The governor of Minnesota unveiled a budget proposal on Tuesday that includes funding for various state agencies to implement marijuana legalization and projections for cannabis revenue as lawmakers work to advance reform.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) released his budget request for the 2024-2025 biennium, just hours before a House committee was scheduled to hold a hearing on a legalization bill that’s moved through several panels in recent weeks.
During a press briefing, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) said that “it is past time to safely legalize adult cannabis use” and that “prohibition doesn’t work.”
“Legalizing adult-use cannabis is about our economic future. It’s about expanding our economy and creating jobs across the state. It’s about health, allowing us to regulate the industry and to ensure that products are safe and educating the public about the facts of cannabis use. It’s about public safety, allowing law enforcement to focus on violent crime and expunging the records of people who are convicted of non-violent offenses involving cannabis to give them a second chance. It’s about recognizing the way that we have been doing things isn’t working, and we can change.”
Within the first year of implementation, the governor’s office is projecting that
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