Cannabis Takes Center Stage
1. The latest from the MNLeg
→ The Omnibus Public Safety Policy and Supplemental Funding Bill (S.F. 2673) and the Omnibus Health and Human Services Bill (S.F. 4410) are now in their respective conference committees. So far, the committees have met to walkthrough the side-by-side comparisons of the House and Senate versions of the bill and take public testimony. Conference committee negotiations have not yet begun in earnest.
Conference committee information and activity related to S.F. 2673 can be tracked on this website, including side-by-side comparisons of the House and Senate versions of the bill, links to video recordings of the conference committee meetings, and copies of written testimony submitted to the conference committee.
The same information can be found for S.F. 4410 on this website.
2. Pot party plans to patrol for posers
→ Peter Callaghan of MinnPost wrote an article this week about an announcement from Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party chair Oliver Steinberg saying that he “will patrol candidates' affiliations to one of the state's two marijuana parties in the upcoming election” and “file complaints with the state against any candidate that files for office in June but who lacks any connection to the party.” In 2020, several spoiler GOP candidates ran for legislative seats as Grassroots Legalize Cannabis or Legalize Marijuana Now candidates. Per the article, “In at least two legislative races, the spoiler candidate attracted enough votes to be the difference between a GOP victory and a DFL victory. In both cases, however, the candidates with tentative or no connection to the legal marijuana effort were endorsed by the other legalization party, Legal Marijuana Now.” Steinberg called these endorsements “a political and ethical mistake” and said that electing DFLers to the Minnesota Senate is the best path for legalization.
3. Medical cannabis hot among the Medicare crowd
→ mg Magazine reports on a recent report published by the Medicare Plans Patient Resource Center that found more than 12.5 million Medicare recipients are current medical cannabis users. That constitutes 21% of Medicare recipients. Another 23% of Medicare recipients are reported as previous medical cannabis users. According to the article, “While it is incredibly encouraging to see the continual growth of seniors accessing cannabis, it poses some big questions for the industry. Because cannabis is still classified as a Schedule I substance, FDA-approved health insurance does not pay for medical marijuana.” The report found that, when asked if Medicare should cover medical cannabis, 40% of Medicare recipients who use medical cannabis indicated “no” because of their concern that it would drive up prices while 70% of seniors who have not used medical cannabis indicated “yes.”
Local Angle: Per the article: “In Minnesota, a state with only medicinal legalization on the books, the average 30-day supply of cannabis costs over $300. For some this is affordable, and for others, it's detrimentally expensive. No one can definitively say whether cannabis prices would increase if insurance companies got involved, but historical cases of prescription drug price gouging give Medicare recipients reasonable cause for concern.”
4. Prohibition hurts
→ In yet another avoidable tragedy highlighting the heartbreaking effects of prohibition, Bring Me the News reports that a 17 year-old shot and killed by another 17 year-old on Mother's Day in South St. Paul during the sale of a small amount of cannabis.
5. Putting cannabis advocacy center stage
→ The Divergent Stars Theatre Company will perform “Reefer Madness - The Musical” this Friday and Saturday at the Red Carpet Nightclub in St. Cloud. There will be two performances each
day – an 18+ show at 6:30PM and a 21+ show at 9:30PM. Tickets range from $20 to $30 and can be purchased online here or at the door. The musical is a satirical take on the famous 1936 propaganda film Reefer Madness. A promo video of the musical is available here.
6. A-maze-ing hemp
→ AgWeek published an article this week featuring Ted Galaty, the owner of Willow's Keep Farm in Zumbrota, MN. Galaty opened the farm in 2015 with an exclusive focus on agritourism as the permanent site for a haunted farm attraction. After Minnesota's Industrial Hemp Pilot Program began in 2018, Galaty switched from growing pumpkins and corn to growing hemp. Per the article, “'We slowly just transitioned all of our efforts from corn into cultivating hemp for our hemp maze,' [Galaty] said of the maze which is open from July through October. 'So instead of walking through a corn maze, which we were doing previously, you are walking through a hemp maze.'”
7. Guess who’s historically benefited form tobacco and cannabis monopolies?
→ According to a news release from the University of Minnesota, fifteen students and alumni are among this year's prestigious Fulbright award recipients. Among them is John Dieck, “a doctoral student in history, will spend a year in Morocco studying evidence of the cannabis and tobacco trades under French colonialism.” According to the release, Dieck's research “demonstrates that colonial officials established a monopoly over tobacco and cannabis to help fund the colonial government. Trafficking of tobacco and cannabis around Morocco was perceived as a threat to protectorate stability, as were attempts by the League of Nations and, later, the United Nations to limit the circulation of cannabis.”
Anyone surprised?