidates from marijuana-focused parties in the state earned a sizable share of votes that may have otherwise gone to Democrats, perhaps inadvertently hurting the chances of reform passing.

In December, the Minnesota House Select Committee On Racial Justice adopted a report that broadly details race-based disparities in criminal enforcement and recommends a series of policy changes, including marijuana decriminalization and expungements

 

[momofthegoons]

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Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Could ‘Absolutely’ Pass Full Legislature If GOP Senate Allows A Vote, Sponsor Says​

A bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota is set for a House floor vote this week, and the sponsor of the legislation is optimistic that it could pass the full legislature—if only the GOP-controlled Senate would just allow a vote on it.

This measure—filed by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and other lawmakers—has moved through a dozen committees since February. It would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to eight plants, four of which could be mature.

Despite being advanced through 12 House panels, there have been lingering doubts about its prospects in the Senate. But Winkler said in an interview on Sunday that, if Republican leadership in the chamber give it a vote, “it absolutely could pass.”



“Support for legalizing cannabis for recreational or personal use, making sure that we have a safe, regulated marketplace, that we are expunging criminal records for people who’ve been unfairly targeted for law enforcement reasons for cannabis in the past, making sure that we’re creating a marketplace that reflects Minnesota’s values—all those things are our priorities in this bill, and they are priorities for Minnesotans of all political persuasions,” Winkler said.

Pressed on whether the legislation could advance through the Republican-led Senate if it advances through the House, the leader said it “absolutely could pass,” citing public polling on the issue and the fact that South Dakota voters approved a legalization initiative last year.

“It cuts across both parties,” Winkler said. “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t pass both houses if the vote can come up in the Senate.”

But one provision of the legalization bill that the leader isn’t willing to cede on concerns expungements for people with prior cannabis convictions.



He said in a tweet on Monday that “expunging existing cannabis offenses is a non-negotiable piece of our legalization bill,” and that “is an economic and criminal justice issue.”

While Republican support remains an open question in either chamber, it is the case that the proposal has earned the support of several GOP members as its moved through an extensive committee process.

That’s despite the fact that Republicans have generally signaled that they’re more interested in revising the state’s existing medical cannabis program than enacting legalization of adult use.

But a GOP member of the House Taxes Committee, which approved the broader legalization bill last week, indicated that he felt an amendment he introduced and that was adopted could bolster Republican support.

That revision from Rep. Pat Garofolo (R) directs remaining cannabis revenue to a tax relief account after implementation costs are covered and substance misuse treatment and prevention programs are funded.
Before the Taxes Committee, the bill passed the Health Finance and Policy Committee, Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee, Education Finance Committee, State Government Finance and Elections Committee, Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee, Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee, Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee and Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.

The litany of committees the bill has gone through makes it perhaps the most thoroughly vetted legalization measure to move through a state legislature—and it means that a solid portion of the House has already had the chance to review, propose amendments to and vote on the legislation it as it advances to the floor, presumably increasing its chances of passage in the chamber.

The majority leader’s bill as introduced was identical to a proposal he filed last year, with some minor technical changes. Winkler, who led a statewide listening to gather public input ahead of the measure’s introduction, called it the “best legalization bill in the country” at the time. It did not advance in that session, however.

Under the legislation, social equity would be prioritized, in part by ensuring diverse licensing and preventing the market from being monopolized by corporate players. Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged.

On-site consumption and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill. And unlike in many legal states, local municipalities would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas.

Retail cannabis sales would be taxed at 10 percent. Part of that revenue would fund a grant program designed to promote economic development and community stability.

The bill calls for the establishment of a seven-person Cannabis Management Board, which would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. It was amended in committee month to add members to that board who have a social justice background.

People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing.

Cannabis retails sales would launch on December 31, 2022.

Gov. Tim Walz (D) is also in favor of ending marijuana prohibition, and in January he called on lawmakers to pursue the reform as a means to boost the economy and promote racial justice. He did not include a request to legalize through his budget proposal, however.

Walz did say in 2019 that he was directing state agencies to prepare to implement reform in anticipation of legalization passing.

Winkler, meanwhile, said in December that if Senate Republicans don’t go along with the policy change legislatively, he said he hopes they will at least let voters decide on cannabis as a 2022 ballot measure.

Heading into the 2020 election, Democrats believed they had a shot of taking control of the Senate, but that didn’t happen. The result appears to be partly due to the fact that candidates from marijuana-focused parties in the state earned a sizable share of votes that may have otherwise gone to Democrats, perhaps inadvertently hurting the chances of reform passing.

In December, the Minnesota House Select Committee On Racial Justice adopted a report that broadly details race-based disparities in criminal enforcement and recommends a series of policy changes, including marijuana decriminalization and expungements.

 

[momofthegoons]

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Sponsor Expects GOP Support In House Floor Vote This Week​

Getting a bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota to the House floor has been no small task. But after advancing it through 12 committees in recent weeks, the measure’s sponsor, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), is expecting it to pass with some Republican support on Thursday.

In a phone interview with Marijuana Moment, Winkler talked about his legislation’s exhaustive path through the committee process and what to expect as it finally heads to the floor for consideration. While he’s confident that the chamber will approve it—especially considering how many members from both parties have already had a chance to submit input and amendments in a dozen panels—its prospects remain uncertain in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Even so, the legalization proposal has generated significant public interest and media attention. And the majority leader says, at the very least, that has boosted support for other, more modest cannabis reform bills.

“By putting this bill front and center and making it such a priority and driving public attention, Republicans are more willing to expand Minnesota’s medical cannabis program to [include a flower option], and they are more open to decriminalizing elements of our current system.”

“I think we are having an effect on them, and they feel the pressure to find a way to act because they know that they are losing this and the public will eventually win and get this,” Winkler said.

For advocates, those incremental reforms would be welcome, of course. But in a year that has already seen several states like New York and Virginia legalize adult-use cannabis, the leader’s bill passing would be the most significant victory.

“This bill is really a product of a two-year process to develop it, identify priorities, concerns, issues, figure out what works and what doesn’t from other states [and] get a huge amount of buy in,” Winkler said. “We continued to improve it all through the whole 12 committee stop process, right right down to the floor session Thursday when more amendments are coming.”

Part of that process has involved soliciting GOP support—and that has meant committees adopting various amendments, including one that would put some cannabis tax revenue toward tax relief for Minnesotans.

“We will get some” Republican support for the bill, Winkler said, but “I don’t know how many.”

In an earlier interview, Winkler suggested that the proposal could actually passed in the Senate—widely considered to be the bill’s largest obstacle this session—if only it could be brought up for a vote. However, it would take time for members of the chamber to review the legislation, and time is of the essence with the session set to end on May 17.

“Cannabis legalization is just very broadly supported, including in the Republican party and by Republican voters. It wouldn’t just be Democrats—it would be a bipartisan vote,” he told Marijuana Moment. “It would probably take some time for them to learn the mechanics of the bill and get comfortable with it, but I think if you actually ran it up through the setup process, it would pass because people want it, senators know it and the current policies don’t work and have significant harms for people.”

Should the Senate decline to take up the legalization bill, placing the issue before voters on the ballot could still be an option—but Winkler said such a proposal would face similar resistance to the reform legislation at hand, as in Minnesota only the legislature itself can refer questions to voters as constitutional amendments.

“I don’t see any prospect for Senate Republicans wanting this on the ballot any more than they would want to pass full legalization,” he said.

For Democrats, he said, the “number one” reason they back the cannabis reform “is because of the ways in which communities of color—but especially black Minnesotans—have been targeted for unfair policing and have been victims of a discriminatory cannabis criminal prohibition model.”

“This is very much at the heart of this broader reckoning on racial inequity, or racial inequality, in Minnesota—and the harms our criminal justice system are doing to black Minnesotans,” he said, citing the case of Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer who said he feared for his life after smelling marijuana during a traffic stop.

Asked about his stance on broader proposals to end the drug war—by decriminalizing psychedelics, for example—Winkler said he hasn’t had time to consider such policy changes, adding that marijuana legalization “is a big enough task” for now.

Winkler’s cannabis measure—which was also introduced by Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and other lawmakers—would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to eight plants, four of which could be mature.

Before being scheduled for floor action, the bill passed the Ways and Means Committee, Taxes Committee, Health Finance and Policy Committee, Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee, Education Finance Committee, State Government Finance and Elections Committee, Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee, Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee, Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee and Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.

The majority leader’s bill as introduced was identical to a proposal he filed last year, with some minor technical changes. Winkler, who led a statewide listening to gather public input ahead of the measure’s introduction, called it the “best legalization bill in the country” at the time. It did not advance in that session, however.

Under the legislation, social equity would be prioritized, in part by ensuring diverse licensing and preventing the market from being monopolized by corporate players. Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged.

On-site consumption and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill. And unlike in many legal states, local municipalities would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas.

Retail cannabis sales would be taxed at 10 percent. Part of that revenue would fund a grant program designed to promote economic development and community stability.

The bill calls for the establishment of a seven-person Cannabis Management Board, which would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. It was amended in committee month to add members to that board who have a social justice background.

People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing.

Cannabis retails sales would launch on December 31, 2022.

Gov. Tim Walz (D) is also in favor of ending marijuana prohibition, and in January he called on lawmakers to pursue the reform as a means to boost the economy and promote racial justice. He did not include a request to legalize through his budget proposal, however.

