Powerful Anti-Marijuana Coalition In Minnesota Speaks Out Ahead Of State Legislature

Minnesota officials came ever so close to making adult-use cannabis legal in last year’s legislative session. The state’s Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted to legalize the plant in a party-line vote, marking the first time a rec bill had passed through either chamber in St. Paul.

The Republican-led Senate had only two days to act before the legislature adjourned on May 15, but decided to let the session finish without voting on the bill.

Now, the push for adult-use is heating up again in The Gopher State. Minnesota’s Senate could finally have to face adult-use head on when the legislature reconvenes on January 31.

And if a powerful coalition formed on Monday has its way, legislators will vote the bill down.

Minnesotans Against Marijuana Legalization brought together the Minnesota Trucking Association and the state’s police and peace officers association, along with the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the Minnesota Safety Council and the Insurance Federation of Minnesota, among several other groups, to campaign against rec.

Repeating the qualms of legislators opposed to the bill, MAML leaders argued during a news conference on Monday that making cannabis legal for all adults would result in more intoxicated drivers on roadways, more workforce employees being fired for positive cannabis tests and more young children being exposed to the plant before reaching the legal age to consume it.

“The marijuana bill that passed the Minnesota House last session was a marijuana commercialization bill,” argued Ryan Hamilton, spokesman for the Minnesota Catholic Conference. “As we’ve seen from other states that have opened the doors for the marijuana industry, the promises made to justify marijuana legalization rarely come true, particularly for communities of color.”

In the unlikely event the current version of the bill passes, adults 21 and older would be allowed to buy and possess up to 2 ounces of the plant and legally use it at their homes or private residences. The bill would also retroactively expunge minor cannabis crimes for people charged in the past for possessing what would be considered a legal amount of marijuana.

A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller told KTSP-TV that Senate Republicans remain opposed to the current version of the bill.