Sensible Change Minnesota’s Advocacy Committee is excited to share our Agenda for 2020!

Medical Cannabis

Improve Patient Access & Affordability

  • Provide that any cannabis product, including raw cannabis flower produced by a Minnesota licensed medical cannabis manufacturer is “medical cannabis” under Minnesota law and can be sold to and possessed by patients.
  • Allow for delivery of medical cannabis products and mobile distribution centers.
  • Create an opioid replacement program with renewable 90-day certifications.
  • Eliminate low income $50 annual registration fee.

 Enhance Patient Protections

  • Enhance civil patient protections by providing for statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, injunctive relief, and a prohibition on retaliation for discrimination by employers, landlords, schools, and health care facilities.
  • Allow registered patients charged with criminal conduct for possession of cannabis or cannabis products the ability to provide a medical cannabis necessity defense.
  • Protect patients’ second amendment rights under Minnesota law.
  • Permit school nurses to dispense CBD and medical cannabis.
  • Provide civil patient protections for patients subject to probation, parole, or condition court release.
  • Prohibit law enforcement from seizing medical cannabis from patients with active patient registration.

Address Administrative and Regulatory Issues

  • Require the Commissioner of Health to set contaminant-free testing requirements for medical cannabis products.
  • Permit persons with controlled substance offenses, who have completed their sentence, to work in the medical cannabis industry.
  • Begin issuing “hard cards” for patient identification.
  • Redesign the Task Force on Medical Cannabis Therapeutic Research by adding two more adult patients and two adult caregivers, require the Task Force meeting at least twice per year, and include patient access and affordability in Task Force reports.

 Develop a Thriving Medical Cannabis Industry

  • Provide for a minimum of four licensed vertically integrated medical cannabis manufacturers.
  • Increase the number of patient care centers permitted state-wide.

Adult Use

We are also working with House Majority Leader, Representative Ryan Winkler (D-Golden Valley) and Senator Jeff Hayden (D-Minneapolis) to ensure patients and consumers are at the forefront of adult use policy. Our priorities include:

  • Keeping medical cannabis products tax free.
  • Improving accessibility for patients.
  • Ensuring products are free of contaminants, including pesticides and heavy metals.
  • Providing funding for consumer education and youth prevention.

Adulterant Screening

Sensible Change Minnesota will continue to push legislation removing adulterant screening tools from the definition of “drug paraphernalia,” to help address the contaminated drug supply. This change in the law would allow harm reduction workers to provide services, such as checking for the presence of fentanyl in illicit substances, without violating Minnesota Statutes. Representative Aisha Gomez (D-Minneapolis) and Senator Melisa Franzen (D-Edina) are sponsoring this measure.

Decriminalization

The Advocacy Committee is also supportive of, and will advocate for, making under 8 grams of cannabis “mixtures” (i.e. oils, wax, edibles, etc.) a “small amount” petty misdemeanor offense. This will help to reduce the criminalization of cannabis, and will help with preventing criminalization of underage use post-legalization.

About Sensible Change Minnesota’s Advocacy Committee

Sensible Change Minnesota’s Advocacy Committee team consists of:

Join us in making Minnesota safer and more inclusive for our neighbors.

Contact Maren Schroeder, Policy Director, with any questions or comments, [email protected].