Gov. Mark Dayton resistant to medical marijuana legislation
The November 2012 election once again returned power over the Minnesota Legislature to the Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) party. The DFL controls the Minnesota House, the Senate, and the executive branch. This turn of events, as well as ever growing support among Minnesota’s Republican party, has lead many to believe that now is the time to pass medical marijuana in Minnesota. Unfortunately, Gov. Mark Dayton (DFL) is currently skeptical of the idea.
Gov. Dayton recently told the Associated Press that he is hesitant to support a medical marijuana law in Minnesota. “As long as law enforcement believes whatever [law] is being proposed is going to make society more dangerous, I’m going to honor their concerns,” said Dayton. This leads one to wonder how allowing sick and suffering individuals in Minnesota safe access to a medicine that is safer than prescription drugs like Percocet creates a dangerous situation? In fact, allowing regulated access to medical marijuana removes the danger that patients currently face by having to obtain their medicine on the criminal market.
Please email the governor and ask him to reconsider his stance on medical marijuana. Marijuana has relieved the suffering of patients with AIDS, cancer, MS, severe pain, and other ailments. After you email, please call the governor to ask him to take the sick and dying off the battlefield of the war on marijuana.
Then, please ask your friends and family to do the same.
Gov. Dayton should listen to his constituents and stand up for the seriously ill. After all, the governor and the legislature make state law, and law enforcement enforces it, not the other way around. Email the governor today!
Please sign up for our Minnesota specific action alerts to stay up to date on marijuana policy reform in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Are you a patient or supportive medical professional?
If you are a patient with a serious medical condition who could benefit from medical marijuana, or a supportive medical professional, please email state@mpp.org to get involved.
Minnesotans confront the war on marijuana
The Marijuana Policy Project has been busy making sure our members and supporters are aware of the need to reform our state and federal marijuana laws. In 2011, we had a couple of Minnesota-centric advocacy opportunities.
In May 2011, former Minnesota governor, and then presidential hopeful, Tim Pawlenty, spoke at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C. He spoke about the need for limited government and touched on his desire to take government out of health care. MPP legislative analyst, and Minnesota native, Robert Capecchi, was on hand to ask his former governor why, if he supports limited government, did he veto the medical marijuana bill in 2009. Here’s the video.
C’mon governor! You were the top executive. It was your job to tell law enforcement what the law is, not vice versa.
In addition to hounding the former governor, Robert Capecchi dropped by Fox 9 studios in Eden Prairie. In June of 2011, Fox 9 invited him on to discuss the just released Global Commission on Drug Policy report and why the war on drugs in general, and marijuana specifically, has failed. You can watch that interview here.
Learn about Minnesota's marijuana laws
In 2007, there were 11,629 marijuana-related arrests in Minnesota. Interestingly, only 66% of these arrests were for marijuana possession. Nationally, marijuana possession arrests in 2007 comprised 89% of all marijuana-related arrests. While the penalty for a first offense of possessing a small amount of marijuana in Minnesota is a $200 fine, having two ounces could land Minnesotans in jail for five years! You can learn more about Minnesota's marijuana penalties and enforcement by reading this report by Jon Gettman, Ph.D.
