MinnPost’s most read stories of 2023: The year of marijuana – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

2023 brought a flurry of activity in the Minnesota Legislature with a “bonkers” session as well as chaos in Washington, D.C., involving Minnesota’s own Tom Emmer, but the story this year for MinnPost readers was marijuana.

From where you can and cannot use marijuana to how you can grow it at home, the legalization of marijuana ignited the interest of Minnesota as the state continues to work out how the new law will be implemented and who will become the first director of the Office of Cannabis Management after the first pick withdrew.

But marijuana wasn’t the only thing readers were interested in this year. Here’s a look back on the 10 most read stories from 2023.

‘Transformational’ and also ‘bonkers’: Minnesota Legislature ends its session of historic spending, policy changes

The 2023 legislative session was called the most successful by DFL Gov. Tim Walz. It was certainly productive with the DFL trifecta checking off everything on their lengthy to-do list.

Peter Callaghan and Walker Orenstein wrote an extensive breakdown of the laws passed including legalizing recreational marijuana, codifying abortion rights, paid family and sick leave, restoring voting rights for people released from jail or prison, and so much more. The session, called “transformational” by some and “bonkers” by others, caught…