The legislature may schedule a public hearing on the medical cannabis bill soon — if you are a patient, a friend or family member of a patient, or a medical professional who would like to help support SB 711, please send us an email and let us know!

When the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Sen. Bill Rabon, introduced SB 711, the odds of passing medical cannabis legislation in North Carolina improved dramatically. The Senate appears to be taking this bill seriously, and it’s possible they could schedule a public hearing on it very soon.

If you are a patient in North Carolina who could benefit from medical cannabis, a friend or family member of a patient, or if you are a medical professional, a member of the clergy, or a law enforcement officer who supports medical cannabis legislation, we’d love to hear from you. Please email us and tell us a little bit about yourself so we can advise you on opportunities to support SB 711. It would be helpful if you could include your address and/or nine-digit zip code so we can determine who your state representative and senator are.

You can read a summary of SB 711 here. This bill would make North Carolina the 37th state to legalize medical cannabis.

If you haven't already done so, please write your elected officials today and urge them to support SB 711!

Please share this important message with your family and friends in North Carolina!

Ask your state lawmakers to support HB 524.

Great news! In a 6-5 vote, the Louisiana House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee voted to advance Rep. Richard Nelson’s bill to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older. It now heads to the full House of Representatives!

This is the first time a legislative committee in Louisiana has voted to legalize marijuana.

Ask your state lawmakers to support this sensible measure.

Before the vote, Rep. Nelson amended his bill based on legal advice. It had initially included a voter-referral, but he was advised that Louisiana lawmakers cannot delegate this type of policy decision to voters.

Despite two-to-one popular support for legalization in Louisiana, the witnesses at committee were lopsided in opposition. Several members of law enforcement signed up in opposition and peddled misleading information — including falsely claiming teen marijuana use goes up after legalization.

In the face of powerful opposition, it is extremely important that state representatives hear that their constituents want them to end the disastrous war on marijuana.

Send your state legislators an email today and spread the word on social media. Let them know it’s past time Louisiana stop tearing apart families over cannabis, and that it instead should start creating good jobs and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues to improve the wellbeing of the state’s residents.

Ask your Connecticut state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.

Good news! As you may recall, earlier this month the Connecticut Judiciary Committee advanced an amended version of Gov. Lamont’s proposal to legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older in a 22-16 vote. The final language the committee approved was recently released, and it’s a major improvement over SB 888 as introduced.

Please email your state lawmakers and ask them to support legalization.

Here are some key features of the bill, as amended:

• Social equity applicant status is defined as an applicant with 51% ownership or control by one or more persons with an immediate family member with a cannabis-related conviction, a resident of a disproportionately impacted area for five of the last 10 years, or a resident of tribal land. (We understand the provision allowing for applicants to qualify based solely on control — not ownership — will be removed during the process.)
• Awards new licenses only to social equity applicants until January 1, 2024. At least 40% of licenses will be awarded to social equity applicants.
• Allows existing medical businesses to become licensed on September 1, 2021 after paying a hefty conversion fee that is directed to social equity start-up.
• In addition to allowing adults to possess up to 1.5 ounces on their person, it also allows up to five ounces in a locked location in one’s home.
• Decriminalizes possession of up to four ounces and cultivation of up to six plants.
• Creates a free erasure process for cannabis possession and sale convictions of up to four ounces or six mature plants.
• Eliminates law enforcement’s ability to initiate a search on the basis of odor of cannabis or burnt cannabis.
• Establishes a Cannabis Control Commission to establish guidelines for the issuance of licenses.
• Establishes a 13-member Social Equity Council to further develop equity criteria, priority in licensing, and direct cannabis revenue.
• In the first year and two months of legal sales, state cannabis revenue would be directed to the general fund. In year three of legal sales, and every year thereafter, 55 percent of the state excise tax revenue would be directed to the Cannabis Equity and Innovation Fund, 15 percent to prevention and recovery services, and 30 percent to the general fund.
• Creates a cannabis business accelerator program.

You can check out an updated summary of the amended bill here.

Negotiations between the legislature and the governor’s office on the final details will continue over the coming weeks. We are working to ensure legislators send a bill to Gov. Lamont’s desk before the June 9 session deadline. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the bill makes its way through the legislative process.

