The Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on LB 474 this Wednesday. Click here to contact your senator and follow the steps below to take action!

Earlier this year, Sen. Anna Wishart introduced LB 474, which would establish a well regulated, compassionate medical cannabis program in Nebraska for patients with serious health conditions. This Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. CT, the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the bill.

It’s critical that supporters of medical cannabis take action now to support passage of this legislation to help seriously ill patients. Here’s how you can help:

1. Click here to email and call your state senator and urge them to support LB 474.
2. Visit the legislature’s webpage for LB 474, click “Submit Comments Online for LB 474,” and write a short statement in support of the bill. Each senator will see how many supportive comments are submitted from constituents in their district.
3. Write a position letter on the bill and email it to judpl@leg.ne.gov before 12 p.m. CT tomorrow. Click here for more details on writing and submitting position letters.

You can tune in and view the Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, too. The event will be streamed live on this webpage.

Patients and their families are counting on you and other Nebraskans to urge their state senators to pass LB 474. Please take action now and forward this email to others so they can take action, too.

Thank you.

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SB 387 would continue to deny benefits to TANF applicants if they test positive for cannabis — urge legislators to stop discriminating against needy children on the basis of their parents’ cannabis use!

Last Tuesday, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice indicated that his opposition to cannabis legalization is “weakening” because medical experts say cannabis regulation is helping to mitigate drug-related problems in other jurisdictions. He expressed some reservations but said he would be willing to sign a legalization bill if the House and Senate approved it. This is a remarkable development!

Unfortunately, legislators seem to be more interested in maintaining regressive policies than considering legalization. On Wednesday, the Senate passed SB 387, a bill that would extend the state’s policy of drug testing applicants for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and disqualifying them if they test positive for cannabis or other drugs. Sen. Ron Stollings proposed an amendment to remove cannabis from the bill, but the amendment was defeated.

Please contact your elected officials and tell them that they should be considering legalization, not voting to punish children because of a parent’s cannabis use.

After you contact your elected officials, share this email with your family and friends.

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Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.

Exciting news! This week, two crucial cannabis bills advanced in the Hawaii Legislature. SB 767 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. Under the bill, the state Department of Health would craft rules around business licensing and retail sales by July 1, 2021. The Senate Ways & Means Committee passed SB 767 with amendments on a 7-0 vote. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for a full vote.

Meanwhile, SB 758, which would increase the possession threshold to one ounce from three grams advanced out of the Judiciary Committee on a 7-0 vote. It also now heads to the Senate floor for a full vote.

Both bills’ futures are uncertain as Gov. Ige appears to be generally unsupportive of legalization. However, House Speaker Scott Saiki (D) is likely to be supportive, as he introduced a legalization measure in 2013. It’s now more important than ever to contact your lawmakers and let them know you support legalization. As both bills progress, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

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Click here to send a message opposing federal caps and product bans.

Not satisfied with federal prohibition alone, some in Congress now want to limit state programs. In a shocking move, two powerful Senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Dianne Feinstein of California, issued a report on behalf of the U.S. Senate drug caucus indicating they may seek to impose federal caps on THC in products in legal state cannabis programs. Anything over the cap would be banned. 

Ask your Senators to push back on this offensive proposal.

States around the country have shown they are capable of deciding for themselves which products to allow, and so far cap-and-ban proposals have been nearly universally rejected. Cap-and-ban proposals overlook the needs of medical cannabis patients and reintroduce exactly the same prohibition policies that led to legalization — the criminalization of cannabis and the uneven enforcement against people of color, long the hallmark of cannabis prohibition.

Ironically, 60% of voters in Sen. Cornyn’s home state of Texas support legalization, along with 68% of voters in Sen. Feinstein’s state of California. To say their proposal is out of step with voters in their own states, much less nationally, is an understatement. 

Prohibition and its failed policies must end, and you can help. Please take a moment to send a quick email to your Senators and a clear message to prohibitionists: stop working against the will of the voters and let the states continue to regulate cannabis without interference.   

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Virginia must not criminalize “importing” small amounts of cannabis — write the governor today!

The Virginia House and Senate deserve a round of applause for completing work on the adult-use legalization bills and advancing them to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk. Although we are disappointed by the fact that cannabis will not become legal until January 2024, we are pleased that the final bill does not criminalize sharing of cannabis between adults or increase penalties for public consumption and underage possession.

Unfortunately, both bills still include one very bad provision that would criminalize bringing small amounts of cannabis into the Commonwealth from another jurisdiction. Both HB 2312 and SB 1406 would create a new criminal penalty, punishable by up to a year in jail, for entering Virginia with less than five pounds of cannabis. The bills do not include an exception for one ounce or less of cannabis.

Gov. Northam is expected to ask the legislature for amendments to the bill, so we are urging him to seek an amendment to this provision. Bringing one ounce or less of cannabis into Virginia for personal use should not be a criminal offense, and it needs to be exempted from this new penalty.

Please write Gov. Ralph Northam today and encourage him to request an amendment to this provision. If you use Twitter, please also consider re-tweeting MPP’s tweet to Gov. Northam, or adding your own tweet to ask him to fix the law and avoid re-criminalizing cannabis consumers.

