Last week, Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB 89, a bill adding autism spectrum disorder as a qualifying condition for the therapeutic cannabis program and adding moderate to severe insomnia as a qualifying symptom. This is welcome news, but most New Hampshire residents believe the state should go much further and legalize cannabis for adults’ use. A new poll published by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center indicates that three out of four Granite Staters support legalizing cannabis. This includes…

I should be fired.For the past four years, I have tried to convince my party and my president to embrace marijuana policy reform. It should have been easy. After all, it is consistent with our core beliefs of freedom, individual liberty, personal responsibility, and federalism. But I failed. I know from personal experience as a former legislator who was the original lead sponsor of my state’s first medical marijuana law that drug policy advocacy by a Republican is not the third rail everyone reflexively…

Ask your lawmakers to make marijuana policy reform a priority in 2020! Both chambers of the Virginia Legislature flipped in Tuesday’s General Election. Democrats now hold the majority in the state Senate and House of Delegates going into the 2020 legislative session. Marijuana reform efforts have stalled in previous legislatures, but with new leadership, there is new opportunity.Now is a great time to let your lawmakers know you want them to make marijuana policy reform a priority in 2020.There…

The Maine MLI Committee has been back to work over the last two months on the latest iteration of their omnibus bill to establish regulations for the adult-use marijuana market. Unfortunately, most of the changes have been politically oriented to garner support from House Republicans. Changes that concern us the most are the removal of social clubs from the bill and reducing the number of flowering marijuana plants an adult can grow, from six to three per adult. We are still waiting on the final…

The latest Gallup poll showed that nearly two thirds of Americans support making marijuana legal, a record high. Tom Angela reports for Forbes: The 64% of Americans who say cannabis should be legal in a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday represents the highest level of support in the organization's 48 years of polling on the topic. The new survey also shows that a majority of Republicans -- 51% -- support legalization for the first time. Seventy-two percent of Democrats and 67% of independents…

Connecticut representatives proposed an amendment to another bill that would legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adults’ use. This provided members a historic opportunity to debate the issue on the House floor, but the amendment did not actually receive a vote. However, there is still a very real chance for ending marijuana prohibition in Connecticut this year. Last month, Connecticut Democrats revealed a budget proposal that included the regulating and taxing of marijuana, demonstrating that…

A proposal to reduce penalties for marijuana possession in Texas received bipartisan approval from the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Monday and will soon be scheduled for a full vote in the House. The measure passed by a vote of 4-2, receiving support from two Democrats and two Republicans. HB 81, authored by committee Chairman Joe Moody (D-El Paso) and Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) with 37 co-authors, would remove the threat of arrest, jail time, and a criminal record for possession…

Over the weekend, the Democratic National Committee's Platform Drafting Committee established a party platform calling for states' rights to decide their own marijuana laws, allowing for greater research on the medical properties of cannabis, and protecting the rights of legally established marijuana businesses: “We believe that the states should be laboratories of democracy on the issue of marijuana, and those states that want to decriminalize marijuana should be able to do so. We support policies…

On this Veterans Day, MPP would like to thank those who served for their sacrifice, and we are excited to note that a Senate vote yesterday brought them one step closer to being able to access medical marijuana. U.S. News reports: On the eve of Veterans Day, the Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would for the first time allow Veterans Health Administration doctors to authorize medical marijuana use for patients. The Veterans Health Administration currently does not allow its physicians to discuss…

The latest round of Battleground polls by George Washington University found respondents (nationally) would be 40% “much more likely” to visit the voting booth if marijuana’s legalization status was on the ballot. Thirty percent of respondents would be “somewhat” more likely as well. This brings the numbers up to a total of about 70% of voters who would be more likely to vote this fall if marijuana was in question. Considering midterm elections have historically had low voter turnout, politicians…