Early Saturday, the Minnesota Senate voted in favor of legalizing adult-use cannabis. The bill has been passed to the desk of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for final approval.
The bill allows Minnesota residents 21 and older to purchase up to two ounces of cannabis flower, eight grams of concentrate, and 800 milligrams worth of edible products at a time. And it isn’t confined to their homes. Adults can possess those amounts while in public. However, within the comfort of their own home, residents 21 years old and older can grow up to eight cannabis plants at one time, although, in ever-particular marijuana laws, only four of those eight plants are allowed to be mature and flowering at one time. The tax rate for cannabis products will be 10 percent.
The Minnesota House approved the bill last Thursday.
The Democrats are already celebrating the victory. “The day has finally arrived. Today is the day that we are going to vote here in the House for the last time to legalize cannabis and bring the change that many Minnesotans have wanted for a very long time,” says state Democrat Rep. Zack Stephenson, the Coon Rapids representative who sponsored the bill.
Even some Republicans see the bill’s benefit, making Minnesota the 23rd state in the U.S. to legalize adult-use cannabis and the 11th state to allow home-growing. Republican Rep. Nolan West of Blaine, Minnesota, says he’s glad they included the GOP in the conference committee that finalized the bill. “While it’s not the perfect bill, it is much better than when it [first] left the House,” West says, who voted in favor of it. However, he adds that he was happy that cities could limit the number of cannabis retailers, which is good news for the black market, and intimidating news for those looking to enter the legal market, which due to taxes, red tape, and banking restrictions among other issues, is becoming harder and harder to turn a profit in.
However, not all Minnesota Republicans are so accepting. For instance, Republican Rep. Jeff Backer of Browns Valley made it clear that he’s against the provision allowing people to possess two pounds of cannabis flower in their homes. (Most states that have legalized adult-use cannabis have at-home possession limits that are much lower. For instance, in California, you can only have one ounce of dried cannabis flower.) “Folks, that’s 2,724 joints. That is going to get in the hands of the kids,” Backer says, an opponent who voted against the measure. “If we do not protect our next generation, kids, then why are we here?”
Republicans also expressed concern about more people driving under the influence of cannabis, even though a recent Canadian study found that legalizing marijuana does not lead to an uptick in car crashes.
If the bill passes, it automatically expunges misdemeanor marijuana convictions and creates a committee considering expunging felony-level cannabis offenses. But, according to the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, it could take the agency up to a year to erase all of the misdemeanor records, so those most affected by the War on Drugs can’t break out their legal joints and celebrate just yet. Additionally, it could take up to a year or even longer before Minnesota sees any legal dispensaries up and running. Should the bill pass, there will also be a new state agency, the Office of Cannabis Management, which will oversee licensing of both adult-use and medical cannabis, in addition to hemp-derived products already legal in the state.
However, starting August 1st, Minnesota will decriminalize cannabis possession, legalize home-growing, and begin expunging past marijuana convictions.
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