Photo Credit: Lorie Shaull (Flickr CC)
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
The gold standard for cannabis possession laws in states where it is illegal is: If possession is a misdemeanor rather than a felony, the state is a tolerant one. Some, like Wisconsin, fall in the middle, with possession of any amount of cannabis being a misdemeanor first and a felony for any subsequent offense.
Minnesota stands out in this respect. There, possession (as well as sale and cultivation!) of 42.5 grams of cannabis or less is a misdemeanor with no incarceration, a maximum fine of $200 and even a possible discharge for first-time offenders. 42.5 grams is a rather large amount, so it is reasonable to think that the state is tolerant, and occasional cannabis users can fly under the radar without much risk. But Minnesota law also considers possession or sale of more than 42.5g a felony, with up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine as punishment depending on the amount. (For the record, maximum sentences in Wisconsin are 3.5 years in prison for possession and 15 years for selling.)
As Minnesota is exceptionally lax with small-time users, it stands to reason that medical cannabis has been legal there since 2015. As of Tuesday, Jan. 1, more than 14,500 patients were qualified to buy medical marijuana products, and that number is increasing. Qualifying conditions are numerous, but about 90% of patients were qualified due to persistent muscle spasms, cancer, intractable pain or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The program is relatively restrictive as there are only two manufacturers in the state allowed to produce cannabis-derived medicine. Both Minnesota Medical Solutions and LeafLine Labs have reported millions of dollars in losses from 2015 to 2018, but their products are highly successful from patients’ perspectives.
Full legalization of cannabis is now on the table in Minnesota with the election of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, whose campaign promises included “creating a taxation and regulation system for adult-use cannabis.” The newly elected, Democratic-controlled Minnesota House of Representatives will probably vote to end “cannabis prohibition,” as Walz called it in an interview earlier this month, in the near future. However, victory is far from certain as Minnesota’s Senate is still controlled by a Republican majority (albeit a small one). It may be necessary to wait until 2020 and hope Republicans lose the Senate in the next elections, thus offering Democrats full powers to legalize marijuana state-wide in our neighbor to the west.
