A Democrat-controlled Minnesota legislature could lead to a full adult-use cannabis market in 2023.
Minnesota’s current governor, Tim Walz, has already stated his support for such legislation and is expected to sign it into law if it makes it to his desk.
The Blue Wave
After 6 years of GOP dominance, Minnesota Democrats have finally regained control of the state’s Senate, House and governor’s office.
Republicans are feeling the sting: after a wave of wins in 2018, they expected to gain ground in Minnesota—but instead, they lost it. The GOP lost control of the House and Senate, and Democrats gained control of both chambers for the first time in 6 years. They also won back the governor’s mansion for the first time since 2010.
The change means that Democrats can take more decisive action on issues like adult-use cannabis legalization, where their Republican counterparts were largely beholden to their party leadership.
The Future Of Cannabis In Minnesota
Governor Tim Walz says it’s time to legalize recreational cannabis in Minnesota, and we couldn’t agree more.
The state’s GOP-led government had legalized hemp-derived products containing delta-8 and delta-9 THC, and medical cannabis has been legal since 2015, but the program comes with a lot of strings attached — like only two authorized medical cannabis retailers — and the Democrats think it’s time for a change.
While some state legislators have been pushing for legalization for years, they’ve been unable to get anything done because of Republican legislative control. However, this month’s midterm election saw the GOP lose their majority in both houses of Minnesota’s legislature; now Democrats are set up to pass legislation on their own without needing Republican votes as well.
That means that if Walz is serious about this issue (and we think he is), then legalization could happen sooner rather than later in Minnesota.
Minnesota’s 2023 legislative session is set to start on Jan. 3.
A New Future For Cannabis
With the midterm elections over, it’s time to take stock of the state of cannabis in America.
America is a diverse country with many different beliefs, but when it comes to cannabis legalization, there’s a consensus: the majority of Americans support it. Before the midterms, only 19 states and Washington D.C. had legal cannabis programs despite overwhelming support for legal adult markets. In fact, 53% of Minnesotans support legalization; luckily, they finally have a party in power that can give them what they need.
Voters in Missouri and Maryland voted to legalize recreational marijuana, and referendums efforts are already underway in Florida, Nebraska, Wyoming and Ohio—along with Oklahoma—that could land the question on ballots in 2023 or 2024.
It’s time we let people who want to use marijuana do so without fear of prosecution or persecution—not only because these people are being denied something that’s medically useful, can provide jobs and even increases tax revenue (not to mention its just kind of fun to smoke weed).
We can’t help but feel like this is an important time for Minnesota—and the rest of the country. It’s a time when we’ve seen the people of our state finally get the opportunity to move forward with legalization, and it’s a time when we should look at what’s happening in Minnesota as an example for other states to follow.
We know that plenty of people don’t agree with us on this issue, but we believe that moving forward with legalization is ultimately a logical choice. If you look at the facts, you’ll see that legalizing recreational cannabis isn’t only good for individuals and communities—it’s also good for businesses and even for the economy as a whole. We want everyone to be able to reap these benefits, which is why we’re calling on lawmakers across the country to follow Minnesota’s lead and legalize adult-use cannabis.
We also hope that next year brings even better news for weed—and that we’ll see federal legalization pass before too long!
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