Short, Sweet, and Stalled
1. The latest from the MNLeg
→ Yesterday, the DFL Senate Minority Leader Melisa Lopez Franzen (Edina) attempted a procedural maneuver to bring S.F. 757, the companion bill to adult-use legalization bill (H.F. 600) that passed the Minnesota House last session, to the floor of the Senate for a debate and vote. The maneuver, which required a 41-vote supermajority to pass, failed as expected with every GOP member voting no in addition to Tom Bakk (I-Cook) and Greg Clausen (DFL-Apple Valley), both of whom are retiring after this session. For full coverage, visit Marijuana Moment's article.
This is the final week of the legislative session. Per usual, negotiations are happening at the last minute and behind closed doors. The Governor has said that there will not be a special session but, as with all things #mnleg, nothing is etched in stone. Stay tuned for a special issue of Pre-Roll summarizing the final outcomes of the session as soon as they adjourn.
2. Election update
→ Last weekend, the Minnesota GOP endorsed former Senator Scott Jensen for Minnesota Governor. Prior to retiring from the Minnesota Senate, Jensen cosponsored a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis only to later say that he does not support legalization. MinnPost covers the story.
→ Also last weekend, the Hennepin County DFL convention voted to endorse a local activist attorney for Hennepin County Attorney, a seat for which current DFL House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (Golden Valley) is also a candidate. Winkler is the lead author of H.F. 600, the adult-use legalization bill that passed the Minnesota House last session. Winkler led the drafting of H.F. 600 after a statewide tour of public listening sessions on the topic and over a year of close consultation with advocacy groups and experts. Winkler has announced that his campaign will continue to the August primary.
→The Post Bulletin published an article this week featuring Q&A with the cannabis party candidates running in the special election for the U.S. House in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District.
Our take: Don't vote for these people.
3. U.S. Justice Department recommends the SCOTUS pass on MN cannabis case
→ In early March of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General to file a brief in the case of a Minnesota employee whose employer denied her request for reimbursement for cannabis obtained through the state's medical cannabis program to treat chronic pain resulting from a work injury. In 2021, the Minnesota Supreme Court sided with the employer and ruled that Minnesota's workers compensation law, which expressly requires reimbursement for medical cannabis, is preempted by the federal Controlled Substances Act. This week, the Solicitor General filed an amicus response recommending that SCOTUS not take up the case and, instead, defer to the legislative and executive branches to handle the issue. The amicus response shares the Minnesota Supreme Court's perspective that the CSA preempts state laws like Minnesota's workers compensation law:
“If States could enforce laws compelling third parties to subsidize federal crimes, they could directly undermine congressional determinations. For example, no legal principle would preclude a State from requiring private employers to reimburse the use of other federally prohibited products or substances, such as LSD and other psychedelic drugs, based on perceived benefits. The conflict with the CSA remains, however, when Minnesota law compels private employers to subsidize the same federal crimes.”
For a thorough rundown of the story, check out Marijuana Moment's article.
4. Don’t zone out
→ There is an article in this month's issue of the League of Minnesota Cities' magazine about when and why cities should consider revising their zoning ordinances. Among the cited reasons is changing community values and ideas: “[A]s people come up with new ideas, new businesses, and modes of living, the city zoning ordinance might need to adapt as well. For example, cities are being called upon to accommodate new cannabis-related businesses.”
H.F. 600, the adult-use legalization bill that passed the Minnesota House last session, contains a provision that prohibits local governments from banning or using their zoning authority to effectively ban cannabis-related businesses, but preserves their authority to enact reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.
(Our apologies for a slightly shorter Pre-Roll this week; our entire editorial team is working from Puerto Rico. #sorrynotsorry)