Minnesota Gov Walz To GOP Colleagues: Stop The Misinformation About Cannabis Law, It's Not Legal For Minors, Not Now, Not Ever

Governor Tim Walz chastised Republican lawmakers for spreading “misinformation” about Minnesota’s cannabis legalization law, responding to their concerns that cannabis will be available to minors.  

“My feelings are really strong about this. First of all, the folks putting out misinformation concerning the cannabis bill just need to stop this,” Gov. Walz said in the Tuesday press conference. “Cannabis was not legal for minors before the law change. It’s not legal now.”

While the cannabis policy will likely be reviewed and tweaked over time, Walz said he is not intending to convene a special session, a request made by GOP members who also sent two letters they sent to him with concerns about teen cannabis access.

The MinnPost noted that requests made by minority Republicans will likely not be filled because what Republicans see as bugs, Dems see as features.

One correspondent asked the governor, according to Marijuana Moment which originally reported this story, about the intent of the sponsors to remove criminal penalties for youth possession though the violation remained on the books, noting that people under 21 could be charged with a default petty misdemeanor if they unlawfully possess

cannabis.

“Criminalizing young adults for possession maintains a cycle of harm,” said state Sen. Lindsey Port (D), the policy's chief author. “A legal market, with age verification, testing, labeling, and education requirements is the best path forward for Minnesotans."

Gov Clarifies What's In The Law

“[I]t didn’t get into the law, and it’s not the one we signed, so the intent of the authors will always be there, [but] the interpretation and the operationalizing this will be with our agencies, and there is no intention of taking that away from minors. It’s simply illegal,” said Walz, adding that laws governing alcohol are regularly reviewed and cannabis regulations will likely be the same. 

“Like any piece of legislation, will there be things that will be changed? My god, we’re changing the alcohol laws 120 years after the fact,” he said. “We’re still debating on upgrading and modernizing on that.”

He reiterated that the GOP should lay off the misinformation.

“So, the fact of the matter is, this idea of putting out false information—you can certainly debate the merits, we can certainly come back and take a look at this—but this was a thoughtful piece of legislation,” Walz said. “It is not legal for minors to use cannabis in the state of Minnesota. It wasn’t then, it isn’t now and it won’t be in the future. It’s as simple as that.”

See more HERE at Marijuana Moment

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Photo: Gov Walz signs marijuana bill into law with Jesse Ventura in attendance