Ask your lawmakers to support legalizing and regulating cannabis for adults 21 and older!

On Monday, January 13, Sen. Jeff Brandes (R) introduced a bill, SB 1860, to legalize and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and older. A House companion bill, HB 1389, was also introduced.

Meanwhile, it was announced this week that marijuana legalization will not make it to the ballot for voters to decide on in 2020. However, the state legislature could still legalize cannabis for adult use.

Ask your lawmakers to support SB 1860/HB 1389 to legalize and regulate cannabis for adult use!

Here are a few things the proposed legislation would do:

• Allow adults to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis in a form for smoking from a licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MMTC);
• Eliminate the requirement that MMTCs be vertically integrated — meaning businesses would not have to grow, sell, and process cannabis — they could just perform one of the functions;
• Direct the Department of Health to develop procedures to issue and renew licenses for the cultivation, processing, retail sale, and transportation of cannabis;
• Provide for expungement of criminal records for past cannabis convictions; and
• Direct the Department of Agriculture to issue a study on the effects of home cultivation.

By legalizing cannabis for adults 21 and older, Florida can reduce the number of cannabis-related arrests, displace the illicit market, and free up law enforcement resources to focus on serious crimes.

Ask your lawmakers to follow the will of the majority of Floridians to end prohibition and replace it with a system of regulation. Then, forward this message to your networks and encourage them to do the same.

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If you're a Wyoming resident, urge your lawmakers to support HB0278.

Yesterday, House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Eric Barlow (R) introduced a bill to legalize medical cannabis in the Cowboy State! Under House Bill 0278, cannabis would be tested and regulated by the Department of Agriculture.

Please encourage your legislators to champion compassion and common sense by supporting effective medical cannabis legislation.

Unfortunately, Wyoming is one of the 18 states with no effective cannabis law, even though over 70% of Wyomingites support legalizing cannabis for medical use.

Medical cannabis is proven to be effective in the treatment of a variety of debilitating medical conditions, and seriously ill people should not be subject to arrest and criminal penalties for using a safer treatment option than opiates.

Please contact your lawmakers today to ask them to support HB 0278. Then, forward this message to your family and friends in Wyoming!

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Since the formation of the Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation in Maine, a few bills have been progressing steadily.

The first bill is LD 243, which would transfer the authority to oversee adult-use marijuana from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS). The Bureau would be responsible for licensing adult-use marijuana businesses, in addition to creating and enforcing regulations. LD 243 also allocates $200,000 to the Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation and $1.4 million to DAFS to implement Question 1. The bill is now sitting on the Appropriations table. Once appropriated, it will go to the governor’s desk for his signature.

The second bill they have been working on is LR 2391, which would create a framework for retail marijuana testing facilities. By setting up testing facilities first, Maine would hopefully avoid regulatory bottlenecks experienced in other states. Mandated marijuana testing means that enough laboratories are needed to test all the marijuana that will be sold in Maine. LR 2391 is on track to be passed before the Legislature adjourns today.

The Joint Select Committee will continue to meet in the summer and fall, after the Legislature adjourns. We will be working closely with the committee to make sure Maine’s adult-use marijuana program is set up swiftly and responsibly.

To receive updates directly from the committee, please sign up here.

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[caption id="attachment_7895" align="alignright" width="259"] Gov. Pat Quinn[/caption]

On Sunday, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill that will add seizure conditions to Illinois’ medical cannabis program for both adults and minors. The new law also allows parents to seek permission for minors to access medical marijuana for other qualifying conditions. Special thanks are owed to bill sponsors Sen. Iris Martinez and Rep. Lou Lang, and the many parents and advocates who tirelessly worked to make the bill a reality for seriously ill patients.

In other news, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules gave its final approval last week for regulations the three state agencies will use to oversee the program. A preliminary version of these rules can be found here, with the official version to be published soon. This important step finally allows the program to move forward. News outlets are currently reporting that patients may be able to sign up as early as September, although it is not yet clear when dispensaries and cultivation centers will be operational.

The rules are far from perfect. The Illinois program is by far the most expensive in the nation for cultivators, with a non-refundable application fee of $25,000, and a first-year license of $200,000. That means the Department of Agriculture will receive a windfall of $4.4 million for issuing just 22 cultivation center licenses during the first year of the program, not including application fees. Unfortunately, the enormous tab will surely be passed along to patients.

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