Drug residue decriminalization advances in the Minnesota Senate

A Minnesota Senate committee has advanced a bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for people found in possession of illicit drug residue. It would also require law enforcement to refer illicit drug users to treatment providers if they request it.

The bill (SF3663/HF3952) builds on first-of-its-kind legislation passed last year that decriminalized drug paraphernalia, as well as any drug residue found on it. The new bill goes further by decriminalizing “residual amounts” of illicit substances – minute, unweighable and unusable quantities – regardless of the context in which they were found.

Since the passage of last year’s bill, authorities have seen reductions in syringe litter along with a transition from injecting drugs to smoking drugs, which carries less risk of disease transmission, according to testimony from Edward Krumpotich of the National Harm Reduction Coalition. 

However, prosecutors in some counties have continued to prosecute residue cases by exploiting loopholes in the previous law. This bill would close those loopholes, Krumpotich said.

The bill “is an important step forward in addressing drug use as a health issue by linking people to lifesaving services and treatment and making sure people who possess residual amounts of illicit drugs are not saddled with criminal records that are lifelong barriers to housing, jobs, education and so much more,” said Emily Kaltenbach of the Drug Policy Alliance, a reform group, in a letter encouraging lawmakers to support the legislation.

Sen. Clare Oumou-Verbeten, DFL-St. Paul, the bill’s sponsor, said that it also had the support of the Hennepin County sheriff. 

The legislation also contains a provision encouraging law enforcement to divert suspected offenders to local drug treatment providers, and requiring such a diversion if a suspect requests it and doing so is “practicable.”

The bill was approved for inclusion in a forthcoming omnibus.