The Republican controlled House Crime Prevention Committee voted down a Senate bill that sought to establish a regulated hemp industry in Minnesota. The defeat angered proponents, who hoped Minnesota would become the first state to legalize hemp production, and disappointed Gov. Jesse Venture who backed the legislation.
“This was an agricultural bill that had no business being placed in a crime committee,” said NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. The Senate had previously approved the legislation by a vote of 54 to 4.
Senate File 122 classified hemp “as an agriculture crop subject to regulation and registration by the commission of agriculture.” The Legislature passed a similar version of the bill last year, but then-Gov. Arne Carlson (R) vetoed it. That proposal was approved by the Agriculture Committees in both Houses, and was never assigned to a crime committee.
Several states this year have passed hemp reform proposals, including Illinois, Montana, North Dakota, and Virginia, but none of these measures license farmers to grow the crop.
For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.