Ask your state representative to support this compassionate bill.

Yesterday, the Alabama Senate approved the state’s medical cannabis bill — SB 165 — in a 22-11 vote! The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where the speaker has not yet committed to letting it receive a vote.

Write your state rep today to ask them to support patients and to urge leadership to let it get a vote. To have even more impact, you can give your state representative a call after sending your email.

Senators debated SB 165 for hours and considered numerous amendments — accepting some and rejecting others.

The bill, which is sponsored by a physician, Sen. Tim Melson (R), would allow qualifying patients to use and safely access medical cannabis preparations. While it is more restrictive than most medical cannabis laws — and does not allow smoking or vaporization — SB 165 would still be a dramatic improvement from current law. For more details, check out our summary.

After you reach out to your own representative, spread the word to other compassionate Alabamians so that they, too, can raise their voices for compassion.

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See below for the first email from South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, the campaign working to legalize marijuana for adults and establish a medical marijuana program in the state! Click here to sign up for their campaign email alerts. And please consider donating today. This campaign is crucial to our goal of passing landmark federal marijuana reform through Congress.

Thanks, 

Matthew Schweich
Deputy Director
Marijuana Policy Project

 

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws <info@southdakotamarijuana.org>
Date: Fri, Mar 13, 2020 at 3:21 PM
Subject: Together, let's legalize marijuana in South Dakota

Hello friend,

My name is Drey Samuelson, political director for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, and this is our first official campaign email! Although I know a fair amount of the folks on this list, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself as one of the leaders of our historic campaign to pass two marijuana reform ballot initiatives (one for medical marijuana and the other for full legalization) in South Dakota this November.

A little about me: I spent three years as a Sioux Falls field representative for then-Congressman Tom Daschle, and then a few years later, in 1986, I ran the successful congressional campaign for then-South Dakota State Senator Tim Johnson. Following the election, Tim hired me to be his Chief of Staff. In all, I spent 28 great years on Tim’s team as we worked to deliver results for the people of South Dakota.

(Photo: H. Darr Beiser / USA Today)

Following Tim's retirement, I returned to South Dakota to co-found TakeItBack.Org, a nonpartisan nonprofit that used ballot initiatives to advance anti-corruption reforms that advocates could not pass through South Dakota’s conservative state legislature. I had learned the power of ballot initiatives earlier in my life, having served as campaign manager for an anti-corporate farm campaign in Nebraska in 1982. Despite being heavily outspent, we won. 

And that's why I'm here, working on these two initiatives. It is quite clear that getting these two initiatives through the South Dakota legislature would be virtually impossible, so advocates of sensible marijuana policy reform were left only one option: taking our case directly to the people of South Dakota. Thankfully, through a great deal of hard work and generous funding, we were able to qualify both initiatives for the general election ballot, and we're now in position to put together a campaign to pass both of them. I have no illusions that either is a slam dunk, but I have seen the polling and am convinced that if we run smart, well-executed campaigns, we'll win them both. The fact is the people of South Dakota are ready to adopt medical marijuana and full legalization. The purpose of this campaign is to effectuate the will of the people.

And that's where you come in. We are determined to run an energetic and highly-organized grassroots campaign, one that isn't top-down but bottom-up, which relies on many hundreds of volunteers across the state. 

Right now, here are a few quick ways you can help us win!

• Donate to the campaign!
• Sign up to volunteer: use this sign up form or simply reply to this email.
• Forward this email to your friends and family and encourage them to sign up for email updates through our website: https://www.southdakotamarijuana.org/sign-up
• Follow or Like us on Facebook – we need to build our audience and reach more voters!

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Urge your senators to support HB 550.

Exciting news! Yesterday, the House of Delegates approved (93-44) a bill that would increase the amount of cannabis decriminalized in Maryland from 10 grams to one ounce. It now heads to the Senate.

Contact your senator today and ask them to support HB 550!

The bill — HB 550 — would make possession of up to an ounce of cannabis punishable by a civil fine of $100 rather than a criminal penalty that carries possible jail time. Also, a person could no longer be charged with possession with intent to distribute based solely on possession of an ounce or less.

