Last Thursday, the Kentucky House Health and Welfare Committee considered the testimony of patients and advocates, who spoke in favor of passing a medical marijuana bill. Legislators learned about the experiences of 10 families who left their support structures and home state to move to Colorado, where young patients with seizure disorders could have legal access to medical marijuana. The hearing resulted in several news reports, including this article in The Lexington Herald-Leader and this video from WKYT.

[caption id="attachment_7215" align="alignright" width="183"] Sen. Perry Clark[/caption]

Also last week, Senator Perry Clark (D-Louisville) reintroduced his medical marijuana bill for 2014. The bill number is SB 43. We are hopeful that a similar bill will soon be introduced in the Kentucky House, and that more hearings will be held on the issue in the weeks and months to come!

If you live in Kentucky, please contact your state representatives and senators today to ask them to pass this compassionate legislation!

On Monday, CNN released a new poll showing 55% of Americans support making marijuana legal. Only 44% were opposed.

According to the CNN poll and numbers from General Social Survey polling, support for legalizing marijuana has steadily soared over the past quarter century - from 16% in 1987 to 26% in 1996, 34% in 2002, and 43% two years ago.

The survey found interesting divides on the issue.

"There are big differences on age, region, party ID, and gender, with senior citizens, Republicans, and Southerners the only major demographic groups who still oppose the legal use of pot," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

This increase in public support will no doubt affect legislation across the country in the coming years. Here is MPP’s Mason Tvert on CNN discussing how legal adult marijuana sales in Colorado may act as a catalyst for reforms in many other states:

Rep. Sherry Jones has taken an important step for seriously ill patients in Tennessee and introduced a medical marijuana bill, HB 1385.

[caption id="attachment_7205" align="alignright" width="120"] Rep. Sherry Jones[/caption]

The bill, known as the Koozer-Kuhn Medical Cannabis Act, would establish a regulatory system similar to those adopted in 20 other states and the District of Columbia. Rep. Jones recently told WRCB-TV that the bill is “simply a matter of being rational and compassionate.”

The bill is named after Piper Koozer, a child from Tennessee who suffers from a very serious seizure disorder related to Aicardi syndrome. Piper’s family believes he would benefit from a non-psychoactive component in medical marijuana known as CBD, but relocated to Colorado until Tennessee law changes. Jeanne Kuhn passed away after a battle with cancer, but benefitted from the use of medical marijuana toward the end of her life. She was considered a criminal under Tennessee law for the use of medical marijuana to help alleviate her suffering.

If you are a Tennessee resident, please take a moment to send an email message to your representative and senator to ask for their support for this bill.

A new poll was released Monday showing increased support for allowing medical marijuana in West Virginia. The poll, which was commissioned by MPP and conducted by Public Policy Polling, found that 56% of Mountain State residents support passing a medical marijuana law (up from 53% last January), and only 34% oppose laws that would allow patients to obtain and use medical marijuana (down from 40%). Results are available here.

If you live in West Virginia, share these poll results with your state legislators today!

The West Virginia Legislature begins its 2014 general session Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Joint Committee on Health decided to conclude its offseason study without voting on the medical marijuana issue. It appears that, for political reasons, passing a medical marijuana law may be a difficult goal to achieve in an election year such as 2014. With elections coming up later this year, it is particularly important that legislators hear from you and other supporters today. They need to understand that public opinion has dramatically changed, and that most West Virginians support allowing patients to have safe, legal access to medical marijuana.

This Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce an executive action creating a medical marijuana program. While it’s encouraging that he has realized patients should not be punished for using their medicine, unlike the medical marijuana bill sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Senator Diane Savino, Gov. Cuomo’s proposal would not create an effective program. The "State of the State" address will be streaming live at 11:30am ET on Wednesday.

