Minnesota Among Next States In Line For Recreational Pot, Forbes Predicts
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The new year is just around the corner, and it just might be the year that Minnesota legalizes the recreational use of marijuana.
A recent analysis published in Forbes ranks Minnesota among the states most likely to legalize recreational use next.
As of right now, 10 states already allow for recreational marijuana, including California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Alaska, and Nevada. The District of Columbia also allows it.
Nearly half of the states in the country allow for medical marijuana use, including Minnesota. Fewer than 20 states have no broad laws legalizing marijuana.
Forbes positions Minnesota alongside Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and a handful of other states presumably next in line to go for full recreational legalization.
Forbes cites incoming Governor Tim Walz's statements indicating he intends to fight for legalization.
"He has also championed marijuana issues as a member of the U.S. House and demonstrated that he knows how to advance reform by authoring the first-ever standalone cannabis bill to pass a congressional committee," Forbes' Tom Angell wrote. "Walz's efforts to legalize will get a boost from the newly elected Democratic House majority, though Republicans control the Senate by one seat. Still, the election of a pro-legalization governor puts Minnesota on the list of states to watch to end prohibition in 2019."
