Tell your senator to get medical cannabis across the finish line!

With the end of the 2022 legislative session fast approaching, time is critical to urge the Senate to get Kansans access to safe and legal medical cannabis. In May 2021, the Kansas House of Representatives passed a medical cannabis bill, 79-42. The bill stalled in the Senate. In March of this year, Sen. Robert Olson introduced SB 560 in an effort to revive the efforts to create a medical program. Eventually, the language was adopted into SB 12, previously passed legislation.

A conference committee was called to resolve the differences and to move forward. The legislature is on break until May 23, but the conference committee can work in the meantime. We need you help encourage Senate leadership to ensure the committee meets and creates a workable medical cannabis bill.

Tell your senators to support medical cannabis!

Kansans have fought long and hard to alleviate the suffering of patients, and this bill will meet the needs of those patients. They should not continue to suffer without access to safe, lab-tested medicine or be forced to seek relief via the illicit market, where there is no testing and patients run the risk of arrest or robbery. Kansans are ready to join the other 37 states that have access to safe medical cannabis.

Spread this message to friends and family in Kansas to create a medical cannabis program this year! Together, we can get this done by letting legislators know we support this bill.

Read more

Virginia must not criminalize “importing” small amounts of cannabis or increase other penalties — write lawmakers who are working to finalize the legislation today!

Overall, we are happy with the cannabis legalization bills that have passed the Virginia House and Senate. This week, lawmakers from both chambers are engaged in a “conference committee” that is working to resolve differences between the two bills.

Unfortunately, both bills still include one very bad provision that would criminalize bringing small amounts of cannabis into the Commonwealth from another jurisdiction. Both HB 2312 and SB 1406 would create a new criminal penalty, punishable by up to a year in jail, for entering Virginia with less than five pounds of cannabis. The bills do not currently include an exception for one ounce or less of cannabis.

“Importing” small amounts for personal use should not be a criminal offense, and it must be exempted from this new penalty. We have informed lawmakers about the problem, and we hope they will fix it during the reconciliation process, but they haven’t done so yet. Please write the members of the conference committee today and urge them to resolve this issue before they send a final bill to the desk of Gov. Ralph Northam.

Additionally, SB 1406 would increase penalties for public consumption and underage possession from a $25 fine to a fine of up to $250 for a first offense, and it would prohibit adults from sharing cannabis with other adults. The House eliminated these penalty increases from HB 2312, and we are urging lawmakers in both chambers to ensure they are not included in the final bill.

For more information on the differences between HB 2312 and SB 1406, and to see what MPP has recommended to legislators, click here.

After you write your state legislators, please share this message with your friends and family.

Read more

Very exciting news: Today, the Virginia Legislature voted to advance legislation that would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older in the commonwealth!

HB 2312, sponsored by Majority Leader Charniele Herring, passed the House in a 55-42 vote, while SB 1406, sponsored by Senators Adam Ebbin and Louise Lucas, passed the Senate 23-15.

But even though this is great news, it’s not a done deal yet. Because the bills were amended and are no longer identical, the legislature will likely set up a conference committee to reconcile differences. If the legislature approves a final bill, it will then head to Gov. Ralph Northam, who has signaled strong support.

Under the proposed bills, adults 21+ could possess up to an ounce of cannabis, cultivate up to two mature and two immature plants at their residence, and purchase cannabis and cannabis products from regulated dispensaries.

You can read a summary of HB 2312 here and a summary of SB 1406 here.

In the coming weeks, MPP will be pushing to ensure Virginia lawmakers fix some issues with the legislation — such as increased penalties for certain low-level offenses — and to get help it past the finish line. Please consider making a donation today so we can help fix the bill, get it passed, and legalize in several other states this year!

Let’s make Virginia the first state in South to end cannabis prohibition.

Read more

Legislators are also nearing final agreement on the bill to legalize and regulate sales — ask your legislators to support S. 54, then call Gov. Phil Scott and ask that he sign both bills into law!

The Vermont House of Representatives took a huge step forward today when it voted to approve S. 234, a bill that will automatically expunge all criminal records for past cannabis possession offenses. The bill also decriminalizes possession of cannabis in amounts that modestly exceed the legal limit, which will minimize the possibility that a person could risk criminal penalties for a small mistake.

