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Third Minnesota House Committee Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill

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A third Minnesota House committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana in the state—but even more panels are expected to take up the legislation before it reaches the floor.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and other lawmakers filed the measure last month. 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.

On Wednesday, the House Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee advanced the legislation in a 10-2 vote, with one abstention. It’s already been approved by the Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee and the Commerce Finance and Policy Committee as well.

“The goal of this bill, among other things, is to shift an illegal marketplace into a safe and legal regulated marketplace for people to purchase and be able to consume cannabis products,” Winkler said in his opening comments. “In doing so, we have an opportunity to build a legal marketplace from the ground up according to policies that reflect the values of Minnesotans.”

The proposal now heads to House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee.

Winkler’s bill as introduced was identical to a proposal he filed last year, with some minor technical changes. The majority leader, 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.

During Wednesday’s committee hearing, members approved an amendment stipulating that workers can only be penalized for being “impaired” on the job, not simply “under the influence” of marijuana. It also revised loan and grant eligibility requirements and appropriates funds to support services through the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Several people testified in favor of the proposal, including those representing the marijuana and beer industries. There was also an attempt to table the legislation from an opposing lawmaker, but the member’s motion failed 5-8.

Under the bill, 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.


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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 last week 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.

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.

Alabama Senators Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill In Committee

Photo courtesy of Kimberly Lawson.

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