SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota will become the 23rd state in the country to have legalized adult-use cannabis following the passage early Saturday morning of HF 100 in a 34-32 vote. The bill paves the way for the creation of a regulated cannabis market and includes the automatic expungement of the criminal records of tens of thousands of Minnesotans with low-level cannabis convictions in their past.
“Today is a historic step for Minnesota, as we put an end to the failed prohibition on cannabis, and deliver legal justice reform and racial equity in a bill that will help tens of thousands of people by expunging their records,” said Senator Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester), who served as a co-author on HF 100. “A regulated market is a safer market. We also made sure that this legislation will support BIPOC Minnesotans entering the cannabis industry through targeted loans and grants. After more than a dozen committee hearings and amendments from members of both parties, this is one of the most thoroughly vetted bills of this session. I am proud to support this legislation that will make Minnesota safer and fairer.”
HF 100 will set up a regulatory framework for the sale and use of cannabis and makes criminal justice reforms, including automatically expunging low-level cannabis convictions and establishing a Cannabis Expungement Board to review convictions that are not automatically expunged.
In its current version, it would permit a person age 21 or older to:
- possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower in a public place or 2 pounds in a person’s residence;
- possess or transport no more than 8 grams of adult-use cannabis concentrate;
- possess or transport edible products infused with up to 800 milligrams of THC;
- give away cannabis flower and cannabinoid products in an amount that is legal for a person to possess in public;
- use cannabis flower and cannabinoid products in private areas; and
- cultivate up to eight cannabis plants, of which four or fewer may be mature, flowering plants.
The legislation now moves to Governor Walz, who has signaled he will sign it into law.
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