Tell your elected officials to support reforming West Virginia’s outdated cannabis policies!

West Virginia’s 2020 legislative session is underway, and several cannabis-related bills have been introduced, including bills to improve the medical cannabis law, to decriminalize possession, and to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for adults’ use.

It is unlikely that a legalization bill will be seriously considered in 2020, but there appears to be a much better chance that legislators will support improving the medical cannabis program. West Virginians have been waiting far too long for safe, legal access to medical cannabis, so it’s encouraging to see that bipartisan leaders in the Senate — Majority Leader Tom Takubo (R-Charleston) and Senator Ron Stollings (D-Madison) — have introduced SB 752, a bill that would allow patients to grow their own cannabis until an adequate supply can be established through the dispensaries.

Please contact your elected officials and urge them to support SB 752!

SB 752 would allow patients and caregivers to apply for “compassion certificates,” which would temporarily authorize them to possess up to 12 mature plants and 12 seedlings per patient. The bill would also make other beneficial changes, such as eliminating the restriction on selling cannabis flower at dispensaries and permitting regulators to enter reciprocity agreements with other states.

After you write your legislators and follow up with a phone call, please forward this message to your family and friends!

Email your lawmakers in support of decriminalization today!

Virginia is very close to becoming the 27th state to decriminalize marijuana!

This week, both chambers of the General Assembly passed similar decriminalization bills. Now, the legislature will have to reconcile the differences in the two bills before a final bill heads to Gov. Ralph Northam's desk. Gov. Northam — who has made decriminalization a top priority in 2020 — is likely to sign the bill into law.

Make sure you let your lawmakers know you want 2020 to be the year Virginia stops criminalizing residents for simple marijuana possession!

The Senate decriminalization bill, SB 2, cleared the Senate yesterday (27-13). The bill would make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana punishable by a $50 civil fine and increase the threshold for charges for sales and possession with intent to distribute from half an ounce to one ounce.

Meanwhile, the House version, which was approved by the House (64-34), would make simple possession a civil penalty punishable by a $25 fine and allow criminal records for marijuana possession to be sealed.

The move to decriminalize marijuana in Virginia is long overdue. Under current law, marijuana possession is a criminal offense punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or up to a $500 fine.

Help seal the fate of decriminalization in 2020 by contacting your lawmakers today. Then, share this message with your friends and family in Virginia and encourage them to do the same.

Ask your state lawmakers to support SB 115 to legalize cannabis for adult use!

With just eight days left in 2020’s short legislative session, the New Mexico Legislature is considering SB 115, which would legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis for adults.

Last year, the House approved a legalization bill, but it was defeated in the Senate Finance Committee. Make sure SB 115 doesn’t meet a similar fate: Please take a moment to email your state senator and representative and ask them to support SB 115!

The Senate Public Affairs Committee approved the bill (4-3), and it must now clear both the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Finance Committee before heading to the Senate floor.

SB 115 would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of cannabis flower and purchase cannabis products from licensed retailers. The bill also provides for automatic expungements of past cannabis convictions.

Although Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) supports legalization and has included it in her 2020 legislative agenda, SB 115 must clear the legislature to make it to her desk. Keep the pressure up by contacting your lawmakers and asking them to support SB 115!

It is past time the Land of Enchantment end cannabis prohibition and replace it with sensible regulation. A poll commissioned by the governor-appointed marijuana working group found that three out of four voters in the state support legalizing cannabis for adult use.

After you email your legislators, please forward this message to your friends and family in New Mexico and encourage them to do the same.

Write your legislators and sign up for MRMR’s February 18 lobby day!

Lawmakers convened in Saint Paul today for the first day of their 2020 legislative session. It’s the perfect time to let your legislators know you want them to help end the disastrous war on marijuana.

Help create a groundswell of support:

1. Write your lawmakers. You can use our free software to email your legislators in support of replacing marijuana prohibition with legalization and regulation for adults 21 and older.

