People in Minnesota who support the recreational use of marijuana have no doubt watched as other states around the nation moved to make this legal over the past few years. To date, marijuana is not legally able to be used recreationally in Minnesota as the state has only allowed tightly controlled use for medical purposes. That, however, may well change in 2019.
According to a recent report by Forbes, Minnesota is one of nine states believed to be most likely to pass a bill legalizing the use of recreational pot this year. After the recent election in November 2018, the state’s House of Representatives will now be controlled by members of the democratic party and the incoming Governor is known to be in favor of legalizing marijuana. The Governor-to-be was the person who actually wrote the first cannabis bill for Congress.
If Minnesota passes a marijuana bill, it will join 10 other states that have so far legalized pot for adult recreational use. There are eight other states that have been identified as those most likely to pass a recreational pot bill in 2019. These states are New York, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Mexico, Connecticut, Illinois and New Hampshire. A handful of other states including Pennsylvania, Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin may also be poised to move toward legalizing marijuana this year or possibly next.
Overall, it seems the tide is turning in the United States as more lawmakers are becoming open to the concept that people who use marijuana should not necessarily be criminalized for doing so.