Tell Senator Paul Gazelka To Make Cannabis Legalization A Priority!

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Tell Senator Paul Gazelka To Make Cannabis Legalization A Priority!

Senator Paul Gazelka

Senator Paul Gazelka has been the main opposition for cannabis legalization in the Minnesota State Senate. He recently stated..

"I would not consider legalizing recreational marijuana as a Minnesota priority," and continued on by saying:

"Just because it's legal, doesn't mean there aren't consequences. We're just starting to learn about legalization's adverse effects in other states like Colorado and Washington. There is no reason to rush this in Minnesota without learning more."

Tell Senator Paul Gazelka To Make Cannabis Legalization in Minnesota a Priority!

Sponsored by

Minnesota NORML

Minneapolis, MN

To: Senator Paul Gazelka
From: [Your Name]

Senator Paul Gazelka,

I'm writing you today to let you know that I fully support the legalization of cannabis in Minnesota. This is an issue I feel very strongly about. These are some of the reasons outline by House members on February 1st. with the introduction of HF600 and Companion bill SF757.

Representative Jeremy Munson, Republican (23B) did a poll on HF600 and presented the results from the first 1,000 respondents. Nearly all Republican and mostly female (60%) responses spread evenly across all age groups show:

✔️ 97% support for medical cannabis program, with 72% wanting to expand this to include the flower (instead of just the oil).

✔️ 69% would vote for recreational marijuana

✔️ 53% to 57% split on allowing employers to not hire cannabis user

In addtion, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler also stated:

"According to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, 15.9% of adults or 680,000+ Minnesota adults have used cannabis in the past year. The lack of regulation of this industry has not worked:

✔️ September of 2019 saw the highest number of E.R. visits linked to vaping (most from additives in unregulated vaping products).

✔️ No ID checks – 66% of tenth graders across the country reported that cannabis is “very easy” or “fairly easy” to access.

✔️ No dosage restrictions or labeling on cannabis products.

✔️ It is hard to access for veterans – the VA cannot prescribe it and instead prescribe opioids at alarming rates. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of veterans addicted to opioids increased by 55 percent to nearly 70,000.

✔️ Law enforcement made 8,752 arrests for cannabis in 2018. Legalizing cannabis can reduce law enforcement time and resources spent on cannabis offenses – saving tens of millions of dollars."

Senator Gazelka, It's apparent to myself and many other Minnesotans that the legalization of Marijuana in Minnesota is a bipartisan issue that is an immediate concern for more Minnesotans than not.

Thank you for your time.