Minnesota House resumes marijuana legalization debate: Watch live
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota House is set to resume the debate on a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana in Minnesota Tuesday afternoon.
House File 100 was among four pieces of legislation set for a House floor vote on Monday. Debate on the cannabis bill began around 9:30 p.m. Monday and then around midnight, the House adjourned until Tuesday, when lawmakers will continue debate on the bill. Watch the House floor session in the player above.
Currently, a companion cannabis bill is in its final stages in the Senate. The bill has been approved by 12 committees already and faces just one last hearing with the finance committee before potentially heading to the Senate floor.
If approved by both the House and the Senate, the cannabis bill would just need Gov. Tim Walz's signature to become law. As recently as last Thursday, on the 4/20 marijuana holiday, Gov. Walz has signaled he will sign a bill to legalize recreational marijuana.
Before the floor vote, lawmakers will discuss more than 20 potential amendments to the bill, ranging from increasing the age to use marijuana to 25 years old to giving local governments more power to ban cannabis sales.
Last year, the Minnesota Legislature approved legislation that legalized hemp-derived THC products in Minnesota. And if this recreational marijuana bill is approved, it wouldn't be the first time a recreational cannabis bill has been passed by the Minnesota House. In 2019, lawmakers approved a separate bill. In the past, marijuana legislation has faced a roadblock in the Senate. However, with DFL lawmakers taking control of the Senate, that could change this year.