Rep. Sherry Jones has taken an important step for seriously ill patients in Tennessee and introduced a medical marijuana bill, HB 1385.

[caption id="attachment_7205" align="alignright" width="120"] Rep. Sherry Jones[/caption]

The bill, known as the Koozer-Kuhn Medical Cannabis Act, would establish a regulatory system similar to those adopted in 20 other states and the District of Columbia. Rep. Jones recently told WRCB-TV that the bill is “simply a matter of being rational and compassionate.”

The bill is named after Piper Koozer, a child from Tennessee who suffers from a very serious seizure disorder related to Aicardi syndrome. Piper’s family believes he would benefit from a non-psychoactive component in medical marijuana known as CBD, but relocated to Colorado until Tennessee law changes. Jeanne Kuhn passed away after a battle with cancer, but benefitted from the use of medical marijuana toward the end of her life. She was considered a criminal under Tennessee law for the use of medical marijuana to help alleviate her suffering.

If you are a Tennessee resident, please take a moment to send an email message to your representative and senator to ask for their support for this bill.

A new poll was released Monday showing increased support for allowing medical marijuana in West Virginia. The poll, which was commissioned by MPP and conducted by Public Policy Polling, found that 56% of Mountain State residents support passing a medical marijuana law (up from 53% last January), and only 34% oppose laws that would allow patients to obtain and use medical marijuana (down from 40%). Results are available here.

If you live in West Virginia, share these poll results with your state legislators today!

The West Virginia Legislature begins its 2014 general session Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Joint Committee on Health decided to conclude its offseason study without voting on the medical marijuana issue. It appears that, for political reasons, passing a medical marijuana law may be a difficult goal to achieve in an election year such as 2014. With elections coming up later this year, it is particularly important that legislators hear from you and other supporters today. They need to understand that public opinion has dramatically changed, and that most West Virginians support allowing patients to have safe, legal access to medical marijuana.

This Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce an executive action creating a medical marijuana program. While it’s encouraging that he has realized patients should not be punished for using their medicine, unlike the medical marijuana bill sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Senator Diane Savino, Gov. Cuomo’s proposal would not create an effective program. The "State of the State" address will be streaming live at 11:30am ET on Wednesday.

[caption id="attachment_7194" align="alignright" width="194"] Gov. Andrew Cuomo[/caption]

It appears the governor’s plan would only allow patients to access marijuana from a limited number of hospitals, which would dispense marijuana that was either obtained from a federally approved source or that is illegal to dispense under federal law. But the federal government has refused to provide marijuana even to some short-term FDA-approved studies, and there is no reason to think it will approve marijuana for longer-term patient access. Meanwhile, hospitals surely wouldn’t break federal law by distributing unapproved marijuana.

A similar medical marijuana law that passed in Maryland last year, by all accounts, just won’t work. If you live in New York State, let your legislators know the way to protect patients is by enacting a comprehensive medical marijuana bill.

New York patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses deserve protection from prosecution, and access to medical marijuana through a viable program — such as those that have passed in 20 other states, plus D.C. If you are a New York resident, please email your legislators today and urge them to support Assemblyman Gottfried and Senator Savino’s medical marijuana bill.

[caption id="attachment_7190" align="alignright" width="160"] Sen. Miller[/caption]

Just days after the first legal marijuana sales took place in Colorado, Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) announced that he would support legislation to make marijuana legal and regulated in his own state.

“I favor the legalization and taxation of marijuana, with restrictions,” Miller said, adding that he thinks his position will only grow in popularity in coming years. “I know where people are going to be a generation or two from now.”

MPP will continue to build support for bills like this in the Senate and House, where Del. Heather Mizeur and Del. Curtis Anderson are pushing for marijuana policy reform legislation in the coming session.

It's been exactly nine years since MPP provided me with a grant to move to Colorado and begin laying the groundwork for a future statewide ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. All of that work came to fruition yesterday when legal marijuana retail stores throughout the state opened their doors to begin selling marijuana to adults.

I wanted to share one of my favorite pictures that I took of the first sale. This is Sean Azzariti, an Iraq war veteran with PTSD, who appeared in an Amendment 64 TV ad discussing his inability to legally access marijuana because his condition was not covered by Colorado's medical marijuana law. As of yesterday, he can — and he did.

