Urge your senator to support HB 629!

Cannabis legalization is being considered in the Senate this week! Earlier this year, the House passed HB 629 — legislation to legalize possession and limited home cultivation of cannabis for adults 21 and older.

Now, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 629 this Thursday (April 7) beginning at 9 a.m. You can indicate your support for this important legislation and testify in support on Thursday.

If you’re able to visit the State House in person, the hearing will take place in Room 100. There will be a sign-in sheet where you can indicate your position on the bill and (optionally) sign up to testify.

If you’re signing in remotely, here are the steps:

1. Visit this page and select Thursday, April 7 on the calendar.
2. For “Select the Committee,” choose “Senate Judiciary” from the drop-down box.
3. Under “Choose the Bill,” select “9:00 am - HB 629.”
4. For “I am,” select “a member of the public” representing “myself.”
5. Click the bubble to indicate your position on the bill and submit the form.
6. Enter your name, email, and town on the next page and click “continue” to complete the process.

Please email your senator in support of HB 629 ahead of Thursdays hearing! You can check out our summary of the bill here.

In other news, a separate poison pill legalization bill, HB 1598, passed the House last week by a margin of 169-155. It has not yet been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate. The bill would only allow state-run stores to distribute cannabis, which is preempted by federal law. If you agree that HB 1598 is the wrong way to legalize, you can send your senator a message here.

Thanks for your commitment to sensible cannabis policy! After you email your senator today, please forward this message to your networks and encourage them to do the same.

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Ask your senator to support cannabis legalization this year!

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on HB 1 and HB 837 — a pair of bills that would allow voters to decide whether to legalize cannabis for adults’ use in November 2022. The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. and will be available to view online here. 

HB 1, the bill to refer the question of cannabis legalization for adults’ use to Maryland voters on the November 2022 ballot, already passed the House in a vote of 96-34. HB 837, the companion bill that would be contingent on voter approval of HB 1, passed the House in a vote of 92-37.

Please email your senator ahead of tomorrow’s hearing and urge them to support legalizing cannabis this year!

HB 837 includes details for initial steps of cannabis legalization, such as possession limits, limited expungement, and funding for minority- and women-owned businesses. It does not set up a licensing or regulatory system, and simple possession and limited home cultivation would not become legal until July 2023. You can check out our summary of HB 837 here and suggestions to improve the legislation here.

If you are interested in providing written testimony for the bills at the hearing tomorrow, you can submit written testimony between 4 p.m. today and 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Here you can find full instructions on how to submit written testimony. Oral testimony at the hearing will be sponsor-only and led by HB 1 and HB 837 sponsor and House Judiciary Chair Luke Clippinger.

We’re in the final stretch, as the legislative session is set to adjourn on April 11. Help ensure cannabis legalization crosses the finish line this year by reaching out to your senators today and raising your voice in written testimony at the hearing tomorrow.

Please share this message with Marylanders in your networks and encourage them to do the same!

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Follow up with your senator to say thanks or express your frustration.

Yesterday, the New Hampshire Senate ignored the needs of patients, voting 15-9 to “table” the medical cannabis home cultivation bill. This means HB 350 will not be considered unless the Senate votes to remove it from the table (which is extremely unlikely). As a result, home cultivation will remain a felony in New Hampshire, with no exception for registered patients and caregivers.

The vote mostly fell along party lines. Seven of the 10 Senate Democrats voted against the hostile motion to table the bill, joined by two of the 14 Senate Republicans. Once again, the three Manchester-area Democratic senators (Kevin Cavanaugh, Lou D'Allesandro, and Donna Soucy) voted against the interests of patients, joining twelve Republicans in support of the motion to table.

Although this is extremely frustrating, we should be grateful to the nine senators who voted against the motion to table: Senators Harold French (R), Jay Kahn (D) Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D), Suzanne Prentiss (D), John Reagan (R), Cindy Rosenwald (D), Tom Sherman (D), David Watters (D), and Rebecca Whitley (D).

Please take a moment to thank your senator if they voted in favor or express your frustration if they voted to maintain the status quo.

HB 350 would have legalized limited home cultivation for registered patients and caregivers (up to three mature plants, three immature plants, and 12 seedlings per patient). It passed the House in a voice vote after being approved 20-1 in committee. Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed a similar bill in 2019.

A new home cultivation bill will almost certainly be reintroduced in 2022.

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Urge your representatives and senators to override the veto and pass HB 364 into law!

On Friday afternoon, Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed HB 364, the bill that would allow registered patients and caregivers to cultivate a limited supply of cannabis at home. This is a very disappointing development, but it's possible that the House and Senate can be persuaded to pass the bill into law despite the governor's veto.

Please contact your representatives and senator right now — urge them to override the veto and pass HB 364!

In order to override the veto, two-thirds majorities will be necessary in both the House and Senate. The House has voted by more than two-thirds to support home cultivation bills on several occasions in the past, and the Senate voted 14-10 in support of HB 364 on May 2. This means two additional votes will be needed in order to reach two-thirds in the Senate.

If you have a personal story to share with legislators about how allowing home cultivation would make a positive difference in your life or the life of a patient you know, please include that in your emails to legislators. If you're comfortable having your story shared with legislators or the public, please send details to me at msimon@mpp.org.

After you email your representatives and senator, please share this important update with your friends and family!

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