{"id":47625,"date":"2021-05-10T14:19:11","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T22:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/05\/10\/minnesota-marijuana-legalization-bill-could-absolutely-pass-full-legislature-if-gop-senate-allows-a-vote-sponsor-says\/"},"modified":"2021-05-11T01:45:23","modified_gmt":"2021-05-11T09:45:23","slug":"minnesota-marijuana-legalization-bill-could-absolutely-pass-full-legislature-if-gop-senate-allows-a-vote-sponsor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/05\/10\/minnesota-marijuana-legalization-bill-could-absolutely-pass-full-legislature-if-gop-senate-allows-a-vote-sponsor-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Could \u2018Absolutely\u2019 Pass Full Legislature If GOP Senate Allows A Vote, Sponsor Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota is set for a House floor vote this week, and the sponsor of the legislation is optimistic that it could pass the full legislature\u2014if only the GOP-controlled Senate would just allow a vote on it.<\/p>\n

This measure\u2014filed by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and other lawmakers\u2014has moved through a dozen committees since February. 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.<\/p>\n

Despite being advanced through 12 House panels, there have been lingering doubts about its prospects in the Senate. But Winkler said in an interview on Sunday that, if Republican leadership in the chamber give it a vote, \u201cit absolutely could pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cSupport for legalizing cannabis for recreational or personal use, making sure that we have a safe, regulated marketplace, that we are expunging criminal records for people who\u2019ve been unfairly targeted for law enforcement reasons for cannabis in the past, making sure that we\u2019re creating a marketplace that reflects Minnesota\u2019s values\u2014all those things are our priorities in this bill, and they are priorities for Minnesotans of all political persuasions,\u201d Winkler said.<\/p>\n

Pressed on whether the legislation could advance through the Republican-led Senate if it advances through the House, the leader said it \u201cabsolutely could pass,\u201d citing public polling on the issue and the fact that South Dakota voters approved a legalization initiative last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt cuts across both parties,\u201d Winkler said. \u201cI don\u2019t see any reason why it wouldn\u2019t pass both houses if the vote can come up in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

But one provision of the legalization bill that the leader isn\u2019t willing to cede on concerns expungements for people with prior cannabis convictions.<\/p>\n

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Convictions for non-violent cannabis offenses push people into a cycle of poverty that cuts them off from housing and jobs. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why expunging existing cannabis offenses is a non-negotiable piece of our legalization bill. This is an economic and criminal justice issue.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ryan Winkler (@_RyanWinkler) May 10, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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He said in a tweet on Monday that \u201cexpunging existing cannabis offenses is a non-negotiable piece of our legalization bill,\u201d and that \u201cis an economic and criminal justice issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Republican support remains an open question in either chamber, it is the case that the proposal has earned the support of several GOP members as its moved through an extensive committee process.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s despite the fact that Republicans have generally signaled that they\u2019re more interested in revising the state\u2019s existing medical cannabis program than enacting legalization of adult use.<\/p>\n

But a GOP member of the House Taxes Committee, which approved the broader legalization bill last week<\/a>, indicated that he felt an amendment he introduced and that was adopted could bolster Republican support.<\/p>\n

That revision from Rep. Pat Garofolo (R) directs remaining cannabis revenue to a tax relief account after implementation costs are covered and substance misuse treatment and prevention programs are funded.<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,100 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the Taxes Committee, the bill passed the\u00a0Health Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Education Finance Committee<\/a>,\u00a0State Government Finance and Elections Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Commerce Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The litany of committees the bill has gone through makes it perhaps the most thoroughly vetted legalization measure to move through a state legislature\u2014and it means that a solid portion of the House has already had the chance to review, propose amendments to and vote on the legislation it as it advances to the floor, presumably increasing its chances of passage in the chamber.<\/p>\n

The majority leader\u2019s bill as introduced was identical to a proposal he filed last year, with some minor technical changes. Winkler, who led a statewide listening to gather public input ahead of the measure\u2019s introduction, called it the\u00a0\u201cbest legalization bill in the country\u201d<\/a>\u00a0at the time. It did not advance in that session, however.<\/p>\n

Under the legislation, 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0bill<\/a>\u00a0calls 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 month to add members to that board who have a social justice background.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Cannabis retails sales would launch on December 31, 2022.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0boost the economy and promote racial justice<\/a>. He did not include a request to legalize through his budget proposal, however.<\/p>\n

Walz did say in 2019 that he was\u00a0directing state agencies to prepare to implement reform<\/a>\u00a0in anticipation of legalization passing.<\/p>\n

Winkler, meanwhile, said in December that if Senate Republicans don\u2019t go along with the policy change legislatively, he said he hopes they will\u00a0at least let voters decide on cannabis<\/a>\u00a0as a 2022 ballot measure.<\/p>\n

Heading into the 2020 election, Democrats believed they had a shot of taking control of the Senate, but that didn\u2019t happen. The result appears to be partly due to the fact that candidates from marijuana-focused parties in the state\u00a0earned a sizable share of votes<\/a>\u00a0that may have otherwise gone to Democrats, perhaps inadvertently hurting the chances of reform passing.<\/p>\n

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,\u00a0including marijuana decriminalization and expungements<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Head Of Top Federal Drug Agency Says It\u2019s Time To Consider Decriminalization<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The post Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Could \u2018Absolutely\u2019 Pass Full Legislature If GOP Senate Allows A Vote, Sponsor Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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A bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota is set for a House floor vote this week, and the sponsor of the legislation is optimistic that it could pass the full legislature\u2014if only the GOP-controlled Senate would just allow a vote on it. This measure\u2014filed by House Majority Leader Ryan WinklerContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":47626,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47625"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47627,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47625\/revisions\/47627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}