ST. PAUL — "It comes with all sorts of benefits,” said Sen. Erin Murphy DFL-St. Paul, “particularly around the issue of equity, for people who have been incarcerated as a result of cannabis use, which is a key feature of the legislation that became effective on Tuesday.”
“Having that offense on your record is a limitation in terms of employment and financing and housing,”Sen. Erin Murphy
Murphy talked with Heidi Holtan and Kari Hedlund on the KAXE Morning Show Thursday August 8. She talked about the importance of creating a regulated market of a substance that has been used illicitly for a long time.
“In my mind, this is a safer way. A stronger way. A more clear way that comes with all sorts of benefits,” said Murphy. The bill legalizing marijuana was thoroughly vetted, she said, heard in almost every committee and deeply examined. She also stressed the need to look at and tweak the law, now that marijuana is legal.
Murphy said she thinks Minnesota has probably the strongest recreational or adult use cannabis laws in the nation, due to the criminal record expungement.
“Having that offense on your record is a limitation in terms of employment and financing and housing,” she said. “Prohibition has been really harmful for people in communities of color, indigenous people, black people, brown people...they have paid a more significant price.”
Red Lake Nation opened the first legal dispensary earlier this week, and Red Lake Tribal Secretary Sam Strong said, “it’s only fitting that the Native American tribes are participating in this industry. “We’ve been harmed the most by the War on Drugs.”
Sen. Murphy added, “In all of the work that was done in the session, we are trying very much to remember who was harmed and as we make progress on this law and its implementation, that those who are harmed are at essentially the front of the line in the creation of this new market.”
CANNABIS FROM A MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE
Sen. Murphy was a surgical nurse and early in her career she remembers learning that even recreational drugs have therapeutic uses, like cocaine, for stopping bleeding. But that doesn’t mean cannabis isn’t without risk.
“We all know people who struggle with substance abuse disorder,” she said, separating people from their family, work, essentially ruining their lives. “We have to be responsible in our use if we’re going to choose to use it.”
OTHER LAWS PASSED IN THE 2023 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Murphy talked about free tuition at public institutions for two years of college, for people making $80,000 or less.
“If young Minnesotans want to go to school and get a higher education,” she said, “we want them to be able to do it in Minnesota.”
A priority for Murphy is for people to be educated without incurring a high level of debt that will financially strap them in the future.
Murphy also felt like one of the most significant bills passing into law this year had to with gun control.
Two pieces of legislation passed, she said, which recognized people’s right to have firearms, but also public safety. She believed this gun reform legislation is the work of Minnesotans for a decade or two.
“After lots of discussion at the Legislature, the majority decided now is the time. “
Included in gun reform laws were universal background checks, limiting no-knock warrants, and extreme risk protection orders.
Listen above to the full conversation.