Walz did say in 2019 that he was directing state agencies to prepare to implement reform in anticipation of legalization passing.

Winkler, meanwhile, said in December that if Senate Republicans don’t go along with the policy change legislatively, he said he hopes they will at least let voters decide on cannabis as a 2022 ballot measure.

Heading into the 2020 election, Democrats believed they had a shot of taking control of the Senate, but that didn’t happen. The result appears to be partly due to the fact that candidates from marijuana-focused parties in the state earned a sizable share of votes that may have otherwise gone to Democrats, perhaps inadvertently hurting the chances of reform passing.

In December, the Minnesota House Select Committee On Racial Justice adopted a report that broadly details race-based disparities in criminal enforcement and recommends a series of policy changes, including marijuana decriminalization and expungements.

 

[momofthegoons]

Minnesota House Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill​

After hours of debate on Thursday night that at times became heated, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved a bill to legalize marijuana in the state.

After moving through 12 committees since being introduced in February, the full chamber passed the measure on a 72–61 vote, with some Republican support. It now proceeds to the Senate, where leaders in the GOP majority have vowed to derail it.

Sponsored by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and other lawmakers, the legislation would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to eight plants, four of which could be mature.

“Cannabis prohibition in Minnesota has been a failure,” Winkler said on the House floor before the vote. “The criminal penalties associated with cannabis prohibition have been unfairly applied to communities of color, especially Black Minnesotans.”

“House File 600 legalizes cannabis for adult use in Minnesota, expunging records related to past cannabis convictions,” he continued. “It creates a legal marketplace focused on allowing more opportunity for small- and medium-sized businesses in Minnesota and creates a pathway for social equity applicants to be part of a growing industry.”

The governor supports legalization, but the bill is still expected to face a significant challenge in the Republican-controlled Senate, where lawmakers have indicated that they’re more interested in revising the state’s existing medical cannabis program than more broadly ending prohibition.

However, Winkler said that, if the chamber does take it up for vote, he expects it would pass. At the very least, the momentum could spur GOP members to take up more modest reforms such as expanding the state’s medical marijuana program, he told Marijuana Moment in an interview on Tuesday.

“I think we are having an effect on them, and they feel the pressure to find a way to act because they know that they are losing this and the public will eventually win and get this,” Winkler said.

Part of winning over some Republican support involved adopting friendly amendments such as putting some cannabis revenue toward tax relief.

Winkler announced as the House discussion of the bill began that Democrats planned to accept “amended forms or final versions of most of the amendments that have been offered by the Republican side.”

“We think that further conversation on some of these issues is required,” he said, “but I will say that your engagement, your improvements to the bill are something that I’m committed to, and we will continue to make improvements to this bill as it moves through the process.”

The chamber ultimately adopted many GOP-led amendments, although in some cases lawmakers made further changes to those amendments.

One, offered by Rep. Keith Franke (R), earmarks 5 percent of all revenue from legal cannabis for substance abuse treatment and prevention programs. Another, from Rep. Tony Jurgens (R), routes $1 million over two years to the Minnesota State Patrol to fund training for drug recognition evaluation training and other staff to identify drug use.

Winkler urged fellow Democrats to support both amendments, as well as a third amendmentfrom Rep. Jeremy Munson (R), that would protect gun ownership rights for medical marijuana patients and adult cannabis consumers. Individuals would be authorized to refrain from reporting their cannabis use on state firearms-related forms. Lawmakers also approved another amendment from Munson that would protect personal data from the state-legal cannabis system from being shared with federal officials unless required by a court order.

The House also adopted an amendment from Jurgens to establish a pilot program that would test drivers for cannabis impairment using an experimental roadside saliva test. Lawmakers, however, first changed that amendment to prohibit law enforcement from arresting people based on the test result.

Other Republican-led amendments, however, fell short on the floor. Rep. Nolan West (R) proposed two amendments that were essentially gutted by further amendments from Majority Leader Winkler. One would have allowed local governments to opt out of licensing cannabis businesses, effectively allowing bans on the industry entirely. But West withdrew the proposal after lawmakers passed Winkler’s change to the amendment that limited local lawmakers to merely capping the number of licensed businesses to one per 500 of a jurisdiction’s residents.

West’s other proposed amendment would have allowed employers to refuse to hire job applicants if they were to test positive for cannabis use. But after Winkler’s amendment to the proposal—which would only allow positive tests to be grounds for a refusal to hire “safety-sensitive positions,” West again withdrew his amendment.

Lawmakers rejected a proposal from Rep. Peggy Scott (R) that would have raised the proposed legal age for cannabis to 25.

The chamber adopted a separate Scott amendment that requires the state to study legalization’s impacts on mental health, substance use disorder, education and other outcomes in the years following legalization. Initially the amendment would have dissolved the state’s legal cannabis program if those studies found racial disparities in those outcomes, but a subsequent amendment from Winkler removed that provision.

Another adopted amendment, from Rep. Susan Akland (R), adds a labeling requirement for marijuana products that warns that cannabis “may be hazardous to your health and may impair judgment. Do not operate a motor vehicle or heavy machinery while under the influence of cannabis or a cannabis product.”

A sweeping amendment from Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo initially would have made major changes to the House legalization proposal, gutting its social equity and community investment provisions. Garafolo, however, amended his own amendment to remove those portions and make other adjustments.

The House ultimately split Garafolo’s revised amendment, passing only a portion of it. The approved portion adjusts the makeup of the state Cannabis Management Board, putting more control of appointments in the hands of state lawmakers rather than the governor. It also reduces proposed funding for state oversight of the legal industry by 25 percent.

Prior to the House session, the chamber’s Democratic leaders held a press conference to urge passage of the bill.

“We have this bill before us today because Minnesotans have decided that it’s time to legalize cannabis and right the wrongs of the criminal prohibition of cannabis that has failed Minnesotans,” Winkler said.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL) noted that while people use cannabis at roughly the same rate regardless of their race, people of color in Minnesota are eight times more likely to be arrested on cannabis charges. “Continuing our legacy of racial injustice is simply not defensible any longer,” she said.

Hortman also took a shot at what she called a “dad joke” made earlier in the day Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R), who told reporters, “The marijuana bill in the Senate is up in smoke. That’s not going to happen.”



“We know that Senate Republicans are opposed,” Hortman said, “as Senator Gazelka’s dad joke revealed earlier today, but we’re continuing to move forward on this because Minnesotans need to know that we are fighting for them. They have come forward, they have told us that this is the right thing to do [and] this is the right time to do it.”

Winkler noted that even many Republicans acknowledge the system is broken. “Even the people who oppose the bill we have today, or oppose the idea of legalization, admit that the criminal justice side of our laws are doing harm,” he said, “and we’re seeing some willingness on the part of Republicans to move on that.”

Shows of popular support for the adult-use bill, especially among Republican constituents, has already made an impact, the lawmakers said. Republicans have already expressed a willingness to reduce criminal penalties around cannabis, they noted, and seem more willing to consider proposals to decrease the cost of medical marijuana and remove current restrictions on cannabis flower for patients.



Meanwhile, time is running out to get the legalization bill through the full legislature before the session ends on May 17. Republicans on the House floor expressed frustration on Thursday that the body was spending so much time on a bill that may ultimately fail in the Senate.

“During this pandemic, and with just a few days left in session, here we are wasting our time on this marijuana bill that has no chance of becoming law,” Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R) said during the floor debate.

State Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), for his part, called on lawmakers to approve legalization.

“Law enforcement in MN should be focused on serious crimes, not low-level cannabis offenses that lead to significant racial disparities in our criminal-justice system and injustice in our communities, and do little or nothing to keep us safer,” he said in a Twitter post.



Before reaching the floor, the legalization bill passed the Ways and Means Committee, Taxes Committee, Health Finance and Policy Committee, Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee, Education Finance Committee, State Government Finance and Elections Committee, Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee, Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee, Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee and Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.

The majority leader’s legislation as introduced was identical to a proposal he filed last year, with some minor technical changes. Winkler, who led a statewide listening to gather public input ahead of the measure’s introduction, called it the “best legalization bill in the country” at the time. It did not advance in that session, however.

Under the measure, social equity would be prioritized, in part by ensuring diverse licensing and preventing the market from being monopolized by corporate players. Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged.

On-site consumption and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill. And unlike in many legal states, local municipalities would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas.

Retail cannabis sales would be taxed at 10 percent. Part of that revenue would fund a grant program designed to promote economic development and community stability.

The bill calls for the establishment of a seven-person Cannabis Management Board, which would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. It was amended in committee month to add members to that board who have a social justice background.

People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing.

Cannabis retails sales would launch on December 31, 2022.

Gov. Tim Walz (D) is also in favor of ending marijuana prohibition, and in January he called on lawmakers to pursue the reform as a means to boost the economy and promote racial justice. He did not include a request to legalize through his budget proposal, however.

Walz did say in 2019 that he was directing state agencies to prepare to implement reform in anticipation of legalization passing.

Winkler, meanwhile, said in December that if Senate Republicans don’t go along with the policy change legislatively, he said he hopes they will at least let voters decide on cannabis as a 2022 ballot measure.

Heading into the 2020 election, Democrats believed they had a shot of taking control of the Senate, but that didn’t happen. The result appears to be partly due to the fact that candidates from marijuana-focused parties in the state earned a sizable share of votes that may have otherwise gone to Democrats, perhaps inadvertently hurting the chances of reform passing.