As I said during our news conference yesterday — which was attended by dozens of state, national, and international media outlets — adults are buying marijuana in every state in the nation. Only in Colorado are they now buying it in legitimate, taxpaying businesses instead of in the underground market. MPP is working to change that by passing similar laws in states around the country over the next few years. With your help, we are confident we can do it. This historic event is getting international attention.

Here is just one example of the amazing coverage surrounding the end of marijuana prohibition in Colorado:

The New Hampshire House will kick off its 2014 session Wednesday, January 8, by voting on a bill that would end the prohibition of marijuana in New Hampshire. HB 492, modeled after Colorado’s Amendment 64, would allow adults to use, possess, and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana with no penalty. The bill would also set up a taxed and regulated market for marijuana production and sale. Legal sales to adult marijuana users began yesterday in Colorado, where marijuana possession and cultivation of up to six plants has been legal since January 2013. By adopting the similar policy proposed by HB 492, New Hampshire could save tens of millions of dollars in enforcement costs and generate up to $30 million in annual tax revenue. In October, the WMUR Granite State Poll found that 60% of New Hampshire voters support HB 492. If you live in New Hampshire, please urge your state representatives to vote YES on HB 492!

After 10 years of hard work, the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program takes effect today. This is an important milestone for seriously ill patients and a testament to the effort of countless people!

Over the next four months, the three regulatory agencies overseeing the program will hold public hearings and establish rules and forms. The timing has not been established yet, but official statements by at least one agency have indicated that cultivation applications may be accepted in the fall. Importantly, patients are not protected by the law until they have registered in the state registry, which will not be open until this spring at the earliest.

In the meantime, the state has established a central website, which will contain updates and information on the state’s progress.

An overview of the program is available here, and a two-page document specifically designed for patients to share with their physicians is also available. During the year, MPP will encourage the health department to add PTSD and debilitating pain to the list of qualifying conditions. If you have been diagnosed with either and would like to help, please email us at state@mpp.org. Please include your zip code.

Congratulations and happy new year, Illinois.

Check out MPP's Dan Riffle on CNN discussing the issues facing the marijuana industry on the eve of the first legal sales of marijuana to adults in Colorado:

[caption id="attachment_7174" align="alignright" width="210"] 3D Cannabis Center[/caption]

The first legal adult marijuana sales will begin Wednesday, January 1 in Colorado. Leaders of the initiative that made marijuana legal, Amendment 64, will hold a news conference at 7:30 a.m. MT at 3D Cannabis Center in Denver — a licensed marijuana retail store with on-site cultivation facility — followed by the first sale at 8 a.m. MT. The licensed marijuana retail store is 3D Cannabis Center, located at 4305 Brighton Blvd. in Denver.

The first customer will be Sean Azzariti, a Denver-based Iraq war veteran who can now legally use marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Azzariti appeared in a Yes on 64 campaign television ad last year in which he discussed how legalization would benefit those suffering from PTSD — a condition that is not covered under Colorado's medical marijuana law despite repeated efforts to add it.

This is sure to be an historic event. We'll keep you posted on news coverage as the day unfolds.

MPP's Mason Tvert had this to say:

“Adults are using marijuana in every state across the nation. In Colorado, they will now be purchasing it from legitimate businesses instead of in the underground market,” said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Denver, which helped lead the legalization campaign.

[caption id="attachment_7170" align="alignright" width="260"] Gov. Jack Markell[/caption]

MPP welcomed Delaware Gov. Jack Markell’s August announcement that he would implement the compassion center program, but our enthusiasm was tempered by the fact that he did so on the condition that the program was initially limited to one compassion center that could grow only 150 plants. Since his announcement, the Department of Justice has released new guidance, which makes it clear that these restrictions are unnecessary. If you are a Delaware resident, please call the governor’s office and urge him to remove this limit.

The plant limit will surely result in shortages, leaving patients without access to their medicine. Even states like New Mexico, where there are 23 dispensaries, have experienced shortages. Patients in Delaware need a viable program.

The medical marijuana law already limits the number of compassion centers to three for the entire state. The Department of Justice has indicated that plant numbers and size of dispensaries will not be triggers for enforcement action and other states have proven that these tax-paying entities can be properly regulated. The cap does nothing but jeopardize patient access.