KIMT NEWS 3 – It’s a hot topic issue that had many eye trained on the Minnesota Legislative Session – legalizing recreational marijuana.

A bill was shot down Monday by a Minnesota Senate panel, making it unlikely that any recreational weed legislation will pass this year.

There’s many arguments for and against marijuana in the recreational sense.

“You have two different kinds of people,” Danielle Parks, of Memphis, Tenn., said. “Some that are looking to get benefits from it and some that are looking not to reap the benefits of what it can do for your body but more for what it can do as a high.”

Opponents warn about impaired driving and the effect on teen drug use.

Proponents cite the medical benefits, as well as the money the state would get from taxing the drug.

“So many people smoke recreationally you know and all they're trying to do is just have some fun. That's it,” Justin Morris, of Dodge Center, said. “They're not really trying to go out and do things that people using harder drugs would do, you know they are like the 70s stoner. They just want to chill out and relax.”

The state of Minnesota does already allow for medicinal use under strict guidelines. However, some think the program should be improved before anything else moves forward.

“The medicinal program here in Minnesota is very, very restrictive,” Dylan Blade, of Med City Vapors, said.

Med City Vapors is a shop that hopes to fill the void with Cannabidiol, or CBD, a chemical that comes from cannabis.

“Aches, pains, migraines, multiple sclerosis, fibro myalgia, nerve pain, cancer, just a whole myriad of afflictions and CBD is effective for them and they're finding relief,” Blade said.

Unlike THC, CGD does not make you feel “high.” If there was a recreational program in the state, shops that get licensed to serve marijuana clientele would have a larger base.

“Most people who go into a recreational store, or dispensary, are going in there to find something to get high,” Blade said. “Same way you go into a liquor store to find alcohol to relax and get drunk, they're not really looking for the medicinal benefits. Whereas people who are looking specifically for CBD are looking for those medicinal properties that the CBD can provide.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has said he would sign a bill legalizing recreational marijuana if it ever reaches his desk.