In Minnesota, What Were Once Vices Might Soon Be Habits

Electronic Cigarette Model (Photo credit: planetc1)

The Minnesota Legislature is mercifully brief this year, having started its session in late February and is mandated to close by mid-May.  With an election year looming and the state's improving economy creating a budget surplus, the Democratic-controlled House and Senate have been figuring out ways to spend it, which includes the possibility of a tax cut or rebate.

But there are always the headline-grabbers that usually dominate every Legislative session, and this year is no exception.  It was a Vikings stadium one year, gay marriage the next.

This year, there are three issues reflecting Minnesota's changing attitudes on drugs, smoking and alcohol:  medical marijuana, e-cigarettes and liquor sales on Sunday.  It's also possible that things haven't changed all that much, depending on whether the Legislature votes up or down on these issues.  The rundown:

Medical Marijuana

In 20 states, it is now possible for a doctor to prescribe marijuana for treating such diseases as cancer and glaucoma.  In others, you can now smoke weed out in the open while the state rakes in millions in tax revenues.  Never mind that marijuana still has a shady reputation, iffy health claims and a federal law that bans it.  But that hasn't stopped people from growing and bringing it into the country, and the U.S. government fighting a losing battle against it.


So the questions are these:  Do you deny life-saving treatment like medical marijuana to patients who think they have no other option?  What's to stop those who fake their diseases for the purpose of getting high?  Do you really want to see drug violence overtake Minnesota?  Is medical marijuana  worth it?

As of this writing (March 11), it looks like medical marijuana has gone up in smoke for this session.  A bill to legalize it has been pulled by its sponsor after law enforcement refused to back it.  And Governor Mark Dayton has said he would not sign such a bill without law enforcement's seal of approval, which wasn't likely in any case.  So, plane tickets to Denver, anyone?

Electronic Cigarettes

To those who can't (or won't) give up cigarette smoking--and new research claims to show that it's responsible for a lot more diseases than it used to be--electronic cigarettes have become a popular alternative.  Not a lot is known about it, except that instead of puffing out tobacco smoke, you're using a battery-operated device to 'vapor' chemically-enhanced flavors to go along with your nicotine.
Well, it still looks like smoking to most people, and that's why several states and municipalities have restricted the use of e-cigs to the same places traditional smokes have been banished to--outdoors and out of sight.  The dangers of secondhand smoke also seem to extend to those who are perfume-averse.

So at least until more is known about e-cigarettes (which the Food and Drug Administration has yet to weigh in on), the Legislature should put them on a par with tobacco--restrict its use and tax it to the heavens.  Anything to pay for that football stadium.

Sunday Liquor Sales

Minnesota is one of the last states in America where you can't buy booze seven days a week.  It's been that way since at least Prohibition and the temperance movement (you can look it up) in the early 20th century.  It's also become a problem as people flock across the border on Sundays to get their six pack, putting a dent in state tax revenues.  Well, maybe not to the liquor store owners who'd rather give their employees Sundays off than risk going out of business by staying open all week for competitive reasons, especially if their store is not city-owned or part of a national chain.


If buying liquor on Sunday is a matter of convenience, then what about the other six days of the week?  Not that we care whether liquor stores are open on Sundays or not.  But if you really need to buy booze on that day, then you need more help than we can give you here.

Once these three issues have been decided one way or another, then the Legislature can get back to the business of what they're really good at--running for re-election.  Remember, November is only nine months away.