After securing approval from the Iowa Senate Ways and Means Committee, the Medical Cannabis Act is primed for a floor vote by the full Senate. This vote could happen any day now, so it’s important for Iowa residents to email your Senator TODAY and ask her or him to vote “yes” on the Medical Cannabis Act when it comes to the floor.

The Medical Cannabis Act, or S.F. 484,  makes significant improvements to the ineffective CBD-only law that was enacted last year in an effort to bring relief to individuals suffering from intractable epilepsy. That law has failed to help even the small subset of potential medical cannabis patients that it was specifically intended to help, making passage of the Medical Cannabis Act necessary.

Should the Medical Cannabis Act become law, individuals suffering from cancer, PTSD, intractable epilepsy, MS, and other debilitating conditions will be able to legally use and obtain their medicine within Iowa’s borders — but it must pass the Senate first.

Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics published an article called The Impact of Marijuana Policies on Youth: Clinical, Research, and Legal Update. While the report failed to recognize the benefits of regulating marijuana similarly to alcohol, it did  support decriminalizing marijuana because of the harms caused by arrests and their aftermath.

We put together this handy guide to highlight the most important points. Please share it with anyone who still thinks arresting and prosecuting marijuana consumers is good for young people.

The AAP also recently published a study suggesting that random drug testing and zero tolerance policies in schools can actually harm teens.

In a decisive 14-6 decision on Monday, Alaska senators voted down an ill-advised amendment that would have banned extracts, edibles, and concentrates in 2017.

During yesterday’s debate, our opponents continued to insist that voters did not know what they were voting for in November — despite the fact that they received overwhelming testimony to the contrary during committee hearings. Over the weekend, hundreds of supporters called and emailed their elected officials, and their voices were heard loud and clear.

Without licensed and regulated businesses producing marijuana extracts and edibles, the criminal market would continue to thrive. Without tested and clearly packaged concentrates, patients would suffer. Senators finally got the message. Your respectful and articulate comments changed minds.

But we still have a lot of work ahead of us. SB 30 now heads to the Alaska House of Representatives, where it will undergo another series of committee hearings. Stay tuned for further updates, and we’ll let you know when your voice is needed.

[caption id="attachment_8650" align="alignright" width="150"] Rep. Steve Cohen[/caption]

Yesterday, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) that would largely prevent the federal government from interfering with state medical marijuana laws.

This bill is a companion to a historic CARERS Act introduced earlier this month in the Senate with bipartisan support.

[caption id="attachment_8651" align="alignleft" width="150"] Rep. Don Young[/caption]

The bill would make production, distribution, and possession of marijuana for medical purposes that’s legal under state law legal under federal law, and would make conducting research on marijuana easier, among other things.

Earlier this month, a bill to regulate and tax marijuana similarly to alcohol was introduced in the Rhode Island legislature.

The Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act, introduced by Sen. Joshua Miller (D-Cranston) and Rep. Scott Slater (D-Providence),  would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow one mature marijuana plant in an enclosed, locked space. It would create a tightly regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, and testing facilities and direct the Department of Business Regulation to create rules regulating security, labeling, and health and safety requirements. It would also establish wholesale excise taxes at the point of transfer from the cultivation facility to a retail store, as well as a special sales tax on retail sales to consumers.

Huffington Post reports:

 A 2014 poll found 52 percent in favor of changing marijuana laws, mirroring national trends. This is the fourth year that legislation to regulate and tax recreational marijuana has been introduced. It's unclear whether state lawmakers will support the new measure.

Legalized marijuana would boost the state treasury by $58 million a year in taxes, the Marijuana Policy Project projected.

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"We want Rhode Island to be a leader on the East Coast and become an early adopter in order to get a competitive edge in the regional market to maximize job creation, tax revenue, and business growth in our state," Jared Moffat, director of the marijuana policy reform group Regulate Rhode Island, told The Huffington Post.

A statewide ballot initiative to regulate marijuana like alcohol was filed Tuesday with the Maine Secretary of State.

The leader of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, David Boyer of Falmouth, submitted the language along with the signatures of five registered Maine voters who support the measure, as required by state law. The five signers were State Rep. Diane Russell of Portland; local farmer and former Republican State Rep. Aaron Libby of Waterboro; Androscoggin County Commissioner and Lewiston School Board Member Matt Roy; Rev. Deane Perkins of Belfast; and Sherry DaBiere, a York-based real estate agent and grandmother.

