Winds — and whiffs — of change
1. What’s up at the Legislature
→ Work continues in both chambers of the legislature to pass omnibus bills that will later be negotiated in conference committees. We will email a link to an updated omnibus bill tracking document at the end of the week (stay tuned!).
2. Tweets from elected officials on legalization
Elected officials took the opportunity last week to tweet their positions on cannabis legalization. Here are a few highlights of what they've said:
Governor Tim Walz tweeted, “It's time to legalize adult-use cannabis and expunge cannabis convictions in Minnesota.”
KROC covered some of the replies Walz's tweet generated from Minnesotans.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith (DFL) tweeted in response to Walz, “Great idea. I have a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis in every state.”
MN Senator and gubernatorial candidate Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) tweeted in response to Walz, “Legalizing cannabis should not be the priority of Minnesota's governor when inflation has stripped so many families of their purchasing power and when many live in fear of increased crime close to home.”
Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan tweeted a more in-depth thread that responds to much of Gazelka's claims. She tweeted, “Legalizing marijuana and expunging marijuana convictions would have a tremendous impact on the safety of our communities by allowing law enforcement to focus on violent crime and regulating the industry in order to keep our kids safe” and “Legalizing and expunging would also promote growth in our economy by adding jobs and increasing the number of small businesses in our state.”
Attorney General Keith Ellison tweeted, “Let's be blunt: white and Black people use marijuana at similar rates, yet Black folks are disproportionally arrested. Now, some are making millions in the marijuana industry while others are behind bars. This is unjust. Legalize marijuana and expunge all convictions.”
MN Senator Matt Klein (DFL), who is a medical doctor, tweeted an in-depth thread about why he's come to support legalization after initially being opposed. His tweets included, “Dire predictions about increases in crime and adverse public health effects have simply not materialized. Members of law enforcement are freed from time spent on nonviolent offenses to instead focus on violent crime and other issues” and “As a physician, I am concerned about the potential for abuse of cannabis, particularly among young people whose brains are still developing. But I believe we are better able to address that abuse with a regulated and dosed product than we are with our current black market.”
The Senate DFL issued a statement titled “Let's be blunt: Senate Republicans are standing in the way of legalizing cannabis.” Here's an excerpt:
“Minnesota is one step closer in doing so after House DFLers passed a bill to legalize and regulate recreational adult-use cannabis and expunge cannabis related criminal records.Senate DFLers also have legislation to legalize recreational adult-use cannabis. The bill is being held hostage by Senate Republicans, as the chair of the Judiciary Committee refuses to allow a conversation to happen on the issue, let alone allow a vote on the bill. For Republicans to stop a conversation from happening on such an important issue that continues to exasperate racial disparities in our criminal justice system is not only irresponsible and undemocratic, it harms Minnesotans.”
Sunday's At Issue with Tom Hauser covered the Governor's tweet in support of legalization. Tom was joined by GOP political analyst Brian McDaniel who said, “This is something that is kind of generational. It is going to happen; it's just a question of when and what the Governor said is probably where most people are. If you can make sure it's just for adults, I think people are okay with it and we do need some criminal justice reform around it.” Tom's other guest, former DFL Chair Mike Erlandson, responded by saying, “We have a long way to go on this issue and there are bigger problems facing our state and our country today than legalizing marijuana” and thereby proving Brian's point that the issue is, indeed, more generational than it is ideological.
3. Emmer uses states to deflect
→ U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN6) joined WJON on the air this week to explain why earlier this month he voted against the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bill approved by the U.S. House that would deschedule and decriminalize cannabis as well as release from prison and expunge the records of those convicted of cannabis crimes decriminalized by the bill. In the interview, Emmer says that he believes cannabis-related legislation should be left to states and that expungements should only be granted on a case-by-case judicial review basis.
4. Pot party uses ballot access to deflect
→ The Minnesota Reformer reports this week that the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party, one of the two cannabis legalization parties with major political party status in Minnesota, is calling for changes to Minnesota's candidate ballot access law to require all candidates for state office to gather voter signatures in order to appear on the ballot. Per the article, “The proposal comes in response to the 2020 election, when a number of people with GOP ties filed to run as candidates with the state's two major pro-legalization parties — in some cases, to siphon votes away from the DFL.”
Leili's Take: The two legalization parties have been a thorn in the side of the DFL ever since they reached major party status. And that was the point–before 2021, the DFL was lousy on cannabis. Dayton was anti-legalization. The DFL party treated the issue as too controversial for voters outside the Twin Cities. The House and Senate DFL Caucuses assigned the issue low to no priority. It was only after the two legalization parties achieved major party status and, even more so, after the two legalization parties started costing or risking the DFL wins in legislative elections, that the DFL accepted the salience of the issue for voters across the state and started prioritizing and leading a serious, inclusive effort to legalize adult-use cannabis. But now that the DFL is effectively leading the charge for legalization, the two legalization parties have become a thorn not only in the side of the DFL but also that of legalization advocates, including some of the most prominent community activists that helped create the legalization parties in the first place. Making it harder for the GOP to run phony legalization party candidates is well and good, but it completely misses the point that right now there are actually three legalization parties–the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party, the Legalize Marijuana Now Party, and the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party–and the best thing the former two can do to legalize cannabis is vocally push their supporters to do is cast their votes for the latter.
5. Local hemp farmers voice support for legalization
→ Local media is beginning to pick up what those of us in the advocacy community know and appreciate: MN hemp farmers are major stakeholders and allies in the fight for adult-use cannabis legalization. For example, KIMT published a story spotlighting the owner of Willow's Keep Farm, a hemp farm in Zumbrota, and how he sees cannabis legalization impacting his farm. From the article:
“Owner, Ted Galaty says Minnesota has some of the highest costs for purchasing medical marijuana. If it were legalized, he hopes it would lower the costs of medical marijuana. 'It's a duopoly and it's been a duopoly since 2014 when the legislation was written into law. And that needs to change we need to open up more permitting for medical but also hopefully we move forward and legalizing soon here for recreational,' says Galaty. He says legalization would allow them to apply for permits to be able to sell the plant and help more people. 'That will allow us to apply for those permits as a small business and small farmer - obviously we'd be regulated and controlled - but then we'd be allowed to sell these delta 9 THC products on a regular basis,' explains Galaty.”
6. A whiff of change
→ In a story covering the 4/20 advocacy event at the Capitol last week, the Strib noted a faint hint of weed optimism in the rotunda: “At the Capitol rally, legislators from both sides of the aisle spoke in favor of legalization.”
In the win column for the 2022 session: “There was a 'humongous victory' last month when the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy decided that trace amounts of THC in hemp products do not violate the Controlled Substances Act, said Kurtis Hanna, lobbyist for the Minnesota chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Hanna said they hope legislators will permanently codify that change into state law.”
While some movement has been made this year, it's really going to come down to the August primaries and November general elections to make legalization happen.
7. Rep. Jess Hanson talks legalization on the DFL’s podcast
→ Check out the MN DFL's podcast interview with Rep. Jess Hanson on legalizing adult-use cannabis in Minnesota.
8. One reminder before you go!
→ Don't forget! April 30 (this Saturday!) is the last day for cultivators and processors to apply for a hemp license from the MN Department of Agriculture for the 2022 season. Info and application are available here.