At just 10 grams, Maryland currently has one of the lowest thresholds for possession of any of the 26 states that has decriminalized or legalized cannabis. Most states have decriminalized or legalized up to one ounce, and several states have decriminalized larger amounts.

This is an important reform that will reduce the number of arrests and criminal charges for marijuana possession. Arrests for simple possession can be traumatic, and a criminal conviction can hinder one’s ability to obtain a job, housing, or a college education.

While the legalization workgroup did not recommend moving forward with legalization this year, help us make sure this important reform is achieved in the meantime.

Please take a minute to email your senator and ask them to support HB 550. Then, forward this message to your friends and family in Maryland and encourage them to do the same.

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Urge your elected officials to support this cost-reducing measure!

Minnesota’s 2020 legislative session is underway, and several cannabis-related bills have been introduced. While we are still eagerly awaiting House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler’s bill to legalize and regulate cannabis, another important bill needs your support. SF4255 would improve the medical cannabis program, including by allowing patients to vaporize cannabis in its natural, flower form.

Ask your state senator and representative to support this important measure.

Minnesota has some of the most expensive medical cannabis products in the nation, and many patients turn back to the illicit market as a result. Two of the four other states that once prohibited flower cannabis — Pennsylvania and New York — now allow it. Minnesota should, too.

The bill would also ease access in rural areas of the state by allowing dispensaries to operate mobile distribution units. This would save patients and their caregivers hours-long round trips.

Please write your lawmakers today to ask them to work to pass SF4255, and spread the word.

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Ask your lawmakers to reject the THC cap amendment to HB 713!

On Thursday, March 5, the Florida House approved a 10 percent THC cap on medical cannabis for patients under 21 years old. The cap was submitted as an amendment to HB 713, which is a larger healthcare package.

This THC limit would leave younger patients behind who respond best to medical cannabis with higher proportions of THC. Please take a minute to ask your lawmakers to reject this amendment!

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 Florida voters who enacted the state’s medical cannabis law.

Ask your lawmakers to stand with patients across the Sunshine State and reject the THC cap! Please forward this message to your friends and family in Florida and encourage them to do the same.

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Virginia is about to become the 27th state to decriminalize marijuana possession!

The legislature has approved a bill to stop arresting and jailing Virginians for simple marijuana possession. It now heads to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk, and it is expected that he will sign it into law.

The bill would make possession of one ounce or less of marijuana a civil penalty punishable by a $25 fine. Under current law, marijuana possession is a criminal offense punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or up to a $500 fine.

The move to decriminalize marijuana possession in Virginia is long overdue. Currently, 26 states and D.C. have stopped jailing their residents for possession of small amounts of marijuana, and polling has shown that 83 percent of Virginians support the reform.

A big kudos goes to our friends at Virginia NORML for leading the effort and working tirelessly to improve Virginia’s cannabis laws! And thank you to everyone else who played a role in this important reform.

Be sure to share this exciting news with your friends and family in Virginia.

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Follow and support South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws.

This election will matter, and more than most.

It’s hard to overstate its importance in any number of areas, and that includes the struggle to end the prohibition of marijuana.

There will be marijuana reform campaigns in states across the country including South Dakota, where two initiatives to legalize medical marijuana and adult-use marijuana have qualified for the November ballot.

You might be wondering: South Dakota, really? After all, it’s a conservative state. But we’ve done our research, and voters are ready for marijuana policy reform.

And this campaign is important for our federal efforts: South Dakota's two United States senators, John Thune and Mike Rounds, are both in key positions to affect marijuana policy in Congress.

Neither are supporters of reforming our nation’s failed marijuana policies. They do not support removing marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, enacting the SAFE Banking Act, or even eliminating federal obstacles to medical marijuana research and access.

However, South Dakota voters can give these two senators a strong reason to reconsider their positions by approving both of the two ballot initiatives this November! Elected officials know that in order to win reelection, they cannot ignore their constituents.

South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, a political campaign supported by the Marijuana Policy Project, is ramping up its efforts and it needs your help. Please follow the campaign on Facebook, sign up for campaign alerts, and make a contribution.

