The Minnesota House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill to legalize cannabis in the state after several weeks of extensive committee review and a two-day debate.
At the same time, the Senate’s complementary bill will be examined by its last committee today before possibly being presented to the Assembly, which should be done by the end of the week.
MP Zack Stephenson’s bill was approved by the full House, with amendments, by a vote of 71 to 59. Throughout the session, the text was considered by 15 committees before being submitted to the Assembly.
“Ladies and gentlemen of parliament, our cannabis laws are not respected. Prohibition has failed,” Zack Stephenson said Tuesday. “It’s not achieving any of its goals and its costs, in terms of dollars and inhuman costs, are overwhelming. »
“If you support prohibition because you want to limit the use of cannabis, you have to face the facts: it has been proven for 50 years that the criminal justice system cannot achieve this goal,” he said. declared. “I say this as a prosecutor. The criminal justice system cannot achieve this goal. If he could, don’t you think he would have done it already? “.
With a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate and control of the governorship this session, Democratic Party officials have shown confidence that legalization will pass this year. The legislative session ends on May 22, which gives legislators a few weeks to adopt a finalized text.
Governor Tim Walz included funding for cannabis legalization in his budget last January and projected the millions of dollars in cannabis-related tax revenue his office expects after the reform takes effect.
Minnesota Cannabis Legalization Project Details
Here are the main elements of the revised cannabis legalization bills in Minnesota:
- Adults 21 and older could publicly buy and possess up to two ounces of cannabis (56 grams) and they would be allowed to grow up to eight plants at home, four of which could be in bloom.
- Possession of one and a half kilograms of cannabis in a private dwelling would be authorized
- It would be allowed to give up to two ounces of cannabis without remuneration between adults
- Previous cannabis offenses would also be expunged. THE Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be responsible for identifying those eligible for relief and automatically erasing
- In addition to private companies, municipalities and state counties could own and operate public dispensaries
- On-site consumption permits could be approved for events, and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill
- Municipalities would not have the right to prohibit cannabis businesses from setting up and operating on their territory, but they could set “reasonable” rules regarding the hours of operation and the location of these businesses
- Cannabis sales would be taxed between 8 and 10%. Thereafter, the Commissioner for Management and Budget would adjust the rate every two years so that revenue equals, or does not significantly exceed, the legalization implementation costs incurred by the various agencies.
- Part of the tax revenue would fund drug treatment programs, as well as grants to support farmers
The legislation would also promote social equity, including ensuring licensing diversity and awarding a higher score to pro-equity applicants. People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who lost their honor status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity candidates eligible for priority licensing. . People convicted of cannabis-related offences, or who have an immediate family member with such a conviction, could also benefit from this measure.
