MPP and Clergy for a New Drug Policy are reaching out to clergy – you can help

As South Carolina considers adopting a medical cannabis program, a recent poll shows how supportive South Carolinians continue to be. This support must certainly include members of the faith community.

We are eager to identify individual clergy we might contact and work with on this important issue. If you are a member of the clergy or you know someone who is and who supports this effort, please let us know. Clergy may also sign our online statement of support.

Thirty-three states have already approved cannabis as medicine. 2019 will likely be a pivotal year in the debate in South Carolina. Sen. Tom Davis and Rep. Peter McCoy have reintroduced bills this year that would establish a medical cannabis program for seriously ill patients in South Carolina.

Clergy have spoken out for medical cannabis in other states and are raising their voices in South Carolina as well. Clergy for a New Drug Policy, our ally around the U.S, has already begun meeting with individual clergy here. For a recent post on medical cannabis as an alternative to opioids, click here.

Those who choose the safer approach should not be treated like criminals, particularly when they are under the care of a physician.

Please contact us if you are a supportive member of the clergy or know someone who is. Together, we can lay the foundation for a compassionate and regulated program for many of our state's most vulnerable population.

Thank you for your help.

Read more

We will need two-thirds majorities to overcome Gov. Sununu’s veto threat. If you live in New Hampshire, email your state legislators today!

New Hampshire’s legalization bill, HB 481, has been scheduled for a public hearing next Tuesday beginning at 1:00 p.m. Since there is expected to be a large turnout from both supporters and opponents, the hearing has been moved to Representatives Hall. Here are the details:

WHAT: Public Hearing on HB 481 in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee

WHERE: Representatives Hall, 33 N State Street, Concord 

WHEN: 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 5

Members of the public are welcome to testify. If you are interested in attending the public hearing, please click here for more information on how the process works and how you can make a positive impact with your testimony. You can read a summary of HB 481 here, and the full text is available here.

If you haven’t already done so, please email your state representative(s) and senator today and encourage them to support HB 481.

If you receive a response from a legislator, it would be very helpful if you could share it with us via email.

Please forward this message to your family and friends!

Read more

We are now less than one week away from our lobby day event! The time is now to pressure the General Assembly to pass legislation to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older. If you haven't already, be sure to register today, and join us in Annapolis.

What: Maryland 2019 Cannabis Legalization Lobby Day
When: Tuesday, February 5 (7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Where: House Building Room 170, Annapolis, Maryland
Register here.

Prior to meeting with your elected officials, we will provide you with an information package including appointment times and locations and suggested talking points.

It is important your lawmakers hear from as many constituents as possible. Help us send a strong message to the General Assembly to end prohibition by joining us in solidarity. Also be sure to share this message — or the Facebook event — with your friends and family in Maryland.

See you in Annapolis next week! Together, we can end prohibition.

Read more

If you're a Wyoming resident, urge your lawmakers to support HB0278.

Yesterday, House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Eric Barlow (R) introduced a bill to legalize medical cannabis in the Cowboy State! Under House Bill 0278, cannabis would be tested and regulated by the Department of Agriculture.

Please encourage your legislators to champion compassion and common sense by supporting effective medical cannabis legislation.

Unfortunately, Wyoming is one of the 18 states with no effective cannabis law, even though over 70% of Wyomingites support legalizing cannabis for medical use.

Medical cannabis is proven to be effective in the treatment of a variety of debilitating medical conditions, and seriously ill people should not be subject to arrest and criminal penalties for using a safer treatment option than opiates.

Please contact your lawmakers today to ask them to support HB 0278. Then, forward this message to your family and friends in Wyoming!

Read more

If you live in Maine, click here to reach out to your lawmakers today.

Aside from implementing Maine's new adult-use marijuana law, there are other marijuana policy bills being heard in Augusta. Four Maine legislators, from both parties, have introduced bills that would help Mainers with past marijuana convictions. You can read more the bills and sponsors here.

Earlier this month, the Portland Press Herald published an editorial in favor of these reforms, saying: "Times change, and laws need to change with them. Maine voted to put the old marijuana laws behind us, and lawmakers should complete the process."

The bills would either seal past convictions or permanently erase them from their records. The language for these bills is not available yet, butgenerally adults who have convictions on their records for crimes that are no longer illegal — home cultivation and personal possession — may apply for their records to be sealed or expunged. Please ask your lawmakers to support this commonsense criminal justice reform.

As an aside, I hope to see you at next week's Cannabis Industry Mixer in Portland on Thursday, February 7. You can see the details and get your free tickets here. See you then!

Read more

If you live in Hawaii, contact your lawmakers today and ask them to support SB686!

