If you live in Maryland, please ask your legislators to support legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana for adults 21 and older!

The Maryland General Assembly wrapped up its 2019 legislative session on Monday, April 8. It was a somber end to the legislative session with the passing of House Speaker Michael Busch, who was Speaker of the House of Delegates for 16 years.

A number of cannabis reform bills were introduced this session, including legislation to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults' use. Unfortunately, neither those bills nor the bill that would legalize cannabis following voter approval in 2020 passed this session.

But, the state is positioned to seriously consider legalizing and regulating cannabis in 2020. A work group will be convening during the interim to study how to best implement the legalization of marijuana in Maryland. The work group will report its findings by December 31, 2019, just in time for the 2020 session. Stay tuned for updates from the work group and opportunities to weigh in on meetings!

In the meantime, be sure to keep up the momentum and let your delegate(s) and senator know you want them to support legislation to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older.

In other news, several bills to improve Maryland's medical marijuana program were also introduced this session. A bill that will allow edible cannabis products to be an option for patients was passed on Monday. It will be effective upon signature by Gov. Larry Hogan or 30 days after presentment by the General Assembly.

A bill to add opioid use disorder as a qualifying condition and a bill to ensure medical marijuana patients do not lose their gun rights were also introduced this session. Unfortunately, these bills did not advance.

There is increasing momentum for marijuana policy reform in Maryland. Keep the pressure up by contacting your lawmakers today and sharing this message with your family and friends in Maryland. Together, we can end prohibition!

If you live in Florida, contact your representatives and ask them to vote NO on HB7117.

Just two weeks after the legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis repealed a ban on smoking medical cannabis in the face of a lawsuit, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would limit cannabis flowers to just 10% THC. The bill, HB7117, now heads to the Florida House floor.

Please ask your representatives to protect patients and vote NO on HB7117!

This THC limit would leave patients behind who respond best to medical cannabis with higher proportions of THC.

THC has proven medical benefits, including relieving nausea and appetite loss. Patients who benefit from strains of cannabis that have more than 10% THC deserve legal access to the medical cannabis they need to treat their conditions.

Patients and their allies in Florida have fought for years to establish a comprehensive system to create safe access to medical cannabis. This bill would roll back progress that has been made and is an affront to the 71% of voters who enacted the state’s medical cannabis law.

Ask your representatives to support patients across the Sunshine State and vote NO on HB7117. Then, forward this message to your friends and family in Florida and encourage them to do the same.

Contact your state legislators and ask them to support decriminalizing marijuana possession.

Great news! In a 37-10 vote, senators in North Dakota’s legislature passed legislation last Thursday to replace criminal penalties for possession of up to half an ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of $250. The proposal, introduced by Fargo Republican Sen. Kristin Roers, gained traction as the local marijuana policy reform organization, Legalize ND, announced plans to pursue a 2020 ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adult use.

Please take a minute to send a message to your state legislators and urge them to pass marijuana decriminalization this year!

Members of the North Dakota House narrowly defeated a similar decriminalization proposal earlier this year, but lawmakers are expected to reach an agreement on the details of this legislation and ultimately send it to Gov. Doug Burgum, who has expressed support for decriminalization in the past.

The bill would also establish a process for the state to study the possibility of legalizing marijuana for adult use. Advocates with Legalize ND say that passage of this law will not deter them from efforts to put a legalization measure on the ballot in 2020.

It’s encouraging to see state lawmakers acknowledging the harms of marijuana prohibition and taking steps to end arrests for low-level possession offenses. There is more work to be done, but thanks to the tireless work of local advocates, we are finally seeing significant progress in the North Dakota Legislature. 

Judiciary Committee votes to end marijuana prohibition — contact legislators today!

We’re excited to announce that two co-directors have joined our team to lead the Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana: Kebra Smith-Bolden and Adam Wood. You can read more about them here. They have already begun working to expand and activate our coalition as we rally support for efforts to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis, with a focus on equity and social justice.

There is a very real opportunity for the legislature to pass a legalization bill during this year’s session, which is scheduled to end on June 6, but nothing is guaranteed. With Kebra and Adam at the helm, we can make sure the opportunity is not lost this year in Hartford!