In December, the Minnesota House Select Committee On Racial Justice adopted a report that broadly details race-based disparities in criminal enforcement and recommends a series of policy changes, including marijuana decriminalization and expungements.

 

[momofthegoons]

Minnesota Lawmakers Approve Smokable Medical Marijuana As Broader Legalization Stalls​

A bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota that recently passed the House isn’t advancing in the Republican controlled Senate this session—but advocates scored a different kind of victory on Monday when it comes to expanding the state’s medical cannabis program.

That includes legalizing smokable forms of marijuana for registered patients.

Over the weekend, a bicameral conference committee approved the reform, in addition to several other marijuana-related changes, as part of an omnibus health bill. The House adopted that report on Monday in a 77-57 vote, and the Senate followed suit in a 66-1 vote, sending it to the governor’s desk.

This is just the kind of compromise that House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), sponsor of the broader legalization measure that moved through 12 committees before being cleared by the chamber, predicted would come about in the face of GOP resistance to the idea of ending prohibition altogether.

The most significant change to Minnesota’s medical cannabis program would allow adults 21 and older to access smokable marijuana products. If the final legislation is signed by the governor, that policy would have to take effect by March 1, 2022, or earlier if rules are developed and the state’s cannabis commissioner authorizes it.

There are few remaining states that have medical cannabis programs in place but where smokable products are still prohibited. The Louisiana House approved a bill to allow access to flower products, and it’s heading to the Senate floor. In Alabama, the governor has a medical marijuana legalization bill on her desk that would include a ban on smokable cannabis.

Back in Minnesota, dispensaries could also provide a curbside pickup option for patients under the proposed omnibus legislation. The report further removes restrictions for designated caregivers and allows them to tend to six registered patients at once, rather than just one.

“Over the course of 12 public hearings this year and a statewide tour visiting 15 communities, Minnesotans were loud and clear that our state’s medical cannabis program was too expensive, and that allowing flower could significantly improve access,” Winkler said in a press release.

“As a result of Minnesotans who made their voices heard over the course of years—whether you are a veteran suffering from PTSD, a person with a serious health condition, or a parent with a sick child—more people will gain the ability to live healthy, fulfilled lives,” he said. “Without Minnesotans’ activism and personal stories, and without a historic vote in the Minnesota House to legalize cannabis for adult use, this accomplishment would not have been possible.”

There was one change attached to the health bill that could be of concern to advocates. It would make it so regulators could remove health conditions that qualify patients for medical marijuana if they receive a petition from a member of the public or a task force. Currently, the commissioner is only able to approve new conditions or modify existing ones.

Still, activists are excited about the overall expansion of the program under the legislation.

“Quite contrary to the claim of some GOP members that reforms to the state’s restrictive medical cannabis program are the ‘backdoor’ to full legalization, the adult-use bill helped open the front door this session for the sorely needed reforms patient advocates have been working toward for years,” Leili Fatehi, campaign manager for Minnesotans for Responsible Marijuana Regulation, told Marijuana Moment.

These are generally positive developments for advocates and patients, but there’s still disappointment over the fact that Winkler’s full legalization bill has stalled in the Senate.

Gov. Tim Walz (D), who hasn’t been especially vocal about the issue in recent weeks as the legislation has advanced, weighed in on the House passage of the legislation on Friday.

“I’ve thought for a long time about that,” he said, adding that “we know that adults can make their own decisions on things, we know that criminalization and prohibition has not worked.”

“I’ve always thought that it makes sense to control how you’re doing this and to make sure that adults know what they’re getting into, and use it wisely,” he said. “I also think there’s a lot of inequity about how folks have spent time in jail or been arrested around this, especially in communities of color.”

“I know a lot of states—other states, conservative states like South Dakota—others have done this. I think there’s a way to do it,” he added. “I say that as a father of a 14-year-old. I certainly don’t encourage it. I certainly wouldn’t encourage my son to over-abuse alcohol. I wouldn’t encourage him to do some of those things, but when adults are of a certain age I trust them to make a good decision.”

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R), meanwhile, reiterated his opposition to legalization in an interview with WCCO-TV over the weekend, though he said medical cannabis expansion and lowering criminal penalties for marijuana are areas of interest.



“What I do think we should continue to explore is lowering the criminal offenses—and are there medical reasons that we’re missing?” he said. Those are two things that I hear a lot of, but just making recreational marijuana illegal, I don’t think that’s wise.”

Rep. Rena Moran (D), chair of the Ways and Means Committee, commented in a separate interview with the station that cannabis criminalization has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color and has funneled “way too many people into the criminal justice system.”



While it seems the legislature is heading into a special session to pass the state budget after not being able to get it done by Monday’s end of the regular session, it seems unlikely that the Senate would be willing to take up the legalization bill during that time.

The majority leader’s legislation as introduced was identical to a proposal he filed last year, with some minor technical changes. Winkler, who led a statewide listening to gather public input ahead of the measure’s introduction, called it the “best legalization bill in the country” at the time. It did not advance in that session, however.

Under the measure, social equity would be prioritized, in part by ensuring diverse licensing and preventing the market from being monopolized by corporate players. Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged.

On-site consumption and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill. And unlike in many legal states, local municipalities would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas.

Retail cannabis sales would be taxed at 10 percent. Part of that revenue would fund a grant program designed to promote economic development and community stability.

The bill calls for the establishment of a seven-person Cannabis Management Board, which would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. It was amended in committee month to add members to that board who have a social justice background.

People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing.

Cannabis retails sales would launch on December 31, 2022.

Walz in January he called on lawmakers to pursue the reform as a means to boost the economy and promote racial justice. He did not include a request to legalize through his budget proposal, however.

The governor did say in 2019 that he was directing state agencies to prepare to implement reform in anticipation of legalization passing.

Winkler, meanwhile, said in December that if Senate Republicans don’t go along with the policy change legislatively, he said he hopes they will at least let voters decide on cannabis as a 2022 ballot measure.

Heading into the 2020 election, Democrats believed they had a shot of taking control of the Senate, but that didn’t happen. The result appears to be partly due to the fact that candidates from marijuana-focused parties in the state earned a sizable share of votes that may have otherwise gone to Democrats, perhaps inadvertently hurting the chances of reform passing.

In December, the Minnesota House Select Committee On Racial Justice adopted a report that broadly details race-based disparities in criminal enforcement and recommends a series of policy changes, including marijuana decriminalization and expungements.

 

[Baron23]

Minnesota Governor Legalizes Medical Cannabis Flower​

It’s official: Minnesota has legal medical cannabis flower! Governor Tim Walz just signed legislation into law that allows medical patients to access flower instead of just extracts or non-smokables.
Previously, Minnesota was only one of a few medically legal states that still did not allow patients to access flower medicine.
Now, patients who are 21 and over with a valid med card can also access flower. The bill was approved earlier this month as part of a broader omnibus bill through a bicameral legislative conference committee. The bill was related to healthcare in general and was approved by both the Minnesota House and Senate.



Additionally, the bill allows for curbside pickup and increases the number of patients per caregiver from one to six. The commissioner is also now allowed to remove existing, qualifying conditions from the no-prescribe list if they receive a petition to do so, meaning those who currently don’t have their condition covered may soon have a way to access cannabis as medicine.
In the House, the bill passed 77 to 57, a close margin. The Senate passed it much more clearly with a 66 to 1 vote on the last day of the 2021 legislative session. However, the stand-alone piece of legislation that would have legalized adult-use cannabis and set up a retail system passed the House, but did not receive consideration in the Senate.

Minnesota Sees Progress In Cannabis Policy​

Despite this set-back, some got excited when the Minnesota House of Representatives approved the legislation that would have legalized adult-use cannabis and expunged prior convictions, as this was the first time such a bill got approved in the House. House File 600, which was sponsored by House Majority Leader Ryan Winklery, a Democrat, would have allowed those 21 and up to possess up to 10 pounds of cannabis in their homes and two ounces in public. It would have also allowed up to eight cannabis plants, four mature at a time, for personal use. However, since it did not advance, the state must wait a little longer for full legalization.
While the House chamber passed the bill 72 to 61, the Senate is still Republican-majority and did not make it. It also would have automatically expunged previous convictions, as well as allowed for on-site consumption, home delivery and established a social equity plan to welcome communities of color and other marginalized people into the industry. If it had passed, it would have been one of the most progressive legal cannabis plans in the country.
And while Minnesota is still somewhat conservative, the data supports the concept that Minnesota residents want to see a legal industry. Statewide polling information reveals that 51 percent of residents want to legalize cannabis for recreational use, up from 30 percent in 2014.
“It’s time for Minnesota to become a leader in the Midwest when it comes to sensible marijuana policy,” said NORML State Policies Manager Carly Wolf at the time regarding the bill. “Not only would the passage of this bill allow police and courts to reprioritize their limited resources toward fighting serious crime rather than interacting with otherwise law-abiding Minnesotans over low-level possession offenses, but it would also provide relief to thousands suffering the collateral consequences of a marijuana arrest and conviction. I strongly encourage members of the Senate to follow the will of their constituents, a majority of whom support this policy change, and consider this common-sense remedy to the failed policy of prohibition.”
Even though Minnesota is not gearing up for fully legal cannabis yet, allowing flower to be used by medical patients is still a step in the right direction. Future legislative sessions and election years, as well as what happens on a federal level, will continue to determine the fate of cannabis in Minnesota.
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[momofthegoons]

Medical Cannabis Patients Demand Essential Gun Rights in Minnesota​

In Minnesota, Second Amendment supporters in the state are demanding lawmakers allow them to retain their right to bear arms.

