Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Through Another Senate Committee
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Minnesota senators in a key committee have advanced a bill to legalize marijuana—the latest panel to consider the reform along its extensive legislative journey. The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee was the first panel in the chamber to consider the legislation from Sen. Lindsey Port (D) in January, taking testimony on the measure as introduced. Members took it back up on Friday, approving a series of amendments and voting to send it to its next committee without a recommendation. A total of 10 Senate committees have now officially approved the Senate measure, and a House companion version from Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) has cleared 13 committees in that chamber so far. “Prohibition of cannabis is a failed system that has not achieved the desired goals and has had incredible costs for our communities, especially for communities of color,” Port said on Friday. “We have an opportunity to undo some of the harm that has been done and create a system of regulation that works for Minnesota consumers and businesses, while ensuring an opportunity in this new market for communities that have been most affected by prohibition.”

“Our main goals are to legalize, regulate and expunge—and we are working to ensure that this bill does just that,” she said. While both versions have been amended numerous times throughout this process, a Senate panel adopted a comprehensive substitute from the sponsor at a prior committee stop on Tuesday that is primarily meant to address concerns from industry stakeholders who are operating under a cannabis law enacted last year that legalized low-THC edibles in the state. The amendment would create two new licensing categories, change license application and transfer provisions, provide cities and counties with more regulatory control and clean up language by combining previously distinct sections, among other revisions. Stephenson…

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Source : Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Through Another Senate Committee

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