Minneapolis Star Tribune. April 12, 2024.
Editorial: Make smart changes to Minnesota marijuana laws
Lawmakers should keep working on improvements to legislation legalizing cannabis.
Even as Minnesota’s new law on recreational marijuana went into effect last year, it was clear that it was a work in progress. Now, during the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers are spending considerable time combing through the legislation and trying to improve it.
As result, there are dozens of proposed technical changes and tweaks to the state legislation in the legislative pipeline. Some of those recommended changes in a few broad categories should be adopted this year as Minnesota’s legal recreational cannabis industry develops.
Charlene Briner, state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) interim director, described this year’s process as trying to “build the plane, while flying it.” She said that the agency is working with about 75 staff now and expects to have about twice that number when all the hiring is completed.
During an interview with an editorial writer, Briner said that OCM supports strengthening the social equity elements of Chapter 342 — provisions to allow those who were negatively affected by previous laws against lower-level cannabis possession to get into the business. Those changes include allowing social equity applicants to get temporary licenses earlier than others — by July of this year instead of the scheduled start time in 2025.
It also would create a vetted lottery selection process for applicants instead of the points-based licensing system now in place. Some potential licensees have objected to that change because they’ve already begun their applications under the points system. However, OCM staffers have studied such systems in other states and believe that a lottery system supports fairer entrance into the market and more equitable outcomes.
The Star Tribune Editorial Board has previously argued in favor of expunging the records of those who have low-level cannabis offenses and for more research on the health, social and other impacts of legalized recreational cannabis. BCA officials recently announced that they are making progress on automatic expungements. And OCM will coordinate with other agencies on research about the impact of legalization on everything from rates of impaired driving to first-use psychosis and consumption demand.
The Editorial Board has also advocated for statewide clarification on where people may light up in public spaces. OCM-supported legislation doesn’t include that delineation because the agency believes its role is regulatory and that those rules should be left to the local county and city agencies, as well as the DNR when it comes to state-operated parks.
It also would be helpful to have uniform rules across the state for public areas such as parks. Even outdoors, children and others can be affected with a “contact high” when marijuana is being smoked.
HF 4757 and SF 4782 would also rightly accelerate the transition of the medical cannabis and hemp-derived enforcement divisions to OCM’s purview to July 1 of this year. It makes sense for the regulation, operations, licensing and enforcement of the products to be handled by one agency.
Another sensible change would increase the number of plants that may be grown at home. One bill would allow patients enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program to grow up to 16 plants (instead of the eight in current law) at their private residence.
As Briner points out, just over 90 years after American Prohibition ended, Minnesota and other states still have proposed liquor law tweaks almost every year. That likely will be the case with cannabis as lawmakers figure out what is right for Minnesotans as the industry develops.
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Mankato Free Press. April 12, 2024.
Editorial: Bipartisanship: Grow the influence of Civility Caucus
It’s a sign of the partisan times that we need to create a “Civility Caucus” at the Legislature, but political parties, phantom donors and courts have corrupted a political system that was once born of liberty and justice for all.
So we applaud the Civility Caucus of Minnesota legislators of both parties and their efforts to bring civility and bipartisanship to lawmaking. The voluntary group has a handful of members, most of who witnessed political rancor at one point or another in the Minnesota Legislature.
Members also get to know each other on a more personal level. Democrat Sandra Feist of New Brighton and Republican Kristin Robbins of Maple Grove, the chairs of the caucus, teamed up on legislation for school boards to make rules for kids and cellphones at schools.
Feist told the Minnesota Reformer that debate on the House floor tends to be theater and “we’re expected to be colorful and interesting.”
JoAnn Ward, DFL-Lake Elmo, experienced similar floor debates.
“I sat on the House floor and listened to grandstanding and pontificating and people speaking to the camera and thought: ‘This is not effective government. We could do so much better,’” Ward told the Reformer. “There’s just so much time wasted.”
She founded the Civility Caucus in 2017.
Feist said the members also come to realize those with opposite views are simply reflected and representing the views of their constituents. Legislators also have been prohibited for years for having lobbyists buy dinners and therefore don’t hear other points of view. The Civility Caucus allows the members to have meals or happy hours together.
This civility effort is no small feat given the environment created by the growing influence of money in politics since the U.S. Supreme Court decided corporations could spend unlimited money influencing elections or issues via the ironically named Citizens United case.
Since that time, partisan politics have become hyper-partisan as legislators follow the money coming from all manner of corporations who now clearly have more power than voters and the people. So the Civility Caucus is a counter to that power.
The biggest benefit the caucus brings revolves around discovering things legislators of differing parties can agree on. And there are many.
Republican Sen. Mark Koran said he knew people thought he was a “radical conservative” as he once ran for Republican Party chair, but he also served as onetime chair of the Civility Caucus.
He told The Reformer that he has “broader views” on people with disabilities, children and the elderly.
“That’s actually the reason I did it: To challenge people’s views or perception (of) not just who I am, but who Republicans are,” Koran said. “If you’re just willing to have a conversation, you can find agreement on a whole pile of issues.”
We agree and we hope other legislators see value in joining the Civility Caucus and supporting its growth and influence. Maybe we’ll get to the point where the entire Legislature is a “civility caucus.”
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