Separately but concurrently, legislators have come very close to reaching final agreement on the details of S. 54, the bill to legalize and regulate cannabis sales. Please write your representatives and senators and urge them to support final passage of both bills! Then, call Gov. Phil Scott and encourage him to sign them when they reach his desk.

The Senate has already approved S. 234. Since the bill was amended by the House, it will return to the Senate for a final vote before it proceeds to the governor’s desk. You can read a summary of the bill here. VCRM director Laura Subin recently testified in support of this bill in the House Judiciary Committee (via Zoom) and did an excellent job explaining the importance of automatically expunging records!

The conference committee on S. 54 has reached a compromise on all issues except whether or not to include a local option tax in addition to state taxes. The legislators are expected to finalize the details of their agreement at their next meeting. A revised summary of the bill’s key provisions is available here.

Again, please contact your state legislators and urge them to support passage of both of these bills, then call Gov. Scott’s office and encourage him to sign them. After you do so, please share this message with your family and friends!

Read more

The legislature is resuming its work on the bill to legalize and regulate cannabis sales — write your state representatives to follow up on their votes from earlier this year and remind them of S. 54’s importance to Vermont’s economic recovery!

Tomorrow, the conference committee that has been formed to work out a final version of Vermont’s cannabis regulation bill will hold its first meeting! S. 54, which already passed the House (90-54) and the Senate (23-5), has been awaiting action from this committee for several months. You can access a link to the live stream of the meeting here.

This bill was already overwhelmingly supported by Vermonters, and it should now be considered essential to Vermont’s economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19. Please contact your state representatives to follow up on the vote they cast on S. 54 earlier this year! It’s important for supporters to thank their representatives if they voted in favor, and if they voted in opposition, now is the time to reach out and attempt to win their support.

S. 54 is also responsive to the urgent need for racial justice reforms. Right now, the only legal way for adults to access cannabis is to grow it at home. But while 70% of white Vermonters own their own homes, only 20% of Black Vermonters do, and renters are typically prohibited from growing cannabis as part of their lease. S. 54 would not only ensure that all adults in Vermont can enjoy safe, legal access to cannabis, but it would also prioritize licensing for minority-owned businesses and small-scale cultivators in order to ensure that we are creating an equitable and sustainable industry.

You can read a summary of the bill’s key provisions here.

Again, please contact your representatives and urge them to make this bill a top priority. After you do so, please share this message with your family and friends!

Read more

Bill passes final committee — urge your representatives to vote in favor.

Today, Vermont’s House Appropriations Committee approved S. 54 in a 6-5 vote. The bill to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis sales appears likely to receive a vote in the full House later this week.

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 House’s changes should be considered 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!

Read more

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!

Read more

If you live in Hawaii, contact your senator and ask them to vote YES on HB 1383, then ask your representative to get the bill to a conference committee to refine it.

Last week, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means voted to pass a bill that would decriminalize marijuana possession in the Aloha State — making possession of three grams or less punishable by a $30 fine. The bill will now head to the Senate floor.

An earlier version of the bill, HB 1383, was already approved by the full House. While the Senate amendment improved the bill by reducing the fine, HB 1383 still only decriminalizes possession of up to three grams, which would be the smallest amount of any decriminalization or legalization state. Typically, decriminalization laws apply to one ounce, which is around 28.5 grams.

However, if the bill passes the Senate and goes to conference committee, there will be an opportunity to increase the possession limit.

Click here to ask your senator to vote "yes" on the bill and to ask your representative to NOT agree to the Senate amendments. That way, the bill can be improved in a conference committee. If the Senate approves the bill and the House accepts the Senate amendments, it will be sent to the governor as is.

Hawaiians should not be jailed or branded with a life-altering criminal record for simple possession of marijuana. The current possession limit of three grams is too low, and lives will continue to be needlessly derailed as a result.

Hawaii is lagging behind the 24 states and D.C. that have decriminalized marijuana. Contact your senator and representative today, and forward this message to your friends and family in Hawaii. Together, we can bring sensible marijuana policy to Hawaii!

Read more