Take action and send a message to your legislators in support of H 5453!

For Ellen Smith, who lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and sarcoidosis, Rhode Island’s medical marijuana program has been a critical lifeline. She and her husband, Stu, have fought for years to protect patients’ rights and advocate for improvements to the law.

Ellen and Stu have worked closely with other advocates and state Representative Scott Slater to draft legislation that would make significant reforms to help medical marijuana patients, particularly those with financial hardships. House Bill 5453 would:

• create a hardship program to help low-income patients;
• repeal the "plant tag" program for patients who cultivate their own medicine; and
• eliminate excessive medical cannabis fees and taxes.

Please contact your state legislators now with our simple online action tool and urge them to support H 5453.

As the General Assembly considers legislation to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adults, it is crucial that the needs of patients who use marijuana to alleviate serious health conditions are not forgotten.

Thank you.

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Our calls are working, but we need to keep the pressure on. We’ve managed to delay a vote on HB 1100 twice, but they're going to try again tomorrow.

Again, we’re urging South Dakota legislators to support our common sense compromise on the medical marijuana law, House Bill 1100G. You can read more about the compromise here. 

We need supporters to call the South Dakota State Capitol at 605-773-3851 right now to leave a message for your state representatives in support of the compromise legislation.

When you call, leave your name, district, and your message ("support the compromise and establish legal protections for patients" or something similar). Remember to be polite and respectful.

If you need to find your state representatives, you can use this tool or Open States.

MPP staffers Matthew Schweich and Jared Moffat are playing an important role in supporting the South Dakota grassroots effort to get the medical marijuana measure approved by nearly 70 percent of South Dakota voters implemented as swiftly as possible. Check out this Keloland story to learn more about the compromise effort.

Thank you!

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Email your senator today, then call Governor Chris Sununu’s office and urge him to support HB 350!

Home cultivation of cannabis is a felony in New Hampshire, and there is no exception for registered patients and caregivers. Today, the House of Representatives voted to change that by passing HB 350, a bill that would legalize limited home cultivation for registered patients and caregivers (up to three mature plants, three immature plants, and 12 seedlings per patient).

Please email your state senator today. Then, call Gov. Chris Sununu’s office at 603-271-2021 and urge him to support the bill!

Next, HB 350 will be scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Click here for an overview of where the senators on that committee have stood on medical cannabis home cultivation.

If you are a patient who would personally benefit from this bill’s passage, or you are a friend or family member of a patient, please email all five members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and share your story.

The House has passed home cultivation bills many times in the past, but this time it did so with almost zero opposition. The Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee approved HB 350 in a 20-1 vote, and the House passed it as part of the “consent calendar” without any discussion or debate. The full text of the bill is available here.

Sadly, previous home grow bills have failed to become law despite the House’s support. In 2019, the Senate passed a similar bill (HB 364) in a 14-10 vote, but it was vetoed by Gov. Sununu, and the veto override effort fell three votes short of the required two-thirds in the Senate.

This year, we will need to pressure the Senate and governor in order to achieve a different result. After you email your state senator and call Gov. Sununu’s office, please share this important message with your friends and family!

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Take action: ask your state senator to support LB 474 to legalize medical cannabis!

Yesterday, Nebraska Families for Medical Cannabis held a powerful and emotional press conference at the State Capitol building. Parents and patients called on the Unicameral to pass LB 474, which would establish a compassionate medical cannabis program for patients like Will Gillen, who experiences multiple severe seizures every day.

Many state senators remain undecided on the issue, and your senator needs to hear from you. Please take action right now to call and email your elected official!

A committee hearing for LB 474 is currently scheduled for March 10. You can leave a supportive comment on the bill on the Nebraska Legislature’s website, which your state senator will see.

Despite the Nebraska Supreme Court’s misguided decision to remove medical cannabis from the ballot last year, these families will never stop fighting for their loved ones.

Please support them and contact your senator today.

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Ask your state legislators to end Minnesota’s war on cannabis.

In the past week, two committees in the Minnesota Legislature approved HF 600, which would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older! This is the first time ever that a Minnesota legislative committee has approved legalization.

Let your lawmakers know you want them to pass legalization this year.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler’s bill, HF 600, would legalize possession and cultivation of limited amounts of cannabis, while setting up an equitable, regulated system for cannabis sales. It includes funding for community renewal along with cannabis industry training and start-up funding. The grants would focus on individuals facing barriers to education or​ employment, areas with elevated rates of poverty, workers with less than three years of experience, and farmers.

