Democratic Leaders Say Minnesotans United On Changing Marijuana Laws
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota's legislative session starts one week from Tuesday, and one of the issues lawmakers plan to take up this year is the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Democratic lawmakers held a news conference Tuesday morning to talk about what they learned from the "Be Heard on Cannabis" community conversation tour.
"One of the most surprising things about this tour is how united Minnesotans were in saying that our current cannabis system does not work," State Rep. Ryan Winkler said.
Since the State Fair, they've held 15 community events around the state to listen to how Minnesotans feel about legalizing marijuana.
"As I went around the state, the people who showed up were often a lot different than I thought. There were a lot of people with grey hair, and there were a lot of people who believed that cannabis is helping them," Minnesota Sen. Jeff Hayden said. "However the current system wasn't working for them, and they clearly didn't want to break the law."
Eleven states and Washington, D.C. have legalized marijuana for recreational use.
Marijuana dispensaries in Illinois sold nearly $40 million worth of recreational weed in the first month of legal sales there. According to state officials, residents bought more than $30 million worth of pot in January.
Sales from out-of-state residents totaled more than $8 million.