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!

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.

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!

Click here to call your state senator right now.

Right now, the Nebraska Unicameral is debating whether to approve Gov. Pete Ricketts’ appointment of John Kuehn to the State Board of Health.

Kuehn is co-chair of the anti-marijuana group Nebraska SAM. If he is appointed to this position, he could significantly undermine future regulations for medical marijuana if voters approve a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana in November.

Please send a message and call your state senator right now. If you’re short on time, calls are the most effective.

Thank you.

Urge your state legislators to stand up for patients!

On February 20, Alabama’s Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a medical cannabis bill — SB 165 — in an 8-1 vote. It could get a Senate floor vote as soon as this week!

Please write your state senator and state representative right now to let them know you want them to stand up for Alabama’s patients.

Alabama’s lack of medical marijuana protections is increasingly an outlier. Thirty-three states, including Florida, Louisiana, and Arkansas, allow medical cannabis, and Mississippi voters will get to decide the issue directly in November. Polling shows 75% of Alabama voters support medical cannabis.

But because Alabama doesn’t have a citizen initiative process, the only way to bring a compassionate law to the state is for state lawmakers to pass a bill.

While the Senate advanced a compassionate medical cannabis bill in 2019, the House has never voted on the issue. Let’s build a drumbeat of momentum to make 2020 the year that Alabama patients finally get relief.

Write your lawmakers today, and then spread the word to other compassionate Alabamians. To learn more about the bill, check out our summary.

I’ve got some exciting news to share!

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which has been leading a signature drive for a constitutional ballot initiative for the past year with MPP’s help, is now partnering with a new group to significantly expand their efforts.

ADOPT, led by former Republican state senator Tommy Garret who has long fought for medical marijuana, views the measure as complementary to another goal: property tax reform. The organization will soon hire a paid petition firm to assist in gathering the signatures needed to qualify before the July deadline. Read more about this exciting development in Marijuana Moment.

Thanks to the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, we’ve already seen support for medical marijuana steadily increase across the state. And now, with this new partnership, it’s more likely than ever that the initiative will qualify for the November ballot.

Now’s a great time to help this effort in Nebraska build even more momentum. Make a donation to ensure the campaign will continue to have the resources necessary to take on powerful politicians in the state who oppose medical marijuana. Let’s help Nebraskan patients and their families win the compassionate reform they deserve.

Thank you!

Take action: Send a letter and call your state senator and representative today

Backed by a new grassroots group, the Medical Marijuana Patients Coalition, Rep. Scott Slater (D), and Sen. Josh Miller (D) have introduced legislation to implement significant reforms to Rhode Island’s medical marijuana program.

The proposal would create a hardship program to reduce the cost of medical marijuana for patients who qualify as low-income. It would also dramatically reduce licensing fees for compassion centers, prohibit discrimination against patient cardholders by state agencies, and remove the ban on people with prior drug felonies from owning or operating a medical marijuana business. You can read a summary here.

The bill is based on recommendations from a report released by the MMPC in January of this year. Please support these patients and the medical marijuana reform bill by taking action and urging your legislators to support H 7621 and S 2544!

Great news! Utah residents can now apply for medical cannabis cards and safely obtain lab-tested medical cannabis.

The Utah Department of Health started accepting medical cannabis applications on Sunday — which was its deadline. Meanwhile, the first medical cannabis “pharmacy” opened its doors on Monday in Salt Lake City. Thirteen more are expected to open in the coming weeks or months.

To receive a medical cannabis card, patients must have a certification from a healthcare provider who is registered to recommend cannabis. Tutorials on the process are available on the department’s website.

Utah’s voters approved a medical cannabis initiative in November 2018. The measure was replaced by the legislature with a compromise bill that December.

In February, Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed a bill to make a number of changes, including:

• allowing flower to be dispensed in child-proof bottles, not just blister packs;
• allowing physicians to recommend to more patients; and
• changing the law to avoid criminalizing patients with cannabinoids in their system who aren’t impaired.

Many thanks to the Libertas Institute and everyone who has worked so hard to bring compassionate access to Utah and to keep improving on the program.

Send your letter to the Ohio State Medical Board.

Quick reminder: Sunday, March 1 is the last day the Ohio State Medical Board will be accepting comments regarding the possible addition of anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, and cachexia (wasting syndrome) as qualifying conditions for medical marijuana.

So far, our supporters have sent in over 800 letters! If you haven’t yet, will you send a message now?

There’s considerable evidence that patients with these conditions can benefit from medical marijuana, and many other states already allow them to qualify.

Please take a moment to let them know you support adding these conditions by emailing them at MedicalMarijuana@med.ohio.gov. Or use our email action tool, which allows you to edit a pre-written message.

Please forward this email to others so they can send a letter, too!

Thank you.

Attend your town meeting next week and speak to your representatives about their votes on S. 54!

Yesterday, in a historic 90-54 vote, the Vermont House approved the bill to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis sales. S. 54 passed in a final voice vote today, and it will now return to the Senate. Next, we expect the Senate will work with the House to resolve differences before sending a final version of the bill to Gov. Phil Scott’s desk.

Since the House did not pass S. 54 by a veto-proof majority, it’s especially important that we thank the representatives who voted in favor and speak to those who voted “no.” The legislature is off for Town Meeting next week, so that will be an ideal time for you to speak with your state legislators. Please take a moment to see how your representative(s) voted and plan to attend your town’s meeting on Tuesday, March 3!

If you’re not able to speak to your representative(s) in person, you can look them up here and either email or call them to follow up on their votes.

You can read an updated summary of the bill here.

Vermonters have already waited far too long for legal, regulated sales of cannabis. Please share this message with your family and friends!