Washington
CNN
—
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota signed a bill into law on Tuesday legalizing recreational marijuana use in the state.

With Walz’s signature, Minnesota becomes the 23rd state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the third Midwestern state to do so.

“What we know right now is prohibition does not work. We’ve criminalized a lot of folks. We’re going to start the expungement process on those records. We have a situation where buying cannabis on the streets is dangerous,” Walz said at a signing ceremony Tuesday, adding that adults should be able to make their own decisions “around these types of choices.”

The Minnesota House and Senate chambers, which are both Democratic-led – passed the bill earlier this month with bipartisan support – after months of review following its introduction in January.