Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

In early December, the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time considered and passed legislation to legalize marijuana and redress decades of harm caused by the War on Drugs. While Senate leaders say they will not consider it, 

 signals a national shift in attitudes toward decriminalizing some drugs. 

One in 3 Americans now lives in a state where possession of a small amount of marijuana is legal. 

 in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. They approved medical use in South Dakota and Mississippi. In Oregon, where recreational marijuana has been legal since 2014, 

 by allowing medical use of psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms.” They also made possession of small amounts of other drugs, including cocaine, a misdemeanor punishable only by a $100 fine.

As recently as eight years ago, only California had opened the door to medical marijuana, which it approved in 1996. Recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 15 states and medical use is legal in Minnesota and 34 other states.  

Advocates for legalizing cannabis say regulating the market makes the product safer, reduces violence associated with the illegal drug trade and allows states to collect tax revenue. Calls for drug law reform also increasingly have

disproportionate number of African Americans and Latinos 

arrested and convicted for drug crimes. 

Wednesday at 9 a.m., MPR News host Kerri Miller will speak with a marijuana regulator and a drug policy researcher and take listener calls about decriminalizing marijuana and the steps some states are taking to address racial equity through changes to drug law. 

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: 

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Crime, Law and Justice

Shows

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Health

Marijuana in Minnesota

Host

Author

Kerri Miller spoke to a marijuana regulator and a drug policy researcher about decriminalizing marijuana and the steps some states are taking to address racial equity through changes to drug law. 

Kerri Miller spoke a marijuana regulator and a drug policy researcher about decriminalizing marijuana and the steps some states are taking to address racial equity through changes to drug law. 

Decriminalization trend means 1 in 3 Americans now lives in a state where marijuana is legal

Go Deeper.

Like this?