Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura stated this week that the present occupant of the workplace is decided to get hashish legalization over the road.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz secured a second time period in Tuesday’s election, beating Republican challenger Scott Jensen 52% to 45%. That wasn’t the one excellent news of the evening for Walz. Democrats within the state flipped the state Senate, giving the get together management over all the legislature.
Ventura, who served as governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, stated on his podcast that Walz gave him a name on Wednesday––and shared some information that may excite legalization advocates within the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
“The sticking level for hashish in Minnesota had been Republicans within the (Senate),” Ventura stated, as quoted by local news station Fox 9. “Nicely, they misplaced it now, and the governor reassured me that one of many first objects that can be handed — Minnesota, prepare — hashish goes to have its prohibition lifted. That’s the information I obtained at present.”
Ventura endorsed Walz in his re-election marketing campaign final month, and the previous governor stated the incumbent reached out to thank him for his help.
Ventura additionally stated that Walz “invited him to attend the longer term invoice signing ceremony,” according to Fox 9.
“The factor that honors me is I’ve been invited to when the invoice will get signed,” Ventura stated, as quoted by the station. “The present governor, he stated, ‘This began with you, so that you need to be there and see it come to an in depth over 20 years later.’”
Walz has lengthy spoken in favor of legalizing hashish for adults within the state. In January, he and his lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, launched a price range proposal that included marijuana legalization.
The proposal included “a tax on marijuana, a measure to expunge non-violent marijuana-related convictions, the creation of a Hashish Administration Workplace and assets for substance-abuse prevention and remedy,” according to the Minnesota Reformer.
That proposal was met with quick opposition from a coalition of assorted companies, commerce teams and different organizations that shaped “Minnesotans Towards Marijuana Legalization” earlier this 12 months.
Democrats within the Minnesota state Home have pushed legalization measures for years.
Home Majority Chief Ryan Winkler helped move a legalization invoice in that chamber final 12 months.
“The failed criminalization of hashish has resulted in a legacy of racial injustice that may now not go unaddressed,” Winkler stated in a press release following its passage in 2021. “Adults deserve the liberty to determine whether or not to make use of hashish, and our state authorities ought to play an necessary function in addressing reputable considerations round youth entry, public well being, and highway security. Veterans and Minnesotans with critical diseases like PTSD deserve higher entry to our medical program, which isn’t working properly for most individuals. It’s time to legalize, expunge, and regulate.”
Walz not solely has the legislature now on his aspect, however polls have proven that Minnesota voters are additionally prepared to finish pot prohibition within the state.
A survey from the Minneapolis Star Tribune in September discovered that 53% of voters within the state help the legalization of leisure pot use, whereas simply 36% stated they had been against the thought.
However these voters can nonetheless get excessive legally, due to a regulation that took impact in July permitting the sale of food and drinks merchandise containing small quantities of THC.
The regulation caught shocked some legislators, who had no concept that the invoice they handed––which was aimed toward offering stronger regulation on hemp-derived merchandise––successfully legalized weed.