In Minnesota, There are strange bedfellows, and then there is the political coalition currently being forged.

It is a convergence of Second Amendment champions and marijuana advocates in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, with the two sides coming together to push for medical cannabis patients to be permitted to own guns.

As reported by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, some “gun-rights supporters and pro-legalization groups and legislators are lobbying during the special session to allow the Minnesota Department of Health to petition the federal government to exempt marijuana from its Schedule I classification for patients on the medical program, meaning the government recognizes it has medicinal qualities.”

The reason why patients in Minnesota aren’t allowed to buy a firearm stems from the federal government’s long standing prohibition on marijuana, a discrepancy that has brought all sorts of frustrations and roadblocks to states and cities that have legalized pot either for medicinal use or recreational use.

The Minnesota Department of Health has the breakdown: “Cannabis is a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. Federal law prohibits anyone who uses an ‘unlawful’ substance, including medical cannabis, from purchasing a firearm. In 2011, the federal US Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Division (ATFE) stated medical cannabis users were not entitled to exercise their right to bear arms because of the federal government’s prohibition of cannabis.

“Citing cannabis’ status as a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, the agency said: ‘[T]here are no exceptions in federal law for marijuana purportedly used for medicinal purposes, even if such use is sanctioned by state law.’ The Minnesota Department of Health does not regulate the possession or purchase of firearms and therefore cannot say how the federal prohibition will be enforced. Specific questions about these federal firearm restrictions should be directed to your attorney or the appropriate law enforcement agency.”

Minnesota and Federal Legalizaion

Of course, major changes could be afoot on the federal level. Late last month saw the introduction of the MORE Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, legislation that seeks to “decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain cannabis offenses and for other purposes.”

The bill has serious momentum on Capitol Hill, where Democrats control chambers of Congress, and party leaders appear motivated to end prohibition. In April, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats are prepared to move ahead on marijuana legalization, even if President Joe Biden––who has been reluctant to embrace outright legalization––isn’t fully on board.

“We will move forward,” Schumer said then. “[Biden] said he’s studying the issue, so obviously want to give him a little time to study it. I want to make my arguments to him, as many other advocates will. But at some point, we’re going to move forward, period.”

But advocates in Minnesota could make some history of their own. As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “If their effort is successful, Minnesota would be the first of 36 states that allow medical marijuana in some form to appeal directly to the federal government on behalf of its enrollees, a number that’s expected to expand three to four times over the next few years with the addition of the dried flower for adults.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz last month signed legislation that finally gave medical cannabis patients in the state access to marijuana flower.

Previously, cannabis patients in the state could only access marijuana products such as oils and topicals. Walz, a Democrat, has indicated that he supports legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Minnesota, saying in 2018 that he backed “legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use by developing a system of taxation, guaranteeing that it is Minnesota-grown and expunging the records of Minnesotans convicted of marijuana crimes.”

 

[Baron23]

Cannabis is a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law.

Not as far as I know....its a Schedule I due to regulatory action by the DEA....I do NOT believe that there is an actual piece of legislation that specifies MJ as "Schedule I"

So, an individual right enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States...and the second of 26 amendments.....vs a regulatory action by a fucking Federal agency for whom NO ONE voted for?

As an aside, you can be blasted out of your mind on oxycotin yet still retain your right to buy and own a firearm.

Its an outrage and I don't expect our Fed government to do a fucking thing about it....as other than spend money pandering for votes, they don't do shit. As an example, these "leaders" can't even stop robocalls. Just sad.

 

[momofthegoons]

Minnesota Groups Bind Together to Oppose Legal Cannabis​

Minnesota is trying to push forward with legalization, but an anti-cannabis group has stepped up to oppose advocates.

With Minnesota set to become the next front in the battle over cannabis legalization, a coalition of opponents is banding together to keep prohibition in place.

Under the straightforward name of “Minnesotans Against Marijuana Legalization,” the coalition “consists of the Minnesota Trucking Association, the state’s police and peace officers association and the Minnesota Catholic Conference, a policy arm of the Catholic Church of Minnesota, among others,” according to the Associated Press.

The group of likeminded, anti-pot groups is targeting a bill that passed the state House of Representatives last May. That bill would have legalized recreational pot use for adults in Minnesota, while also expunging previous low-level cannabis-related convictions.

It also would have created “a responsible regulatory structure focused on developing micro-businesses and a craft market… fund[ed] public health awareness, youth access prevention and substance abuse treatment; provide[d] grants, loans, technical assistance and training for small businesses; require[d] testing and labeling of products; restrict[ed] packaging based on dosage size; and allow[ed] limited home grow abilities,” according to a press release last year from Minnesota Democrats.

But after passing the Democratic-controlled House, the legislation went nowhere in the state Senate, where Republicans hold the majority.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Ryan Hamilton of the Minnesota Catholic Conference said that the “marijuana bill that passed the Minnesota House last session wasn’t a justice bill, it was a marijuana commercialization bill.”

“As we’ve seen from other states that have opened the doors for the marijuana industry, the promises made to justify marijuana legalization rarely come true, particularly for communities of color,” Hamilton said, as quoted by the Associated Press.

The Minnesota legislative session is slated to convene on January 1, and as the Associated Press noted, the bill that passed the state House last May “is technically still alive, though it’s unclear whether Republicans in the Senate will take up the measure.”

The author of that bill, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, is one of the most vocal advocates of marijuana legalization among lawmakers in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

“The failed criminalization of cannabis has resulted in a legacy of racial injustice that can no longer go unaddressed,” Winkler said in a statement after the bill was introduced last year. “Adults deserve the freedom to decide whether to use cannabis, and our state government should play an important role in addressing legitimate concerns around youth access, public health, and road safety. Veterans and Minnesotans with serious illnesses like PTSD deserve better access to our medical program, which is not working well for most people. It’s time to legalize, expunge, and regulate.”

According to the Associated Press, Winkler “told the Minnesota Hemp Growers Cooperative at an event on Wednesday [that] his goal is to reexamine parts of the bill this session to improve the proposal and attempt to get senators on board,” but he acknowledged its outlook in the state Senate is “up in the air.”

After Winkler introduced his bill in the state House last year, Republicans in the legislature were dismissive.

Paul Gazelka, the GOP leader in the state Senate at the time, said at the time that he “would not consider legalizing recreational marijuana as a Minnesota priority.”

Gazelka stepped down as majority leader in September and is now running to challenge Democratic Governor Tim Walz in this year’s gubernatorial race. It could set the stage for legalization to emerge as a dominant issue in the campaign, with Walz a full-throated supporter of ending pot prohibition.

“I support legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use by developing a system of taxation, guaranteeing that it is Minnesota grown, and expunging the records of Minnesotans convicted of marijuana crimes,” Walz said when he ran for governor in 2018.

 

[momofthegoons]

Minnesota Medical Marijuana Company Sues State For The Right To Sell THC Edibles To All Adults, Not Just Patients​

A Minnesota medical marijuana company is suing the state in an attempt to secure the right to sell THC edibles to any adult over 21, just like other businesses are able to do under a recently enacted hemp law. The medical cannabis company argues that the current policy amounts to an unconstitutional double standard.

Vireo Health, which is one of two medical marijuana companies authorized to sell cannabis to registered patients in the state, filed the lawsuit against several Minnesota agencies in a state circuit court late last week.

The legal complaint centers on a unique law that was enacted over the summer that allows hemp businesses to legally market certain cannabis products—including foods and beverages infused with THC, CBD and other cannabinoids.

While those businesses are able to market the cannabinoid-infused edibles to adults 21 and older within a limited regulatory environment, Vireo said that it’s currently prohibited from doing so at dispensaries, where the company’s “operations and sales are heavily regulated and must comply with stringent testing, reporting, security, and eligibility requirements.”

“There is no rational basis to create separate legal requirements for sellers of medical cannabis-derived edibles, like Vireo, and sellers of hemp-derived edibles,” it said. “Medical cannabis and hemp are the same plant species. THC from medical cannabis is the same as THC from hemp. But, without any rational basis, Minnesota law treats medical cannabis-derived edibles very differently from identical hemp-derived edibles.”

“The irrational discrimination against Vireo violates the Minnesota constitution. To remedy this unconstitutional discrimination, Vireo seeks a declaratory judgment expressly allowing Vireo to sell and distribute medical cannabis-derived edibles, just as hemp-derived edibles may now be sold and distributed, and striking down any Minnesota laws that prohibit Vireo from making such sales.”

The company said that the problem isn’t exactly about conflicting statutes on THC. Rather, it’s that “hemp-derived edibles that have recently been legalized in Minnesota do not have the same regulation, oversight, testing, and customer eligibility limitations as the medical cannabis-derived edibles sold by Vireo.”

“There are simply not enough regulatory or law enforcement resources available to ensure that hemp-based edibles being sold in Minnesota are legal and safe,” it said, adding that the issue could be partially resolved by giving Vireo that ability to market edibles with THC derived from marijuana that contain the same allowable cannabinoid contents.

