Email your lawmakers and ask them to make 2021 the year Delaware legalizes cannabis!

This Wednesday night, the Delaware Cannabis Policy Coalition is holding a virtual town hall to discuss the intersections of cannabis legalization, racial justice, and social equity. Mark your calendars, and we hope you will join us! 

There is increasing momentum for Delaware to move forward with legalization this year. Rep. Ed Osienski is expected to file his 2021 legalization bill soon. He has said he is close to the two-thirds majority we need to pass the House.

Join us for this timely discussion on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and please also reach out to your lawmakers and ask them to support legalization this year. Be sure to share this message with your family and friends to help us spread the word.

Together, we can end prohibition in the First State!

SB 231 would make it possible for patients and caregivers to grow their own cannabis and obtain edibles from dispensaries — urge your elected officials to support this legislation!

West Virginia’s medical cannabis law doesn’t allow patients to cultivate cannabis, smoke cannabis, or purchase edibles, but those problems aren’t the state Senate’s fault. When the state legislature passed the medical cannabis bill in 2017, the Senate supported including home cultivation and allowing access to edibles and whole-plant cannabis, but the House insisted on making the program as restrictive as possible.

This year, several senators, led by Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo (R-Kanawha), are trying to improve the program by introducing SB 231. This important bill would eliminate the prohibition on edibles and smoking and allow patients and caregivers to obtain temporary certifications to grow their own plants. Medical practitioners would be authorized to issue “compassion certificates,” which would allow possession of up to 12 mature plants and 12 seedlings per patient.

Please contact your delegates and senators now and urge them to support SB 231!

The bill would allow compassion certificates to be voided in the future if the state determines that patients have sufficient access to medical cannabis from the dispensaries. Regardless, this bill would be extremely beneficial for patients who won’t be able to afford the cannabis products that will be available at dispensaries.

After your write your elected officials, please share this message with anybody you know who wants to help improve West Virginia’s medical cannabis program!

Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.

The Judiciary Committee recently announced that the public hearing for S.B. 888 – An Act Responsibly and Equitably Regulating Adult-Use Cannabis – is scheduled for Friday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m.

The public hearing can be viewed via YouTube Live. In addition, the public hearing may be recorded and broadcast live on CT-N.com.

If you wish to testify, you must register using the Online Testimony Registration Form. Registration will close on February 25 at 3:00 p.m. Speaker order of approved registrants will be listed in a randomized order and posted on the Judiciary Committee website on February 26 at 8:00 a.m. under Public Hearing Testimony. If you do not have internet access, you may provide testimony via telephone. To register to testify by phone, call the Phone Registrant Line at (860) 240-5255 to leave your contact information. Please email written testimony in Word or PDF format to Judtestimony@cga.ct.gov.

Testimony should clearly state testifier name and related bill number. The first hour of the hearing will be limited to constitutional officers, state agency heads, and chief elected municipal officials. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony. The committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to condense oral testimony to a summary of that statement. All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information. As such, it will be made available on the CGA website and indexed by internet search engines.

MPP will be imploring the committee to advance the bill, but to first make revisions to make it stronger and more explicit on equity. We’ll post some tips for testifying shortly. In the meantime, feel free to check out our summary of the bill here, and be sure to write your legislators urging them to support legislation to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults in the 2021 session.

Ask your lawmakers to end prohibition in 2021!

On Monday, the House Health and Human Services Committee advanced (7-4) Rep. Javier Martinez’ HB 12, which would legalize cannabis for adult use. The bill now heads to additional committees for consideration.

Ask your lawmakers to support legalizing cannabis this year!

In addition to legalizing personal possession of at least two ounces of cannabis, HB 12 would also allow home cultivation of six mature plants, provide for automatic expungement of prior cannabis convictions, and use tax revenue to reinvest in communities disproportionately impacted by prohibition.

Top lawmakers have signaled that this could be the year New Mexico moves forward with legalization, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has included legalization in her list of priorities for the 2021 session.

It’s important your lawmakers hear from you. Email them today and urge them to support ending prohibition this year.

Polling has shown that a majority of New Mexicans support legalizing, taxing, and regulating cannabis for adult use, and 15 states — including New Mexico’s neighbors, Arizona and Colorado — have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older.

After you email your lawmakers, please forward this message to your family and friends and ask that they do the same.

Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.

