![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-11.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Another Minnesota Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana\u2014marking one of the final stops in the chamber on its long path to the floor.<\/p>\n
The legislation from Sen. Lindsey Port (D) cleared the Senate Rules and Administration Committee in a voice vote on Tuesday. It now has just two more expected panels to go through before the full body can take up the measure.<\/p>\n
This comes about a week after the House companion version, sponsored by Rep. Zack Stephenson (D), moved through its 14th committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been thoughtful and methodical on our work on this legislation\u2014and we\u2019re being diligent and including all stakeholders as we craft this legislation,\u201d Port said at the panel hearing on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Both the Senate and House bills have been amended numerous times throughout this process, with lawmakers working to incorporate public feedback, revise policies around issues like tax structures for the market and tighten up language.<\/p>\n For example, a Senate panel\u00a0adopted a comprehensive substitute<\/a> from the sponsor at a prior committee stop in March that is primarily meant to address concerns from industry stakeholders who are operating under a cannabis law enacted last year that legalized low-THC edibles in the state<\/a>.<\/p>\n The House bill also went through a major revision in committee<\/a>, with members adopting a series of amendments that make the measures more closely aligned. However, it\u2019s likely that a bicameral conference committee will need to convene to address outstanding differences once the full House and Senate act on their respective versions.<\/p>\n With majorities in both the House and Senate and control over the governorship this session, Democratic-Farmer-Labor party officials are confident that legalization will be enacted in short order following the extensive committee consideration.<\/p>\n Gov. Tim Walz (D) released his biennial budget request<\/a> in January, which included proposed funding to implement marijuana legalization and expungements, and made projections about the millions of dollars in cannabis tax revenue that his office estimates the state will earn after the reform is enacted.<\/p>\n The legislation that\u2019s advancing is an iteration of the 2021 House-passed bill from former Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), who now\u00a0serves as campaign chairman of the advocacy coalition MN is Ready<\/a>.<\/p>\n The governor has called on supporters to join lawmakers and the administration in their push legalize marijuana this session, and\u00a0he circulated an email blast in January<\/a>\u00a0that encourages people to sign a petition backing the reform.<\/p>\n Much of the revised bills that are advancing through committee are consistent with Winkler\u2019s legislation, though there are a few key changes, in addition to all of the newly adopted amendments. For example, they add a new license category for businesses that sell \u201clower-potency edible products.\u201d<\/p>\n There would also be reduced regulatory requirements for those licensees, and they\u2019d be able to permit on-site consumption if they have a liquor license, which is meant to ensure that shops currently selling low-THC beverages and edibles don\u2019t face disruption.<\/p>\n During Tuesday\u2019s committee hearing<\/a>, members did not consider any amendments.<\/p>\n The Senate bill\u2019s next stop is the Taxes Committee. Meanwhile, the House version is heading to the Ways and Means Committee, which was scheduled to consider the legislation on Monday before it was pulled from the agenda.<\/p>\n Here are the main components of the revised marijuana legalization\u00a0bills,\u00a0HF 100<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0SF 73<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n Adults 21 and older could purchase up to two ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to eight plants, four of which could be mature.<\/p>\n They could possess up to two ounces in a public place and up to five pounds in a private dwelling.<\/p>\n Gifting up to two ounces of marijuana without remuneration between adults would be permitted.<\/p>\n It would promote social equity, in part by ensuring that diverse licensing by scoring equity applicants higher.<\/p>\n Prior marijuana records would also be automatically expunged. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be responsible for identifying people who are eligible for relief and process the expungements.<\/p>\n In addition to creating a system of licensed cannabis businesses, municipalities and counties could own and operate government dispensaries.<\/p>\n On-site consumption permits could be approved for events, and cannabis delivery services would be permitted under the bill.<\/p>\n Unlike in many legal states, local municipalities would be banned from prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas, though they could set \u201creasonable\u201d regulations on the time of operation and location of those businesses.<\/p>\n Retail cannabis sales would be taxed at eight percent. Part of that revenue would fund substance misuse treatment programs, as well as grants to support farmers.<\/p>\n A new Office of Cannabis Management would be established, and it would be responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses. There would be a designated Division of Social Equity.<\/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 The legislation as revised fixes an issue in current statute that prohibits liquor stores from selling THC products.<\/p>\n It also contains language banning synthetic cannabinoids, which is consistent with Board of Pharmacy rules put into place last year.<\/p>\n \u2014 The House panels that have passed the legislation in recent weeks are the Taxes Committee<\/a>, Transportation Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Health Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Education Finance Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Human Services Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Commerce Finance and Policy Committee<\/a>\u00a0(twice<\/a>).<\/p>\n The Senate committees that have signed off so far are the\u00a0State and Local Government and Veterans Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Labor Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Human Services Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Health and Human Services Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Transportation Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Jobs and Economic Development Committee<\/a>,\u00a0Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Judiciary and Public Safety Committee<\/a>\u00a0(twice)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lawmakers and the governor have expressed optimism about the prospects of legalization this session, especially with Democrats newly in control of both chambers, whereas last session they only had a House majority.<\/p>\n Following their election win in November,\u00a0Democrats internally agreed to discuss the issue<\/a>\u00a0imminently.<\/p>\n House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) had said that she expects cannabis reform to be included in the governor\u2019s forthcoming budget request, though she reiterated that the reform \u201cwill take a long time\u201d to move through the legislature.<\/p>\n The governor\u00a0included funding for implementing legalization<\/a>\u00a0in his last executive budget request, but lawmakers were unable to enact the policy change. He and Hortman have differing opinions about how quickly the issue can advance this session, however, with Walz\u00a0recently saying it would be done \u201cby May\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and the speaker indicating it could take until next year.<\/p>\n Winkler, who\u00a0recently launched a THC beverage company<\/a>, told Marijuana Moment that he agrees with the governor, saying \u201cit is likely that [passing legalization] will be done by May.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason is that the legislature adjourns until next year at the end of May, and so if they don\u2019t do it in that timeline, it\u2019ll take another full year\u2014and I don\u2019t think anything will be improved or bettered by waiting,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s in everyone\u2019s interest to get this bill passed.\u201d<\/p>\n Two polls released in September found that the majority of Minnesota residents\u00a0support adult-use marijuana legalization<\/a>\u2014and one survey showed that even more Minnesotans approve of the state\u2019s move to legalize THC-infused edibles that was enacted last year.<\/p>\n A\u00a0survey conducted by officials with the House<\/a>\u00a0at the annual State Fair that was released in September also found majority support for legalization. That legislature-run poll found that 61 percent of Minnesotans back legalizing cannabis for adult use.<\/p>\n Support was up this year from 58 percent when the House Public Information Services\u00a0polled fair goers on the issue in 2021<\/a>. In 2019,\u00a0the House poll found 56 percent<\/a>\u00a0support for legalization.<\/p>\n Arkansas Lawmakers Approve Bill To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients\u2019 Rights To Carry Concealed Guns<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved In Another Senate Committee, With Just Two More To Go Before Floor Vote<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Another Minnesota Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana\u2014marking one of the final stops in the chamber on its long path to the floor. The legislation from Sen. Lindsey Port (D) cleared the Senate Rules and Administration Committee in a voice vote on Tuesday. It now has justContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":63438,"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\/63437"}],"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=63437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63439,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63437\/revisions\/63439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-10.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/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\n
\n
\nRead More: Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved In Another Senate Committee, With Just Two More To Go Before Floor Vote<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"