“If other companies can sell hemp-derived edibles to anyone over the age of 21, then Vireo should be allowed to compete with them by selling its chemically identical products,” it said. “There is no rational basis to limit consumer choice and restrain Vireo’s business when Vireo’s medical cannabis-derived edibles are identical to hemp-derived edibles that have the same type, quantity and concentration of THC.”

The lawsuit names multiple defendants, including representatives of the state Health Department, Office of Medical Cannabis and Attorney General Keith Ellison, along with county prosecutors who the company wants to block from pursuing any criminal actions against it.

Marijuana Moment reached out to Vireo for comment, but a representative was not immediately available.

In the filing, Vireo said that it “cannot avoid this irrational distinction by selling hemp-derived edibles,” in part because it is “not in the business of manufacturing or selling hemp-derived edibles.”

“Vireo does not own or operate any hemp fields, which require more acreage than medical cannabis. Vireo does not have a process for extracting cannabinoids, including THC, from hemp,” it said. “Vireo’s grow facilities, manufacturing processes, and operations are tailored to medical cannabis, not hemp. Vireo would have to drastically change its business model to incorporate hemp and hemp-derived edibles.”

The law enacted this year makes it so that all hemp-derived cannabinoids including THC and CBD can be legally sold in food items, beverages, topicals and more—as long as the products contain less than the federal limit of 0.3 percent THC. Edible and beverage products must be limited to a total of 5 mg THC per serving and 50 mg per package.

The THC limit applies to all forms of the psychoactive compounds, including the most widely known compound delta-9 THC, as well as other increasingly popular derivatives like delta-8 that exist in an especially grey regulatory area in many state markets.

To some advocates, the Vireo lawsuit speaks to the broader need to legalize marijuana for adult use, which is something Democratic lawmakers have endeavored to accomplish in recent legislative sessions without success.



A survey conducted by officials with the the House of Representatives that was released this month found that 61 percent of Minnesotans back legalizing cannabis for recreational use.

In an interview conducted at the State Fair late last month, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, former state Sen. Scott Jensen, told The Star Tribune that he thinks the state should consider decriminalizing “trivial amounts” of marijuana and expunging prior records, and he wants broader cannabis legalization to be decided by voters at the ballot.

Jensen declined to say whether he would work to revise the state’s unique THC edibles policy, stating that officials should assess the efficacy of the program after six months to see if changes should be made.

“I think we have a little bit of mud on the wall and we’re going to have to sort it out and see what sticks,” he said.

Gov. Tim Walz (D), meanwhile, has pushed for legalizing marijuana in a regulated market, including funding for implementation in his budget proposal this year, for example.

But the despite a comprehensive reform bill from House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D) advancing through 12 committees before passing on the House floor last year, legalization stalled in the GOP-controlled Senate and was not ultimately enacted. An earlier bipartisan legalization proposal led by Jensen and Sen. Melisa López Franzen (D) in 2019 also did not advance.

Back in January, Winkler and López Franzen discussed their plans to advance the cannabis reform this session.

Winkler said at the time that his bill was the “product of hundreds of hours of work involving thousands of people’s input, countless hearings and public listening sessions.”

Separately, certain Democrats including staff for Winkler have found themselves caught up in a controversy over an alleged (and ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to change the name of a third party focused on marijuana that some have seen as undercutting Democratic support on the ballot in past cycles to one instead meant to appeal to far-right conservatives in an apparent attempt to siphon votes away from Republicans in the upcoming election.

Previously, in 2019, the governor directed state agencies to prepare to implement reform in anticipation of legalization eventually passing.

While legalization wasn’t ultimately enacted following the House’s passage of the bill last year, the governor did sign a bill to expand the state’s medical marijuana program, in part by allowing patients to access smokable cannabis products.

The House majority leader said in 2020 that if Senate Republicans don’t go along with the policy change legislatively, he hopes they will at least let voters decide on cannabis as a 2022 ballot measure, but that didn’t materialize.

Read the lawsuit over Minnesota’s THC edibles law by following title link and scrolling to the bottom of the article.

 

[Baron23]

Government...the absolute concentrated center of idiocy. 20 mg per gummy (for example) is 20 mg per gummy whether they had to process ten tons of 3% hemp or from 25% med cannabis.

Maybe its only absolute fucking cretins that are stupid enough to run for public office? I have no other explanation and crap like this is not uncommon.

Cheers

 

[momofthegoons]

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved In Fourth Senate Committee, With More Votes Set For This Week​

A fourth Minnesota Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, another step along its extended journey to the floor as a House companion also continues to advance.

The Senate Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee passed the legislation from Sen. Lindsey Port (D) in a 5-4 vote. The measure is expected to go through a total of 18 panels in the chamber.

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Erin Murphy (D) said at the beginning of Monday’s hearing that Minnesota has “an opportunity to undo some of the harm that has been done and to create a system of regulation that works for Minnesota consumers and Minnesota businesses while ensuring an opportunity in this new market for communities that have been most affected by prohibition.”



“Our main goals are to legalize, regulate and expunge—and we’re working to ensure that this bill does just that,” the senator said, adding that there are ongoing discussions about possible amendments to further improve on aspects of the legislation such as tax policy for the state’s existing hemp industry.

On the House side, the bill is being sponsored by Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) and has advanced through six committees so far. Its next stop is the Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee, which is scheduled to take up the proposal on Wednesday.

With majorities in both the House and Senate and control over the governorship this session, Democratic-Farmer-Labor party officials are confident that legalization will be enacted in short order following the extensive committee consideration.



The governor recently released his biennial budget request, which included proposed funding to implement marijuana legalization and expungements, and made projections about the millions of dollars in cannabis tax revenue that his office estimates the state will earn after the reform is enacted.

The legislation, meanwhile, is an iteration of the 2021 House-passed bill from former Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), who now serves as campaign chairman of the advocacy coalition MN is Ready. That group announced last month that it would be lobbying for the measure while leading a grassroots effort to build support for reform.

Gov. Tim Walz (D) has called on supporters to join lawmakers and the administration in their push legalize marijuana this session, and he circulated an email blast this month that encourages people to sign a petition backing the reform.

Much of the revised bills that are advancing through committee are consistent with Winkler’s legislation, though there are a few key changes, in addition to the newly adopted amendments. For example, it adds a new license category for businesses that sell “lower-potency edible products” under Minnesota’s unique THC law that the governor signed last year.

There would also be reduced regulatory requirements for those licensees, and they’d be able to permit on-site consumption if they have a liquor license, which is meant to ensure that shops currently selling low-THC beverages and edibles don’t face disruption.

At Monday’s Senate committee hearing, members approved an amendment requested by the agriculture department that would make it so regulators could not approve cannabis products that are “substantively similar” to meat, poultry or dairy products. Further, regulators would need to consult with the state agriculture commissioner on rules for agricultural chemicals.

The revision additionally includes a technical change to ensure that cannabis producers follow rules for fertilizers, soil amendments, plant amendments and other inputs in addition to those that are in place for pesticides.

Another amendment that was approved removes a prohibition on genetically engineered cannabis from the bill.

Members also adopted an amendment to remove cultivation and harvesting equipment from the definition of cannabis paraphernalia and to make a technical change to clarify that plant canopy sizes for cultivation tiers are measured in square feet.

An additional approved amendment requires officials to report geographic information on grants and loans issued under the CanGrow program, as well as information on the repayment rate for loans and for loans forgiven.

The committee defeated amendments to give more flexibility to farmers to use pesticides and to clarify that cannabis farmers wouldn’t need to track fertilizers and other chemicals as part of record logs.

The next stop for the legislation on the Senate side is the Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee on Thursday.

Here are the main components of the revised marijuana legalization bills, HF 100 and SF 73:

Adults 21 and older could purchase up to two ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to eight plants, four of which could be mature.

They could possess up to two ounces in a public place and up to five pounds in a private dwelling.

Gifting up to two ounces of marijuana without remuneration between adults would be permitted.

It would promote social equity, in part by ensuring that diverse licensing by scoring equity applicants higher.

Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be responsible for identifying people who are eligible for relief and process the expungements.

In addition to creating a system of licensed cannabis businesses, municipalities and counties could own and operate government dispensaries.

On-site consumption permits could be approved for events, and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill.

Unlike in many legal states, local municipalities would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas, though they could set “reasonable” regulations on the time of operation and location of those businesses.

Retail cannabis sales would be taxed at eight percent. Part of that revenue would fund substance misuse treatment programs, as well as grants to support farmers.

A new Office of Cannabis Management would be established, and it would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. There would be a designated Division of Social Equity.

People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing.

The legislation as revised fixes an issue in current statute that prohibits liquor stores from selling THC products.

It also contains language banning synthetic cannabinoids, which is consistent with Board of Pharmacy rules put into place last year.

 

[Baron23]

Well....the dogs, eh? Yeah, that's certainly a reason to keep putting people in jail for cannabis. FFS

Based on a wide number of events of recent history.....there is something really fucking wrong with Minnesota, IMO.

Cheers

Minnesota lawmaker fears Legalizing Marijuana will force police dogs to retire prematurely ​

WASHINGTON - A Minnesota lawmaker said he is concerned that legalizing marijuana in the state might force police dogs out of their jobs, as well as cost taxpayers unforeseen money.​

State Rep. Brian Johnson, a Republican who represents Cambridge, shared his sentiments Tuesday night during a legislative session.