Our strategy of reforming state laws in order to increase pressure on members of Congress to reform federal laws could soon pay off in a big way. We are nearly at a tipping point, and winning South Dakota is key to maintaining our momentum.

Thank you.

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Urge your legislators to stop criminalizing cannabis consumers.

Today, Louisiana’s state lawmakers convene in Baton Rouge for their 2020 legislative session. Already more than a dozen bills are pending to improve the state’s cannabis policies.

Write your lawmakers to let them know you want 2020 to be the year Louisiana stops arresting cannabis consumers.

Proposals have been introduced to regulate marijuana for adults’ use, to allow local legalization, to decriminalize simple possession, and to improve the state’s medical marijuana program in various ways — including by allowing whole plant cannabis and expanding qualifying conditions.

Here’s a snapshot at some of the bills that have been introduced:

• Rep. Edmond Jordan’s HB 626 would set up a system of legal, regulated cannabis sales to adults 21 and older along with permits for personal cultivation. (Unfortunately, it does not appear to remove criminal penalties.)
• Rep. Ted James’ HB 546 would put a state constitutional amendment on Louisiana’s November 2020 ballot to legalize and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and older.
• Rep. Cedric Glover's HB 346 would put a state constitutional amendment on the November 2020 ballot to allow localities to legalize marijuana.
• Rep. C. Denise Marcelle’s HB 49 would reduce cannabis possession penalties, including by decriminalizing first-offense possession of up to 14 grams. The current penalty includes up to 15 days in jail.
• Rep. Ted James’ HB 385 would allow whole plant/flower medical cannabis.
• Rep. Ted James’ HB 386 would allow physicians to recommend cannabis for any condition that is debilitating to the individual patient
• Rep. Jeremy LaCombe’s HB 455 would allow people receiving hospice or palliative care to qualify for medical cannabis.
• Rep. Rodney Lyons’ HB 330 would add chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia as a qualifying condition.
• Rep. Joe Marino’s HB 158 would allow Alzheimer's, ALS, and a few other neurodegenerative diseases to qualify for medical cannabis.
• Sen. Gerald Boudreaux's SB 267 would remove the sunset on the medical cannabis program.

To weigh in on any of these bills, you can look up your legislator here and give them a call. Or you can use our automated system and rewrite the letter to focus on the issue(s) you care most about.

After voicing your support for marijuana policy reform, please spread the word so that others can join the chorus for humane and sensible marijuana laws!

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Call your senator’s office and urge them to support giving HB 136 a hearing and a vote!

The Kentucky House has already voted 65-30 to pass the medical cannabis bill, but unfortunately, there is no guarantee that Senate leaders will allow the bill to receive a vote. HB 136 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and this week the committee’s chairman, Sen. Whitney Westerfield (R-Hopkinsville), cast doubt on the bill’s prospects. “I know it won’t get a hearing until I’m OK with it, and for sure I’ve still got questions right now," he said.

Please call your senator’s office today and urge them to support giving this bill a hearing and a vote!

Then, please call Senator Westerfield’s office and call Senate President Robert Stivers’ office and tell them this bill is urgently needed for Kentuckians who are battling serious medical conditions.

After you call your senator’s office, Senator Westerfield’s office, and Senate President Robert Stivers’ office, please share this message with your friends and family.

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Sign up to generate calls to pass S.B. 16.

Earlier this week, the governor’s legalization bill was heard in the Judiciary Committee and received strong support from our allies and supporters. But there was also significant opposition, and we still need to move several lawmakers from “undecided” to “yes.”

Will you volunteer to help generate phone calls to legislators in key districts?

The Call Fire system we use makes it easy to volunteer from home. Please email dward@mpp.org — or reply to this email — if you’re willing to make some phone calls to constituents of key lawmakers. We’ll send details on how to get started.

All of the lawmakers we’re generating calls to are on the Judiciary Committee. One challenge is that many lawmakers don’t realize their constituents are supportive. With your help, we can change that misperception.

Please also don’t forget to email your own lawmakers to ask them to support S.B. 16.

Supporters like you can help us send a strong message to lawmakers to make 2020 the year we end cannabis prohibition in the Constitution State!

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