[caption id="attachment_7194" align="alignright" width="194"] Gov. Andrew Cuomo[/caption]

It appears the governor’s plan would only allow patients to access marijuana from a limited number of hospitals, which would dispense marijuana that was either obtained from a federally approved source or that is illegal to dispense under federal law. But the federal government has refused to provide marijuana even to some short-term FDA-approved studies, and there is no reason to think it will approve marijuana for longer-term patient access. Meanwhile, hospitals surely wouldn’t break federal law by distributing unapproved marijuana.

A similar medical marijuana law that passed in Maryland last year, by all accounts, just won’t work. If you live in New York State, let your legislators know the way to protect patients is by enacting a comprehensive medical marijuana bill.

New York patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses deserve protection from prosecution, and access to medical marijuana through a viable program — such as those that have passed in 20 other states, plus D.C. If you are a New York resident, please email your legislators today and urge them to support Assemblyman Gottfried and Senator Savino’s medical marijuana bill.

[caption id="attachment_7190" align="alignright" width="160"] Sen. Miller[/caption]

Just days after the first legal marijuana sales took place in Colorado, Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) announced that he would support legislation to make marijuana legal and regulated in his own state.

“I favor the legalization and taxation of marijuana, with restrictions,” Miller said, adding that he thinks his position will only grow in popularity in coming years. “I know where people are going to be a generation or two from now.”

MPP will continue to build support for bills like this in the Senate and House, where Del. Heather Mizeur and Del. Curtis Anderson are pushing for marijuana policy reform legislation in the coming session.

It's been exactly nine years since MPP provided me with a grant to move to Colorado and begin laying the groundwork for a future statewide ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. All of that work came to fruition yesterday when legal marijuana retail stores throughout the state opened their doors to begin selling marijuana to adults.

I wanted to share one of my favorite pictures that I took of the first sale. This is Sean Azzariti, an Iraq war veteran with PTSD, who appeared in an Amendment 64 TV ad discussing his inability to legally access marijuana because his condition was not covered by Colorado's medical marijuana law. As of yesterday, he can — and he did.

As I said during our news conference yesterday — which was attended by dozens of state, national, and international media outlets — adults are buying marijuana in every state in the nation. Only in Colorado are they now buying it in legitimate, taxpaying businesses instead of in the underground market. MPP is working to change that by passing similar laws in states around the country over the next few years. With your help, we are confident we can do it. This historic event is getting international attention.

Here is just one example of the amazing coverage surrounding the end of marijuana prohibition in Colorado:

The New Hampshire House will kick off its 2014 session Wednesday, January 8, by voting on a bill that would end the prohibition of marijuana in New Hampshire. HB 492, modeled after Colorado’s Amendment 64, would allow adults to use, possess, and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana with no penalty. The bill would also set up a taxed and regulated market for marijuana production and sale. Legal sales to adult marijuana users began yesterday in Colorado, where marijuana possession and cultivation of up to six plants has been legal since January 2013. By adopting the similar policy proposed by HB 492, New Hampshire could save tens of millions of dollars in enforcement costs and generate up to $30 million in annual tax revenue. In October, the WMUR Granite State Poll found that 60% of New Hampshire voters support HB 492. If you live in New Hampshire, please urge your state representatives to vote YES on HB 492!

After 10 years of hard work, the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program takes effect today. This is an important milestone for seriously ill patients and a testament to the effort of countless people!

Over the next four months, the three regulatory agencies overseeing the program will hold public hearings and establish rules and forms. The timing has not been established yet, but official statements by at least one agency have indicated that cultivation applications may be accepted in the fall. Importantly, patients are not protected by the law until they have registered in the state registry, which will not be open until this spring at the earliest.

In the meantime, the state has established a central website, which will contain updates and information on the state’s progress.

An overview of the program is available here, and a two-page document specifically designed for patients to share with their physicians is also available. During the year, MPP will encourage the health department to add PTSD and debilitating pain to the list of qualifying conditions. If you have been diagnosed with either and would like to help, please email us at state@mpp.org. Please include your zip code.

Congratulations and happy new year, Illinois.

Check out MPP's Dan Riffle on CNN discussing the issues facing the marijuana industry on the eve of the first legal sales of marijuana to adults in Colorado: