Good news! The Montana Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee tabled the repeal-in-disguise bill, SB 443. SB 443 would ban cannabis that consumers actually want to buy — anything with over 15% THC.

Bill sponsor Sen. Greg Hertz (R) then proposed blasting the terrible bill from committee. The full Senate voted his motion down 23-27. (A 28th senator intended to vote to kill the bill, but accidentally hit the wrong button.)

While we're relieved by the outcome, it was still too close for comfort. Prohibitionists will likely continue to attempt to find a path to undermine the will of the people. It's important that senators who voted against SB 443 hear from thankful constituents and that those who voted for backdoor repeal hear voters' disappointment.

If you live in Montana, look up your state senator by typing in your address here, then see how they voted, here. Then, please give your senator a call or shoot them an email to let them know how you feel about their vote. 

Meanwhile, it appears that Sen. Hertz has abandoned his other outrageous bill, SB 255, requiring all adult-use cannabis consumers to pay $200 each year to register and be tracked by the government. It was initally scheduled for a hearing, but was later removed from the schedule.

Thank you to everyone who raised your voices to help beat back these proposals that would take Montana back to the dark days of prohibition!

The Ohio Senate General Government Committee advanced a terrible bill, SB 56, that would create a legal minefield that re-criminalizes cannabis consumers.

If you live in Ohio, let your senator know voters won't stand for this outrageous attack on their law, which is death by a thousand cuts.

Among other outrageous provisions, SB 56 would:

• re-criminalize innocuous conduct, including sharing cannabis, smoking or vaping anywhere outdoors — including your porch or backyard, and having edibles in the passenger area of your car if they were ever opened
• reduce potency limits on extracts to 70% and restricting the types of products available
• eliminate the cannabis social equity and jobs program, which includes technical and licensing assistance for those most impacted by the war on cannabis and funding for criminal justice reform such as sentencing reform, legal aid, and expungement related to marijuana
• eliminate non-discrimination protections that prevent cannabis consumers' lives from being torn apart by the responsible use of cannabis — such as by having their children taken away and being denied life-saving organ transplants and benefits they paid into

While SB 56 no longer includes a tax increase, that is because Gov. Mike DeWine is separately proposing doubling excise taxes from 10% to 20%, which would drive consumers underground and across the border to Michigan.

The amended bill also added some weak-tea expungement language, which is barely better than the status quo. It still requires petitions to be filed, and it only applies to possession of up to 2.5 ounces, which has been a minor misdemeanor since the 1970s. And of course, the same bill creates numerous new minor misdemeanors for adults sharing cannabis, "open containers," and other conduct that hurts no one.

People power killed last year's attempt to gut their law, and we can do it again. Fifty-seven percent of voters approved Issue 2, and it got majority support in 88% of Senate districts and 76% of House districts. Speak out and spread the word on social media.

Exciting news! We are thrilled to announce that the bill to eliminate the affirmative defense for unregistered patients (HB 1124) has been killed.

All three bills that were introduced this session to eliminate or chip away at the voter-initiated medical program have been defeated. While we were disheartened by the attempts made this session by lawmakers to obliterate or obstruct the medical program, we were relieved by the outcome.

Thank you to everyone who raised your voice to fight to preserve South Dakotans' medical cannabis rights!

After years of hard-fought victories to decriminalize and legalize medical and adult-use cannabis, we're now seeing a troubling surge of attempts to overturn the will of the people and roll back reforms in multiple states across the country.

Since 57% of Ohio voters approved an adult-use legalization measure in 2023, a determined group of opposition lawmakers have been working tirelessly to pass revisions that would hike sales taxes, prohibit sharing of cannabis between adults of legal age, and enact other undue restrictions on the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis. Most recently, the Ohio Senate passed an outrageous bill (SB 56) that would gut the people's cannabis freedoms. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Gov. Mike DeWine is proposing doubling cannabis excise taxes.

In Nebraska, where voters recently passed initiatives to legalize medical cannabis, there is a bill under consideration that would gut access for patients by prohibiting the use of cannabis flower or edibles as means of administering medical cannabis.

A Montana, 23 of 50 state senators are sponsoring a bill to ban the sale of basically all cannabis products consumers want — anything above 15% THC. The same sponsor proposed, but appears to have abandoned, a bill requiring folks to pay a $200 per year registration fee in order to legally purchase and possess cannabis. MPP has spoken out against implementing this outrageous requirement.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed a dramatic tax increase on cannabis — a whopping 32% wholesale tax, in addition to the 16% retail tax on adult-use cannabis that was set by the voter-approved legalization initiative.

Meanwhile, in South Dakota, three bills to chip away at — or entirely repeal — the MPP-backed 2020 medical cannabis initiative were rightfully defeated.

These are just a handful of the numerous troubling legislative developments that MPP and our allies have been monitoring and combatting nationwide. You can help prevent these attempts to roll back vital cannabis reforms by contacting your state legislators, and by responding to MPP's state action alerts that are timed to maximize the impact of your voice.

We are disappointed to announce that Governor Brad Little (R) signed the regressive marijuana bill, HB 7, into law. The new law imposes an exorbitant $300 fine as a mandatory minimum on low-level possession of marijuana. This is in addition to possible jail time and a higher fine.

Idaho has no mandatory minimum fines for misdemeanors that victimize other people, including assault and attempted strangulation.

As one of the veterans who testified against HB 7 stated, this bill will negatively impact our veterans who use marijuana, including those who use it as a less harmful alternative to opioids. Now the folks who fight for our country will be fined $300 for a plant that helps them.

This is extremely disheartening. While 24 other states have legalized and 39 states allow medical marijuana, Idaho lawmakers are making their policies more draconian and backwards.

We realize there is work to be done in Idaho. Idaho has a ballot initiative process, and we hope that voters will have an opportunity to move their state forward.

Tennessee is increasingly an outlier when it comes to cannabis policy. Two of its neighbors have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older — Virginia and Missouri. Neighboring Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi have comprehensive medical cannabis laws. Meanwhile, Tennessee remains one of only 11 states that does not have a medical cannabis program.

It's up to the legislature to reform Tennessee's outdated cannabis laws. Senator Janice Bowling (R) has sponsored SB489, which would create a comprehensive program to allow seriously ill patients to use and safely access medical cannabis.

Last year, similar legislation did not pass out of committee, but with President Trump extolling the benefits of medical cannabis, this may be the year!

Now is the time to push for this piece of legislation, as the committee process begins. If you live in Tennessee, it's crucial that lawmakers hear from you that medical cannabis policy reform is important to their constituents. 

A March 4 committee hearing has been scheduled in Colorado on a regressive bill — SB 25-076 — that would ban adults 21-24 from buying cannabis with more than 10% THC while making other changes that increase waste, drive up prices, and hamstring the industry.

SB 25-076 would:

• Limit inhaled cannabis to 500 milligrams of THC per package, making it illegal to sell even an ⅛ ounce (at 14.2% or more potency) per package and requiring consumers to purchase twice as many vape carts for the same amount of THC
• Drive up costs, and thus prices, and waste, making legal cannabis less competitive with the illicit market and hemp-derived synthetic cannabinoids
• Prohibit adults 21-24 from buying cannabis with over 10% THC, driving 90% of sales to young adults to the much riskier illicit market

If you live in Colorado, ask your lawmakers to defeat this regressive bill.

To go the extra mile, you can testify in person, in writing, or remotely.

What: Senate Business, Labor, and Technology hearing on SB 25-076
When: Tuesday, March 4, 2:00 p.m.
Where: Old Supreme Court Chamber, 200 E. Colfax Ave. Denver, CO 80203 — or online.

Driving 21-24-year-olds to the illicit and hemp-derived synthetic THC market is a terrible move for health and safety. Recently, a smoke shop's THC products were found laced with fentanyl. And in 2019, illicit THC vapes were found to have an unsafe additive that caused lung injury and death.

Meanwhile, state-legal cannabis businesses are already struggling to compete with the illicit and hemp-derived synthetics markets, which don't have to pay excise taxes or comply with costly lab and regulatory costs. The bill would kill jobs and jeopardize small businesses, driving sales underground. 

Marijuana decriminalization and legalization bills in West Virginia have been filed by Senator Mike Woelfl this session! We are thrilled the Mountain State has the opportunity to evolve on cannabis laws, as many of its neighboring states have.

The decriminalization bill, SB 219, would:

• Reduce the penalty for possession of under 15 grams to a fine of no more than $25, removing the possibility of jail time
• Downgrade the offense from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil violation

The legalization bill, SJR3, would refer a state constitutional amendment to voters that — if approved — would:

• Allows adults 21 years of age and older to legally possess no more than two ounces of cannabis and four plants
• Provide that any prior convictions for possession of two ounces or less of cannabis will be dismissed and/or expunged

If you live in West Virginia, ask your legislator to support these efforts to change the cannabis regulatory landscape!

In 2023, the FBI Uniform Crime Report found 1,854 adult arrests in West Virginia for simple marijuana possession (with 86% of agencies reporting).

West Virginia is the fourth worst state for racial disparities in marijuana arrests — Black people are 7.3 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people in the state, despite similar use rates.

It's time for West Virginia to catch up with Ohio, Maryland, and Virginia — and to give voters a chance to end the war on cannabis.

Included in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal was language to remove the ban on giving law enforcement probable cause to search vehicles based solely upon the odor of cannabis. This prohibition on searches based on odor was a key part of New York’s 2021 legalization law.

Although New York decriminalized cannabis back in 1977, New York City police largely ignored the law and made the city the marijuana arrest capital of the world for years — with Black and Latino people disproportionately targeted. Removing the ban on searches based on the real or feigned smell of cannabis will turn back the clock and open the door on intrusive and racially discriminatory enforcement.

If you live in New York, let your lawmakers know no one should be presumed to be a criminal and be subject to a search for legal activity. People who work in cannabis cultivation and processing often smell like cannabis when they get off work. Just say NO to searches based solely on the smell of cannabis!

Georgia is increasingly an outlier when it comes to cannabis policy. It is one of only 19 states that continues to jail cannabis consumers, and Georgia's low-THC medical cannabis program is so limited MPP does not count it as a "medical cannabis state."

That could change this year! A bipartisan group of legislators have submitted HB440 – the PEACH (Providing Effective Access to Cannabis for Health) Act. This legislation would allow all forms of medical cannabis, including flower, instead of limiting it to oils. HB 440 also adds some qualifying ailments, and removes the language on many ailments that only qualify at severe or end stage situations. In addition, it offers reciprocity for out-of- state patients.

If you live in Georgia, urge your legislators to support expanding access for medical cannabis patients!

The legislature session began in January for a two-year legislative cycle. Last year Georgia lawmakers proposed a bill to create a functional medical cannabis program, but the bill failed to make it out of committee.