Under the proposed initiative, adults 21 years of age and older would be allowed to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes, and possess the marijuana produced by those plants. The measure would establish a tightly regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, product-manufacturing facilities, and testing facilities.  Marijuana would be subject to a 10% sales tax in addition to the standard sales tax, and revenue generated by marijuana sales would be allocated public education.

The Maine Secretary of State has 15 days to review the initiative application and either reject it, accept it, or provide revisions to the proposed measure. Once it is approved, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will have until the end of January 2016 to collect the approximately 62,000 signatures of registered Maine voters that are needed to qualify for the November 2016 ballot.

The New Mexico legislative session ended on Saturday, and with it died SB 383, a bill that would have decriminalized marijuana throughout the state.

SB 383 would have replaced criminal penalties for possessing up to an ounce of marijuana with a $50 civil fine. It also would have removed the possibility of jail time for possession of up to eight ounces. Although SB 383 passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote, the House did not take it up. It is disappointing that the New Mexico House chose not to review a bill that would have reduced the punishment for individuals who possessed a substance safer than alcohol.

Time ran out not only on decriminalization — but also, fortunately, on a harmful bill that would have unfairly targeted marijuana consumers. HB 120 would have declared anyone with an extremely small amount of THC per milliliter of blood guilty of driving under the influence — even if the person could prove they were actually not impaired! HB 120 passed in the House, but did not receive a vote in the Senate.

A new poll released by the Castleton Polling Institute shows that a majority of Vermont residents want to make marijuana legal and regulated for adults.

VTDigger.org reports:

Respondents in the recent poll were asked: “Two states — Washington and Colorado — have legalized and regulated marijuana for recreational use. Do you support or oppose passing a similar law in Vermont to legalize and regulate marijuana for recreational use?”

Of those surveyed, 54 percent supported the idea with 40 percent opposed. Six percent had no opinion.

Support was particularly strong among young people with 70 percent of respondents age 18-44 (or 161 people) in favor. The results were about opposite for those 65 and older, who opposed legalization 61 percent to 30 percent.

“Clearly, the opposition remains most substantial among voters who are 65-plus and Republicans,” said Matt Simon of the Marijuana Policy Project. “I guess some people remain nostalgic for a simpler time when you could ‘Just Say No’ and be done with the issue, but any realistic person realizes that those days are long gone — that marijuana is here to stay whether we like it or not, and we have to figure out how best to deal with it.”

Vermont lawmakers are currently considering a bill which would tax and regulate marijuana similarly to alcohol.

Today, Texas State Rep. Marisa Márquez (D-El Paso filed HB 3785 — the comprehensive, whole-plant medical marijuana bill that patients and advocates have been campaigning for. This marks a historical moment in Texas, as it is the first bill of its kind to be considered by the Texas Legislature.

HB 3785 proposes a far more comprehensive approach to protecting patients than the two other medical marijuana-related bills introduced in the Texas House this session. The bill establishes a framework for dispensaries, growers, and manufacturers to provide seriously ill patients with the medicine they need.

The qualifying conditions are far broader than other bills, and would include: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, Alzheimer's, PTSD, and conditions causing wasting, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe muscle spasms.

Registered patients (and their caregivers) would be free from fear of arrest and could legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. They’d also be permitted to grow up to six plants in their home, three of which could be mature plants estimated to yield four ounces each per year.

If you are a Texas resident, please take a moment to contact your Texas legislators about this important bill. We’ve set up a webpage that allows you to email them both in one shot. Supporters are encouraged to personalize the form letter provided if you or a loved one could benefit from legal access to medical marijuana.

Earlier today, the Nevada Assembly missed its last opportunity to vote on Initiative Petition 1, which proposes legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana for adults 21 and over. Since the legislature did not approve the measure itself, the measure will appear on the ballot for the 2016 general election. This inaction means Nevadans will have to wait until late next year for the chance to end their state’s destructive and costly prohibition of marijuana.

Please "like" Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Nevada on Facebook so that the campaign can keep you posted as the ballot initiative campaign gets underway. While polls show strong public support, we can’t take victory for granted. We’ll need your help to get the word out and run a strong campaign.

As many in Colorado and Washington have already learned, legalization allows adults who prefer a substance that is safer than alcohol avoid arrest, jail, and damaged futures. The Initiative to Tax and Regulate Marijuana also affords greater access for seriously ill patients, because patients who suffer from conditions that are not currently included in the state medical marijuana program — such as Alzheimer’s disease — lack legal protections. And, of course, legalization saves scarce law enforcement resources for serious crime, while providing revenue to the state.

But while the Nevada Legislature missed this opportunity, history continues to move forward, and Nevada voters will have the final say come November 8, 2016. Please stay tuned for more updates.