All four of the medical marijuana initiatives being considered by states on Election Night were approved by voters, adding to the considerable momentum of marijuana policy reform sweeping the country. Voters in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota approved initiatives for new medical marijuana programs, and Montana voted to significantly expand access and improve its existing program.

As of now, there are effective medical marijuana laws on the books in 28 states and the District of Columbia, covering 198 million Americans (or roughly 62% of the population). Patients in states without legal, safe, and reliable access to medical marijuana should continue to put pressure on their elected representatives to pass sensible reforms at the state and federal level. Together, we can make sure the seriously ill aren't treated like criminals for much longer.

Voters in four Ohio towns adopted sensible measures on Election Day by removing all penalties for the possession of 200 grams or less of marijuana under local ordinance. Bellaire, Logan, Newark, and Roseville each adopted similar ballot measures. Voters in Byesville did not adopt their proposal.

MPP applauds the hard work that went into giving local residents the chance to have a say, and congratulates Bellaire, Logan, Newark, and Roseville for moving marijuana policy forward. Great work!

Yesterday, a staggering 64% of North Dakota voters approved Measure 5, a compassionate medical marijuana initiative.

Check out MPP’s summary of the measure.

This is the second time Montana’s voters moved marijuana policy forward. In 2004, Montana became the tenth state to adopt a medical marijuana measure. In 2011, lawmakers replaced it with an intentionally unworkable system. Thankfully, voters yesterday weighed in and restored patients’ medical cannabis access.

The I-182 win not only rolls back those harmful provisions, it creates important new protections. Medical marijuana can be tested, regulators can issue licenses for businesses and inspect them, and workers also gain critical protections.

Today is the day! This is the biggest election in marijuana policy reform history, but even if you can't vote on a legalization or medical marijuana ballot initiative today, you could play an important part to make future progress possible in your state.

Before you vote, please check out MPP's voter guides if you live in the following places:

Delaware

District of Columbia

Illinois

Nebraska

New Hampshire

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Vermont

And don't forget to tell your friends in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota to vote YES on their respective marijuana initiatives!

The first bill, HB 2835, allows adults to use low-THC cannabis oil (minors were already covered by existing law), and added “spasticity due to multiple sclerosis or due to paraplegia, intractable nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation with chronic wasting diseases” to the list of qualifying conditions, in addition to severe epilepsy. The governor signed this bill on May 13, 2016. While this is a step forward, Oklahoma law does not include a source for in-state access to low-THC cannabis, and leaves most patients behind. 

The second bill, HB 2397, increases the availability of expungement, for example by allowing the expungement of misdemeanors where the sentence was simply a fine of $500 or less.

HB 2479 also took effect Monday. It reduces the sentence for a second marijuana possession conviction by half, from a two-year mandatory minimum to a one-year mandatory minimum sentence of incarceration.

In other news, although signatures were not submitted in time for this year’s ballot, a medical marijuana provision has qualified to be on a future Oklahoma ballot. The campaign is embroiled in a lawsuit with Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a foe of marijuana policy reform, over his rewriting of the ballot summary.

Alaska reached yet another historic milestone on Saturday, October 29, when the state’s first marijuana retailer opened in Valdez. This week, Fairbanks’ first marijuana stores open, while Anchorage’s first store is expected to open in early November.

So far, the Marijuana Control Board has approved 48 marijuana retail business applications. Many other retail business applications remain under consideration, and the review process continues. For specifics on the state program, including a calendar with important benchmarks, frequently asked questions, the most recently proposed cannabis café regulations, and training videos for applicants, click here.

Under the proposed rules, application and licensing fees for the first 24 months would go from $12,000 to over $2.25 million! While the Texas Department of Public Safety has presented a sensible approach to regulations until now, this shocking increase is simply unknown in any other medical marijuana state. The program, already limited to low-THC cannabis for seizure patients, simply couldn’t sustain its own burdensome costs. Critically, even if it could operate, patients could not afford the medical marijuana such an over-burdened system would produce.

In addition, cultivators would also be required to comply with federal laws related to interstate transport, despite the fact that all medical marijuana is federally illegal.

State bureaucrats should not be allowed to deny access to medical marijuana to patients they are supposed to help. If you are a Texas resident, please contact your lawmakers and other public officials and tell them not to support this outrageous fee.