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Minnesota House set to vote on legalization of marijuana

"This is the year we're going to finally pass," said Leili Fatehi, campaign manager with MN is Ready.

ST PAUL, Minn. — After years of revamped legislation and countless hours of hearings, House Bill 100 is one step closer to being passed, legalizing marijuana in Minnesota.  

"This is the year we're going to finally pass," said Leili Fatehi, campaign manager with MN is Ready.

The bill's author, Rep. Zack Stephenson took to Twitter Wednesday, celebrating that the bill will be up for a vote in the Minnesota House Monday, which it's never had an issue passing through. 

The legislation has previously stalled in the Senate in years when there was a GOP majority. 

"We now have DFL control in both chambers, and we anticipate it passing," said Fatehi. 

The bill would make it legal for those over the age of 21 to buy marijuana.

It would also set up an Office of Cannabis Management, apply sales tax to the purchases, and require a specific license to sell it.

"There are penalties in place for those that sell without a license or who violate the regulatory terms that are required," explained Fatehi. 

For those that oppose the bill, that's not enough. 

David Benson-Staebler is with the Anti-narcotic & Anti-addictive Drug Coalition. A group that's working to propose a caution amendment to the Senate, with several concerns. 

"How many people would suffer injuries, diseases, mental health problems, what would the costs be to taxpayers, these are all important things to know before jumping in," said Benson-Staebler. 

"The bill itself has many provisions that require additional studies to be done in the early years of legalization and for those studies to then be reported back to the legislature so that adjustments can be made to the law if necessary," said Fatehi. 

If the bill passes the House on Monday, it then goes to the Senate.

The Senate also has its own version of the bill that has one more committee to clear before a full vote.

The legislative session is set to end in just over a month.

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