Exciting news! On December 8, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved 30 additional medical cannabis business licenses. Since 2019, the 30 licenses had been frozen by a court order that lifted earlier this year. The CRC said the approval would double the number of medical dispensaries in the Garden State.
Also, on November 9, the CRC issued the Notice of Application for adult-use cannabis business licenses. The notice specifies eligibility requirements, the prioritization process, application requirements, scoring measures, the approval process, and denial determinations for adult-use applicants. The applications will be reviewed as they are received on a continuous rolling basis, with Social Equity, Impact Zone, and Diversely Owned Businesses receiving priority.
License applications will be accepted for cultivation, manufacturers, and testing laboratories starting December 15, and retailers starting on March 15, 2022.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the cannabis market in New Jersey progresses.
- Take Action: Urge your state legislators to support a compassionate medical cannabis program!
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NJ issues 30 new medical licenses, plans to begin accepting adult-use applications on December 15!
New Mexico’s legalization law goes into effect today!
Back in April, New Mexico became the 18th state to legalize adult-use cannabis. Today, the new legalization law officially goes into effect.
Adults may now legally possess up to two ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to six mature plants. Cannabis sales will begin no later than April 2022. You can check out our full summary of the law here.
New Mexico was one of four states to legalize cannabis legislatively this year, with the total of adult-use legalization states now reaching 19.
Thank you to the lawmakers and advocates who worked tirelessly to end cannabis prohibition in the Land of Enchantment. It has truly been a historical year for cannabis policy reform!
N.M.: House and Senate pass legalization bill!
Yesterday, the New Mexico House and Senate passed a bill to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for adults 21 and older during a special session called for that purpose by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. When she signs the bill, New Mexico will become the 17th state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the fourth to do so through the legislative process rather than by voter initiative.
You can read a summary of the final bill, HB 2, here.
Thanks to all who contacted their legislators and urged them to support this important reform!
In addition to legalizing personal possession of at least two ounces of cannabis, HB 2 will also allow home cultivation of six mature plants. A companion bill — SB 2 — would provide for automatic expungement.
Congratulations to all of the lawmakers and advocates who made this victory possible, including our allies at the Drug Policy Alliance.
Please share this excellent news with your family and friends!
Ct.: Deadline to sign up to testify for Gov. Lamont’s legalization bill is today at 3 p.m.
Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.
The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Gov. Lamont’s bill S.B. 888 – An Act Responsibly and Equitably Regulating Adult-Use Cannabis, tomorrow, Friday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. You can watch the hearing on YouTube Live.
If you’d like to testify, the deadline to sign up is today (Thursday) at 3:00 p.m. To testify by Zoom, sign up using this On-line Testimony Registration Form. If you’d like to testify in writing, please email it in Word or PDF format to Judtestimony@cga.ct.gov by 3:00 p.m. today.
MPP will implore the committee to advance the bill, but to first make revisions to make it stronger and more explicit on equity. Here are some tips for testifying that I encourage you to review. Also, feel free to check out our summary of the bill here.
Speakers are limited to three minutes. The first hour of the hearing will be reserved for comments from state and local officials. The rest of the speaking order will be randomized and will be posted on the Judiciary Committee website tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. under Public Hearing Testimony.
All witnesses should clearly state their name and the bill number (S.B. 888). The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to have their oral testimony be a condensed summary.
Please spread the word, and be sure to write your legislators urging them to support legislation to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults in the 2021 session.
Ct.: Judiciary Committee sets public hearing for Gov. Lamont’s 2021 legalization bill
Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.
The Judiciary Committee recently announced that the public hearing for S.B. 888 – An Act Responsibly and Equitably Regulating Adult-Use Cannabis – is scheduled for Friday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m.
The public hearing can be viewed via YouTube Live. In addition, the public hearing may be recorded and broadcast live on CT-N.com.
If you wish to testify, you must register using the Online Testimony Registration Form. Registration will close on February 25 at 3:00 p.m. Speaker order of approved registrants will be listed in a randomized order and posted on the Judiciary Committee website on February 26 at 8:00 a.m. under Public Hearing Testimony. If you do not have internet access, you may provide testimony via telephone. To register to testify by phone, call the Phone Registrant Line at (860) 240-5255 to leave your contact information. Please email written testimony in Word or PDF format to Judtestimony@cga.ct.gov.
