[caption id="attachment_7332" align="alignright" width="160"] Rep. Edith Ajello[/caption] State Representative Edith Ajello (D – Providence) and state Senator Josh Miller (D –Cranston) are currently reaching out to their colleagues to ask them to sign on to their proposal to replace Rhode Island’s marijuana prohibition with a system that regulates marijuana for adults’ use. If you are a Rhode Island resident, email your state representative and senator today and ask them to sign on to this bill as…

MPP has posted a freshly updated guide to state medical marijuana laws that contains all the latest legal and policy changes you need to know about! The full report is available here.

[caption id="attachment_7327" align="alignright" width="237"] Rep. Ruben Gallego[/caption] Rep. Ruben Gallego has introduced HB 2558, which would end the prohibition of marijuana in Arizona. The bill would allow adults to use, possess, and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana with no penalty, and set up a taxed and regulated market for marijuana production and sale. If you are an Arizona resident, please urge your state legislators to support HB 2558! Marijuana prohibition has been just as ineffective,…

Alaska is one step closer to becoming the third state in the nation to legalize marijuana! Tuesday, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska received word from the Division of Elections that it collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the August 2014 ballot! The lieutenant governor will certify the initiative after the remaining signatures have been counted. Once that happens, Alaskans will officially have the opportunity to vote on whether to end marijuana prohibition this…

The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services has finalized regulations for a single medical marijuana compassion center. Unfortunately, the pilot center will be limited to cultivating 150 plants — far too few to meet patients’ needs. MPP has submitted comments urging the department to revise the regulations to ensure a workable program. While the governor and DHHS refused to lift the cap now, there is a possibility of doing so later if and when the current regulations prove too limited. DHHS…

Members of Congress grilled a representative from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Tuesday at a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and slammed the office for failing to acknowledge key facts about marijuana. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) chided the drug czar's office for relying on marijuana "propaganda." Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) criticized the office for failing to address the National Institute on Drug Abuse's obstruction of research into the medical…

[caption id="attachment_7314" align="alignright" width="175"] Tommy Wells[/caption] The D.C. Council approved Bill 20-409 (The Simple Possession of Small Quantities of Marijuana Decriminalization Amendment Act of 2013) Tuesday that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in the District. The measure, which is sponsored by Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells and supported by eight of the council's 13 members, is expected to receive final approval at the council's next legislative…

Massachusetts’ medical marijuana law was implemented over a year ago, and now the state has granted its first 20 dispensary licenses. The Department of Public Heath received 100 applications and judged them based on proposed location and the ability of the dispensary to ensure public safety while simultaneously meeting the needs of its patients. The law allows for 35 dispensary licenses; however, only 20 have been granted so far. More competition will mean lower prices for patients, so, the sooner…

The Department of Public Health recently issued proposed rules that would help establish Illinois’ medical marijuana registry and allow qualifying medical conditions to be added. While there is an official deadline of Friday, February 7 for submitting comments, staffers will continue to review comments that are submitted later. If you have not yet provided your comments, you may do so by emailing them to [email protected] or by mailing them to: Division of Medical Cannabis Illinois…

[caption id="attachment_7306" align="alignright" width="160"] Sen. Rchardville[/caption] The Detroit Free Press published a story  Monday reporting that two key medical marijuana bills, HB 4271 and HB 5104, may be stalled in the Senate. Senate Government Operations Committee Chair, Randy Richardville, indicated he intends to “sit on them for a while” in his committee. Please politely and respectfully let Sen. Richardville know that Michigan’s patients need safe, reliable access to their medicine…