Minnesota House votes to legalize marijuana

Minnesota took a step closer to legalizing recreational marijuana for adults after the DFL-controlled House passed the bill Tuesday.

The House approved the measure on a 71-59 vote after a long debate that spanned from Monday night into Tuesday afternoon. Next up is a vote in the Senate, which is scheduled for Friday.

"This is a bill that we can be proud of. I challenge anyone to come up with a bill that has gone through a more rigorous policy development," Rep. Zack Stephenson, a Coon Rapids Democrat who sponsored the bill, said Tuesday. He noted the marijuana bill was vetted by 16 House committees this year and received numerous hearings and public listening sessions in previous years.

Pending Senate approval, both the House and Senate bills will be sent to a conference committee where differences will be reconciled. The final compromise bill would then need one last vote before heading to DFL Gov. Tim Walz, who supports legalizing marijuana.

State lawmakers face a May 22 deadline to finish their work.

House Democrats previously passed a marijuana legalization bill in 2021, but Republicans who controlled the Senate at the time refused to act on the measure.

Some GOP support

Republicans in the House expressed reservations about the marijuana bill during a news conference Monday morning, but some members said they would vote for it.

"I myself will be supporting the bill," said Rep. Nolan West, R-Blaine, adding that Democrats have adopted his recommendations to lower possession limits and give law enforcement more funding for drug recognition experts who can spot impaired drivers.

Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, voted against the bill. She's concerned that high-potency marijuana products could negatively affect young people's health, and that allowing Minnesotans to grow their own marijuana at home could encourage black-market activity.

"We need to take our time," Robbins said. "Minnesota is not ready for this."

Robbins offered an amendment during the House debate to impose potency limits on marijuana products, but it was rejected by Democrats, some of whom argued that higher-potency products can be medically beneficial for chronic ailments.

Another unsuccessful amendment from Robbins would have allowed cities to deny marijuana business licenses. Democrats' bill allows cities to set restrictions on where marijuana businesses could operate, but they could not deny licenses.

In states that have legalized marijuana but allowed cities to opt out, "the illicit market continues to thrive and grow," Stephenson said, convincing his colleagues to reject Robbins' proposal.

Late Monday, West offered an amendment during the House discussion that would grandfather in existing hemp businesses, initially exempting them from new regulations that would be imposed under the marijuana bill.

Many hemp businesses began selling hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages after the Legislature legalized those products last year. But that law included few regulations and little enforcement for the hemp-derived THC edible industry.

West said it's unfair for the state to change the rules on hemp products "five minutes later."

"These hemp businesses … we passed a law and they assumed that'd be the law for more than five minutes," West said. "It puts onerous regulations on them."

Stephenson countered that the industry needs some guardrails. The House rejected West's amendment.

"We all want them to continue to prosper and grow," Stephenson said of the hemp businesses.

Details must be reconciled

Both the House and Senate bills would allow Minnesotans 21 and older to buy up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower, eight grams of concentrate and 800 milligrams worth of edible products at one time. Adults could also grow up to eight cannabis plants at home.

The amount of consumable marijuana that could be possessed at home is still under debate, as is the rate at which cannabis products would be taxed. The House bill imposes a private possession limit of 1½ pounds, while the Senate caps it at 2 pounds.

House Democrats have proposed an 8% gross receipts tax on cannabis products over the next four years, while Senate Democrats recently increased their proposed tax to 10%.

"We're going to have a good discussion about that in conference," Stephenson said, adding that House Democrats prefer a lower tax rate.

A new state agency would be established to oversee the licensing of recreational and medical marijuana businesses.

Stephenson estimates it would take up to a year, or more, to set up the regulatory structure before commercial sales would begin. But he said marijuana use would no longer be illegal starting this summer, and home growing would also be allowed then.

"It will be a while before Minnesotans can expect to see a dispensary open up," Stephenson said.