Good news! Since the beginning of the legislative session in January, there have been several cannabis-related bills introduced. Just this week, the Hawaii Legislature advanced two separate measures that would expand decriminalization and legalize cannabis. S.B. 758 would increase the possession threshold to one ounce from three grams. The Senate Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs Committee unanimously advanced S.B. 758 in a 5-0 vote.

Shortly after, the committee advanced S.B. 767, which would legalize cannabis and allow licensed businesses to cultivate, produce, and sell cannabis products. It would also allow adult home cultivation of up to three mature plants. S.B. 767 advanced in a 4-1 vote and now heads to a joint hearing between the Senate Judiciary and Ways & Means Committees. Meanwhile, S.B. 758 is headed to the Judiciary Committee for a hearing.

Both bills’ futures are uncertain, as Gov. Ige appears to be generally unsupportive of legalization. However, in the interim, we urge you to contact your lawmakers and let them know you support legalization. As both bills progress, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Mahalo for your continued support.

Follow the simple steps below to take action!

State Senators Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne have introduced legislation to significantly reform Nebraska’s harmful marijuana prohibition laws.

Sen. Wayne is sponsoring two bills that would legalize cannabis for adults. One would establish a comprehensive system of cannabis regulation. The other would put a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis on the 2022 ballot for voters to decide. Meanwhile, Sen. McKinney has introduced "Clean Slate" legislation that would direct Nebraska courts to nullify past criminal convictions involving marijuana possession, providing relief and restoring individuals’ rights.

You can support these bills right now by following these simple steps:

• Click each of these links to visit the bills’ legislative webpages: LB481, LB546, and LR2CA.
• Then, on each of those pages, click the button that says “Submit Comments Online.”
• Fill out the form with your name, address, and stance (select “Proponent”).
• Leave a short comment (300-word limit).

In your comments, you can mention that marijuana prohibition has had many harmful effects on Nebraska. Thousands of state residents — disproportionately people of color — have been arrested for marijuana in their past, and those convictions can result in the loss of civil rights and make it much more difficult to rent an apartment or find a job.

Your state senator will see your comments and those of all the proponents who live in their legislative district. You can also watch the Judiciary Committee hearing, where these bills are being considered, live today beginning at 1:30 CT!

Take action now and share this email with others so they can submit their comments, too!

Thank you.

Contact your lawmakers today and ask them to support HB 32.

On Tuesday, February 16, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Del. Jazz Lewis’ HB 32 to legalize and regulate cannabis equitably in Maryland.

You can check out the hearing here if you missed it. Del. Lewis also offered several amendments to the bill in committee. You can check out our full summary of the bill as amended here.

Now is the time to make sure your lawmakers hear from you! Please email them today and ask them to support HB 32.

Maryland’s neighbor, Virginia, is getting closer to legalizing cannabis this year. Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly approved legalization bills earlier this month.

Let your lawmakers know that Maryland should follow suit by passing HB 32 this session! The longer the legislature waits, the more Marylanders will be needlessly arrested and cited for cannabis offenses. And as long as the state delays, consumers will only have access to the unregulated and dangerous illicit market, and the state will miss out on generating millions of dollars in tax revenue.

After you email your lawmakers, please share this action on social media and encourage your friends and family in Maryland to do the same.

Together, we can end prohibition in the Free State!

Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.

Good news! Last week, Gov. Lamont released his 2021 adult-use legalization bill. As you may recall, last year Gov. Lamont drafted a legalization bill but the effort was upended when the legislative session was suspended due to the onset of the coronavirus.

Gov. Lamont’s 2021 proposal — S.B. 888 — would legalize possession of up to one and a half ounces for persons over 21, with legal sales beginning on May 2, 2022.

An Equity Commission would issue recommendations by November 15, 2021 on a number of issues, including qualifications for equity applicants and distribution of a portion of tax revenues to support residents in communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition.

Additionally, the bill would decriminalize possession of up to two and a half ounces. Persons with convictions for cannabis possession under four ounces prior to October 1, 2015 would have their records automatically expunged. Persons with possession convictions for less than four ounces after October 1, 2015 would be allowed to petition the court for expungement at no cost. Gov. Lamont’s bill also provides important public health and safety protections, such as labeling standards and preventing advertising to minors.

Lastly, the bill would levy a wholesale tax of $1.25 per dry weight gram of cannabis flower, $.50 per dry weight gram of cannabis trim, and $.28 per wet weight gram of cannabis, in addition to the state sales tax of 6.25%. Municipalities could also levy up to a 3% point of sale tax. To learn more, you can check out our bill summary here.

