During a recent radio appearance, incoming Minnesota governor Tim Walz suggested that state lawmakers could pass a recreational cannabis measure in the next legislative session. The Democrat said during the Friday morning show on WCCO that cannabis in Minnesota could finally happen in 2023.
Senate Democrats have not stated outright that they will advance cannabis legalization, but they have majority numbers and will be able to go around any pushback offered by GOP senators. On the other hand, House Democrats seem to be ready to approve marijuana legalization in the state if the matter lands on the floor.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman recently told reporters that the House was in favor of approving recreational cannabis and would pass a legalization bill. Governor Waltz said during the podcast that former governor Jesse Ventura would be invited to any bill-signing ceremonies that may occur in the future. He said that it would be important to recognize Ventura, who began talking about cannabis legalization in 1998, long before most states were even considering legalizing cannabis.
Waltz said that allowing cannabis sales and use by adults “just makes sense,” stating that drug prohibition did not work and that crafting better rules and regulations would be a much better way to tackle the issue.
Last year, the Minnesota House approved a legalization measure that would allow recreational marijuana in the state for adults aged 21 and older. The measure would also expunge low-level, cannabis-related convictions, and issue small businesses with loans and grants to allow them to enter the cannabis industry. Minnesotans would also be allowed to hold up to 10 pounds of marijuana at home and up to 2 ounces in public.
Unfortunately, the 250-page bill failed to advance past the Republican-controlled senate. Now that Democrats have secured control of the House, Senate and governor’s office, it is extremely likely that the state will pass some kind of cannabis legalization bill in the near future.
Public opinion on cannabis has been improving across the state, with a recent survey by Star Tribune finding that 53% were in favor of last year’s legalization measure, 36% did not support cannabis legalization and 11% were unsure.
Unsurprisingly, younger Minnesotans as well as Democrats tended to have more support for legalizing marijuana compared to older Minnesotans and Republicans.
Allowing recreational cannabis sales in Minnesota could generate more than $1 billion in sales and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue as well as create 20,000 new job opportunities for Minnesotans.
In more mature cannabis markets, entities such as REZYFi Inc. are helping licensed cannabis companies obtain the financing they need to expand, develop new products and generally contribute to the communities they serve.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to REZYFi, Inc. are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/REZY
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