Minnesota Lawmakers Unveil Revised Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Committee Hearing Scheduled Next Week
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Minnesota lawmakers have unveiled a marijuana legalization bill and announced next steps to advance the reform in the 2023 legislative session. At a press conference on Thursday, the House and Senate sponsors of a revised legalization bill were joined by leaders of each chamber as well as advocates to preview the legislation, which largely aligns with an earlier measure that passed the House in 2021. Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) and Sen. Lindsey Port (D), who are sponsoring the proposal in their respective chambers, said that they already have a hearing scheduled in the House Commerce Committee next Wednesday. “Cannabis should not be illegal in Minnesota. Minnesotans deserve the freedom and respect to make responsible decisions about cannabis themselves,” Stephenson said. “Our current laws are doing more harm than good.” Port added that “we’ve seen the intense engagement from Minnesotans on this issue, we’ve heard about it in our communities and we are ready to act.” On the Senate side, Port said that they would be taking time to educate members in order to “build the same kind of bipartisan support that has been built in the House.” However, it’s her hope that an initial committee hearing will be held as early as two weeks from now.

The legislation is an iteration of the House-passed bill from former Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D), who now serves as campaign chairman of the advocacy coalition MN is Ready. That group announced last week that it would be lobbying for the measure while leading a grassroots effort to build support for reform. The political environment is ripe for advancing legalization in Minnesota following the November election, which put the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party newly in control of the Senate while maintaining its majority in the House. Gov. Tim Walz (D), who supports ending cannabis…

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Source : Minnesota Lawmakers Unveil Revised Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Committee Hearing Scheduled Next Week

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