Testimony should clearly state testifier name and related bill number. The first hour of the hearing will be limited to constitutional officers, state agency heads, and chief elected municipal officials. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony. The committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to condense oral testimony to a summary of that statement. All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information. As such, it will be made available on the CGA website and indexed by internet search engines.
MPP will be imploring the committee to advance the bill, but to first make revisions to make it stronger and more explicit on equity. We’ll post some tips for testifying shortly. In the meantime, feel free to check out our summary of the bill here, and be sure to write your legislators urging them to support legislation to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults in the 2021 session.
Vermont Gov. Scott will not veto bill to legalize and regulate cannabis sales!
Automatic expungement bill signed; cannabis prohibition will soon be history in Vermont, which becomes the 11th state to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis
On October 7, 2020, Gov. Phil Scott announced that he will allow S. 54, the bill to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis sales, to become law without his signature. This means we can all finally breathe a sigh of relief and begin to celebrate the end of cannabis prohibition in Vermont!
Although much work remains before Vermont can establish a responsible, equitable market for cannabis, the governor’s decision represents a huge step forward for the state. Instead of being forced to start over with a whole new bill in 2021, Vermont will soon begin creating a Cannabis Control Board that will license businesses and regulate the sale of both medical and adult-use cannabis.
The governor’s statement on S. 54 is available here.
For more information on the details of Vermont’s new cannabis regulation law, here is a summary.
Gov. Scott did sign another important cannabis policy reform bill. S. 234, which will automatically expunge records for past misdemeanor cannabis offenses and decriminalize amounts modestly in excess of the possession limit.
We’re especially grateful to the many legislative leaders who have championed this policy, to Laura Subin for her tireless efforts leading this coalition, and to our outstanding lobbyists at the Necrason Group for all their efforts.
And we’re also very grateful to all of you who made calls, sent emails, and spread the word about the importance of ending cannabis prohibition in Vermont. Your advocacy, donations, and commitment to the cause make the work that we do possible. But this isn’t the end of the road—there is more work to be done. Help MPP keep up the momentum by chipping in today.
A number of states have enacted cannabis legalization through ballot measures. But so far, only Illinois -- where MPP also played a central role -- and now Vermont have fully legalized cannabis via the legislative process. In the coming year, as many as 10 other states are expected to seriously consider ending cannabis prohibition via their legislatures.
That’s why your support is so important. Together, we’ve built the momentum that will help us continue this fight in states across the country and on Capitol Hill. Even at this very moment, Congress is considering legislation that would end cannabis prohibition and expunge all cannabis-related arrests, charges, and convictions federally.
Please share this excellent news with your family and friends!
Anti-cannabis White House official concedes youth use has fallen since legalization
Last Wednesday, Dale Quigley, deputy coordinator for the National Marijuana Initiative, a project of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program, spoke virtually with North Dakota lawmakers, who began a study of adult-use cannabis 10 months ago. As policy makers in North Dakota continue to examine how legal cannabis is working in other states, Quigley presented findings from Colorado, one of the first two states to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2012.
During his presentation, Quigley acknowledged that youth cannabis use has declined in Colorado and other states that have legalized cannabis for adults, contrary to arguments commonly expressed by prohibitionists. “For some reason, the use rate among this age bracket is going down,” Quigley said. “We’re not 100 percent sure why it’s going down. It’s a good thing that it’s going down, but we don’t understand why.”
Using data from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Organization (SAMHSA), which conducts annual surveys on drug use, Quigley admitted that, “In looking at the state of Colorado for 12-to-17 year old current use, we had a spike in ’14, but overall the use rates in Colorado have been declining, and that matches what we’re seeing in other states and also the trend we’re seeing nationally.” (Note: SAMHSA defines “current use” as use within the past 30 days.)
Despite his concession that teen cannabis use is on the decline (and his admission that he doesn’t understand why), Quigley followed up with a few anecdotal and dubious claims about youth and cannabis. And although legalization laws are designed to only allow legal cannabis access for adults 21 and older, a persistent fear among prohibitionists and skeptics is the potential impact of legalization on youth use rates.
