The Republican gubernatorial nominee in Minnesota says he thinks the state should consider decriminalizing “trivial amounts” of marijuana and expunging prior records, and he wants broader cannabis legalization to be decided by voters at the ballot.
Scott Jensen, a former GOP state senator who previously sponsored a bipartisan legalization bill, was asked about his cannabis policy positions during an interview with The Star Tribune last week. He also said that the state’s current law that allows THC-infused edibles in a loosely regulated manner should be evaluated after six months.
But perhaps most notable was Jensen’s remarks on adult-use legalization. The Democratic incumbent, Gov. Tim Walz (D), has pushed for legalizing marijuana in a regulated market, including funding for implementation in his budget proposal this year, for example.
But the despite a comprehensive reform bill from House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D) advancing through 12 committees before passing on the House floor last year, legalization stalled in the GOP-controlled Senate and was not ultimately enacted. The earlier bipartisan legalization proposal led by Jensen and Sen. Melisa López Franzen (D) in 2019 also did not advance.
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