Urge your senator to support HB 629!

Cannabis legalization is being considered in the Senate this week! Earlier this year, the House passed HB 629 — legislation to legalize possession and limited home cultivation of cannabis for adults 21 and older.

Now, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 629 this Thursday (April 7) beginning at 9 a.m. You can indicate your support for this important legislation and testify in support on Thursday.

If you’re able to visit the State House in person, the hearing will take place in Room 100. There will be a sign-in sheet where you can indicate your position on the bill and (optionally) sign up to testify.

If you’re signing in remotely, here are the steps:

1. Visit this page and select Thursday, April 7 on the calendar.
2. For “Select the Committee,” choose “Senate Judiciary” from the drop-down box.
3. Under “Choose the Bill,” select “9:00 am - HB 629.”
4. For “I am,” select “a member of the public” representing “myself.”
5. Click the bubble to indicate your position on the bill and submit the form.
6. Enter your name, email, and town on the next page and click “continue” to complete the process.

Please email your senator in support of HB 629 ahead of Thursdays hearing! You can check out our summary of the bill here.

In other news, a separate poison pill legalization bill, HB 1598, passed the House last week by a margin of 169-155. It has not yet been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate. The bill would only allow state-run stores to distribute cannabis, which is preempted by federal law. If you agree that HB 1598 is the wrong way to legalize, you can send your senator a message here.

Thanks for your commitment to sensible cannabis policy! After you email your senator today, please forward this message to your networks and encourage them to do the same.

Call Governor Hogan today and ask that he sign HB 837!

It’s been a busy week for cannabis policy reform in Annapolis! The legislature has approved HB 1 — which will refer the question of legalization to voters on the November ballot. Marylanders have long supported legalizing cannabis for adults, and this fall they will have the opportunity to weigh in to end cannabis prohibition in the Free State.

The legislature also approved HB 837 — legislation that would take effect if voters approve legalization. HB 837 would allow residents 21 and older to legally possess up to 1.5 ounces and cultivate up to two plants beginning July 1, 2023. The bills also include limited expungement, funding for minority- and women-owned businesses, and a community reinvestment and repair fund — that would be contingent on voter approval of HB 1.

You can check out our summary of the bills here.

The companion legislation now heads to Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk, where he can sign it into law, let it became law without his signature, or veto the legislation. Call the governor now and ask that he sign HB 837 into law!

Encouragingly, the bills passed with a veto-proof majority (92-37 in the House and 30-15 in the Senate). If the governor vetoed HB 837, there should still be time left in session for the legislature to override a veto before they adjourn on April 11.

Ask Gov. Hogan to stand with the majority of Marylanders and sign HB 837 into law!

Thank you to everyone who helped achieve this historic victory today! Maryland has taken a big step to finally end cannabis prohibition.

Bills that will allow reciprocity for out-of-state medical patients and medical paraphernalia to be heard next week!

Two bills will be heard in the House Committee Administration of Criminal Justice on Wednesday, April 6. Both bills are very important to making our medical program just and functional.

HB 137 would provide protection from prosecution for visiting qualified medical patients. Our family members and the millions of tourists who visit our state every year undoubtedly include tens of thousands of medical patients. They should not face criminal prosecution in the Pelican State for the use of their medicine. You can support visiting medical patients here.

HB 775 would remove paraphernalia used for therapeutic reasons from the definition of drug paraphernalia. Last year, the legislature legalized cannabis in its natural form and patients need not fear prosecution for items used to administer that cannabis. Let your legislators know that patients need access to methods of delivery for their medical cannabis.

Despite our best efforts and those of our allies, HB 700, which increases penalties for small amounts of cannabis for people under 18, last week was passed favorably (11-3) to the House for consideration. On Tuesday, April 5, the bill will get a vote in the House. You can let your legislators know you do not support incarceration for cannabis possession for any Louisianan.

Now is the time to engage your legislators. As the session kicks into high gear, they need to hear from constituents. Pressure from constituents is the best method to get your legislators to support cannabis reform in Louisiana.

We will alert you this session as cannabis bills continue to be heard in the legislature. You can view a synopsis of pending legislation here. Be sure to share this with your friends and families in Louisiana!

Exciting news! Adult-use cannabis sales begin today in the Land of Enchantment. New Mexicans 21 and older are now able to begin making retail purchases of cannabis.

