Legalization just passed in both the state house and state senate this week. All that remains is for it to go to conference committee to iron out the differences of the two bills and then to the Governor’s desk. The Governor has been a major supporter so it is basically a sure thing that it will happen. They have done a fair bit of research on how legalization has worked in other states and have used that to help craft the bill, with the goal in mind of minimizing the black market by making weed cheap enough and widely available enough that the legal market can be price competitive.
Some of the features:
Retail sales should begin Jan 1 2024, most of the other provisions go into effect this summer.
Counties and local municipalities can control the location of cannabis businesses through zoning but they can’t prohibit them or have local taxes.
The state tax will be low - it is 8% in the house version and 10% in the senate version. The goal is for taxes to pay for the administrative system, and nothing beyond that. It isn’t meant to be a revenue grab to add funds to the state coffers. They want taxes to be low enough for dispensaries to beat the black market on price.
Homegrow is allowed with 8 plants permitted, four flowering. Being over the plant count will be a violation (like a traffic ticket), $150 fine per plant. People will be allowed by right to grow in rental properties they live in (they don’t have to ask the landlord’s permission) unless it is explicitly prohibited in the lease.
Prior misdemeanor convictions will be automatically expunged. Felony convictions will be expunged with review. The basic premise behind the review is that if you were just charged with a cannabis felony it will be expunged but if you were originally charged with a violent crime but pled down to a cannabis charge it is less likely. People currently in prison or on probation who qualify for expungement will be released. This part is immediate once the bill is signed.
Employment related drug tests for weed will be prohibited except in cases of accidents or where they are federally mandated.
Low dose (5mg) edibles and drinks can be sold from any business with a food and beverage license - grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants and bars.
It will create a public usage license for consumption at cannabis related events and festivals.
Smoking cannabis in public is banned in places where tobacco is currently banned. Local municipalities will decide where else in public it can or can’t be used.
Hennepin County, which is the most populous county in the state, and where I live, stopped cannabis prosecutions in 2019 so it has been de facto legal in Minneapolis and many of its suburbs since then, but it is exciting for it to become official and have it be state wide.
