After months of debate in more than two dozen committees, the Legislature has passed a sweeping 321-page bill to legalize marijuana in the state. Legislative negotiators ironed out differences between the bills passed by the House and Senate in April and a final version was released Wednesday.
The House voted 73-57 to pass the final bill late Thursday, while the Senate gave its approval early Saturday by a margin of 34-32. The bill now heads to Gov. Tim Walz, who has pledged to sign it into law.
Here are answers to questions about the cannabis bill.
The bill would legalize the possession and use of marijuana for Minnesotans 21 and older. It would create a new state agency, called the Office of Cannabis Management, tasked with licensing cannabis and hemp businesses and overseeing a legal recreational market, as well as the existing medical cannabis and hemp-derived markets. The bill mandates the expungement of all misdemeanor marijuana offenses and creates a Cannabis Expungement Board to review felony offenses for possible expungement on a case-by-case basis. It also imposes new rules and requirements for hemp-based THC drinks and edibles, which exploded in popularity after they were legalized last year.
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