Can you tell me how much money is in this bill to help defer the cost to our counties and police departments for the cost of the retirement of the dogs and the replacements? Johnson said.

He added that he "did not see anything reading though the bill dealing with our K-9 units."

Rep. Zack Stephenson, a Democrat who drafted the bill, said there will be "considerable appropriations to local units of government in multiple different areas."

The bill, which would make non-medical pot legal for people 21 and older, passed on a 71-59 vote. Johnson voted against it.

It has now been referred to the Finance Committee.

In recent years, several states that have legalized recreational marijuana have seen police departments retiring their working K-9s prematurely. Many have had to purchase and train new dogs to detect illegal drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl.

The Associated Press reported that "dogs trained on multiple drugs alert in the same way for all of them, so it’s impossible to tell whether they are indicating the presence of marijuana or an illicit drug. The dogs also cannot distinguish between a small, legal amount of marijuana or a larger, still-illegal amount of the drug. For police, that means they can no longer be used to establish probable cause for a search."

Meanwhile, some departments have been forced to disband their K-9 units because they can't afford new dogs.

Aside from detecting drugs, police dogs are typically used to help departments track down and subdue suspects, find missing people, as well as detect bombs, computers, and phones.

A dog’s sense of smell is 50 times more sensitive than a human’s, making them far superior to any other method of tracking and detection," according to the police website, Police1. "The very presence of a police K-9 can act as a deterrent to any further escalation of physical violence or resistance from a suspect.

Police1 notes that K-9s cost about $8,000 each. Departments often recruit German shepherds, Dutch shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Labrador retrievers, Doberman pinschers, beagles and bloodhounds.

Plus, training a police K-9 often costs between $12,000 to $15,000, along with outfitting police cruisers to accommodate the dogs. The K-9s tend to live with their handlers, and their respective departments tend to help with veterinary and medical bills.

Some departments have resorted to fundraising and applying for grants to obtain and train K-9s.

When K-9s retire, they usually continue to live with their handlers.

More recently, some department have introduced comfort and/or therapy dogs. In some cases, they are referred to as wellness dogs.

In Rhode Island, the first comfort dog was Cali, an an Australian Labradoodle who helps detectives in the Cranston Police Department's Special Victims Unit. The dog stays with victims of sexual and physical abuse as detectives interview them, as well as during medical examinations. Cali also frequency visits schools and community events.

 

[Baron23]

"The legislation would promote social equity, in part by ensuring diverse licensing by scoring equity applicants higher."

Thsi used to be called Affirmative Action until that term became toxic...so, just change the name and essentially do the same stuff, yeah?


Minnesota Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill Days After House Companion Passes

The Minnesota Senate has finally approved a bill to legalize marijuana that advanced through 13 committees, setting the stage for a conference with the House to resolve differences with a companion reform measure that the chamber passed on Tuesday.

The Senate passed the legislation from Sen. Lindsey Port (D) in a 34-33 vote on Friday. This comes just two days after the proposal cleared its final committee, with amendments.

“The prohibition of cannabis is a failed system that has not achieved the desired goals and has had incredible costs for our communities, especially for communities of color,” Port said on the floor. “We have an opportunity today to vote green to undo some of the harm that has been done and create a unique system of regulation that works for Minnesota consumers and businesses, while ensuring an opportunity in this new market for communities that have been most affected by prohibition.”

“Our main goals are to legalize regulate and expunge, and this bill does just that,” she said. “Carrying this bill for our caucus has been an incredible honor.”

It’s not clear when bicameral conference committee negotiators will be appointed to settle the differences and move for final passage in each chamber—but the session ends on May 22, giving lawmakers just a few weeks to get the bill to the governor’s desk.

During its last committee stop, senators took a procedural step to use the House-passed bill as the vehicle to consider legalization in the Senate from this point forward, rather than sending the original bill to the floor of the body—though the legislation has now been amended with the Senate’s language.

Both bills have been amended numerous times throughout this process, with lawmakers working to incorporate public feedback, revise policies around issues like tax structures for the market and tighten up language.

For example, a Senate panel adopted a comprehensive substitute from the sponsor at a committee stop in March that is primarily meant to address concerns from industry stakeholders who are operating under a cannabis law enacted last year that legalized low-THC edibles in the state. The House bill also went through a similar major revisions in committee.

With majorities in both the House and Senate and control over the governorship this session, Democratic-Farmer-Labor party officials have been expressing confidence that legalization will be enacted this year.

Gov. Tim Walz (D) released his biennial budget request in January, which included proposed funding to implement marijuana legalization and expungements, and made projections about the millions of dollars in cannabis tax revenue that his office estimates the state will earn after the reform is enacted.

The legislation that’s advancing is an iteration of the 2021 House-passed bill from former Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), who now serves as campaign chairman of the advocacy coalition MN is Ready.

The governor has called on supporters to join lawmakers and the administration in their push legalize marijuana this session, and he circulated an email blast in January that encourages people to sign a petition backing the reform.

Senators on Friday approved several amendments to the bill, including proposals to increase funding for the State Patrol to support drug recognition experts and to increase funding for substance use treatment, recovery and prevention grants.

Another adopted amendment will allow local governments to limit the number of cannabis business licenses based on population size and to place restrictions on hours of sale, noise, odor and location.

An additional amendment added to the bill makes technical fixes to dates and to provisions on loan programs created by the legislation.

Here are the main components of the revised marijuana legalization bills, HF 100 and SF 73:

Adults 21 and older could purchase and possess in public up to two ounces of cannabis and they would be allowed to cultivate up to eight plants at home, four of which could be mature.

The House bill would allow people to possess up to 1.5 pounds in a private dwelling, while the Senate bill would let people have up to five pounds of self-cultivated cannabis at home and up to two pounds derived from any other source.

Gifting up to two ounces of marijuana without remuneration between adults would be permitted.

Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be responsible for identifying people who are eligible for relief and process the expungements.

In addition to creating a system of licensed cannabis businesses, municipalities and counties could own and operate government dispensaries.

On-site consumption permits could be approved for events, and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill.

Local municipalities would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas, though they could set “reasonable” regulations on the time of operation and location of those businesses.

Under the House bill, cannabis sales would be taxed at eight percent—and thereafter, the commissioner of management and budget would adjust the rate every two years so that revenues equal, or do not significantly exceed, the costs of implementing legalization incurred by various agencies. The Senate bill calls for a 10 percent tax rate on marijuana sales that would not change over time.

Part of the tax revenue would fund substance misuse treatment programs, as well as grants to support farmers.

A new Office of Cannabis Management would be established, and it would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. There would be a designated Division of Social Equity.

The legislation would promote social equity, in part by ensuring diverse licensing by scoring equity applicants higher. People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing, and the House bill says that people convicted of cannabis offenses, or who have an immediate family member with such a conviction, would also qualify.

The Senate on Friday rejected a floor amendment that would have increased the initial tax rate for marijuana sales to 12 percent instead of 10 percent and raised it by 1 percent each year starting in 2028 until it reached 20 percent—while also increasing the share of revenue directed to local governments.

 

[Baron23]

Bipartisan Minnesota Lawmakers Appointed To Finalize Marijuana Legalization Bill In Bicameral Conference​

Both chambers of the Minnesota legislature have appointed bipartisan House and Senate conferees to negotiate a final deal on a marijuana legalization bill that can be sent to the governor to be signed into law.

A total of 10 bicameral negotiators were selected to resolve differences between their companion legalization measures that cleared their respective chambers last week. The members will hold meetings to agree on the provisions of a reconciled bill, then send it to the House and Senate for final floor votes before the legislation can be sent to to Gov. Tim Walz (D).

While both versions would end prohibition and set up a regulated system of marijuana sales in the state, they were amended in different ways throughout an extensive committee process in recent months. One of the key differences that will need to be addressed concerns the tax rate for cannabis sales.

With the legislative session set to end later this month, the plan is to work out those areas of disagreement in short order, and the conferee appointments are the first step to that end.

On the House side, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Zack Stephenson (D), was selected as one of the chamber’s five negotiators on Monday. He is joined by Reps. Athena Hollins (D), Jess Hanson (D), Alicia Kozlowski (D) and Nolan West (R).

West was among several Republican members to offer amendments during committee consideration and on the floor, including adopted proposals to lower possession limits and increase funding for law enforcement drug recognition expert training.

He ultimately voted in favor of the overall bill, so his participation in the conference could strengthen the bipartisan appeal of the final product.

Kozlowski said in a Tweet on Monday that it’s “time to sign, seal & deliver HF 100!”

“Proud to be on this bipartisan team to legalize cannabis, expunge records, and advance economic justice in a regulated market,” they said

Over in the Senate on Tuesday, another five conferees were appointed, including the sponsor Sen. Lindsey Port (D). The other negotiators from the chamber are: Sens. Clare Oumou Verbeten (D), Erin Murphy (D), Susan Pha (D) and Jordan Rasmusson (R).

Rasmusson is another example of a GOP member who filed amendments throughout the process—at one point securing bipartisan agreement on a proposal to require specific warning label language on cannabis products. That said, unlike Nolan in the House, Rasmusson did not ultimately vote in favor of the bill.

The session ends this month, on May 22, giving lawmakers just a few weeks to reach consensus, hold final votes and get the bill to the governor’s desk.

With majorities in both the House and Senate and control over the governorship this session, Democratic-Farmer-Labor party officials have been expressing confidence that legalization will be enacted this year.

