Minnesotans deserve the freedom and respect to make responsible decisions about cannabis use themselves. Legalizing cannabis for adult use will offer broad benefits across Minnesota, because Minnesota’s current cannabis laws are doing more harm than good.
Under Minnesota’s medical cannabis program, people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are getting relief from cannabis. But most vets can’t access medical cannabis, and no vets can legally receive it from the VA. There’s also a big question about fairness within the justice system, as statistics show a disproportionately higher number of minority group members arrested for cannabis possession. An adult-use cannabis bill should decriminalize and expunge past non-violent offenses.
We need to create a responsible regulatory framework and get it right. If any state can do this right, Minnesota can. By creating a regulatory framework, we can address the harms caused by cannabis and establish a more sensible set of laws to improve our health care & criminal justice systems and ensure better outcomes for communities.