Please stay tuned for ways to help. We’re going to need all hands on deck to pass this historic reform.

We’ve already made huge progress with the legislature in 2019. Today, the Joint Committee on Judiciary took an important step forward when it voted to pass SB 1085, a bill that would legalize possession of cannabis for adults 21 and older and expunge records for past marijuana possession convictions. A separate bill that would regulate the production and sale of cannabis for adult use, HB 7371, has already been approved by the General Law Committee. Links to summaries of these bills are available here.

Please email your elected officials and urge them to support the bills to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis!

Finally, we’d like to thank Sam Tracy for all his hard work building the Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana and advocating for sensible marijuana policies in Connecticut. Thank you, Sam!

Please share this message with your family and friends and encourage them to join our coalition!

New Mexico becomes the 24th state to decriminalize marijuana.

On Wednesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed SB 323, which decriminalizes up to half an ounce of marijuana. Starting on July 1, the penalty for possessing up to half an ounce of marijuana will be a $50 civil fine, instead of potential jail time.

Unfortunately, a bill to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adults died in the Senate Finance Committee after passing the House. Adults should have access to safe, regulated places to purchase marijuana, and 60% of New Mexico voters agree, according to a poll from last year.

Please reach out to your lawmakers in support of marijuana legalization. Then, share the good news about decriminalization by forwarding this email to friends and family.

If you live in Rhode Island, click here to send a message to your state senator and representative.

We’re just over halfway through this year’s legislative session, and the fate of legalization remains uncertain. A clear majority of Rhode Islanders are ready to end the failed policy of prohibition, but lawmakers may not act unless they hear from their constituents. Help us move the issue forward and contact your state legislators.

Rhode Island will only dig itself into a deeper hole if the General Assembly fails to pass a legalization law this year. Multiple states around us are moving forward with marijuana policy reform legislation, and if Rhode Island becomes an island of prohibition, the state will lose out on an opportunity to gain a foothold in the fastest growing economic sector in the country.

Gov. Raimondo’s proposal to legalize and regulate marijuana could be improved in several ways, and as we advocate for passage of a legalization law this year, we must also urge the General Assembly to adopt amendments around medical marijuana patient access, competition and fairness within the market, and provisions to address the historical injustices of marijuana prohibition.

We need supporters of sensible marijuana policy to take action. Without a broad push for legalization, Rhode Island will continue spinning its wheels while Massachusetts, Connecticut, and other New England states move forward. We need progress this year, and you can help make it happen by sending a message to your state legislators right now.

Thank you.

If you live in N.H., please email your state senator today and urge them to support HB 481.

For the first time in its history, the N.H. House of Representatives has advanced a cannabis legalization bill to the state Senate. HB 481 passed today in a 200-163 vote, after having received a favorable (14-6) recommendation last week from the Ways and Means Committee. The bill will soon be scheduled for a public hearing in the state Senate.

It is very important that New Hampshire’s 24 state senators hear from their constituents in support of HB 481. Please email your senator today! At the same time, you can find out how your representatives voted and follow up by sending them a quick email.

Since Gov. Chris Sununu is expected to veto the bill if it reaches his desk, it may be necessary for legislators to override his veto in order for HB 481 to become law. Please follow up with your state representatives and urge your state senator to support HB 481 by sending them a quick email today.

You can read a summary of the bill, as amended by the House, here.

Please share this message with your family and friends!

Georgia's Hope Act heads to Gov. Kemp, who is expected to sign it.

Yesterday evening, in the waning hours before the legislature adjourned for 2019, a conference committee hammered out final language to allow safe access to low-THC medical cannabis oil within Georgia. The Senate signed off on the Georgia's Hope Act in a 34-20 vote, while the House vote was 147-16.

The Georgia's Hope Act, HB 324, now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who is expected to sign it into law.

In 2015, the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill allowing patients to register to possess up to 20 fluid ounces of medical cannabis oil with up to 5% THC. The legislature later expanded the law to include more medical conditions, and more than 8,000 patients are signed up. However, the law didn't include any access to cannabis oil.