Gov. Tim Walz (D), who released an biennial budget request in January that included proposed funding to implement marijuana legalization and expungements, has pledged to sign the legislation when it arrives on his desk.

The legislation that advanced through both chambers is an iteration of the 2021 House-passed bill from former Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), who now serves as campaign chairman of the advocacy coalition MN is Ready.

The governor has called on supporters to join lawmakers and the administration in their push legalize marijuana this session, and he circulated an email blast in January that encourages people to sign a petition backing the reform.

Here are the main components of the revised marijuana legalization bills, HF 100 and SF 73:

Adults 21 and older could purchase and possess in public up to two ounces of cannabis and they would be allowed to cultivate up to eight plants at home, four of which could be mature.

The House bill would allow people to possess up to 1.5 pounds in a private dwelling, while the Senate bill would let people have up to five pounds of self-cultivated cannabis at home and up to two pounds derived from any other source.

Gifting up to two ounces of marijuana without remuneration between adults would be permitted.

Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be responsible for identifying people who are eligible for relief and process the expungements.

In addition to creating a system of licensed cannabis businesses, municipalities and counties could own and operate government dispensaries.

On-site consumption permits could be approved for events, and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill.

Local governments would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas, though they could set “reasonable” regulations on the time of operation and location of those businesses. The Senate bill contains a provision that would allow local governments to limit the number of cannabis business licenses based on population size.

Under the House bill, cannabis sales would be taxed at eight percent—and thereafter, the commissioner of management and budget would adjust the rate every two years so that revenues equal, or do not significantly exceed, the costs of implementing legalization incurred by various agencies. The Senate bill calls for a 10 percent tax rate on marijuana sales that would not change over time.

Part of the tax revenue would fund substance misuse treatment programs, as well as grants to support farmers.

A new Office of Cannabis Management would be established, and it would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. There would be a designated Division of Social Equity.

The legislation would promote social equity, in part by ensuring diverse licensing by scoring equity applicants higher. People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing, and the House bill says that people convicted of cannabis offenses, or who have an immediate family member with such a conviction, would also qualify.

 

[CarolKing]

Law enforcement leaders raise concerns over legal cannabis in Minnesota

As the legalization of cannabis is likely to become a reality in Minnesota, law enforcement leaders are raising concerns if there aren't measures in place to help implement the law properly.

www.cbsnews.com

WCCO legal contributor Joe Tamburino notes it also would not be illegal for someone to have it in their system and drive so long as they're not actively under the influence.

He points to the fact that THC can remain in someone's system for 30-45 days, so while a urine or blood test can help determine if it is in someone's system, it can't necessarily determine how long ago they consumed it.

Tamburino also said this gray area could lead to an uptick in court cases and more taxpayer dollars needed for more legal resources.

"People will be ticketed for this," he said. "They'll be arrested perhaps and then when they get to court of course they will contest it because there's a huge gray area.

 

[Baron23]

Minnesota Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Bill Into Law


The governor of Minnesota has signed a bill to legalize marijuana, making it the 23rd state in the U.S. to end cannabis prohibition.

After months of committee hearings and floor votes, Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed off on HF 100 on Tuesday, as he previously committed to doing.

“This has been a long journey with a lot of folks involved,” Walz said. “What we know right now is prohibition does not work. We’ve criminalized a lot of folks who are going to start the expungement process on those records.”

“It’s going to take us a bit of time to get this up and going. We’ll be getting some people into the positions to be able to run this,” he said. “But I assure Minnesotans that a lot of thought has gone into this. A lot of the things learned in other states are incorporated into how we do this, and the thoughtfulness around this legislation gives us a really good guiding principle.”

Now, with the governor’s signature, marijuana possession and home cultivation will become legal in the state on August 1—with regulators expected to take 12-18 months to get a licensed commercial sales system launched.

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, a longstanding champion of cannabis reform who delivered impassioned testimony at legislative hearings this session about illegally obtaining medical marijuana to treat his wife’s severe epilepsy, attended Tuesday’s bill signing.

“This was a huge day in our family’s life because prohibition will now end. It’s gone on longer than I’ve been alive, the prohibition of a plant made by god,” he said. “We were always told everything was here for us to use. Now in Minnesota we will be able to use this plant after years of prohibition.”

“We didn’t want any families to go through what the first lady and I went through,” he said. “Now, today, they will never have to because prohibition will end today on cannabis.”

“I am delighted to be here with you as we put the period at the end of the sentence on this piece of legislation,” Sen. Lindsey Port (D), the bill’s Senate author, said. “I am really proud that Minnesota is taking a step forward and trying something new.”

“We’re trying it in a way that is unique to Minnesota—that really delves into the realities of Minnesota, that looks at entrepreneurial spirit, that looks at reinvesting in communities that have been harmed and, most importantly, that puts front and center in this legislation the expungement piece to make sure that we are undoing some of the harm that we have done as a state through the prohibition of cannabis,” she said.

Rep. Zack Stephenson (D), the House sponsor, said that “while Minnesota might be the 23rd state to legalize cannabis, I think we’ve passed the best bill in the country that Minnesotans can be really proud of.”

“We’ve built a model that will work for Minnesota specifically, and I think Minnesotans will be really pleased with the results of that work,” he said.

The bill signing comes just over a week after the House and Senate passed the bill, which had been recently finalized by a bicameral conference committee.

Both the House and Senate previously passed differing versions of legalization bills from Stephenson and Port, but they needed the conference committee to resolve differences between their respective measures before they could be reapproved.

Lawmakers worked quickly to get the job done, as the legislative session ends on Monday. And the governor followed suit with a prompt signing.

Even before the signing, the state began building the infrastructure for the new adult-use market—first by launching a website for the cannabis regulatory agency that will oversee the program but which won’t technically be established until July, and then by releasing a notice soliciting vendors that can facilitate licensing.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislators are pointing to the achievement on cannabis reform as a direct result of voters putting the party in the majority in both chambers after last year’s election.

The legislation that advanced through both chambers is an iteration of the 2021 House-passed bill from former Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), who now serves as campaign chairman of the advocacy coalition MN is Ready.

Walz has called on supporters to join lawmakers and the administration in their push legalize marijuana this session, and he circulated an email blast in January that encourages people to sign a petition backing the reform.

Here are the main components of the final marijuana legalization bill, HF 100.

As of August 1, adults 21 and older will be able to possess in public up to two ounces of cannabis and they will be allowed to cultivate up to eight plants at home, four of which can be mature. People can possess up to two pounds of marijuana in their residences.

Gifting up to two ounces of marijuana without remuneration between adults will be permitted.

It’s expected to take 12-18 months for licenses to be issued and regulated sales to start. As of March 1, 2025, existing medical cannabis businesses can receive new combination licenses that would allow them to participate in the adult-use market.

Certain marijuana misdemeanor records will also be automatically expunged, with implementation beginning in August. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will be responsible for identifying people who are eligible for relief to the courts, which will process the expungements. A newly created Cannabis Expungement Board will also consider felony cannabis offenses for relief, including potential sentence reductions for those still incarcerated.

In addition to creating a system of licensed cannabis businesses, municipalities and counties can own and operate government dispensaries.

On-site consumption permits can be approved for events, and cannabis delivery services will be permitted under the bill.

Local governments will not be allowed to prohibit marijuana businesses from operating in their areas, though they can set “reasonable” regulations on the time of operation and location while also limiting the number of cannabis business licenses based on population size.

There will be a gross receipts tax on cannabis sales in the amount of 10 percent, which will be applied in addition to the state’s standard 6.875 percent sales tax.

Eighty percent of revenue will go into the state’s general fund—with some monies earmarked for grants to help cannabis businesses, fund substance misuse treatment efforts and other programs—and 20 percent will go to local governments.

A new Office of Cannabis Management will be established, and it will be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. There will be a designated Division of Social Equity.

The legislation will promote social equity, in part by ensuring diverse licensing by scoring equity applicants higher. People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost honorable status due to a cannabis-related offense will be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing. People convicted of cannabis offenses, or who have an immediate family member with such a conviction, will also qualify.

 

[Baron23]

Interesting place, Minnesota. Watching Fargo (and yes, I know its over the ND line, but if you trip you're in Minnesota) I just would not have anticipated this....or a lot of what gets reported out of Minneapolis. LOL

Minnesota to have highest home limit in history: 2 pounds ​

At home, Minnesota residents can possess up to 2 pounds of pot, much higher than the limit in other states.​

Weeks ago Minnesota legalized cannabis for adult use, and at the same time, set the highest personal limit for cannabis at home in the country.


Out of the 23 states that have legalized cannabis for adult use, the limit for personal amounts at home ranges from 1-10 ounces—with the exception of one state, Minnesota, where the personal limit for cannabis is 32 ounces or 2 pounds. But given the state’s four-plant limit for growing at home, some people say even 2 pounds is not enough.


Minnesota allows adults to have up to 2 pounds of cannabis at home, no grower’s license needed, but once they leave home, they will only be allowed to carry 2 ounces of cannabis in public.


It’s a more generous system than what we typically see. Some states—including California, Washington, and Nevada—allow one ounce of cannabis at home. Colorado sets the limit at 2 ounces. Michigan, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts allow much more at 10 ounces.


Lawmakers in Minnesota said they set high limits to simplify the program, allowing for the same limit to grow and possess.