MPP has sent Gov. Northam a letter urging him to request this amendment. To read it, click here.

After you write Gov. Northam, please share this message with your friends and family.

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Tell your state lawmakers you support cannabis legalization!

Exciting news! Just last week, a bipartisan pair of senators introduced a bill that would legalize cannabis for adult use in Pennsylvania. Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) have drafted legislation that would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess cannabis from licensed retailers. The possession limit would be set at 30 grams, and medical marijuana patients would have an option to cultivate up to five plants at home.

Under the proposal, which hasn’t yet been formally introduced, a Pennsylvania Cannabis Regulatory Control Board would be responsible for managing both the medical and recreational programs and issuing marijuana business licenses. Cannabis products would be subject to the state’s six percent sales tax, in addition to a 10 percent excise tax. The revenue would go to a new Cannabis Regulation Fund, as well as a Cannabis Business Development Fund that would provide financial aid, loans, grants and technical assistance to social and economic equity businesses. You can check out a full summary of the bill here.

As the momentum continues to build for legalized, regulated sales of cannabis to adults in Pennsylvania, please take a few minutes to email your state lawmakers to add your voice to the growing number of Keystone residents who support marijuana legalization.

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Take a minute to email your lawmakers and urge them to make legalization a priority this legislative session.

This past weekend, the Virginia Legislature sent a legalization bill to their governor. D.C. legalized personal possession and cultivation back in 2014, and proposals to regulate and tax cannabis sales in the District were also introduced this week.

It’s time for the Maryland General Assembly to meet the moment and follow suit. But we need your help. Can you take a minute to email your lawmakers and ask that they prioritize legalization THIS SESSION?

If Maryland does not move forward with legalization this year, people will continue to be needlessly arrested and criminalized, consumers will only have access to the unregulated and dangerous illicit market, and the state will miss out on generating hundreds millions of dollars in tax revenue.

It’s important that your lawmakers hear from you that you want them to move forward with legalization this year.

After you write your lawmakers, please share this action on social media to help us spread the word, then forward this message to your friends and family in Maryland and encourage them to do the same.

Together, we can end prohibition in 2021!

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Tomorrow, the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on an automatic expungement bill.

Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., state lawmakers are holding a public hearing on H 5307 (along with several other bills) in the House Judiciary Committee.

This legislation, introduced by Rep. Anastasia Williams and co-sponsored by other members of the House, would direct the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to expunge all past misdemeanors and felony cases involving cannabis. Individuals would not be required to pay any fees to have their records cleared.

Arrest records for cannabis possession can be a long-term barrier to housing, employment, and vital services. This legislation would positively impact the lives of tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders who have prior cannabis possession convictions.

Please support H 5307 by emailing supportive testimony to HouseJudiciary@rilegislature.gov. Be sure to include your name, the bill number, and your viewpoint (“support”) at the top of the message. You must submit your email testimony by 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. You can also testify during the hearing by phone if you sign up here by 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

If you or someone you know has experienced hardship as a result of a prior cannabis arrest, please consider testifying in support of this important legislation.

Thank you.

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Next, the bill will proceed to Gov. Northam’s desk — thanks to all who contacted legislators!

After several days of wrangling over details, legislators from the Virginia House and Senate have agreed to terms on a final version of the adult-use legalization bill. Today, both chambers voted to approve the compromise. 

The legislation will now advance to the desk of Gov. Ralph Northam, who supports legalization. The governor could either sign the bill or request amendments, which would then be considered by the legislature. 

You can read a summary of the final bill here. 

Possession and cultivation of cannabis will not become legal for adults until January 2024, but the state will begin laying the groundwork for the regulated market beginning this July. Legislators did fix some of the issues we raised in a previous email, such as making it clear that adults will be able to share cannabis with other adults and not increasing penalties for underage possession, but they did not do everything we asked. 

We are disappointed that the bill still criminalizes bringing any amount of cannabis into Virginia from outside the Commonwealth’s borders. However, that provision and many others do not take effect until 2024. It is also one of many provisions that requires another vote from the legislature in 2022. We’re relieved that we will have other opportunities to improve this policy before it goes into effect.

This is a huge step forward for cannabis policy in Virginia. Thanks to all who contacted legislators!

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Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.

The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Gov. Lamont’s bill S.B. 888 – An Act Responsibly and Equitably Regulating Adult-Use Cannabis, tomorrow, Friday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. You can watch the hearing on YouTube Live.

If you’d like to testify, the deadline to sign up is today (Thursday) at 3:00 p.m. To testify by Zoom, sign up using this On-line Testimony Registration Form. If you’d like to testify in writing, please email it in Word or PDF format to Judtestimony@cga.ct.gov by 3:00 p.m. today.

MPP will implore the committee to advance the bill, but to first make revisions to make it stronger and more explicit on equity. Here are some tips for testifying that I encourage you to review. Also, feel free to check out our summary of the bill here.

Speakers are limited to three minutes. The first hour of the hearing will be reserved for comments from state and local officials. The rest of the speaking order will be randomized and will be posted on the Judiciary Committee website tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. under Public Hearing Testimony.

All witnesses should clearly state their name and the bill number (S.B. 888). The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to have their oral testimony be a condensed summary.

Please spread the word, 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.

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