As Election Day 2020 draws near, we hope you are registered and have made a plan to vote. This is an important election year for our movement to end prohibition, with several states considering cannabis-related ballot measures.At MPP, we expect that for the fifth election in a row, voters in multiple states will approve cannabis reform ballot initiatives. This will put even more pressure on Congress to fix our broken federal cannabis laws.Here’s a quick rundown of cannabis on the 2020 ballot:Montana…

Last week, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle announced the he, along with Rapid City resident and former Reagan Administration Senior Official Chuck Parkinson, is endorsing Amendment A and Measure 26, the marijuana reform ballot initiatives that South Dakota voters will consider this November. Former Sen. Tom Daschle represented South Dakota in Congress from 1979 to 2005 and is one of the longest-serving Senate Democratic leaders in history. He is a native of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and a…

Urge your state legislators to stand up for patients! On February 20, Alabama’s Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a medical cannabis bill — SB 165 — in an 8-1 vote. It could get a Senate floor vote as soon as this week! Please write your state senator and state representative right now to let them know you want them to stand up for Alabama’s patients. Alabama’s lack of medical marijuana protections is increasingly an outlier. Thirty-three states, including Florida, Louisiana, and Arkansas, allow…

The wait is over. After submitting well over the required number of voter signatures in September last year, Mississippians for Compassionate Care has received the good news that their initiative to legalize medical marijuana will appear on the November ballot!Polling indicates that 77 percent of Mississippians support allowing medical marijuana. The state currently has a CBD program, but access is severely restricted. Although a supermajority of residents are on the side of reform, some politicians,…

Although medical marijuana is not yet available for Arkansas patients, patient ID cards went into effect on February 15, 2019. The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission began mailing out ID cards to qualifying patients, and over 7,000 patient ID cards have been approved. Patients who have a qualifying medical condition and a physician's written certification can apply online. Recently, the Medical Marijuana Commission awarded licenses to 32 retail medical marijuana dispensaries and five medical…

Yesterday, Mississippians for Compassionate Care filed an initiative with the Secretary of State’s office that would make medical marijuana legal in Mississippi. The group is aiming to bring an amendment to the state constitution to voters in 2020. The first step to getting it on the ballot is to collect over 100,000 signatures from all over the state. You can read the proposed amendment here. The signature collection is a huge undertaking and the campaign will need lots of volunteers to circulate…

Recently, the government of Mississippi announced that MPP will not be able to raise any funds within the state, which could hamper efforts at reform there and throughout the South. MPP's Executive Director Rob Kampia writes: The Mississippi government is saying that MPP is prohibited from raising money in that state because I'm a convicted felon. After I was convicted for growing my own marijuana while in college, I co-founded MPP in order to repeal marijuana prohibition in all 50 states — something…

[caption id="attachment_8502" align="alignright" width="240"] Sen. Deborah Dawkins[/caption] As marijuana policy reforms advance nationwide, Mississippi Sen. Deborah Dawkins has vowed to keep fighting for medical marijuana legislation. Last week, Sen. Dawkins introduced SB 2318, a bill that would allow seriously ill patients to possess and cultivate a limited amount of marijuana. Although SB 2318 would not allow for dispensaries to provide medical marijuana to patients, it would be an important step…

A limited medical marijuana bill recently passed both the Tennessee House and Senate, and now awaits Governor Bill Haslam’s signature. SB 2531, sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, would approve a four-year study on the benefits of cannabidiol, often referred to as “CBD,” a non-psychoactive component of marijuana. Unfortunately, the many limitations placed on the bill by lawmakers mean it is unlikely to result in relief for seriously ill patients in the state. [caption id="attachment_7559" align="alignright"…

Last week, the Mississippi General Assembly overwhelmingly passed HB 1231, which would legalize certain, very limited medical marijuana extracts for patients suffering from seizure disorders. While this bill is a strong endorsement of the medical benefits of marijuana by the Mississippi legislature, it is extremely limited and does not even create a realistic way for patients to obtain the extracts. [caption id="attachment_7490" align="alignright" width="179"] Gov. Phil Bryant[/caption] The bill,…