Friends and neighbors,

Almost everywhere I go, I am being asked why Minnesota just legalized marijuana. There seems to be a lot of confusion and misinformation floating around about what the new law actually does, so let me clear things up:

In 2018, the United States Congress passed a farm bill that legalized hemp-based products nationwide. Unfortunately, they did not include adequate protections for consumers and especially children. As a result, the market was really like the wild west.

The law we passed this year significantly tightens regulations surrounding those products. It is far more restrictive than it used to be in order to protect children from the dangers of THC.

Here’s what it does:

• The new law prohibits marketing to children, sales to anyone under 21, and requires packaging to be clearly marked, in child-resistant and tamper-evident containers. 

• It restricts all strains of hemp-derived THC to not more than .3 percent and no more than 5 mg of THC per serving/50mg per package, so it captures delta 8, 9, 10, and any other strains.

• For Delta 9 products specifically, they were previously sold in Minnesota at .3 percent THC, but now must be no more than 5mg of THC per serving 50mg per package AND .3 percent THC, fixing a loophole that allowed a product to have a higher number of milligrams of THC previously, but still met the legal .3% threshold. 

We did NOT legalize recreational marijuana. The new law is only specific to hemp-derived THC in small amounts. It also doesn’t change statutes that govern Minnesota’s medical cannabis program. 

Taking care of Minnesota veterans

The legislature has always placed a strong emphasis on making sure Minnesota veterans are taken care of.

This year, one of the things we accomplished was a comprehensive veterans budget bill that makes important investments in veterans’ services throughout our state. In a session where so many negotiations fell apart, the veterans bill was one of the big things we were able to agree on.

Minnesota has a long tradition of providing service bonuses to veterans who serve in wars. This year we approved funding for bonuses for veterans who served in post-9/11 wars. We have provided these bonuses for every war since World War I to recognize the courage and sacrifice that these Minnesotans showed in defending our country.

Eligible Veterans who served from 9/11/01 to 8/30/21 can apply for these bonuses today! The application period opened July 7. The final day to apply is June 30, 2024, unless funds are exhausted.

For more information and to apply, visit MinnesotaVeteran.org/ServiceBonus 

In addition, the Veterans bill provided funding for a number of other important goals and programs:

Veteran Homelessness

In FY23, $5.4 million will go toward a grant to the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans to provide assistance to veterans and former service members and their families who are homeless or in danger of homelessness. The bill also includes $1.7 million annually to fund temporary housing options for veterans and former service members experiencing homelessness and to increase outreach activities to end homelessness.

Veterans Homes

The bill includes funding of $10.3 million in FY22 and $16.5 million in FY23 for the design, construction, furnishing, and equipping of new veterans homes to support aging veterans in Bemidji, Montevideo, and Preston, Minnesota.

National Guard Retention

$4 million will go toward enlistment incentives designed to retain the trained and ready members of the Minnesota National Guard over FY 23-25.

Contact me

If you have any questions about the new THC law, what we have done to help veterans, or any other issues we are working on at the legislature, feel free to contact me any time at sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn or 651-296-0284. It is a privilege to serve you!

John