Minnesota becomes 23rd state to legalize adult-use marijuana

May 30 (UPI) -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation Tuesday legalizing recreational marijuana.

The legislation passed the state Senate and House earlier this month, largely along party lines.

"Minnesota just became the 23rd state in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis," Walz tweeted Tuesday.

"What we know right now is prohibition does not work. We've criminalized a lot of folks. We're going to start the expungement process on those records. We have a situation where buying cannabis on the streets is dangerous," Walz said at a signing ceremony for the legislation Tuesday.

"I assure Minnesotans that a lot of thought has gone into this. A lot of the things we've learned in other states are incorporated into how we do this," he said.

Former Minn. Gov. Jesse Ventura, who has long advocated marijuana legalization, was in attendance at the signing ceremony with his wife, Terry.

"This is a huge day in our family's life," said Ventura.

People over 21 will now be able to carry up to 2 ounces of marijuana in public and have up to 2 pounds at their residence. The bill adds a 10% tax on marijuana sales, which is added to the existing sales tax. People will also be allowed to cultivate marijuana at home under the new legislation.

The legislation also automatically expunges low-level marijuana-related convictions.

In addition to legalizing cannabis, the legislation will create a new body to oversee the expungement process of higher-level marijuana convictions. The bill also creates the Office of Cannabis Management, which will oversee sales regulation.

The law takes effect on Aug. 1, but the licensing and establishment of recreational dispensaries is expected to take some time.

The Teamsters union in the state issued a statement lauding the legalization on Tuesday, calling it a "pro-worker" piece of legislation.

"We would like to thank the governor, Rep. Zack Stephenson, and all of our allies at the state capitol for having the courage to pass this pro-worker, pro-justice policy into law," said Tom Erickson, Teamsters central region international vice president and president of Teamsters joint council 32 in Minneapolis. "There are hundreds of thousands of jobs to be created in this new industry, and we look forward to bringing Teamster representation to even more cannabis workers."