Tomorrow, a bill to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older will be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

What: SB686 Hearing
When: Thursday, January 31, 9:00 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
Where: Lumi ' Council 016 / Conference Room 016, State Capitol, 415 South Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI 96813

Voice your support by providing oral or written testimony! Those wishing to provide oral testimony will be limited to two minutes. If you testify, please be polite and respectful, dress in business or business casual attire, and avoid repeating points that have already been made. You can always briefly note you agree with previous supportive testimony, and ask the committee to approve SB686.

You can also provide written testimony here.

After the hearing, be sure to ask your lawmakers to support replacing marijuana prohibition with thoughtful regulation. Ending prohibition would reduce the number of marijuana-related arrests, displace the illicit marijuana market, and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

It's past time adults be allowed to use a substance that is safer than alcohol. With your help, Hawaii can take a more thoughtful approach to marijuana.

Read more

Click here to register for Texas Marijuana Policy Lobby Day.

Texas' short legislative session has begun, and over a dozen bills have already been filed to change the state's marijuana policies. A lot of progress has been made since the last time the Texas Legislature was in session, and now is the time to reach out to your lawmakers.

For added impact, talk to your lawmakers in person. Our allies at Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy will be holding a lobby day on Thursday, February 7. The day will start with a legislative advocacy training and then teams will break off to reach out to their specific lawmakers. The two big priorities for this session are decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and expanding access to medical marijuana.

Be sure to dress professionally and be courteous. If you need help with transportation, DFW NORML and Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition are sponsoring buses from Fort Worth and Houston.

So please, do your best to make it to Austin next Thursday, and be sure bring friends and family. Whether or not you can make it, please use our action form to send a quick email to ask your lawmakers to replace arrests and jail time with a modest fine for marijuana possession. Or, you can ask them to support comprehensive medical cannabis legislation.

Read more

If you live in Nebraska, take action to support the bill to provide relief to patients.

When it comes to changing hearts and minds on medical marijuana, there's nothing more powerful than a roomful of patients and their loved ones sharing their stories. On Friday of last week, lawmakers listened to hours of testimony in favor of establishing a compassionate law that would end the practice of treating patients as criminals.

Alongside patients who had travelled from across the state and Sen. Anna Wishart — primary sponsor of the bill to legalize medical marijuana — sat MPP's director of state policies, Karen O'Keefe, who explained how the legislation would benefit thousands of Nebraskans.

The momentum for medical marijuana is growing, but we need you in the fight. If you agree that patients and their families deserve compassion, please contact your state senator and ask them to get behind LB 110.

Despite opposition from Gov. Ricketts, the effort to establish a compassionate medical marijuana program in Nebraska is picking up steam like never before. On the same day as the legislative hearing, the 2020 ballot campaign committee, Nebraskans for Sensible Marijuana Laws, held its kickoff fundraiser in Lincoln and over 100 people attended!

Please contribute $10, $25, or $100 to support this important effort.

There are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for marijuana policy reform in Nebraska. But we need you to get involved.

Read more

If you're a resident of Minnesota, ask your lawmakers to replace prohibition with thoughtful regulation.

Exciting news! Yesterday, Senators Melisa Franzen (DFL) and Scott Jensen (R) and Rep. Mike Freiberg (DFL) introduced bills to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults who are 21 years or older.

Write your state senator and state representative today to ask them to support SF 619 and HF 420.

Although the DFL-controlled House and DFL governor are the most receptive they've ever been to ending cannabis prohibition, significant challenges remain. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R) has said the bill has no chance in his chamber. But don't despair: Major change typically takes time.

It's crucial that lawmakers hear from supportive constituents so we can build support for passage, whether it happens this year, next, or in 2021 — after the next state Senate election. If this is a voting issue for you, you can let your legislators know you won't be supporting them if they stand in the way of humane marijuana policy.

Prohibition sends an incredible number of people through the criminal justice system, and the collateral consequences can have life-altering effects. . By legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana with measures to expunge records, the number of marijuana-related arrests will be reduced, and those harmed by prohibition in the past can move on with their lives. It will also free up resources so police can focus on more serious crimes.

It is important your lawmakers hear from as many constituents as possible. Please contact your lawmakers today. Then, forward this message to your family and friends in the state. Together, we can end prohibition in Minnesota!

P.S. Please be sure to check out Minnesotans for Responsible Marijuana Regulation ("MRMR") a new organization MPP helped launch.

Read more

If you live in Vermont, contact your state legislators today — tell them Vermont needs to finish the job and pass a sensible cannabis regulation bill in 2019!

The Senate's bill to regulate and tax cannabis markets in Vermont has been introduced, and it is being sponsored by 15 senators — half of the 30-member Senate! You can read a summary of S. 54 here.

Please email your state legislators today and urge them to support this bill!

Senate leaders have already said they intend to pass the bill within the next few weeks, after which it is expected to face a somewhat more difficult path in the House. Gov. Phil Scott has not yet evolved in support of cannabis regulation, so we may need to earn support from two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate in order to override a potential veto and pass the bill into law.

After you email your state legislators, please share this message with your family and friends!

Read more