Last year, New Mexico became the 18th state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the fifth to do so through the legislative process rather than by voter initiative. Today’s launch of adult-use sales comes exactly 366 days after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the Cannabis Regulation Act into law.

The law officially went into effect on June 29, 2021. Adults can legally possess up to two ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to six mature plants. You can read a summary of the law, which was HB 2, here.

According to Victor Reyes, Deputy Director of the state’s Cannabis Control Division, the agency has already issued nearly 100 licenses for cannabis producers, manufacturers, and retailers. Reyes did admit that, due to backlog, there is a potential that some retailers will still not be ready to sell come April 1.

For more information on the adult-use cannabis program in New Mexico, check out the Cannabis Control Division’s website.

Stay tuned for future updates as the program continues to roll out, and thank you to everyone who made this historic day possible!

Ask your senator to make sure legalization passes the finish line this year!

Earlier today, the Senate Finance Committee approved HB 1 (7-4), which would allow voters to decide whether to legalize cannabis for adults’ use in November 2022. And, earlier this week, both the Senate Finance and Senate Budget and Taxation Committees approved HB 837/SB 833 — twin bills that would take effect if voters approve legalization.

All three bills could get a vote on the Senate floor as early as tomorrow morning! Send a message to your senator now and ask them to support legalizing cannabis this year.

HB 837/SB 833 include details for initial steps for legalization — such as possession and home cultivation limits, limited expungement, and funding for minority- and women-owned businesses — that would be contingent on voter approval of HB 1. SB 833 originally went further to set up a regulatory structure for adult-use legalization, but it was amended to mirror HB 837 in committee.

The Senate Finance Committee amended the bills to include several changes from the House-passed version, including adding a community reinvestment and repair fund and ensuring a disparity study is complete before issuing adult-use license applications. Unfortunately, the bill was also amended to increase the fine for public smoking from up to $50 for a first offense and up to $150 for a second offense to up to $250 for a first offense and up to $500 for a second offense.

You can check out our summary of the bills, as amended, here.

The clock is ticking to ensure legalization crosses the finish line this legislative session! Session is set to adjourn on April 11. Because this is an election year, lawmakers will have the opportunity to override vetoes by Gov. Hogan (R) only if the bills reach his desk by the end of this week. Encouragingly, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) has said he expects disagreements between the two chambers on the legislation to be resolved by then.

To help ensure this is the year Maryland moves forward with legalization, email your senator today. Then, forward this message to your friends and family in the state and encourage them to do the same.

Urge your U.S. representative to vote in favor of ending federal cannabis prohibition!

Tomorrow, the U.S. House of Representatives will once again vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would end the federal prohibition of cannabis and create important protections for individuals, the emerging cannabis industry, and those harmed by prohibition policies.

Please send a quick email to your representative NOW in support of this important legislation!

Sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and 114 cosponsors, the MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and end criminal penalties under federal law; require federal courts to expunge prior cannabis-related convictions and provide for resentencing; provide grants and funding to communities most harmed by the war on cannabis; lift barriers to licensing and employment in the cannabis industry; protect immigrants from being denied citizenship over cannabis; and allow VA physicians to recommend medical cannabis to veterans. A summary of the bill’s key provisions can be found here. 

The House previously passed the measure (228-164) in December 2020, but it was not considered by the Senate.  

With this House floor vote, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have the opportunity and responsibility to come together to pass this crucial piece of legislation. The prohibition and criminalization of cannabis has led to decades of injustice and devastating consequences, particularly in Black, Latino, and low-income communities, and it’s clear that a strong majority of Americans do not support the status quo. It is past time for Congress to listen to the American people and take real action towards ending the war on cannabis and advancing serious criminal justice reform.

Please urge your U.S. representative to support MORE, and then share the link to take action far and wide. We’ll continue to keep you updated on the progress of the MORE Act and other federal cannabis reforms.

You can urge your state reps to vote “no” here.

Last week, New Hampshire’s bill to legalize cannabis possession for adults and create a state-run monopoly narrowly passed out of the Ways & Means Committee (12-10). Now, it’s headed to the House floor again. While the committee made some amendments to the bill, it did not address our biggest concerns — HB 1598 would continue to re-criminalize edibles, and it doesn’t even include a Plan B in the likely event that state-run stores fail to get up and running.

