The Minnesota Senate on May 17 adopted the conference committee report on Senate File 2370, a broad cannabis policy bill that includes licensing for lower‑potency hemp edibles, new delivery and transport rules, and changes to the state’s expungement process for some cannabis convictions. Senator Dibble moved adoption and the report passed by a 34‑33 roll call vote.

The bill directs the Office of Cannabis Management be treated as an agency for government‑to‑government relations with tribal governments and adds new licensing categories and permitting for wholesaling and delivery of lower‑potency hemp edibles and beverages. The measure also creates delivery endorsements for retailers and allows certain medical cannabis license holders to transport product between businesses that hold medical combination licenses.

Senator Dibble, who moved adoption of the conference report, described it as a compromise between the two chambers that included both “a number of provisions from the house” and acceptance of “all of the senate provisions…maybe a couple of minor tweaks here and there,” and said the result represented progress on implementing the legalization framework passed earlier.

Senator Porte spoke to adjustments to the cannabis expungement process included in the bill. She said the measure changes how eligible cannabis convictions are referenced in statute — naming the convictions directly rather than by statutory citation — and expands the cannabis expungement board’s authority so it can review records tied to cannabis convictions even when court records include other charges that were dropped. Porte said that change addresses a practical problem courts face sealing records and estimates it affects about 14 percent of eligible felony cannabis convictions.

Opponents raised concerns about public health and regulatory gaps. Senator Rasmussen urged caution, saying the “promise of the 2023 legalization has fallen short” and criticized what he called regulatory uncertainty, missing potency limits, and weaker labeling requirements compared with other regulated products. He said he would recommend a no vote on final passage.

The conference report also includes provisions intended to protect patient access and affordability for medical cannabis, such as reciprocal recognition for some visiting medical patients and measures to monitor costs and supply. Supporters noted the bill waives a temporary labor peace agreement requirement for a testing laboratory pending licensure renewal, allows certain manufacturers to produce products for export, and adds language aimed at preventing exported products from returning to Minnesota’s illicit market.

Senator Abler raised concerns about sober‑home residents and the potential for smokable forms of cannabis to trigger people in abstinence‑based settings; Dibble and Porte responded that the conference committee sought to balance patient access for registered medical cannabis patients with reasonable restrictions similar to those applied in health‑care facilities.

The bill’s conference report was adopted on the floor and given third reading; the final roll call on adoption recorded 34 ayes and 33 nays. Supporters urged the measure as a step to implement legalization while addressing expungement and patient access; critics said more work is needed on potency limits, labeling and public‑health protections.

Votes at a glance: The conference committee report on Senate File 2370 was adopted (conference report adopted and bill passed as amended by the conference committee) by roll call, 34 ayes, 33 nays.