Texas’ 2021 legislative session adjourned on Monday, May 31. Although several cannabis reform bills were introduced this year, only one very modest reform — HB 1535 — was approved by the legislature. The bill now heads to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk for action.

The South Carolina Legislature adjourned today after once again failing to pass the S.C. Compassionate Care Act. This means another year of needless suffering for people with cancer, severe pain, seizure disorders, and other ailments.

Great news! The Alabama House of Representatives just passed medical cannabis in a 68-34-1 vote. The bill already passed the Senate (20-10), but because it was amended in the House, the two versions need to be reconciled before it can head to Gov. Ivey.

Cannabis policy reform is continuing to gain momentum in the Texas Legislature! The House of Representatives approved two bills last week.

If you live in Alabams, contact your House representative today! Last week, the Alabama Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in the state. SB 236 would allow qualifying patients 19 and older to possess and purchase medical marijuana from authorized dispensaries. Several conditions would qualify for medical marijuana treatment, including PTSD, chronic pain, cancer, autism, and epilepsy. The bill will likely move to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.…

If you live in Tennessee, write your lawmakers to ask them to support the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Act. Two-thirds of Americans now live in states with compassionate laws that allow the medical use of marijuana. Meanwhile, Tennessee patients are stuck with the cruel choice of forgoing a medicine that could bring them relief, uprooting from their home state, or breaking the law to ease their suffering. Ask your state lawmakers to make this the year that Tennessee joins 32 compassionate states. Last…

The Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine announced the department will implement all of the advisory board’s recommended changes to the medical marijuana program. They include: Allowing patients to use whole plant, flower cannabis via vaporization. Rewording the qualifying condition “severe chronic or intractable pain” to delete the phrase “in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or ineffective.” Allowing patients to qualify if they are undergoing…

New Approach South Dakota submitted nearly 15,000 signatures to the Secretary of State with hopes of adding a medical marijuana measure to the 2018 ballot. South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs said the review of the submitted measure would likely be finished within four months. Her office conducts a random sampling of the signatures to determine validity, with at least 5% of the collected signatures being reviewed. The medical marijuana measure that was submitted for signature validation…

The West Virginia medical cannabis bill officially took effect on Wednesday. Unfortunately, however, most or all patients will not be able to benefit from the law until July 1, 2019, unless something changes. The law would allow the regulatory agency to make agreements with other states to allow terminally ill cancer patients to buy medical cannabis in another state, but it is not clear yet if that will happen. For details on how the law will work, including who can qualify for the program, check…

Oklahoma will vote on medical marijuana in 2018! The Oklahoma Secretary of State has certified Question 788 for the ballot, meaning Oklahomans will finally have the opportunity to vote on medical marijuana in November of next year. After collecting enough signatures to qualify for the 2016 election, the group Oklahomans for Health faced legal difficulties when the state's attorney general took issue with the ballot summary of the new law. After a hard-fought legal battle, Oklahomans for Health has…