2. Join our allies’ lobby day. Register here to join Minnesotans for Responsible Marijuana Regulation’s lobby day. It’s next Tuesday, February 18 from 12:30 - 4:00 p.m.

3. Spread the word. Forward this email or share the links on social media.

In nine of the 11 states that legalized marijuana, voters did so directly. But Minnesota doesn’t have a citizen initiative process. In The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, only the legislature can change state law — or place a measure on the ballot to do so.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D) recently outlined principles for his cannabis legalization bill, which he aims to shepherd through the House this year. While his leadership and “Be Heard on Cannabis” tour gives the issue’s prospects a boost, Minnesota has long, arduous committee process. It’ll take all hands on deck to make sure the bill makes it through the House.

So, please, let your legislators know voters want them to end the failed war on marijuana and replace it with thoughtful regulation. Then, sign up for MRMR’s lobby day and spread the word.

With the majority of Americans now supporting marijuana legalization, and with legalization being a key component of broader criminal justice reform — a top issue among voters — primary constituents want to hear where candidates stand on our issue.

As MPP’s director of federal policies, I am currently on the ground for primary week in New Hampshire, attending campaign events and town halls all over the state and relentlessly pursuing the Democratic presidential hopefuls concerning their positions on cannabis.

From Claremont to Nashua, I am engaging with the candidates and working to raise the profile of marijuana policy reform in the presidential election. It’s important that we hold candidates accountable for their positions, and last week, I recorded a short conversation with Joe Biden in which the former vice president appeared to shift from his typical opposition to fully legalizing marijuana.

"I think it is at the point where it has to be, basically, legalized," Biden said in the recording, though it’s unclear whether the former vice president’s position on marijuana legalization has officially changed. You can hear the whole exchange, featured on Politico, here.

Although it sounded like Biden was on the verge of endorsing legalization (as all the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have, Bloomberg excepted), he failed to clarify his position and ultimately, only made it more unclear. As I told Marijuana Moment, “it turned out to be a big nothing.”

At the conclusion of our taped dialogue, however, I urged Biden to raise the issue with the American electorate, discuss it on the debate stage, and address the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.

These on-the-ground efforts are just one of the ways MPP is working to drive the conversation on federal marijuana policy, both nationally and locally. Help us continue these kinds of exchanges and keep injecting marijuana policy reform into the discussion by making a donation today.

— Don Murphy, Director of Federal Policies

Urge your representatives to support S. 54!

The Vermont Ways and Means Committee approved S. 54 this week in an 8-3 vote. The bill to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis sales appears likely to receive a vote in the full House within the next couple of weeks.

Please contact your representatives now and ask for their support!

The House has amended the bill, including by changing the tax rate to a flat 20% (in the Senate’s version, it’s 16% plus a 2% local option tax), but none of the changes are final. Assuming the bill passes the House, it will proceed to a conference committee, where members of the House and Senate will work to resolve their differences and agree on a single version of the bill to send to Gov. Phil Scott’s desk.

You can read an updated summary of the bill here.

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

Focus returns to the House legalization bill and Gov. Chris Sununu — Email your legislators and call the governor!

Yesterday morning, the medical cannabis home cultivation bill (SB 420) passed the Senate in a voice vote. Next, it will proceed to the House, which has passed similar bills by overwhelming margins. Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed a similar bill in 2019, and the Senate was three votes short of overriding his veto, so either the governor or three senators will need to change their positions if the bill is to become law this year.

While we wait for the House to schedule a hearing on SB 420, we will resume focus on HB 1648, the adult-use legalization bill that is pending in the House. Yesterday’s House session was cancelled because of snow, so the vote is currently expected on February 19 or 20.

Please email your elected officials and call Gov. Sununu today!

We are running a Facebook ad to promote the bill to the general public.

Please donate to help us reach more Granite Staters with our message of support for HB 1648!

Support the 2020 adult-use legalization ballot campaign!

