It's legal. There you go.
That was the official moment
when Governor Tim Walz signed
recreational marijuana into law,
making our state the 23rd to do this.
Now here's what you need to kno.
The law technically goes
into effect on August 1st,
but you're not going to be able
to walk into a store and buy wed
for another 12 to 18 months.
So we wanted to answer your question,
why is it taking so long to get to that
step of going into a place to buy it?
Here's Kent
Jana. Part of the reason for the drawn
out timeline is that legislators
who worked on this bill told mey
wanted to avoid mistakes other states
made when they rushed this proc.
And the timeline, by the way,
is just one way this law will lk
different from most other state.
Despite all of the cameras on hd
to capture the governor signing
recreational cannabis into law,
they were still outnumbered by
all of the people there who
spent years trying to pass it,
including a certain former
governor. One thing you
learn about our government.
It doesn't move quickly,
so for it to happen within 20
years is actually quite quick.
We're trying it in a way that is unique,
and the legislators who helped e
law finally get across the finih
line say the wait will be worth.
We've learned from what
happens in other states.
We've built a model that will
work for Minnesota specifically,
and I think Minnesotans will be
really pleased. Representative
Zach Stevenson, author of the House bill,
says lessons learned elsewhere led to
two big changes to how this laws
to eliminate. The illicit marke.
We don't allow optouts.
You can't have whole cities
or counties saying sorry,
you can't have cannabis here
because that's just creates fuel
for an illicit marketplace.
We also kept the tax deliberately low,
so some states it's 3040% here, only 10%.
So that should allow for legitie
canvas businesses to compete moe
effectively with the illicit marketplace.
Minnesota will also become
just the 11th state to legalize
homegrown cannabis on August 1s,
with a cap of four mature plants per adult.
And once the state opens
to commercial growers,
they'll have caps to consider, .
There are caps on how big
these businesses can grow.
The largest growers, for exampl,
would be 30,000 square feet of canopy,
and that is much,
much smaller than, you know,
very large multistate operators.
And then we have other incentivs
for smaller businesses and micro
businesses because we really wat
the new cannabis businesses to o
to the communities that were hut
the most by prohibition and to e
sure that we're prioritizing sm.
All and local over,
big and national.
Once it's available via retail,
it's going to be more widely available
than maybe other states, correc?
Right. So I think that your experience
of going to a dispensary won't be that
dissimilar to going to a liquor store.
But with the state's new Office
of Cannabis Management just now
getting off the ground and retal
stores still 12 to 18 months aw,
the reality in the meantime remains murky.
Are you concerned about how many people
might be growing and selling ouf
their back door or something like that?
We tried to give as many tools as we.
Could to the state agency and to
local governments to manage that
transition and to try and make e
that we don't see a big bumper p
of illegal dispensaries pop up.
But nothing is perfect and we're
going to have to manage our
way through that process.
This seems like a long journey,
and that process will move
at the speed of government.
We need to do it responsibly ano
it well, and that takes some ti.
There is one other fairly unique
aspect of this law that will
eventually open the door to
marijuana delivery businesses.
I say eventually.
Because Zach says that won't han
until a year or two after retailers open.
And if you do the math on that,
it could be 2027 before
it ever gets rolling.
Jenna. Well,
the wait is not going to be as g
for those with criminal records
impacted by our old marijuana l.
On August 1st, state officials l
begin the process of reviewing d
expunging 10s of thousands of Minnesotans
who have marijuana convictions.
Now, obviously not everybody is
having a party over this bill.
Passing today, the executive director
of the Republican Party in Minna
openly criticized Governor Walz
and former Governor Jesse Ventu.
He also slammed Walz's campaign promise
of working with the Republican Party,
saying quote,
turns out walls and the Democras
bluster about civility and decency was
just empty campaign rhetoric and lies
statement from the Republican Party there.