Legislation to legalize marijuana in Minnesota has officially been sent to Governor Tim Walz, who plans to sign it into law.
HF 100 was given final passage today by the Senate, a day after the House concurred with changes made in a conference committee. Now that both chambers have coalesced around one bill and given it final passage, it will be sent to Governor Walz who is expected to swiftly sign it into law.
The final vote on HF 100 in the House of Representatives was 73 to 57. The final vote in the Senate was 34 to 32.
Once signed into law the measure will allow those who are at least 21 years old to possess up to two ounces of marijuana, eight grams of marijuana concentrates and 800mg of marijuana edibles. Those 21+ would also be allowed to cultivate up to eight marijuana plants, and possess up to two pounds at a private residence
The measure creates the Office of Cannabis Management and tasks it with overseeing the legal marijuana industry, which will include a system of licensed marijuana retail outlets supplied by licensed producers. Marijuana will be taxed at 10%.
Under the law localities won’t be allowed to ban marijuana stores outright, but will be able to limit them to one per 12,500 residents.
The proposal also allows for the automatic expungement of past marijuana convictions, with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension charged with overseeing the expungement process.