It’s not an exaggeration to say that 2020 could be a game-changer for our movement. With voter referendum efforts in several conservative states underway, a serious campaign in South Dakota has already qualified an adult-use legalization initiative for the 2020 ballot, which will appear alongside a separate medical marijuana proposal. MPP staff are playing a central role in guiding the campaign, and we know that with sufficient resources to fight back against the opposition, the measure has a great shot at becoming law.

South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws is the committee leading the charge, and they need your help right now.

Imagine the nation seeing marijuana prohibition defeated on the ballot in a right-leaning, rural state like South Dakota. A victory like this would force Congress and both major parties to accept that the political will and public consensus around marijuana legalization is undeniable.

Of course, legalizing and regulating marijuana would also benefit the people of South Dakota by establishing a well-regulated marijuana market, creating new jobs, and generating tax revenue for important programs.

But none that will happen if we don’t support the campaign now. Prohibitionists will fight with everything they have to stop this, so get involved and contribute what you can.

Ask your lawmakers to replace marijuana prohibition with sensible, equitable regulation.

Today is the opening day of the Connecticut General Assembly. While last year’s efforts to end marijuana prohibition fell short, 2020 promises to be our best chance yet.

During Gov. Ned Lamont’s State of the State address this afternoon, he remarked, “We just marked the 100th anniversary of prohibition. How did that work out?”

He called for a coordinated regional approach to marijuana regulation to protect public heath and to “right the wrongs of a war on drugs that has disproportionately impacted our minority communities.” His budget includes new staff to prepare for legal sales in 2022.

Senate Democrats included legalization in their list of 2020 priorities, with Senate President Martin Looney saying, “We know there are very large numbers of Connecticut residents already traveling regularly to Massachusetts to buy this product... I don’t think we want to put our heads in the sand.”

Meanwhile, a recent poll found 65% of Connecticuters support legalization.

We’re ramping up our campaign. The Marijuana Policy Project hired attorney DeVaughn Ward, who will serve as co-chair of the coalition. During his years practicing law at his Hartford-based firm, he routinely represented clients who had their constitutional rights violated. Last year, DeVaughn was recognized as one of the “New Leaders in The Law” by the Connecticut Law Tribune.

But we can’t pass legalization without your support. Please write to your lawmakers today.

We also need your help to volunteer, write letters to the editor, and show up at the capitol at critical moments in the coming weeks. Please follow this link to sign up today!

We will be in touch soon to keep you in the loop on what’s happening at the capitol. This is our moment, and we need you now more than ever!

Ask your lawmakers to support HB 550.

Although Maryland decriminalized simple possession of marijuana back in 2014, thousands of Marylanders continue to have their lives derailed by possession arrests. With your help, that could change this year: Delegate Nick Mosby (D) has proposed a bill to stop many of these arrests by increasing the decriminalized amount from 10 grams to one ounce.

Email your lawmakers today and ask them to support HB 550!

The bill — HB 550 — is scheduled for a House Judiciary Committee hearing next Tuesday. You can voice your support for this important reform by testifying in person or submitting written testimony.

What: Hearing on the decrim fix bill, HB 550

When: Tuesday, February 11, 1:00 p.m. (Note that other bills are also scheduled during this committee meeting, so there could be a significant wait before the bill is called.)

Where: House Office Building, Room 101, 6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD

You can find guidelines on providing testimony here. If you provide oral testimony, you will be limited to three minutes. Please be polite and respectful and dress in business or business-casual attire.

Under HB 550, possession of up to an ounce would be punishable by a civil fine of $100 rather than a criminal penalty that carries possible jail time. Also, a person could no longer be charged with possession with intent to distribute based solely on possession of an ounce or less.

HB 550 would reduce the number of arrests and criminal charges for marijuana possession. Arrests for simple possession can be traumatic, and a criminal conviction can hinder one’s ability to obtain a job, housing, or a college education.

Please take a minute to email your lawmakers and ask them to support HB 550, and consider showing your support at next week’s hearing. Then, forward this message to your friends and family in Maryland and encourage them to do the same.