The bill now heads to the Judiciary Committee for a hearing. We will urge the committee to advance the bill but to first make some revisions to make it stronger and more explicit on equity. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on how to offer testimony on the proposal. In the meantime, please urge your legislators to support the legislation to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults in the 2021 session.

Ask your member of Congress to sign on to the Blumenauer-Lee clemency letter.

Yesterday, in a Presidents Day push, Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chairs, Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Barbara Lee, announced they are sending a formal letter to the Biden administration requesting mass clemency for people with non-violent federal cannabis convictions. You can read the full letter here.

Joining the lawmakers in the call for mass clemency are several cannabis advocacy organizations and industry associations, including MPP, the newly formed U.S. Cannabis Council, the Minority Cannabis Business Association, NORML, and the National Cannabis Industry Association, among others.

On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to prioritize criminal justice reform and committed that he would automatically expunge all past marijuana convictions for use and possession. Now it’s time for President Biden to make good on his campaign promises.

Ask your member of Congress to sign on to the letter urging President Biden to grant cannabis clemency!

A cannabis conviction comes with a host of collateral consequences that can hamper a person’s ability to obtain housing, jobs, and educational opportunities. On top of that, because of unequal enforcement, a disproportionate number of people who enter the criminal justice system due to cannabis-related activity are people of color. A general pardon of all non-violent federal cannabis offenders would be the kind of action that would signal to historically marginalized communities that their suffering is seen — and that the administration seeks to meaningfully address their plight.

By issuing this general cannabis pardon, President Biden could be a leader on criminal justice reform, while providing immediate relief to thousands of Americans.

Again, please ask your Congressional representative to sign on to the clemency letter today, and share this with your social networks.

MPP proudly commemorates Black History Month. As we honor the history and achievements of Black Americans, we must also seek to advance policies that address systemic racism and reform our criminal justice system. That includes ending cannabis prohibition.

For decades, cannabis prohibition and its disparate enforcement have had a devastating impact on communities of color. Cannabis prohibition has been used to target and criminalize Black and brown folks, waste taxpayer money, and fuel the mass incarceration crisis. Even though Black and white Americans use cannabis at the same rates, Black Americans are much more likely to be criminalized for simple possession.

MPP is committed to ending the racist policies of prohibition and to legalizing cannabis equitably. We encourage you to support Black-owned businesses and engage with racial and social justice-minded organizations in the cannabis sphere. Let's honor Black History Month by learning from the past and investing in a fairer, more equitable future for Black Americans. 

History of Racism in Cannabis Prohibition

Some resources that detail the history of racism in our cannabis laws. 

• ACLU Report: A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform
• VIDEO from Business Insider: The Racist Origins of Marijuana Prohibition
• Reefer Madness: The Racist Origins of Marijuana Prohibition, Natalie Papillion
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander

Black-owned Businesses in the Cannabis Industry

Be a conscious cannabis consumer — support Black and Brown entrepreneurs and communities!

In partnership with ALMOSTCONSULTING, Cannaclusive has developed InclusiveBase — a comprehensive list of Black- and minority-owned cannabis businesses across the United States. InclusiveBase is a great resource that amplifies people of color who are leading the way in the cannabis renaissance.

Check out InclusiveBase here.

Black History in the Making

A spotlight on 10 Black advocates and entrepreneurs making history in the cannabis movement.

Major Neill Franklin, Ret.

A 34-year law enforcement veteran and former executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), Major Franklin witnessed firsthand the counterproductive nature of the war on drugs. Franklin’s experiences as a police commander revealed the futility of addressing drugs and drug use through a criminal justice framework, leading him to become a top advocate for criminal justice and drug policy reform.

Hope Wiseman

As the founder of Mary & Main, Wiseman is the youngest Black woman dispensary owner in the United States. She also established Maryland Grown Medicine, a 100-percent minority-owned business, through which she hopes to bring jobs to communities negatively affected by the war on drugs.

Toi Hutchinson

Hutchinson is a former state senator who was a leader in passing the bill that legalized cannabis in Illinois — with an unprecedented focus on equity and criminal justice reform. Hutchinson was then named Illinois’ cannabis czar to oversee the state’s adult-use program, and she now acts as Gov. J.B. Pritzker's senior marijuana adviser.

