Minnesota’s House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee has voted to pass legislation to legalize marijuana.
Passage of measure through this third committee comes less than two weeks after it passed its first committee – the House Commerce, Finance and Policy Committee – and less than a week after its passage through the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee. Companion legislation sponsored by Senator Lindsey Port will receive its first hearing tomorrow.
“As I’ve said in other committees, Minnesotans are ready”, said Representative Zack Stephenson, the bill’s prime sponsor, following the vote. “This is the year that we should legalize adult-use cannabis in the state of Minnesota. Minnesotans deserve the freedom and respect to make their own decisions about cannabis, and we also need to recognize that our current laws are doing more harm than good.”
House Bill 100 would allow those 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and grow up to eight plants for personal use. The measure would setup a regulatory framework for licensed retail marijuana outlets and would establish a state Cannabis Management Office to oversee the legal marijuana market. The measure would establish an 8% marijuana excise tax, which would be added to the state’s standard 6.8% sales tax.
The full text of House Bill 100 can be found by clicking here.
