As the 2022 ranking for candidates in Minnesota Senate District 6 by pro-cannabis group MN Is Ready Coalition (screenshot above) shows, victor Justin Eichorn was deemed a marijuana prohibition candidate by those working for legal adult cannabis in the North Star State.
Indeed, we didn't see any pro-adult cannabis bills among those bills he's authored or co-authored since taking office in 2017.
Here's a screengrab of the reason for the MN is Ready Coalition voter guide explanation for the ranking, "Justin Eichorn voted “NO” on: Recalling SF757, legalizing the adult use of cannabis, from committee to the Senate floor for debate":
A spokesperson for the group also noted that Eichorn had not returned the group's candidate questionnaire.
And there was that thing in the 2020 election in the lede of J. Patrick Coolican's investigation at the Minnesota Reformer, Some legalize cannabis candidates are giving off very MAGA vibes:
In a contested state Senate race in northeast Minnesota, Robyn Smith is the candidate for the Legal Marijuana Now Party, but most of her political energy on social media is devoted to supporting President Donald Trump, gun rights and other right wing causes.
Although Smith said in a Reformer interview that she thinks cannabis should be legal, she also acknowledged she had been recruited to run on the marijuana ticket by a Republican, though she declined to name the person.
She also said she’s happy to help the GOP retain its state Senate majority by siphoning votes away from DFL challenger Rita Albrecht, who is running against state Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids. . . .
The only thing standing in the way: The Republican-controlled Minnesota Senate, which held a single hearing on a legal marijuana bill in 2019 and quickly rejected it. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, has vowed opposition, which means it’s unlikely to even reach the floor for a vote if he remains leader. . . .
While Eichorn won in 2020 and the Republicans kept control of the chamber, the GOP lost control of the Minnesota State Senate in the 2022 election.
Is Eichorn shifting with those winds?
Reprinted from the Mesabi Tribune, Lee Bloomquist reports in Range area legislators react to marijuana bill; Legislation would legalize growth, sale and purchase of recreational marijuana at the Grand Rapids Herald Review:
. . . Republican Sen. Justin Eichorn of Grand Rapids said with other issues impacting Minnesotans like high taxes, student achievement, inflation, and infrastructure needs, he’s frustrated that DFLers would bring recreational marijuana forward in the first week of the session.
“I do not support the legislation as it stands,” Eichorn said. “I’m a little surprised and disappointed. We knew this was coming, but this was first out of the gate. There are so many other areas we should be helping people like giving them their money back.”
Eichorn said he would prefer that Minnesota voters have a say in whether to legalize recreational marijuana.
“The guard rails just aren’t there,” Eichorn said. “As a freedom guy, I would have liked to see it go to voters as a constitutional amendment rather than the Democrats just doing it. ... Frustration would sum it up.” . . .
As a South Dakota resident, we're wondering whether Eichorn's thinking of the fate of constitutional amendments put before voters in the Rushmore State.
But we're also puzzled that Eichorn says "this [legal cannabis] was first out of the gate."
The first bill signed by Governor Walz? At the Star Tribune, Briana Bierschbach reports in What Minnesota's new tax law means for student borrowers, restaurants and other businesses:
Gov. Tim Walz signed a fast-tracked proposal Thursday to cut more than $100 million in taxes for Minnesota restaurants and other businesses that got federal aid at the height of the pandemic.
The new law, the first signed under DFL-controlled government, would also wipe away state taxes on student loan debt that could be forgiven under a plan unveiled last year by the Biden administration. . . .
Golly. And there's this in New DFL senator pushes extension of unemployment benefits for hard-hit miners:
The DFL-controlled Minnesota Senate moved swiftly to pass its second bill Thursday, a $10 million extension of unemployment benefits for roughly 400 miners laid off from Cleveland-Cliffs Northshore Mining operations last May.
Sponsored by freshman Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, the bill passed 56-10 after the DFL majority fended off a GOP attempt to limit the pool of eligible recipients. . . .
The mine and pellet plant, where workers earn an average of $120,000, have been idled since last May in a dispute over royalty fees with Mesabi Trust. The bill, which is expected to be heard in a House committee next week, would extend unemployment benefits by 26 weeks for miners laid off from last April through March 4, 2023. . . .
. . . some Republicans spoke for the bill's passage. Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, described the situation as a "couple billionaires fighting with each other" to the detriment of the miners. "We are doing the right thing to help these miners out," he said, noting the steel industry's historical importance to Minnesota and the world.
Eichorn is a co-author of the bill. Obviously, cannabis isn't the first bill out of the gate; that would be the reproductive rights PROAct, after all. Coon Rapids DFLer Zack Stephenson's HF0100 is the cannabis bill, which will be winding its way through many committee hearings..
The bill passed by the Senate on Thursday is SF0040.
Given that Eichorn appears to have turned over a new leaf on cannabis, Bluestem is hoping he'll introduce a constitutional amendment asking Minnesota's voters if they want legal cannabis.
It's not as if Eichorn is opposed to bills for constitutional amendments. He's a co-author of SF0087, authored by Senator Mark Koran, R-Long Branch. SF0087 is "Constitutional amendment protecting the right of the people to keep and bear arms."
As for tackling "other issues impacting Minnesotans like high taxes, student achievement, inflation, and infrastructure needs," Eichorn's first three bills mandate homeschool, charter school, and nonpublic school students' ability to participate in extracurricular activities. Okay then.
Screengrab: From MNisReady Coalition's 2022 voter guide.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Comments