The Minnesota House passed a bill Thursday night that would legalize marijuana legalization in the state, a historic vote for an effort some have pushed for decades.
Minnesota house approves recreational marijuana bill
“This bill is long overdue,” said House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley.
“Minnesotans have decided it’s time to legalize cannabis and the evil of criminal prohibition of cannabis.”
The bills passage in a 72-61 hearing – with some Republican support and some DFL shortcomings – is the furthest the proposal has ever traveled through the Minnesota legislature, and follows a dozen Capitol Committee hearings, community meeting in the state context and consultation with state agencies.
However, the proposal comes to a sharp halt in the Minnesota Senate, where the GOP does not absorb in control.
Supporters believe legalization will further bend the arc toward fairness and racial equity, as black Minnesotans are disproportionately affected by the state’s current laws prohibiting marijuana use.
Blacks in the state are five times more likely than whites in Minnesota to be arrested for marijuana following an ACLU report.
The 250-page bill would approve marijuana for Minnesotans over 21, eliminate low-level cannabis convictions, establish an exposure board to review the most serious cannabis offenses, and provide grants and loans to small businesses trying to take advantage of the new legal industry.
The language allows individuals to have up to ten pounds of cannabis in their homes and up to two ounces in a public place
