Link. In part:
The DFL-controlled Minnesota House voted to legalize recreational marijuana for adults last year, but the measure stalled because Republicans controlling the state Senate opposed it. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz supports marijuana legalization.
At Tuesday's news conference, Hanson said regulating marijuana would benefit public health and safety. Law enforcement would have more time to investigate violent crimes, she said, and public health agencies would have fewer unregulated cannabis products to worry about.
Walz restated his support for legalizing marijuana Wednesday and said the edible law is a meaningful step toward it. "It's where Minnesotans want us to be, and we need to move in that direction," the governor said.
Senate Republican leaders said their position on marijuana legalization had not changed. In a statement Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, accused Democrats of being focused on the wrong issues.
"It's not really clear to me what Democrats are going to be running on this fall, but I can tell you Senate Republicans are committed to putting Minnesota on the right track," Miller said, adding that the GOP would cut taxes and address violent crime.
Kurtis Hanna, a lobbyist for the Minnesota chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said he thinks Minnesota might legalize marijuana sooner if Democrats hold the governor's office and win full control of the Legislature. But that may not be the only path, said Hanna, who is Republican.
Nineteen states have legalized marijuana and more could follow suit.
If it gets to be Dem majority control of both houses, and Walz reelected, a bill with detail would be needed. Clearly other state legislation would be considered for possible guidiance.
Washington State has installed a fair lottery procedure for sale and growing licensing; no playing favorites based on political connections. It seems to have worked well, and substantial tax revenue has resulted.
The problem in Minnesota, as in Washington, is banking - with federal law still lagging the State moves, banks are hesitant to enter account contracts to where it, in Washington, is a cash-only business. Robbery is a problem. A cash-only business having substantial cash on site, is something bad actors can figure to target. Also, inventory theft via robbery happens.
Federal law needs to be fixed. Even while federal enforcement of cannabis with THC is a scheduled drug has been curtailed; the statute still lists what it does.
Mj is less harmful than booze. It does not rot your liver and is less addictive. It more often mellows, rather than ginning up aggressiveness in large numbers of people. It does affect driving judgment, so expect DWS, (driving while stoned), to be a misdemeanor criminal offense. Field sobriety testing details may vary from booze sobriety testing; but expect a parallel law setup.
Time will tell when, not if - but when, Minnesota enters the trend. If this election favors the DFL, it would be legalization sooner than otherwise.