Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee advanced  HB 136 — the medical cannabis bill — in a 15-1 vote. It now heads to the House floor, which has passed similar bills in past years. 

Unfortunately, HB 305, a bill to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for adults 21 and older, fell just two votes short of the needed supermajority (25 votes) to clear the House yesterday. The final vote count was 23 yes, 14 no, and 4 not voting.  

Big news! HB 305, a bill to legalize and regulate cannabis for adults in Delaware, is scheduled for a vote by the full House of Representatives. The vote is scheduled for TOMORROW, Thursday, March 10. Debate begins at 2 p.m.

At 2:00 p.m. ET this afternoon, the Yes We Cannabis RI Coalition will kick off the first in a series of three online educational panels focused on cannabis legalization and social equity. Today’s event, titled “Seeds of Hope: Repairing the Harm,” will feature a discussion about automatic record clearance for past cannabis offenses and other reforms to the criminal legal system. The event will be moderated by Cherie Cruz of the Formerly Incarcerated Union of Rhode Island.

State Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer has stated that he will not get “in the way” if a medical cannabis bill has sufficient Republican support for a vote in the Senate. HB 136 is a solid bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Jason Nemes (R), who has been a champion for medical cannabis for years. Now is the time to engage with your legislators to support this bill!

Yesterday, Rep. Scott Slater and Sen. Josh Miller, along with many cosponsors in the House and Senate, formally introduced a pair of identical bills (S 2430 and H 7593) to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for adults 21 and older in Rhode Island. 

A special election is being held on Saturday, March 5 to fill a vacancy to replace former Representative Gerald Brady in the 4th House District (Wilmington).

On Thursday, March 3, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on HB 1598, which would  legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older and create a state-run monopoly to sell cannabis. (The full House approved the bill once, but then re-referred it to Ways and Means due to its fiscal impact.)

Alarming news! Tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., the Florida Senate Rules Committee will hear SJR 1412. If enacted, SJR 1412 would severely limit the rights of citizens to participate in democracy through the ballot initiative process! If the proposal becomes law, it will prevent a ballot measure on cannabis legalization.

Today, the House of Delegates approved a pair of bills that would allow voters to decide whether to legalize cannabis for adults’ use in November 2022. This historic vote marks the first time either chamber in Maryland’s legislature has voted on a bill that would legalize cannabis.