Sen. Lindsey Port led the State Senate’s version of the adult-use cannabis bill, and supports the state’s personal limit. “We wanted to decriminalize as much as possible, but we also wanted to make sure that we had an ability to control the illicit market,” Port told CBS News affiliate WCCO News. “We wanted to make sure you were allowed to possess the amount that you could grow.”


“We’ve looked at other states and what we’ve learned is it’s not so much how much you can possess that really allowed the illicit market to continue,” Port said.

Is the Limit High Enough?​

Local business owners in the area, however, said that they predict 99% of consumers in the state aren’t going to have a need for 2 pounds of cannabis at home, and if they do, they will probably sell it illegally.


Despite having the higher limit, industry insiders say it’s not enough for the state’s four-plant home grow limit.


The Minnesota Hemp Growers Cooperative wrote in a letter to the committee that the state’s cannabis law allows individuals to have up to four mature cannabis plants at one time, which can yield potentially more pot than the individual possession limit of 2 pounds.


“With proper cultivating techniques, you could harvest well over 6 pounds of material from four plants,” wrote Shawn Weber, president of the Minnesota Hemp Growers Cooperative. “On what planet does this make any sense?”

Paving the Way for the Adult-Use Market in Minnesota​

On May 30, Gov. Tim Walz signed Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis bill into law, officially making Minnesota the 23rd state in the nation to legalize recreational cannabis.


At the signing ceremony, Walz recognized that prohibition does not work, and said that he and fellow lawmakers are looking to start the expungement process for qualifying Minnesotans. Walz also indicated that adults should be able to make their own decisions “around these types of choices.”


Additionally, the bill legalizes possession of up to two pounds of cannabis in a private residence and limited home cultivation by adults over 21. Out in public, Minnesota adults are allowed up to two ounces. The legislation allows adults to grow up to eight cannabis plants at home, including four mature, flowering plants.


Possession for adults 21 and older will officially be legal in the state starting Aug. 1.

 

[Baron23]

Where you can and can’t smoke marijuana in Minnesota come Aug. 1​

Cars? No. Sidewalks? Mostly, for now. Apartment units? Possibly, at least initially. “Struggling to read this law could drive someone to smoke some pot,” said one observer of the new marijuana law, which makes Minnesota one of only four states to allow public smoking.


By Peter Callaghan | Staff Writer

Unlike most recreational cannabis states, Minnesota will allow smoking in public unless state or local rules say it is not allowed.

Photo by RDNE Stock project


July 11, 2023

Starting Aug. 1, people age 21 and over can possess and use marijuana in Minnesota. But there are limits on where they can possess it and where they can use it, especially by smoking or vaping.
Still, smoking and vaping will be legal in a lot more places than are specifically listed in the new law or were publicly discussed during the 2023 legislative session, and Minnesota is poised to become one of just a few states that allow smoking and vaping of marijuana in public.
As passed, the law seemed to restrict smoking and vaping to single-family homes, yards and private property not accessible to the public. Combined with restrictions on smoking in apartment buildings, the law appeared to give permission to people who owned houses or property but not to renters.
Since that would be restrictive and inequitable, sponsors of the new law say unless either existing smoking laws or the new recreational cannabis law specifically restrict smoking marijuana, then it is allowed.
Article continues after advertisement


Could someone walk down the sidewalk and smoke a joint?
“Yes, I think that’s true,” said Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, in an interview Monday. Outside a bar or restaurant? On the sidewalk? On a public bench? Yes, absent a local ordinance that prohibits it to protect non-users from secondhand smoke, she said.

State Sen. Lindsey Port
“Cities can put ordinances in for outdoors as they do with cigarette smoking,” Port said. They could restrict it from a certain distance from building entrances, for example. “But assuming that the city doesn’t have an ordinance against it, you could smoke outside, in parks, if you’re a certain distance from children’s play areas.”

That would put Minnesota outside the mainstream of recreational states. Cannabis magazine GreenState looked at public marijuana smoking laws and found that most prohibit smoking on streets, while only a few allow smoking lounges (Minnesota does not). The first two recreational states — Colorado and Washington — do not allow any public consumption. Rhode Island, New York and Connecticut are the most permissive, allowing smoking wherever tobacco smoking is allowed.
Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, said he interpreted the bill to allow public smoking but said there were so many aspects of a complicated bill that opponents focused elsewhere. While he served on the House-Senate conference committee that drafted the final version, he voted against the bill.
Rasmusson said public smoking of marijuana will be one of the areas lawmakers should look at next session.
“We will have cannabis fix-it bills next session and my hope would be that this is one of the things that’s on the list for folks to fix,” he said. “I don’t think this is what Minnesotans want when it comes to recreational cannabis and there’s a reason why most states that have legalized it have not gone this route.”
The much-discussed House Bill 100 is complex and contradictory in some ways, not the least of which is that it makes it legal to possess and use recreational marijuana long before it is legal to buy it. For at least 18 months, the only legal supply is whatever a resident can grow themselves with the first harvest in time for Halloween.
Presuming non-home growers come up with other means of obtaining cannabis flower or vapes — something many Minnesotans have been doing and will continue to do through the illicit market — they can smoke it or vape it legally.
But the where has always been a bit vague. A technical reading of the law suggests that it is legal to consume by smoking and vaping in the three places listed: a private residence including enclosed backyards, decks or patios; private property not accessible to the public as long as the owner is okay with it, and — eventually — at cannabis events once the state drafts rules and issues licenses for these up-to-four-day festivals.

 

[Baron23]

I MO, much ado over nothing. Just hyperventilating politicians on a slow news day, I think.

Minnesota Republicans Push Special Session To Address ‘Glaring Issues’ In Marijuana Legalization Law Taking Effect On Tuesday​

Minnesota Republican lawmakers are asking the governor and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate to convene a “narrowly tailored special session” to address what they view as unintended consequences of a marijuana legalization law that takes effect on Tuesday, citing concerns about policies on underage possession and public consumption.


In a letter sent to Gov. Tim Walz (D), Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (D) and House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) on Friday, 20 GOP lawmakers said that they were deeply concerned about recent reporting suggesting that the cannabis law “effectively legalized marijuana for children.”



“Legal consequences are a significant and important deterrent from youth addiction and can help avoid more grave issues later in life,” they said. “This legislation deliberately took away an important tool for parents, law enforcement, and local communities to keep kids from harming themselves or others.”


The Democratic sponsors and staff who worked on the legalization bill did intend to remove criminal penalties for underage possession, in tandem with creating a regulated market for adults and promoting education to deter youth use. They say that criminalizing anyone over possession doesn’t achieve the goal of eliminating the illicit market. But despite their intent and the GOP concerns, the reporting that seemed to be cited in the new letter has been updated, as it appears separate statute would continue to make possession by people under 21 a default petty misdemeanor regardless of the broader legalization law.



Drug policy reform advocate and lobbyist Kurtis Hanna pointed MinnPost to the statute. It says that activities that are illegal—but for which there are no clear penalties—are automatically considered petty misdemeanors, punishable by a civil citation and fine of up to $300, without the threat of jail time.


That would seem to apply to underage marijuana possession, as the new law didn’t affirmatively make that activity legal and simply removed penalties. But given the legislature’s intent, it’s possible the matter may need to be settled in court.


“Democrats’ marijuana legalization is only in the beginning stages but problems have already emerged from this hastily crafted piece of legislation,” the Republicans’ letter says. “We urge you to agree to a narrowly tailored special session to address several glaring issues already confounding parents and local communities,” they said.



Teddy Tschann, a spokesperson for the governor, told KSTP-TV that “it’s illegal for minors to use marijuana today and it will be illegal for minors to use marijuana after this law goes into effect.”


“Any minor caught consuming or possessing marijuana could be charged with a petty misdemeanor, and any adult caught selling marijuana to a minor could be subject to jail time,” he said. This group of Republican legislators should stop implying otherwise.”


Hanna, a public policy and government relations specialist with the cannabis consulting firm Blunt Strategies, told Marijuana Moment on Friday that since the “main thrust” behind the GOP request “seems to be based on a misinterpretation of what the cannabis legalization bill does,” it doesn’t appear that a special session is warranted.



That said, in addition to reinstating criminal penalties for underage possession, the lawmakers said they want also “broader and permanent regulatory authority over the sale, possession, and consumption of marijuana, and impose greater limits on smoking and vaping of marijuana in public places.”


Additionally, they said the special session should be used to close what they’re describing as a “loophole” in the law that they say allows the illicit market to “flourish” during the transition from prohibition to the launch of regulated sales, which isn’t expected to happen until 2024 at earliest. Marijuana becomes legal to possess and cultivate for adult on Tuesday—and a state expungement board will also be formally established that day—but regulators will need time to develop licensing rules to get shops opened.


“These are basic, responsible steps that can be taken now to avoid larger problems in the future,” the letter says. “We know from last year’s hastily conceived legalization of low-dose THC consumables that poorly crafted laws lead to confusion and frustration.”


“If the legalization of recreational marijuana is to succeed in a responsible and safe manner, a special session is necessary to address these concerns before the Minnesota Legislature reconvenes in February 2024,” it concludes. “We stand ready and willing to work with you on solutions that protect our kids and communities.”


Sen. Lindsey Port (D), who sponsored legalization in the Senate this session, told KTSP-TV that the Republican letter is “outrageous” and “an attempt to use fearmongering and misinformation to stall the implementation of this bill.”