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Marijuana Bill Passes To Senate, Efforts Fail To Legalize Recreational Use In Statute

Statehouse
Photo taken in 2019.

A senate committee has moved a vehicle bill that establishes criteria regarding marijuana to the full Senate. 

Democrat Senator Troy Heinert opposes the bill as is. He proposed an amendment which would legalize recreational marijuana into state statute, rather than the constitution.  

In a Senate State Affairs committee meeting, Heinert says it’s intended to respect the will of the voters. 

“225,260 people voted for constitutional Amendment A. Everyone on this committee, except for one, [Amendment A] passed in your district. I wish I didn’t have to bring this bill or this amendment. We should have been working on this the day after the election, but we didn’t. So now we are at a point.” 

The amendment failed, but the bill passed out of committee and now advances to the Senate floor. Lawmakers plan to amend the bill later in session.