The marijuana legalization bill passes an eleventh House committee. The latest addition in a long list of committees for this bill on its way to a floor vote later this month.
The House Taxes committee approved the legislation in a 12-6 vote. The next committee to see the bill will be the Ways and Means committee.
House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), Speaker Melissa Hortman (D), and other lawmakers sponsor the measure. It will allow adults 21 and over to purchase and possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis. People will also be able to cultivate up to eight plants. Four of which can be mature.
“Minnesotans across the state have personal experience with health conditions being improved with cannabis. They have seen that the current prohibition model using the criminal justice system has failed to keep cannabis out of the hands of kids,” Winkler said during opening remarks. “It has failed to stop the use of cannabis in Minnesota and, in fact, has created more problems than cannabis itself.”
He also emphasized that the plan is to keep taxes on marijuana low. The goal is to “make sure that there is no barrier in migrating from an illegal marketplace into a legal regulated marketplace.”
Amendments to the Legislation
The members of the House Taxes committee cleared the bill after adopting two amendments.
The first amendment aimed to clean up language that other committees made changes to. It concerns issues such as requirements for cannabis delivery business license applicants, standards for storing marijuana products, the appropriation of funds for various agencies and boards involved in the administration of the cannabis program.
The second amendment will direct the remaining cannabis revenue to a tax relief account. This will happen after implementation costs are covered and substance misuse treatment and prevention programs are funded.
Representative Pat Garofalo (R) made a statement in a press release. “The adoption of this amendment is a gamechanger.” Garofalo then said, “the Democrat majority accepting this amendment means that if signed into law, this bill will result in lowering taxes Minnesotans are forced to pay, financed with the revenue generated from taxes that people are choosing to pay.”
This latest approval comes just days after the Health Finance and Policy committee passed the measure. Before that, the marijuana legalization bill passes through nine other committees.
The Future of the Legislation
If the bill makes its way through the House and to the Senate, it will have an uphill battle to pass.
In the Republican-controlled Senate, lawmakers have indicated that they are more interested in revising the existing medical cannabis program. As opposed to enacting the legalization of adult-use cannabis.
As part of the legislation, social equity will be a priority. The legislation will ensure large corporations cannot monopolize the market. It will also ensure diverse licensing. Another step it will take is to expunge prior marijuana records.
On-site consumption and cannabis delivery services will be legal. In addition to this, the bill will prohibit local municipalities from banning or prohibiting marijuana businesses from operating in their areas.
The retail cannabis sales will have a 10 percent tax. A portion of the revenue will go towards funding a grant program designed to promote economic development and community stability.
The retail sales for cannabis would launch in December 2022.
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