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DES MOINES | The production, sale and recreational use of marijuana would be legal in Iowa under pending legislation that even its author says has little to no chance of being passed into law.

Iowa Sen. Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, on Monday announced his plan to introduce legislation that would end the prohibition of marijuana in Iowa.

Bolkcom said legalizing recreational marijuana likely remains a pipe dream so long as Republicans control the state lawmaking process in Iowa --- the state’s governor is Republican as are the majorities in the Iowa House and Senate --- and remarks from GOP legislators seemed to confirm as much.

But Bolkcom said he wanted to spark the conversation in Iowa because he feels support is increasing in the Midwest. Michigan voters in November voted to make recreational marijuana legal, and state leaders in Minnesota and Illinois are discussing the possibility.

Nationally, 10 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana use.

“I think legal marijuana is coming to the Midwest,” Bolkcom said. “It’s time for us in Iowa to begin to have a serious discussion about how we might tackle that or move away from prohibition.”