MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota will become the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana for adults under a bill passed by the Senate and sent to the governor's desk early Saturday morning.
DFL Gov. Tim Walz has pledged to sign the measure, which passed the House Thursday, into law. While lawmakers said it will take a year or longer for the first retail dispensary to open, marijuana possession will be decriminalized and home growing of cannabis will become legal on Aug. 1.
"The war on drugs has had devastating, harmful effects on our communities," Sen. Lindsey Port, a Burnsville Democrat who sponsored the bill, said Saturday. "It is time. Minnesotans are ready. Let's legalize, regulate and expunge."