HF 600 still has an arduous committee process to get through in the House, and a steep hill to climb in the Senate. But every step forward brings us closer to the day when cannabis prohibition ends in Minnesota. And every respectful call and email lawmakers receive in support of HF 600 helps move them in the right direction.

So, write your legislators today in support of HF 600, and ask your friends and family to follow suit. Together, we can end marijuana prohibition in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

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Earlier today, the North Dakota House of Representatives approved two pieces of legislation to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older.

The proposals were introduced by Republican lawmakers who say they personally oppose legalization but are seeking to prevent a more permissive law from being enacted by voters via the 2022 ballot.

House Bill 1420 would permit adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, while home cultivation would be prohibited. The legislation directs the North Dakota State Health Council to adopt rules for implementing legal sales through a maximum of 18 state-licensed dispensaries by February 1, 2022. House lawmakers also approved House Bill 1501, which would impose a 10% tax on cultivators and a 15% tax on dispensary sales.

Both bills now head to the Senate. Gov. Doug Burgum has not indicated whether he would sign or veto the measures.

Stay tuned for more updates on the progression of marijuana policy reform legislation!

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We are urging legislators to support the common sense compromise on the medical marijuana law, House Bill 1100G. 

And we are urging voters to call the South Dakota State Capitol at 605-773-3851 and leave a message for your State Representatives.

Leave your name, district, and your message ("support the compromise" or something to that effect). Please be respectful when you call, and ask the page to deliver the message.

If you need to look up your State Representatives, you can use this tool or Open States.

Thank you for supporting sensible and compassionate marijuana policies!

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Let your state legislators know it’s past time they pass the S.C. Compassionate Care Act.

A new poll by Starboard Communications found 72% of South Carolina voters support allowing medical cannabis and only 15% are opposed! But because South Carolina doesn’t have a citizens’ initiative process, the only way to translate that overwhelming support into law is for the state legislature to act.

Please send your state senator and representative an email to let them know you want them to do all they can to get the S.C. Compassionate Care Act passed this year.

Then, to go the extra mile, please follow up with a call to your state senator. We provide talking points and your senator’s phone number to make it easy.

Thirty-six states have compassionate medical cannabis laws, including Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida. It’s past time South Carolinians have the same medical freedom.

Please write and call your legislators today, then spread the word by sharing this link on social media. Together, we can bring relief to suffering South Carolinians.

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Virginia must not criminalize “importing” small amounts of cannabis or increase other penalties — write lawmakers who are working to finalize the legislation today!

Overall, we are happy with the cannabis legalization bills that have passed the Virginia House and Senate. This week, lawmakers from both chambers are engaged in a “conference committee” that is working to resolve differences between the two bills.

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 currently include an exception for one ounce or less of cannabis.

“Importing” small amounts for personal use should not be a criminal offense, and it must be exempted from this new penalty. We have informed lawmakers about the problem, and we hope they will fix it during the reconciliation process, but they haven’t done so yet. Please write the members of the conference committee today and urge them to resolve this issue before they send a final bill to the desk of Gov. Ralph Northam.

Additionally, SB 1406 would increase penalties for public consumption and underage possession from a $25 fine to a fine of up to $250 for a first offense, and it would prohibit adults from sharing cannabis with other adults. The House eliminated these penalty increases from HB 2312, and we are urging lawmakers in both chambers to ensure they are not included in the final bill.

For more information on the differences between HB 2312 and SB 1406, and to see what MPP has recommended to legislators, click here.

After you write your state legislators, please share this message with your friends and family.

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Exciting news! Yesterday, Gov. Murphy signed three bills into law that officially enact legalization in New Jersey!

Gov. Murphy’s signature ends a three-year campaign to regulate and tax cannabis in the Garden State. As you likely recall, in November 2020, New Jerseyans overwhelmingly approved a ballot referendum supporting cannabis legalization. The following month, the legislature responded with the passage of A.21/S.21 and S.2535. However, both measures stalled due to concerns surrounding penalties for underage use.

Late last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced A.5342, which addresses penalties for underage use. Today, both chambers voted to approve the bill, and Gov. Murphy immediately signed all three bills into law. You can check out a summary of the bills here.

Effective immediately, adults can now legally possess up to six ounces of cannabis or 170 grams of concentrate.

Although Gov. Murphy’s signature means the end of arrests and prosecution for cannabis in New Jersey, it will likely take a few months before residents are able to purchase cannabis from retailers, as the recently formed Cannabis Regulatory Commission will develop rules for adult-use licenses.

We’d like to extend sincere thanks to all of you who helped push to make cannabis reform in New Jersey a reality.

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