Minnesota lawmakers finish marijuana legalization bill; final votes up next

A conference committee finished merging the House and Senate bills to legalize recreational use

May 17, 20230

Glen Stubbe, Star Tribune count

Cannabis bill authors Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, and Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, conferred before the final conference committee meeting Tuesday.

Minnesota is poised to legalize recreational marijuana as early as this week after legislative negotiators finalized the bill and readied it for last votes in the House and Senate.

A conference committee tasked with merging the House and Senate marijuana bills into one finished its work on Tuesday. Among many changes, the committee set the tax rate for cannabis products at 10%, capped home possession of marijuana flower at 2 pounds and gave cities the option of limiting the number of cannabis retailers within their limits.

"It has been an incredible journey ... to get this bill to this place," said state Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, the bill's House sponsor.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-lawmakers-finalize-marijuana-legalization-bill-final-votes-up-next-cannabis/600275311/