East Twin Cities

As Gov. Tim Walz and other lawmakers look to introduce legislation allowing recreational marijuana use in Minnesota, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) invited former critics and now supporters of legalizing the drug to speak on how legalization can prove a success.

As initially reported in Grand Folks Herald, Winkler had a former Colorado district attorney and a former Denver city attorney to converse with lawmakers on Nov. 19 about their experience witnessing Colorado transitioning into permitting recreational marijuana use and how Minnesota can pass a similar plan in 2020. Previous attempts at legalization in the state this year all never passed the Legislature.

Both former Boulder County District Attorney Stanley Garnett and former Denver City Attorney Doug Friednash are employed at a Denver law firm with expertise in cannabis and industrial hemp products. The two both originally rejected the initial Colorado proposal in 2014 before coming to terms with the legalization process once it occurred.

"If you could wave a magic wand and say nobody’s ever going to use marijuana, that might be a great thing to do, but the reality is that marijuana is here," Garnett told the Grand Folks Herald. “What changed my mind is, as a prosecutor, you learn to be very practical – what works, what doesn’t work – what clearly didn’t work was criminally prosecuting possession, use and sale of marijuana."

Both former lawyers suggested that state lawmakers should meet with agency heads as soon as the legislation takes effect, as the laws could take at least a year until they are officially enacted. Garnett and Friednash additionally advised that they should also be aware of many issues that Colorado and other states experienced during the transition process.

Some of these mistakes include caregivers being allowed too many plants being grown in their homes, child-resistant packaging not being forced on marijuana edibles and not authorizing the right amount of funds for law agencies to strike against black market sales.

Winkler hopes the recreational marijuana legislation will begin crafting during the beginning of the 2020 legislative sessions. Winker stated he will work with House and Senate Democrats and the Walz administration, as well as including a number of feedback from the public both supporting and rejecting marijuana legalization.