What is the State of Marijuana in Minnesota?
Both medical and recreational marijuana are legal in Minnesota. While medical cannabis became legal in the state in 2014, adult-use marijuana only became legal in Minnesota on August 1, 2023. In May 2014, Governor Mark Dayton approved the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Act. The Minnesota Medical Cannabis Act created the state's Medical Cannabis Program and Registry under the Minnesota Department of Health in 2014. Registration for the program commenced on June 1, 2015, and the distribution of medical marijuana commenced on July 1, 2015. Registration for the program authorizes qualified patients to use medical cannabis to treat specific qualifying medical conditions as prescribed by a physician. The Division of Medical Cannabis was created in 2014 to enact medical cannabis legislation. It also regulates the cultivation, production, distribution, processing, sale, and use of medical marijuana in the state.
In December 2021, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) introduced infused edibles as a new alternative to marijuana consumption. Prior to this law, registered patients can only use medical cannabis as topicals, pills, vapor oils, lozenges, and powdered combinations. However, the law is now effective and residents can use infused edibles in the form of gummies and chews.
When Minnesota legalized recreational cannabis in August 2023, it set a start date of 2025 for legal sales of adult-use marijuana in the state. The new law also created the Office of Cannabis Management, which will be responsible for Minnesota medical marijuana program as well as the implementation of its recreational marijuana policies from March 1, 2025.
How has Marijuana Affected the Minnesota Economy?
Although medical marijuana has been legalized in Minnesota, it is yet to make any measurable impact on the state's economy. As of December 2022, medical marijuana is not subject to sales, excise, or tobacco taxes. Due to this, there is no significant tax revenue being remitted to the state. However, in the area of job creation, the legalization of medical marijuana in Minnesota, the state has brought about the establishment of 14 dispensaries. Consequently, this has led to the creation of more jobs in the state. There are no official reports showing data on the number of jobs created or the amount of income generated in Minnesota.
A Denver-based marijuana industry consultant, who keynoted a Minneapolis conference on the impacts of legalization on business and the government, estimated the economic potentials of legalizing recreational marijuana. Minnpost published an article on these estimates, detailing that marijuana has the potential of generating within five years of legalization, $1.12 billion in sales, $300 million in taxation, and creating 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Minnesota recreational marijuana law sets a 10% tax on the gross receipts of cannabis retail sales. When the state’s adult-use cannabis market finally takes off in 2025, this cannabis tax is expected to generate significant revenue and improve the state’s economy.
What is the Marijuana Crime Rate in Minnesota?
The crime rate in Minnesota has constantly reduced since the legalization of medical marijuana in Minnesota in 2014. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), under the Division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, publishes yearly reports on the state's crime rate. In its 2014 report, the number of arrests for the possession of marijuana in Minnesota was 6,837, while the 2022 report showed that marijuana arrest numbers dropped to 5,394. These figures indicate that medical cannabis legalization did not lead to increased marijuana crime rate. It is likely then that marijuana-related crimes will drop further when the state’s recreational cannabis program kicks off in 2025.
What is the History of Minnesota Marijuana?
Minnesota experienced its first move towards marijuana legalization in 1976, during a brief wave of decriminalization in the United States. It was then that the state reduced the penalty for the possession of 42.5 grams (1.5 ounces) or less to a petty misdemeanor of a maximum $200 fine. However, medical marijuana was not legalized until May 29, 2014, when Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a bill legalizing the use of marijuana to treat Medical Cannabis Qualifying Conditions. The bill passed the House at 89 - 40 and the Senate at 46 -16. The bill became the Minnesota Medical Marijuana Act, which enacted medical cannabis legislation, making Minnesota the 23rd state to legalize.
The Minnesota Medical Marijuana Act created the Medical Cannabis Program under the Department of Health and authorized the use of medical cannabis in limited forms for certain qualifying medical conditions. The law regulated the possession, sale, distribution, and manufacture of medical cannabis and created a task force. Qualifying patients started registering for the Medical Cannabis Program on June 1, 2015, while the actual distribution of medical marijuana began July 1, 2015. Since the legalization in 2014, more qualifying conditions have been added to the list. Intractable pain was added in 2016, and PTSD was added on August 1, 2017. More additions were made on December 1, 2019, with chronic pain and age-related macular degeneration being added to the list of qualifying conditions. The changes became effective in August 2020.
On November 6, 2018, when Tim Walz was elected to the Governorship, he declared that legalizing cannabis could bring a new source of tax revenue if regulated correctly. He also mentioned that it could reduce the number of people imprisoned for drug offenses. On January 28, 2019, Senators Scott Jensen and Melisa Franzen and Representative Mike Freiberg introduced a bill authorizing people over 21 to possess, grow, and purchase cannabis in limited quantities. However, on March 8, 2019, Republicans in the Minnesota Senate voted down the measure to legalize recreational cannabis. Republicans also avoided creating a task force to study the issue further. Various proposals for recreational marijuana legalization are under consideration in the House. Some are proposals for creating a task force, similar to what Franzen proposed, and a constitutional amendment to allow voters to decide the fate of the legalization, taxation, and regulation of recreational cannabis.
On May 13, 2021, the Minnesota House approved a bill that would legalize recreational cannabis for use by persons aged over 21 and expunge the records of residents charged with non-violent cannabis-related offenses. Legislators voted 72 - 61 in favor of the bill. However, when the bill moved to the Senate, it was voted down.
At the 2022 elections, Democrats took over the Minnesota legislature and made legalizing recreational marijuana a priority. They introduced two versions of HF100 which passed in the Minnesota House and Senate on April 24, 2023. The two versions were harmonized into a single bill that was reintroduced to the state’s legislature. It passed the House on May 18 and the Senate on May 20. On May 30, Governor Tim Walz signed the bill into law setting up recreational cannabis to become legal in Minnesota on August 1, 2023.
