We know that the Public safety committee is busy trying to figure out police accountability legislation. We recently saw that Senate Majority Leader Gazelka stated, "we've always said we were open to lowering the criminal penalties [for marijuana]."

Reducing or eliminating the criminal penalties we're seeing around marijuana is where we have consensus. Let's focus on the people who have small quantities. There is injustice in a trivial amount of marijuana resulting in life changing punishments like imprisonment, criminal records, lost jobs and kids.

1. Correct the injustice of treating non flower marijuana as a crime even in amounts of 8 grams or less.

2. Correct Minnesota's small amount decriminalization statute to make it a true petty misdemeanor. Federal courts have held that Minnesota’s petty misdemeanor statute is not actually a petty misdemeanor, but is a crime because the small amount possession statute is more than just a petty misdemeanor with a fine only.

3. People convicted of felony possession for 8 grams or less of non-flower marijuana could petition for criminal record expungement and restoration of civil rights to own firearms.

Due to the passage of House Majority Leader Winkler's HF600 and the subsequent vote by the senate to add raw cannabis to the medical program; we are requesting that the decriminalization of cannabis be included in an offer from Chair Mariani or Chair Limmer to the public safety working group which includes language from HF1355, HF2652 & SF2348.