In the meantime, please spread the word and write your legislators, urging them to support legislation to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults in the 2021 session.

Things are heating up around cannabis legalization in the Ocean State! 

This Thursday at 4 p.m., the House Finance Committee in the Rhode Island General Assembly will hold a public hearing on several cannabis bills, including Article 11 of Gov. McKee’s budget proposal, which outlines a plan to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for adults. 

And tonight at 6 p.m. ET, a statewide coalition of organizations, grassroots advocates, and Rhode Islanders who have been adversely affected by cannabis criminalization will hold a community webinar to discuss legalization and social equity. Tune in here at 6 p.m. tonight to watch the event through Facebook Live! 

There’s support for legalization among top leaders in the state, but there’s no guarantee that lawmakers will take action this year. They need to hear from you.

Testify at Thursday’s hearing

• The deadline to sign up for verbal testimony is 4 p.m. this Wednesday. If you sign up, you will receive a phone call from the committee clerk during the hearing (likely sometime between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.). Prepare your comments in advance and know that you may be limited to three minutes of speaking time. Click here to put your name on the list to testify.

• You may submit written testimony by emailing HouseFinance@rilegislature.gov. 

• Click here for more information about the hearing.
  
  

Contact the state representative and senator who represent your district

• Don’t know who your state legislators are? Enter your address to look them up here. 
  
  
• You can also contact them through MPP’s online action tool, which provides a prewritten email template and call script that you can personalize!

It’s crucial that supporters of legalization and cannabis equity take action now. Please forward this email and encourage others to make their voices heard, too!

Ask your legislators to end cannabis prohibition.

Next week, two legislative committees in Baton Rouge will be hearing testimony on bills that would bring Louisiana’s cannabis policies into the 21st century.

Ask your state lawmakers to support ending Louisiana's war on marijuana.

Ending cannabis prohibition will create jobs and economic opportunity, significantly increase state and local tax revenue, ensure product safety, and free up law enforcement resources so they can focus on real crime.

You can also go the extra mile by testifying in Baton Rouge in support of the bills. Here are the details:

Tuesday Hearings — Decriminalization + Voter-Referral for Legalization

What: House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee hearing on HB 652 — which would reduce the penalty for up to 14 grams of cannabis to a $50 fine, or an alternate penalty in lieu of a fine for those who can’t pay; HB 524, which would legalize cannabis for adults if approved by voters; and HB 243, which would legalize cannabis for adults if a separate regulatory bill is adopted.

Where: Committee Room 6, State Capitol, 900 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70804

When: Tuesday, April 27, committee meeting begins at 9:00 a.m.

Thursday Hearing — Legalization

What: House Agriculture Committee hearing on HB 637— which would legalize and regulate cannabis.

Where: Committee Room 3, State Capitol, 900 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70804

When: Thursday, April 29, committee meeting begins at 9:00 a.m.

Face masks are required due to the coronavirus, and temperatures will be checked. You can find more background information, tips, and talking points here.

And please don’t forget to write your lawmakers. Then, spread the word to others in the state.

This evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2021 (SAFE Banking Act) in a bipartisan vote of 321-101. The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

The SAFE Banking Act would create protections for financial institutions that provide financial services to state-legal cannabis businesses. Currently, most banks are unwilling to work with the cannabis industry because they fear federal prosecution. Passing this legislation would also help to promote equity in the cannabis industry by offering small and minority-owned businesses access to banks and regulated financial services.

Banking legislation previously cleared the House in September 2019. The language of the bill was also included in two rounds of COVID-19 relief packages that were approved by the House. The Senate version (S. 910) was reintroduced on March 23 by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) and currently has 32 cosponsors.

Passing the SAFE Banking Act is among MPP’s top federal priorities, and we’ll continue advocating for its success. We’ll keep you informed as the bill progresses through the Senate.

Happy 4/20 Eve!

SB 711 would legalize medical cannabis in North Carolina — write your elected officials and urge them to support the bill!

After many frustrating years of inaction, North Carolina legislators finally appear to be seriously considering cannabis policy reforms. Last week, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Raleigh) acknowledged that “public opinion is changing” on the issue and indicated that the legislature may be willing to consider medical cannabis legislation.