Kareem Kenyatta

Kenyatta is a co-founder of the Majority Minority Group, a values-driven company with the mission to leverage the opportunity in cannabis to create more minority-owned businesses. While lobbying on behalf of adult-use cannabis in Illinois, Kareem and his partner realized that cannabis legalization is not just an issue of racial and social justice but also a business imperative that people of color should and must participate in.

Al Harrigton

Former NBA forward turned CEO of cannabis company Viola Brands, Harrington is on a mission to turn 100 Black individuals into millionaires using the cannabis sector.

Amber E. Senter

Senter is founder and CEO of Breeze Distro, a distributor of high quality cannabis products, and founder of Supernova Women, an advocacy group that provides spaces and resources to women of color in the cannabis industry.

Dr. Rachel Knox, MD, MBA

Dr. Knox is an Endocannabinologist and certified Cannabinoid Medicine Specialist who received her medical and business degrees from Tufts University after completing her undergraduate studies at Duke. Dr. Knox sits on the board of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, where she advances cannabis policy reform particularly as it relates to achieving health equity for our most vulnerable populations.

Sen. Cory Booker

As a sponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act and the MORE Act, Booker is a champion of equitable cannabis policy in Congress. Along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Booker plans to advance comprehensive cannabis reform legislation in the current Congress. For Booker, that means connecting cannabis reform to criminal justice reform and racial justice and enacting measures that will lift up people who were unfairly targeted in the war on drugs.

Del. Jazz Lewis

Maryland State Delegate for District 24 (Prince George’s County), Del. Lewis is a champion for equitable cannabis legalization policies. He’s the sponsor of Maryland’s legalization bill, HB 32, which proposes a robust framework for expanding economic opportunities for Black and brown residents and for repairing some of the damage that has been done to minority communities "disproportionately affected" by marijuana criminalization.

Jeanette Ward Horton

As the executive director and co-founder of the NuLeaf Project, Jeanette Ward Horton is working to build intergenerational wealth and success for Black and Brown people through the legal cannabis industry. She’s also fighting to pass the Cannabis Equity Act in Oregon to invest $100 million of the state’s cannabis tax revenue in social equity opportunities and reparative justice.

Groups Fighting for Racial Justice in Cannabis

Organizations putting in the hard work for racial and social justice in the cannabis space and beyond. Show them your support!

• National Expungement Week (N.E.W.): Provides expungement relief and wrap-around services to communities affected by the war on drugs.
• The Hood Incubator: A movement to leverage the cannabis industry as a pathway for healing, hope, and opportunity for Black communities.
• Cannabis Cultural Association: A nonprofit based in New York that helps marginalized and underrepresented communities engage in the legal cannabis industry, emphasizing criminal justice reform, access to medical cannabis, and adult-use legalization.
• Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA): A nonprofit whose mission is to create equal access for cannabis businesses and promote economic empowerment for communities of color by creating policy considerations, social programming, and outreach initiatives to achieve equity for the communities most affected by the war on drugs.
• The Equity Organization: A criminal justice reform organization working to advance a just, equitable, and effective approach to American drug policy.
• Cage-Free Cannabis: An organization that helps the cannabis industry and its consumers repair harms of the war on drugs through reparative, economic, and environmental justice. 
• Supernova Women: A women of color-led nonprofit organization with a mission to empower people of color to become self-sufficient shareholders in the cannabis industry through education, advocacy, and network building. 
• Last Prisoner Project (LPP): A nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform. They believe that anyone profiting from or freely engaging in the legal cannabis industry has a moral imperative to work towards restorative justice. No one should remain incarcerated or continue to suffer the collateral consequences of prohibition and the war on drugs which has and continues to disproportionately impact communities of color.
• Marijuana Matters: Through advocacy, entrepreneurship, and education, Marijuana Matters identifies and eliminates barriers to economic opportunity in regulated cannabis markets for those disadvantaged by marijuana’s criminalization.
• Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM):A nonprofit organization focused on providing advocacy, outreach, research, and training as it relates to the business, social reform, public policy, and health/wellness in the cannabis industry.
• NuLeaf Project (NLP): An organization that helps build intergenerational wealth via the legal cannabis industry for the communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis criminalization — Black, Indigenous, and Latina/o/x communities. NLP’s programs are designed to increase success outcomes for people of color in the cannabis industry either as business owners or professionals.