But the data speaks for itself, and other studies looking at teen use rates after legalization found similar declines, or at least no evidence of increased youth use, once again showing that the sky hasn’t fallen in legalization states.
For a deeper dive into Quigley’s comments, check out the Marijuana Moment story here. You can also watch Quigley’s presentation via archived video of the hearing (Quigley’s remarks begin around the 9:22 a.m. mark), and slides from his presentation can be viewed on the North Dakota Legislature’s website.
Connecticut: Regulators approve medical cannabis expansion
Good news! On Tuesday, the Connecticut Legislative Regulations Review Committee approved allowing medical cannabis to treat chronic pain — although it narrowly defined the term. The Board of Physicians recommended adding chronic pain as a qualifying condition on September 27, 2019. Previously, Connecticut was the only state medical marijuana program that did not permit patients to treat chronic pain with medical marijuana.
The revision permits medical marijuana to be recommended for adults with “chronic pain of at least six months duration associated with a specific underlying chronic condition refractory to other treatment intervention.” Unfortunately, that narrow definition means physicians can only recommend cannabis to patients who have sought treatment for their chronic pain for at least six months and whose pain has been resistant to other treatments.
The committee also approved the use of medical marijuana to treat Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, an inherited disorder that weakens the body’s connective tissue and leads to weakened blood vessels and organs.
While these revisions undoubtedly expand patients’ ability to use medical marijuana to treat their aliments, Connecticut will have one of the most restrictive chronic pain provisions in the country. Patients will have to suffer for months before trying cannabis and will first be steered to far more dangerous medications.
Earlier this year, a bill to allow any adult, 21 or older, to use cannabis stalled due to a COVID-related closure of the capitol. It’s our hope that the Connecticut Legislature takes up the issue of adult-use cannabis in a special session this year or during the 2021 regular session. Many individuals who suffer from conditions that can be treated with marijuana aren’t able to access medical marijuana cards.
Please join us by writing Gov. Ned Lamont to urge him to prioritize legalization. You can go the extra mile by spreading the word to others, calling his office at 860-566-4840, or making an appeal on Twitter.
We wish you and your loved ones well and thank you for your continued support.
Colo.: Gov. Polis signs bills to improve cannabis policies
Cannabis hospitality, delivery, and other improvements are coming soon!
Great news! In the past week, Gov. Jared Polis (D) has signed several bills to improve Colorado's cannabis laws — including to allow delivery and hospitality (cannabis cafés), to make investment easier, and to allow patients to use medical cannabis for anything a prescription opiate could be prescribed for.
The new laws include:
- HB 1234, which will allow home delivery in cities and counties that allow it. Medical cannabis deliveries can begin as soon as January 2, 2020, and deliveries to adult consumers can start in January 2021;
- HB 1230, which allows businesses like hotels or restaurants to set aside a location for patrons to consume cannabis — also in cities and counties that opt in. It will also allow licensed retail locations to sell small amounts of cannabis for use on-site;
- HB 1090, which allows publicly traded companies to invest capital in cannabis businesses; and
- SB 13, which allows patients to register to use medical cannabis (which is taxed at a much lower rate than adult-use cannabis) for any condition for which they could be prescribed prescription opiates. It also makes it easier for minor patients to qualify, by allowing any kind of physician (rather than just certain specialists) to sign their certification.
Colorado continues as a leader in cannabis policy, and these new laws are yet another step forward. Our hearty appreciation to the bill sponsors, governor, and all those who worked to get these measures through a difficult process!
Vermont: Bill to regulate cannabis advances in House, but time is running out
If you live in Vermont, email your state representatives today — tell them Vermont needs to finish the job and regulate cannabis in 2019!
The Vermont Senate has already passed S. 54, a bill that would create a regulated and taxed market for adult-use cannabis in Vermont, and last week the House Government Operations Committee voted 10-1 in favor of its passage. The bill is currently being considered by the House Ways and Committee.
Please email your state representatives today and urge them to support regulating cannabis in 2019!
You can read a summary of the bill, as amended by the House Government Operations Committee, here. The legislative session is expected to conclude at the end of next week, so it’s very important that representatives hear from you today.
After you email your state representatives, please share this message with your family and friends!