Minnesota recreational pot bill goes to conference committee, Gov. Walz pledges to sign

Both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature have approved separate versions of a bill to legalize recreational marijuana. The proposal now heads to a bicameral conference committee.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has pledged to sign the bill once it reaches his desk. It seeks to replace the illicit market for marijuana with a legal and regulated market, and to expunge the criminal records of residents who’ve been convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses such as simple possession.

"The prohibition of cannabis is a failed system that has not achieved the desired goals and has had incredible costs for our communities, especially for communities of color," the lead author, Democratic Sen. Lindsey Port, of Burnsville, told her colleagues.