Under the Georgia's Hope Act, six producers could cultivate medical cannabis preparations in Georgia, as could two universities. Pharmacies could sell the medical cannabis preparations, and regulators could authorize private dispensaries. (Due to medical cannabis' federal illegality, it is far from certain that universities or pharmacies would participate.)

MPP is grateful to Jacob Eassa, lobbyist with CompassionateGA, who worked hard to get the bill past the finish line and ensure the bill remained workable. We would also like to thank MPP grantee Nora Bushfield of CompassionateGA for their organizing efforts and all the patients and loved ones who spoke out for so many years. And of course, this was only possible due to the leadership of bill sponsor Rep. Micah Gravley (R), former Rep. Allen Peake (R) who championed medical cannabis legislation for years, and all the lawmakers who supported the legislation.

While this is a huge victory, work remains to be done in future legislative sessions to improve the law. It still does not meet MPP's definition of an effective medical cannabis law.

Contact Chair Dela Cruz today and request a hearing for HB1383.

Two Senate committees recently amended and approved a bill that would decriminalize possession of just three grams of cannabis, reducing the penalty to a $30 civil fine. However, the bill will die unless a hearing is scheduled by this Friday, April 5!

Click here to email Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and ask him to schedule a hearing on the bill — HB1383 HD2 SD1. You can also call Chair Dela Cruz at 808-586-6090. Be sure to be respectful.

The bill has already been approved by the full House. The two Senate committees amended the bill to lower the fine for a first offense from a steep $200 to $30. Still, it only decriminalizes possession of up to three grams, which would be the smallest amount of any decriminalization or legalization state. However, any hope of improving it also dies if the bill does not get a hearing. So please, contact Chair Dela Cruz today!

This legislation is crucial to the marijuana policy reform movement in Hawaii. Please contact Chair Dela Cruz today, then forward this message to your family and friends in Hawaii.

Lt. governor's marijuana legalization listening tour will visit New Castle, East Stroudsburg, Bethlehem, Reading, Lebanon, Tionesta, Duncansville Reynoldsville, and Indiana between tonight and Sunday, April 14.

Over the next 11 days, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will be hearing constituents' views on marijuana legalization in nine counties. If you live in any of those counties, try to stop by to make your voice heard.

Here are upcoming stops:

TONIGHT: New Castle (Lawrence County)
Wednesday, April 3, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
George Washington Intermediate School, Auditorium
101 E. Euclid Avenue

East Stroudsburg (Monroe County)
Sunday, April 7, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.
East Stroudsburg University Auditorium
200 Prospect Street

Bethlehem (Northhampton County)
Sunday, April 7, 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks
101 Founders Way

Reading (Berks County)
Tuesday, April 9, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Red Knight Accelerated Academy, City Line Campus
1700 City Line Avenue

Lebanon (Lebanon County)
Wednesday, April 10, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Hebron Catering & Events Inc.
701 E. Walnut Street

Tionesta (Forest County)
Saturday, April 13, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Tionesta Volunteer Fire Department
107 Bridge Street

Reynoldsville (Jefferson County)
Saturday, April 13, 2:30 to 4 p.m.
The Foundry
45 W. Main Street

Duncansville (Blair County)
Sunday, April 14, 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
AFSCME Chapter 89
161 Patchway Road

Indiana (Indiana County)
Sunday, April 14, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Indiana University of PA
Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex
711 Pratt Drive

Consider arriving early: In some cases, crowds have been standing-room only.

When deciding what you'd like to say, feel free to draw from our document on the Top 10 reasons to end marijuana prohibition or other materials. You may want to consider making a pitch for an inclusive, diverse industry, for allowing home cultivation, and for expunging past convictions.

Even if you're not up for speaking in public, you can still make your voice heard. Fetterman has been asking for a show of hands for supporters and opponents, and the governor's office is soliciting feedback on the issue online.

This is a great opportunity to build momentum for commonsense, humane marijuana laws. Don't miss your chance to let your elected officials know it's time to stop branding Pennsylvanians criminals for a substance that's safer than alcohol. And please spread the word to help grow the chorus for reform.