Minnesota Bill Requiring Minnesota’s Medical Marijuana Program Be Exempted From Federal Law ADVANCES | Weed All About It

Good things happening on my singular topic of interest up in Minnesota. That state has been my second home in many ways, and I’m glad to see our argument that WeedPress has pushed for over a decade is finally coming to bear good fruits in the Minnesota House.

Here’s the summary I had the privilege to write up that describes House File 1023 out of Minnesota:

“This bill is part of an ongoing discussion to follow federal guidelines regarding state authorized medical cannabis laws in order to bring state authorized medical cannabis laws into compliance with federal laws. This bill seeks to protect vulnerable patients, business interests, and insures federal funds will not be removed from state agencies due to lack of compliance with federal laws.”

Update 11/6/2021: here’s the bill summary from the MN House legislative website:

H. F. 1023, A bill for an act relating to health; requiring the commissioner of health to apply for a federal Schedule I exemption for the medical use of cannabis; reclassifying marijuana and nonsynthetic THC from a Schedule I to a Schedule II controlled substance; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections 152.01, subdivision 23; 152.02, subdivisions 2, 3; 152.11, by adding a subdivision; 152.12, by adding a subdivision; 152.125, subdivision 3.
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Health Finance and Policy.

H. F. 1023, A bill for an act relating to health; requiring the commissioner of health to apply for a federal Schedule I exemption for the medical use of cannabis; reclassifying marijuana and nonsynthetic THC from a Schedule I to a Schedule II controlled substance; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections 152.01, subdivision 23; 152.02, subdivisions 2, 3; 152.11, by adding a subdivision; 152.12, by adding a subdivision; 152.125, subdivision 3.

The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Health Finance and Policy.

H. F. 1023, A bill for an act relating to health; requiring the commissioner of health to apply for a federal Schedule I exemption for the medical use of cannabis; reclassifying marijuana and nonsynthetic THC from a Schedule I to a Schedule II controlled substance; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections 152.01, subdivision 23; 152.02, subdivisions 2, 3; 152.11, by adding a subdivision; 152.12, by adding a subdivision; 152.125, subdivision 3.

The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Health Finance and Policy.

A colleague and long time friend in Minnesota asked me to write the above summary to House File 1023. This is incredibly important and groundbreaking work on marijuana policy. I have always intended to focus on the importance of complying with federal law when it comes to state medical marijuana programs. Since there is an application process that already exists for making this happen in 21 CFR 1307.03, lawmakers in Minnesota, Iowa, and a third state, are actively pursuing this 21 CFR 1307.03 exemption to protect their state medical marijuana industry, patients, and other interested parties from federal laws that prevent nursing home residents from accessing medical marijuana on nursing home grounds, and federal laws that do a plethora of other nasty things.

Banks cannot service state medical marijuana businesses until the 21 CFR 1307.03 exemption is utilized. Tax write-offs for businesses that would normally be allowed are currently not allowed, which drives up costs for sick patients. To bring prices down for patients, 21 CFR 1307.03 must be utilized by one of the 47 states, as well as Washington, DC, that have accepted some form of medical marijuana into their statutes. Until now, no state legislature had made as much progress as Minnesota on this exemption process.

Once Minnesota passes House File 1023, the exemption under 21 CFR 1307.03 will be implemented.

This exemption under 21 CFR 1307.03 brings Minnesota’s medical marijuana program (a program of which I am a cardholding approved member) into full compliance with federal marijuana laws. Instead of creating anarchy, Minnesota’s medical marijuana industry has found the solution to protect both patients, and businesses, interests.

All it took was years of passionate dedication, networking, and research to open dialogue and figure out how the system is supposed to work.

While for nearly three decades marijuana industry “leadership” would decry pursuing any strategy that would bring state programs into compliance with federal law, claiming sick patients didn’t have time to wait around and fix the issues with federal law. WeedPress and other interested organizations pursued finding a strategy to bring state and federal marijuana laws back into harmony with a vengeance. I am thoroughly pleased, and quite proud to report, that lawmakers are just as excited as we are here at WeedPress about this exemption process codified in 21 CFR 1307.03. You can watch the lawmakers excitement and discussion yourself here courtesy of the Minnesota House Info YouTube channel:

I thoroughly expect that this bill will get a hearing in Committee and pass, as well as pass the House and Senate. I also expect it to be signed by the governor. Our system of governance works extremely well for those who take the time and patience to use it.

Here is a summary of the key points in the above discussion. If you’re a marijuana activist, lawyer, or leader of any organization it behooves you to pay close attention. If you would like to discuss this process at length further, anyone can email me at any time at jahkingdomcome23@gmail.com.

02:22​ HF907 (Gomez) Medical cannabis program requirements modified, civil remedies authorized, and affirmative defense established.

27:11​ Discussion of HF1023 (Gomez) Cannabis; health commissioner required to apply for federal Schedule I exemption for medical use of cannabis, and marijuana and nonsynthetic THC reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule II controlled substance, & HF675 (Munson) Cannabis; health commissioner required to apply for federal Schedule I exemption for medical use of cannabis, and marijuana and nonsynthetic THC reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule II controlled substance.

1:08:21​ HF813 (Edelson) Medical cannabis program modified, and dried raw cannabis combustion by patients aged 21 or older allowed.

Sincere medical marijuana patients deserve justice under the law. Minnesota’s House File 1023 gives them that justice. Massive gratitude to all the Minnesota lawmakers who are taking their job seriously to make laws that serve cannabis patients fully, instead of halfway.

Follow our WeedPress blog on Facebook as we will closely follow this ongoing and escalating discussion developing out of the beautiful state of Minnesota.