Until Wednesday, the marijuana debate at the Minnesota Capitol had largely centered on legalizing cannabis for medical use. Now, Minnesotans who favor full legalization are raising their voices. Hundreds of supporters gathered in the rotunda for the "Yes We Cannabis" rally to urge lawmakers to legalize marijuana for responsible personal use. Click for slideshow.
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The battle for the full legalization of marijuana is front and center at the Minnesota State Capitol on Wednesday. The Rally at the Rotunda featured several speakers, including Neill Franklin, Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), Minnesota State Rep. Rena Moran, Jim Northrup, Native American Poet/Author and others. The MN NORML rally focused on racial disparities, for-profit policing, the prison industrial complex, dishonorable discharges of military personnel for cannabis use, and the medical benefits of the plant.
After saying that “prohibition has failed,” Moran declared, “So I say let’s legalize marijuana.”
"Lawmakers are debating a bill that would legalize marijuana for medical purposes, but members of Minnesota’s Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws are pushing a much broader effort – full legalization of marijuana. No bills have been introduced this session to legalize marijuana but Rep. Rena Moran, DFL-St. Paul, told the rally she supports it to increase state revenue and reduce arrests for possession. 'Let’s create a system right here at this Capitol where we can tax, where we can regulate the sales and increase the revenue at the state of Minnesota so we can invest more wisely in all of us.'"
The issue of medical marijuana needs more serious consideration than our governor seems to be giving it. Several parents of children with medical issues that they say would benefit from medical marijuana were stunned this week when Governor Mark Dayton suggested they might be the barrier to legislation since they they say don't accept his proposal to study the health benefits first. One mother even said the governor suggested she buy the drug on the street from illegal drug dealers, or buy it in another state where it's legal and bring it into the state (a federal offense).
VIDEO: A mother who met with Gov. Mark Dayton earlier this month says he told her to buy marijuana illegally to treat her 2-year-old son's intractable epilepsy.... Dayton spokesman Matt Swenson said the governor doesn't advocate breaking the law. Later, Swenson said Dayton spoke with the woman in private but wouldn't say whether her claim was true.
"The governor’s proposal will not help my daughter, Amelia. My family will still have to move to a state where Amelia can have safe, legal access to medicine that will change her life. I refuse to wait years while my daughter suffers to get the lifesaving medicine she needs."
The Minneapolis City Council Intergovernmental Relations committee votes in support of medical marijuana February 27, 2013, with supportive comments from Council members Andrew Johnson, a glaucoma patient, and Lisa Bender, cancer survivor.
If you live in Minnesota, let your legislators know that you support medical marijuana, and you're not alone!
From the Americas to Europe to North Africa and beyond, the marijuana legalization movement is gaining unprecedented traction -- a nod to successful efforts in Colorado, Washington state and the small South American nation of Uruguay, which in December became the first country to approve nationwide pot legalization.
Are All 50 States Headed Towards Legalization Of Marijuana?
Features a Q. and A. with State Representative Carly Melin. By Jean Cole, HTF Editor
Should Minnesota become the 21st state to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes? Gov. Mark Dayton has indicated he would sign such a bill into law but also has indicated he wants the support of the law enforcement community before such a law is passed.
An unlikely coalition stands poised to fight for legalization of the natural remedy. By Jesse Marx
Tell Governor Dayton to stop treating marijuana as a dangerous drug. It is a potent medicine that will benefit many Minnesotans. It is also time to release prisoners whose only crime was related to marijuana.
There’s a medical marijuana plant that has parents moving to Colorado to help their children. The strain of marijuana is called “Charlotte’s Web,” and it’s named after a young girl in Colorado previously reported on by CBS4.
Mason Tvert of the Marijuana Policy Project provides an update on how legal marijuana sales are working out in Colorado. Published on Jan 20, 2014
On her HLN show last week, Grace interviewed Marijuana Policy Project director of communications Mason Tvert.
Before Minnesota considers following 20 states, a debate rages within homes, at the Capitol, health offices and law agencies. By Jennifer Brooks.
To convince the American public that they should fear the plant, the federal government called it marijuana, so it would sound foreign and dangerous. By Katie Rucke
If the DOJ finds that police and prosecutors in Colorado are unsure of the law and thus unable to do their jobs, state marijuana legalization may be in jeopardy. By Katie Rucke.