Minnesota Assembly approves cannabis legalization

The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday bill to legalize cannabis in the state after several weeks of in-depth review by the committee and a two-day debate.

Meanwhile, the Senate’s supplementary bill will be reviewed by its final committee today before possibly being presented to the National Assembly, which is expected to happen by the end of the week.

Representative Zack Stephenson’s bill was approved by the full House, with amendments, by a vote of 71 to 59. Throughout the session, the bill was reviewed by 15 committees before being submitted to the Assembly.

«Ladies and gentlemen of the House, our cannabis laws are not being followed. Prohibition has failed,» Zack Stephenson said Tuesday. «It is not achieving any of its objectives, and its costs—both in dollars and in human terms—are overwhelming.»

«If you support prohibition because you want to limit cannabis use, you have to face the facts: it has been proven for 50 years that the criminal justice system cannot achieve this goal,» he said. «I say this as a prosecutor. The criminal justice system cannot achieve this goal. If it could, don’t you think it would have done so already?».

With a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and control of the governor’s office during this session, Democratic Party leaders have expressed confidence that the legalization bill will be passed this year. The legislative session ends on May 22, leaving lawmakers a few weeks to pass a finalized bill.

Governor Tim Walz included funding for cannabis legalization in his budget last January and has projected the millions of dollars in cannabis-related tax revenue that his office expects once the reform takes effect.

Details of the proposed cannabis legalization bill in Minnesota

Here are the main provisions of the revised bills on cannabis legalization in Minnesota:

• Adults aged 21 and older would be able to purchase and possess in public 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 residence would be permitted
• Adults would be allowed to give up to two ounces of cannabis to one another without compensation
• Previous cannabis-related offenses would also be expunged. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be responsible for identifying individuals eligible for relief and automatically processing their removal
• In addition to private companies, municipalities and counties within the state could own and operate public health clinics
• 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 within their jurisdictions, but they could establish «reasonable» rules regarding the businesses’ hours of operation and location
• Cannabis sales would be taxed at a rate between 8 and 10%. Subsequently, the Commissioner of Management and Budget would adjust the rate every two years so that revenues equal, or do not significantly exceed, the costs incurred by the various agencies in implementing legalization.
• A portion of the tax revenue would be used to fund substance abuse treatment programs, as well as subsidies to support farmers

The legislation would also promote social equity, particularly by ensuring diversity in licensing and by awarding higher scores to applicants who support equity. People living in low-income neighborhoods and military veterans who have lost their honor status due to a cannabis-related offense would be considered social equity applicants eligible for priority licensing. Individuals convicted of cannabis-related offenses, or who have an immediate family member with such a conviction, could also benefit from this measure.