Full MN House To Vote Monday On Recreational Marijuana Bill

ST. PAUL, MN — After clearing more than a dozen committees since it was introduced in January, a bill to legalize recreational marijuana will receive a vote Monday on the Minnesota House floor. The House will gavel in at 11:30 a.m.

Earlier this week, the Ways and Means Committee approved House File 100, setting up a grand showdown between advocates and opponents of legalizing cannabis. Democrats — who control the House and the Senate are confident they have the votes to pass the bill.

If the bill does pass the House, a vote in the Senate is expected to follow.

About $70 million from the bill will go to establishing regulations and oversight, plus funding law enforcement training on cannabis and marijuana addiction programs. Sponsors say the bill will pay for itself with funds generated from licensing fees and an 8 percent sales tax on cannabis.

The bill states that people aged 21 or older are allowed to

• Use and possess cannabis paraphernalia
• Possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis in public
• Possess up to 5 pounds of cannabis in a person’s home
• Possess up to 8 grams or less of adult-use cannabis concentrate
• Possess edibles with up to 800 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol
• Use cannabis products in private areas
• Grow up to eight cannabis plants, but only up to four that are flowering

The bill also sets into motion the automatic expungement of nonfelony cannabis offenses in Minnesota.

Where you can't smoke, sell, or possess cannabis:

• No smoking cannabis in places where smoking is prohibited under the Clean Indoor Air Act
• Using cannabis products while driving, operating, or being in physical control of a motor vehicle is a misdemeanor offense
• Local governments in Minnesota can regulate use of cannabis in public places, but penalties are limited to a petty misdemeanor only
• Selling cannabis products without a state license is a felony offense
  • Increased penalties for repeat offenders, people who sell to kids, or sell in a school zone, park, treatment facility, public housing zone, etc.
• Prohibits cannabis retailers from operating between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Mondays through Fridays, and between 2:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Sundays.

Read a summary of the bill here.