A bill has been introduced in the Minnesota Senate to create a task force to study the potential effects of legal cannabis in Minnesota. The bipartisan legislation, Senate File 2806, is intended to inform the legislature on possible benefits and risks associated with legal cannabis.

“I have heard from many constituents that this is an important issue for them. A dedicated task force will get all voices to the table for a serious conversation on a complex issue,” said Senator Karin Housley (R-St. Marys Point), a co-author of the bill. “A task force will be able to provide the legislature with a much fuller picture of what legal cannabis might look like in Minnesota.”

The bill, authored by Senator Jim Abeler (R-Anoka), would establish a Cannabis Task Force to advise the legislature on issues related to decriminalizing or legalizing cannabis in Minnesota for individuals 21 years of age or older. The task force would assess the potential impacts of legal cannabis on public health and safety, its economic impact, and its effects related to substance abuse, racial disparities, the criminal justice systems, and economic development. In addition, the task force would study the experiences of states that have already legalized cannabis.

The task force would consist of an equal number of members from the state’s major political parties, designees of the governor and various executive departments, law enforcement, physicians, addiction specialists, and representatives of the medical cannabis industry.

The task force would deliver its findings to the legislature by December 1, 2020.

Senator Karin Housley, of St. Marys Point, represents the Forest Lake area and the St. Croix River Valley in the Minnesota Senate. She serves as chairwoman of the Senate Family Care and Aging Committee and is an assistant majority leader.