I hope you agree it’s past time to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older in Minnesota. Eighteen other states have taken this more sensible approach, including South Dakota. Why does Minnesota remain stuck in the past? Prohibition ensures that production and sales are completely unregulated. Unlike licensed and regulated cannabis businesses, illicit marijuana sellers operate virtually anywhere and have no incentive not to sell to minors. Taxing and regulating marijuana would displace the underground marijuana market, creating thousands of good jobs and tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue. As a state senator, you have an opportunity to help us move away from the same old failed policies. Will you please support HF 600, to put an end to marijuana prohibition?

On Election Day 2020, all four states with cannabis legalization on the ballot approved the measures handily, from blue New Jersey, to purple Arizona, to red Montana and South Dakota. Polls show Minnesota voters would easily pass a similar measure, but our democracy is more indirect. Will you please work to pass HF 600, to replace cannabis prohibition with sensible regulation? While we often refer to marijuana as a "controlled substance," prohibition has made control impossible. Legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana leads to safer outcomes for consumers and communities. Prohibition breeds violence, as both buyers and sellers are vulnerable to assaults. Prohibition also guarantees that marijuana will not be tested for purity and potency, exposing consumers to pesticides, molds, bacteria, or even lacing with dangerous drugs. By regulating marijuana, authorities will actually know who is selling it, where it is being sold, and to whom. When marijuana is legalized and properly regulated, production and sales occurs under the watchful eye of state regulators — not in back alleys and basements. Please follow the will of the majority of voters and support HF 600, to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older.

Marijuana prohibition is a waste of taxpayer resources. It’s time to take a more sensible approach — legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana for adults 21 and older. Law enforcement officials’ time and resources would be better spent addressing serious crimes instead of citing and prosecuting adults for marijuana, a substance that is safer than alcohol. Legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana could bring in much-needed jobs, small business growth, and revenue for our state. Colorado, which legalized marijuana for adult use in 2012, brought in more than $275 million dollars in adult-use marijuana tax revenue in 2019 alone. Meanwhile, nearly 40,000 Coloradans are currently licensed to work directly in the cannabis industry, and another 1,670 are licensed as business owners. It’s past time we treat adults like grown-ups and replace the folly of marijuana prohibition with sensible regulation. Will you please support HF 600?