States can license and regulate private cannabis businesses, but they cannot direct their own workers to break federal law by selling cannabis. Doing so creates a “direct and positive conflict” and is preempted.

As an organization committed to legalization, it feels odd to oppose a legalization bill. But New Hampshire has several other bills pending that would actually work, and the House already passed one to legalize possession and cultivation earlier this year (HB 629).

We know that cannabis policy reform has a long history of failed attempts, whether by accident or by design. In the 1970s, 1980s, and even in the past decade, dozens of states passed medical cannabis bills that failed to become operational because they weren’t written in a way that considered federal policy. These approaches create false hope and delayed progress on workable bills. We don’t want to see the same thing happen with legalization.

If you agree that HB 1598 is the wrong way to legalize, you can send your state representatives a message here.

You can also check out our updated summary of the bill here, and our testimony on the bill here.

Thanks for your commitment to sensible cannabis policy! Stay tuned for updates.

Over 20 cannabis bills filed, but first we need to defeat one flawed bill!

Louisiana’s 2022 legislative session has convened and it will be an exciting one for cannabis policy reform. 

More than 20 cannabis-related bills have been introduced, including bills to legalize cannabis, expunge records, free some cannabis prisoners, prevent the smell of cannabis from being used for a warrantless search, and to expand the number of therapeutic cannabis pharmacies and cultivators. You can view our synopsis of the pending legislation here.

We need your help to defeat a fast-tracked bill to re-criminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis for people under the age of 18. HB 700 has already passed out of committee and is headed to the House floor. Let your legislators know young people should not be incarcerated for cannabis possession!

Community service or drug education would be a much more appropriate penalty. Now is the time to engage your legislators to stop this legislation in its tracks before it opens our youth to the dangers of incarceration in our state.

Stay tuned for updates as the other bills begin to be taken up, so that you can raise your voice for sensible cannabis policies. Be sure to share this with your friends and families in Louisiana!

Ask your senator to support cannabis legalization this year!

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on HB 1 and HB 837 — a pair of bills that would allow voters to decide whether to legalize cannabis for adults’ use in November 2022. The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. and will be available to view online here. 

HB 1, the bill to refer the question of cannabis legalization for adults’ use to Maryland voters on the November 2022 ballot, already passed the House in a vote of 96-34. HB 837, the companion bill that would be contingent on voter approval of HB 1, passed the House in a vote of 92-37.

Please email your senator ahead of tomorrow’s hearing and urge them to support legalizing cannabis this year!

HB 837 includes details for initial steps of cannabis legalization, such as possession limits, limited expungement, and funding for minority- and women-owned businesses. It does not set up a licensing or regulatory system, and simple possession and limited home cultivation would not become legal until July 2023. You can check out our summary of HB 837 here and suggestions to improve the legislation here.

If you are interested in providing written testimony for the bills at the hearing tomorrow, you can submit written testimony between 4 p.m. today and 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Here you can find full instructions on how to submit written testimony. Oral testimony at the hearing will be sponsor-only and led by HB 1 and HB 837 sponsor and House Judiciary Chair Luke Clippinger.

We’re in the final stretch, as the legislative session is set to adjourn on April 11. Help ensure cannabis legalization crosses the finish line this year by reaching out to your senators today and raising your voice in written testimony at the hearing tomorrow.

Please share this message with Marylanders in your networks and encourage them to do the same!

Now is the time to let your senator know you support medical cannabis!

Good news! The Kentucky House of Representatives passed HB 136 — a comprehensive medical cannabis bill — yesterday, with a vote of 59-34. First, a House floor amendment added PTSD to the covered conditions.

It is crucial that you make your voice heard to your senator TODAY. Please call and email your state senator to let them know you want medical cannabis to get past the finish line this year!

The House passed medical cannabis in 2020, too, but the issue has never received a Senate floor vote. Let’s build a groundswell of support, so that can finally change.

State Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer has stated that he will not get “in the way” of a medical cannabis bill if it has sufficient Republican support for a vote in the Senate. HB 136 is a solid bipartisan bill, sponsored by Rep. Jason Nemes (R), who has been a champion for medical cannabis for years.

The legislative session is scheduled to adjourn on April 14, so time is very short.

Please call and email your state senator, then help spread the word on this historic bill by forwarding this message to your friends and family in Kentucky!