Last night, I was on a Facebook Live event with Nebraskan Families for Medical Cannabis, a coalition of patients and parents of children with epilepsy who are fighting to pass a medical cannabis law in Nebraska. Hearing their stories drives home why it’s so important for every Nebraskan to contact their state senator about medical cannabis.

Earlier this week, the Texas Legislature adjourned after its 140-day legislative session. This year's session brought successes and setbacks. Prohibitionists went to great lengths to keep the status quo and some of their reefer madness unfortunately worked. What Passed: Industrial Hemp Legalization – HB 1325 legalizes industrial hemp in Texas and establishes a regulatory structure so that Texans may soon start growing hemp. Limited Low-THC Medical Cannabis Expansion – HB 3703 removes the two-physician…

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.…

On Thursday, Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed into law H.B. 1488, a bill to expand the existing medical marijuana dispensary program. H.B. 1488 adds rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis to the list of qualifying conditions and allows patients and caregivers to access testing facilities. Patients and caregivers will be allowed to cultivate three additional plants of any maturity, for a total of 10 plants. The phasing out of caregivers’ ability to grow marijuana plants for patients…

Three bills taking small but positive steps forward took effect  November 1, 2016, in Oklahoma. The first bill, HB 2835, allows adults to use low-THC cannabis oil (minors were already covered by existing law), and added “spasticity due to multiple sclerosis or due to paraplegia, intractable nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation with chronic wasting diseases” to the list of qualifying conditions, in addition to severe epilepsy. The governor signed this bill on May 13, 2016. While this is…

This week, a new law that improves Connecticut’s medical marijuana program went into effect. Among other changes, for the first time, certain patients who are under 18 now qualify to use medical cannabis in the Constitution state. Previously, Connecticut had been the only medical marijuana state to completely exclude seriously ill minors from its program. To participate in the Connecticut medical marijuana program, minors must have been diagnosed with terminal illness, an irreversible spinal cord…

[caption id="attachment_9815" align="alignright" width="200"] Gov. Dannel Malloy[/caption] Earlier this month, Gov. Dannel Malloy signed HB 5450, which will make changes to Connecticut’s medical marijuana program including to allow certain patients who are under 18 to access medical cannabis. The bill previously passed the House 129 to 3 and the Senate 23 to 1. To participate in Connecticut's medical marijuana program, minors will have to have been diagnosed with terminal illness, an irreversible…

Virginia is in its final week of its 2016 legislative session and of the many marijuana-related bills Virginian lawmakers considered this year, only one — SB 701 — has made it to the desk of Gov. Terry McAuliffe. [caption id="attachment_9639" align="alignright" width="200"] Gov. Terry McAuliffe[/caption] This limited bill allows the cultivation of cannabis by pharmaceutical processes that would then produce cannabidiol oil. Patients suffering from intractable epilepsy could receive the oil with a…

The Georgia government enacted an ineffective law last year that was intended to provide relief to patients with epilepsy, but which didn't provide for a source of medical marijuana within the state. [caption id="attachment_9564" align="alignright" width="220"] Rep. Allen Peake[/caption] Since then, state Rep. Allen Peake (R) publicly admitted to illegally transporting medical marijuana from Colorado to Georgia to help some parents with epileptic children, and he's now pushing hard to fix the ineffective…

On Tuesday,  Gov. Jack Markell (D) signed SB 90 — Rylie’s Law — into law. Gov. Markell’s approval is yet another sign of Delaware lawmakers understanding the benefits that medical marijuana holds for seriously ill patients of all ages. Not one lawmaker opposed this new law [caption id="attachment_8923" align="alignright" width="200"] Sen. Ernesto Lopez[/caption] Introduced by Sen. Ernesto Lopez (R), SB 90 is now Delaware law. Doctors may now recommend medical marijuana oils to certain patients under…