House passes cannabis policy agreement, sends it to governor

The omnibus cannabis policy bill that makes law changes as Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis market gets off the ground is on its way to Gov. Tim Walz.

The House passed the conference committee report to HF1615/SF2370* Saturday on a 80-50 vote after the Senate did the same, 34-33 along party lines.

Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL-Coon Rapids), the House sponsor, said they prevailed on including most of the House’s provisions in the reconciled bill with the Senate.

“There’s a lot of provisions in this bill that I think are important and significant and will help move our nascent cannabis marketplace forward in Minnesota,” Stephenson said.

Rep. Nolan West (R-Blaine), who collaborated with Stephenson on the House bill, pointed out that Ohio legalized cannabis six months after Minnesota in 2023, but Minnesota doesn’t yet have a licensed adult-use cannabis store. The bill moves Minnesota closer to a legal and safe market.

“We could do a lot better. Thankfully, this bill does help. We have a hopelessly convoluted regulatory system based on this fantasy that you can create a craft cannabis market based on government regulation,” he said.

The conference committee report includes all the provisions in the Senate’s version of the bill.

Sen. D. Scott Dibble (DFL-Mpls), the Senate sponsor, calls it “a big win” for the Senate. However, Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls) said promises made in the 2023 law legalizing adult-use cannabis has fallen short and this year’s cannabis bill is missing items that would protect consumers. Senate proposals that weren’t included in the agreement include cannabis package label requirements warning that children shouldn’t consume cannabis products.

[MORE: Conferees OK cannabis agreement]

Looking ahead, more work is needed to ensure everyone is on the same page about local control when it comes to cannabis businesses, Stephenson said. There have been “different results in different places,” he said. Both sponsors note that more work is also needed to ensure the medical cannabis market remains stable.

In addition to technical changes, the agreement would, in part:

• create a lower-potency hemp wholesaler license;
• allow people who had an adjudicated cannabis-related sentence to be social equity applicants;
• allow vendors to provide samples at cannabis events;
• allow manufacturers in Minnesota to export low-potency hemp products out of the state that aren’t compliant in Minnesota;
• allow testing facilities to begin testing while in the accreditation process; and
• allow a beverage to be one serving with no more than 10 milligrams of THC.