Virginia must not criminalize “importing” small amounts of cannabis — write the governor today!

The Virginia House and Senate deserve a round of applause for completing work on the adult-use legalization bills and advancing them to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk. Although we are disappointed by the fact that cannabis will not become legal until January 2024, we are pleased that the final bill does not criminalize sharing of cannabis between adults or increase penalties for public consumption and underage possession.

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 include an exception for one ounce or less of cannabis.

Gov. Northam is expected to ask the legislature for amendments to the bill, so we are urging him to seek an amendment to this provision. Bringing one ounce or less of cannabis into Virginia for personal use should not be a criminal offense, and it needs to be exempted from this new penalty.

Please write Gov. Ralph Northam today and encourage him to request an amendment to this provision. If you use Twitter, please also consider re-tweeting MPP’s tweet to Gov. Northam, or adding your own tweet to ask him to fix the law and avoid re-criminalizing cannabis consumers.

MPP has sent Gov. Northam a letter urging him to request this amendment. To read it, click here.

After you write Gov. Northam, please share this message with your friends and family.

Tell your state lawmakers you support cannabis legalization!

Exciting news! Just last week, a bipartisan pair of senators introduced a bill that would legalize cannabis for adult use in Pennsylvania. Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) have drafted legislation that would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess cannabis from licensed retailers. The possession limit would be set at 30 grams, and medical marijuana patients would have an option to cultivate up to five plants at home.

Under the proposal, which hasn’t yet been formally introduced, a Pennsylvania Cannabis Regulatory Control Board would be responsible for managing both the medical and recreational programs and issuing marijuana business licenses. Cannabis products would be subject to the state’s six percent sales tax, in addition to a 10 percent excise tax. The revenue would go to a new Cannabis Regulation Fund, as well as a Cannabis Business Development Fund that would provide financial aid, loans, grants and technical assistance to social and economic equity businesses. You can check out a full summary of the bill here.

As the momentum continues to build for legalized, regulated sales of cannabis to adults in Pennsylvania, please take a few minutes to email your state lawmakers to add your voice to the growing number of Keystone residents who support marijuana legalization.

Take a minute to email your lawmakers and urge them to make legalization a priority this legislative session.

This past weekend, the Virginia Legislature sent a legalization bill to their governor. D.C. legalized personal possession and cultivation back in 2014, and proposals to regulate and tax cannabis sales in the District were also introduced this week.

It’s time for the Maryland General Assembly to meet the moment and follow suit. But we need your help. Can you take a minute to email your lawmakers and ask that they prioritize legalization THIS SESSION?

If Maryland does not move forward with legalization this year, people will continue to be needlessly arrested and criminalized, consumers will only have access to the unregulated and dangerous illicit market, and the state will miss out on generating hundreds millions of dollars in tax revenue.

It’s important that your lawmakers hear from you that you want them to move forward with legalization this year.

After you write your lawmakers, please share this action on social media to help us spread the word, then forward this message to your friends and family in Maryland and encourage them to do the same.

Together, we can end prohibition in 2021!

Tomorrow, the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on an automatic expungement bill.

Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., state lawmakers are holding a public hearing on H 5307 (along with several other bills) in the House Judiciary Committee.

This legislation, introduced by Rep. Anastasia Williams and co-sponsored by other members of the House, would direct the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to expunge all past misdemeanors and felony cases involving cannabis. Individuals would not be required to pay any fees to have their records cleared.

Arrest records for cannabis possession can be a long-term barrier to housing, employment, and vital services. This legislation would positively impact the lives of tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders who have prior cannabis possession convictions.

Please support H 5307 by emailing supportive testimony to HouseJudiciary@rilegislature.gov. Be sure to include your name, the bill number, and your viewpoint (“support”) at the top of the message. You must submit your email testimony by 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. You can also testify during the hearing by phone if you sign up here by 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

If you or someone you know has experienced hardship as a result of a prior cannabis arrest, please consider testifying in support of this important legislation.

Thank you.

Next, the bill will proceed to Gov. Northam’s desk — thanks to all who contacted legislators!

After several days of wrangling over details, legislators from the Virginia House and Senate have agreed to terms on a final version of the adult-use legalization bill. Today, both chambers voted to approve the compromise. 

The legislation will now advance to the desk of Gov. Ralph Northam, who supports legalization. The governor could either sign the bill or request amendments, which would then be considered by the legislature. 

You can read a summary of the final bill here. 

Possession and cultivation of cannabis will not become legal for adults until January 2024, but the state will begin laying the groundwork for the regulated market beginning this July. Legislators did fix some of the issues we raised in a previous email, such as making it clear that adults will be able to share cannabis with other adults and not increasing penalties for underage possession, but they did not do everything we asked. 

We are disappointed that the bill still criminalizes bringing any amount of cannabis into Virginia from outside the Commonwealth’s borders. However, that provision and many others do not take effect until 2024. It is also one of many provisions that requires another vote from the legislature in 2022. We’re relieved that we will have other opportunities to improve this policy before it goes into effect.

This is a huge step forward for cannabis policy in Virginia. Thanks to all who contacted legislators!

Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.

The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Gov. Lamont’s bill S.B. 888 – An Act Responsibly and Equitably Regulating Adult-Use Cannabis, tomorrow, Friday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. You can watch the hearing on YouTube Live.

If you’d like to testify, the deadline to sign up is today (Thursday) at 3:00 p.m. To testify by Zoom, sign up using this On-line Testimony Registration Form. If you’d like to testify in writing, please email it in Word or PDF format to Judtestimony@cga.ct.gov by 3:00 p.m. today.

MPP will implore the committee to advance the bill, but to first make revisions to make it stronger and more explicit on equity. Here are some tips for testifying that I encourage you to review. Also, feel free to check out our summary of the bill here.

Speakers are limited to three minutes. The first hour of the hearing will be reserved for comments from state and local officials. The rest of the speaking order will be randomized and will be posted on the Judiciary Committee website tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. under Public Hearing Testimony.

All witnesses should clearly state their name and the bill number (S.B. 888). The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to have their oral testimony be a condensed summary.

Please spread the word, and be sure to write your legislators urging them to support legislation to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults in the 2021 session.

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.

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!

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!

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.