Legalized marijuana proposal unveiled by Iowa Democrats

Marijuana would be legal for recreational use, previous convictions for non-violent possession charges would be removed from an individual’s criminal record, and the state’s medical cannabis program would be expanded under legislation introduced Tuesday by Democratic state lawmakers.

The proposal is not likely to become state law any time soon, since Republican state lawmakers in leadership and Gov. Kim Reynolds have in the past opposed any efforts to legalize marijuana in Iowa.

Nationally, 21 states have legalized recreational marijuana, including Iowa neighbors Missouri and Illinois. Minnesota state lawmakers are considering legislation to legalize marijuana there.

“It is time,” said Iowa Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, a Windsor Heights resident and leader of the minority-party House Democrats.

Konfrst argued that legalizing marijuana would keep sales tax revenue in Iowa instead of sending it to other states, it would preserve state resources that currently go toward enforcing marijuana laws, and it would increase the quality of life for Iowans with chronic illnesses.

She also noted legal recreational marijuana use is popular with a majority of Iowa voters: 54 percent of Iowans said they support legalizing recreational pot in a 2021 Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

“It is across party lines. It is across the place where you live in the state: rural, urban and suburban. And it is time to do this,” Konfrst said.

[Read more at The Gazette]