MIDWESTERN WEED

Minnesota Officially Legalizes Recreational Marijuana Use

With Gov. Tim Walz’s signature, Minnesota becomes the 23rd state to legalize recreational use.

Minnesota officially legalized recreational marijuana use on Tuesday, bringing the number of recreational weed-friendly states in the U.S. to 23. Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill into law less than a month after both chambers of the state legislature passed it with bipartisan backing, CNN reported. Minnesota residents 21-and-up can now legally possess marijuana, although Walz noted it will take a while before dispensaries are up and running in the state. The bill’s signing also set in motion a process to expunge past marijuana-related criminal offenses. “We’ve criminalized a lot of folks,” Walz said during the bill’s signing. “We’re going to start the expungement process on those records.”