Since both chambers of the legislature are controlled by Republicans, it is essential that members of both parties support the proposed reform. Encouragingly, Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Raleigh) has introduced SB 711, a bipartisan bill that would legalize medical cannabis for patients with debilitating medical conditions and establish an effective regulatory system.

Please write your elected officials today and urge them to support SB 711!

You can read a summary of SB 711 here.

This bill would make North Carolina the 37th state to legalize medical cannabis. A poll conducted by Elon University in late January 2021 found that 54% of North Carolina residents support legalizing cannabis for use by adults, and 73% support making cannabis legal for medical use.

After you write your state legislators, please share this important news with your family and friends!

Ask your legislators to support allowing medical cannabis in its natural form.

On Monday, lawmakers returned to Baton Rouge for their 2021 legislative session. More than a dozen cannabis policy bills have been proposed — including bills to legalize cannabis and to allow flower cannabis in the state’s medical cannabis program.

Louisiana is one of only two states whose comprehensive medical cannabis program prohibits cannabis in its natural, whole-plant form. Extracts are more costly, so this puts medical cannabis out of reach of many Louisianans. Louisiana also prohibits inhaled marijuana — other than nebulizers — which also prevents many patients from using the mode of administration that works best for them. HB 391 would change that by adding raw, flower cannabis to Louisiana’s medical marijuana program.

Ask your legislators to support HB 391, to allow patients to use the form of cannabis that works best for them.

We are also encouraged that both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have sponsored bills to legalize cannabis for all adults. Rep. Richard Nelson’s HB 524 would refer the question of legalization to voters in 2022, while Rep. Candace Newell’s HBs 243 and 637 would operate together to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis. Call your state lawmakers to let them know it’s past time Louisiana replace its failed war on marijuana with a more thoughtful approach.

Then, please spread the word so that other Louisianans can raise their voices for humane, sensible cannabis policies.

Thank you.

Go to nebraskalegislature.gov to find your lawmaker and ask them to support LB 474.

Last night, I was on a Facebook Live event with Nebraskan Families for Medical Cannabis, a coalition of patients and parents of children with epilepsy who are fighting to pass a medical cannabis law in Nebraska. Hearing their stories drives home why it’s so important for every Nebraskan to contact their state senator about medical cannabis. Click below to watch the video:

These moms and patient advocates were leaders in the effort to put medical cannabis on the ballot last year, but sadly, the state Supreme Court issued a flawed ruling that prevented Nebraskans from voting on the issue. Now these families are asking you and all Nebraskans to join them in their effort to pass LB 474 — a bill that would establish a responsible system of safe, legal access to medical cannabis in Nebraska — through the state legislature.

With the vote coming up soon, lawmakers want to hear how their constituents feel about the issue. It takes less than five minutes to contact your elected representative and leave a message in support of LB 474. Go to nebraskalegislature.gov, type in your address, and look up your state senator’s contact information. Let them know who you are, where you live, and share a quick personal story explaining why you think patients shouldn’t be criminalized for using medical cannabis.

The medical cannabis bill recently advanced out of a legislative committee, and the entire state legislature will debate the bill soon. It’s crucial that you contact your senator now before they vote. 

Make your voice heard! Please take action now and support these patients and families who deserve a compassionate medical cannabis program. 

Thank you.

Ask your lawmakers to support changing the penalty for cannabis possession from possible jail time to a civil fine!

Several bills have been introduced to reform Texas’ outdated cannabis laws. Among the proposals are bills to expand the state’s current low-THC medical cannabis program; to decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of cannabis; and to legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and older.

House committees have approved bills to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis (HB 441) and a bill that would expand Texas’ current low-THC medical cannabis program by allowing more qualifying conditions and increasing the THC cap for medical cannabis products from 0.03 percent to 5 percent (HB 1535).

The legislative session is set to end on May 31. Ask your lawmakers to decriminalize cannabis and establish an effective medical cannabis program!

Texas is now one of only 14 states with no effective medical cannabis law, and one of only 19 that still imposes jail time for simple possession of cannabis. Make sure your lawmakers know this issue matters to voters; ask them to support decriminalization and an effective medical cannabis law this year!