The Minnesota House on Saturday passed the omnibus cannabis policy bill that makes changes to the state’s adult-use cannabis law and will set up the marketplace, moving it to Gov. Tim Walz (D) for his signature. The bill passed the state Senate on May 5.
The bill creates a lower-potency hemp wholesaler license, allows individuals with adjudicated cannabis-related sentence to be social equity applicants, allows vendors to provide samples at cannabis events, allows manufacturers in Minnesota to export low-potency hemp products out of the state that aren’t compliant in Minnesota, allows testing facilities to begin testing while in the accreditation process, and allows a beverage to be one serving with no more than 10 milligrams of THC.
In a press release, state Rep. Nolan West (R), who collaborated with bill sponsor state Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) on the legislation, pointed out that Ohio legalized cannabis six months after Minnesota in 2023, but Minnesota doesn’t yet have a licensed adult-use cannabis store.
“We could do a lot better. Thankfully, this bill does help. We have a hopelessly convoluted regulatory system based on this fantasy that you can create a craft cannabis market based on government regulation.” — West in a statement
State Sen. D. Scott Dibble (D), the Senate sponsor, called the bill “a big win” for the Senate. However, state Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (R) said promises made in the 2023 law legalizing adult-use cannabis have fallen short and that the bill is missing items that would protect consumers.
Among the Senate proposals that weren’t included in the agreement was label requirements for cannabis packaging warning that children shouldn’t consume cannabis products.
Walz signed the bill legalizing cannabis for adult use in 2023. It is expected he will sign the legislation to update the state’s cannabis law.
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