Exciting news! On November 12, West Virginia’s first medical cannabis dispensary — Trulieve — opened its doors in Morgantown. A second location opened today in Weston.

Store hours in Morgantown are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays. The Weston location is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can check out more details on the first two dispensary locations here.

It has been a long-awaited moment, as West Virginia has had the slowest medical cannabis rollout in the country. The state legalized medical cannabis in 2017.

More information on West Virginia’s medical cannabis law, including qualifying conditions and how to obtain a medical cannabis card, can be found here.

Stay tuned for more cannabis policy reform updates in the Mountain State!

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Ask key senators to allow botanical, flower medical cannabis.

Minnesota is one of only two medical cannabis states that doesn’t allow cannabis in its natural, flower form. This drives up prices for patients and deprives many of the medicine that works best for them. Many end up turning to the unregulated, sometimes dangerous, illicit market.

Please take a moment to add your voice to finally give patients access to whole-plant cannabis: Ask key senators not to stand in the way of relief.

In both 2019 and 2020, the DFL-led House of Representatives passed bills to allow flower, but they both died in the Senate. This year, the Senate Health Finance and Policy Committee unanimously approved adding flower, but it never got a Senate floor vote.

The House has included the bill in the Health and Human Services Omnibus bill. The provision’s fate now lies in the hands of the Republican Senate majority.

Please send a note to key members of Senate leadership to ask them to stand up for patients. You can also sign and share the petition from our allies at Sensible Change Minnesota, who are leading the charge.

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Click here to tell your state senator to vote NO on SB 2765.

We need your help to protect medical marijuana in Mississippi.

Last year, Mississippi voters approved Initiative 65 by a huge margin to put the state on track to establish a compassionate medical marijuana program for patients with serious health conditions.

But some state lawmakers are now trying to pull the wool over voters’ eyes by passing SB 2765, which would set up an entirely unnecessary “parallel” medical marijuana program alongside the one created by Initiative 65. In truth, this is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to severely restrict who can participate in Mississippi’s medical marijuana industry.

The Mississippi State Senate could vote on SB 2765 as soon as tomorrow. Please take action right now by asking your state senator to vote NO.

Click here to contact your state senator right now.

Though backers of SB 2765 claim that they are protecting the will of the voters, this legislation differs significantly from the voter-approved initiative. For example, SB 2765 would establish a whopping $200,000 application fee for cultivation businesses, create arbitrary limits on the number of operators in the market, and ultimately undermine patients’ access to medical marijuana.

Please take action now and urge your state senator to vote against this attempt to undermine patient access to medical marijuana in Mississippi.

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For more information on how to qualify, visit the website for the Office of Medical Cannabis.

Since April 19, 2017, when Gov. Jim Justice signed West Virginia’s medical cannabis bill into law, patients have been waiting for the program to become operational. Fortunately, the wait finally appears to be nearing an end. The state’s Office of Medical Cannabis announced last week that permits have been granted for 100 dispensaries across the state, and today they opened the process for patients to begin registering for the program.

In order to qualify, patients will need to obtain a written certification from a participating physician. A list of physicians is available here. You can now access the patient registration portal from the website for the Office of Medical Cannabis.

It will likely be several months before patients will be able to obtain medical cannabis from dispensaries, but this is a huge step forward for the program. MPP’s summary of the law is available here.

Please share this message with anybody you know who might wish to register for the medical cannabis program in West Virginia!

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Ask your state lawmakers to support expanding patient access to medical cannabis!

Good news! On Thursday, the New Jersey Assembly and Senate are scheduled to vote on twin bills to allow healthcare practitioners to authorize medical cannabis using telemedicine. The bills — Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt’s A. 1635 and Sen. Declan O’Scanlon’s S. 619 — are particularly important in these times of COVID, when many are concerned about any unnecessary in-person interactions.

Both bills are scheduled for a vote this Thursday, September 24 at 10:30 a.m. Please email your state legislators today to ask them to support A.1635 and S.619. Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration took crucial steps to preserve safe access to medical cannabis during COVID by issuing a waiver that allowed home delivery of medical cannabis. That waiver implemented one of the key provisions contained in Jake Honig’s Law that was signed into law in 2019 and expanded on measures Gov. Murphy’s administration took at the onset of the pandemic to ensure patient access.

Lastly, as you may know, legalization is on the ballot in New Jersey this November — as Public Question 1. The deadline to register to vote is October 13. New Jersey is mailing all registered voters their ballots. Completed ballots can be deposited in secure drop boxes, mailed in, dropped off at one's county Board of Elections office, or dropped off at one’s polling place on Election Day. For those who prefer to vote in person, polling places will be open on Tuesday, November 3 between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Please spread the word so that others can make their voices heard for sensible and humane cannabis policies!

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Great news! Utah’s medical cannabis program will allow medical access by drive-through and home delivery. These options will allow patients to access medical cannabis without having to risk in-person transactions.

Drive-through access will be available as soon as medical cannabis pharmacies are equipped to offer it. At least two medical cannabis pharmacies — Dragonfly Wellness in Salt Lake City and a Perfect Earth location — plan to offer the service in July.

Home delivery will take longer to roll out. The Department of Health will begin accepting applications for couriers in July, with delivery anticipated beginning in the fall. This option is particularly important for patients who are homebound or otherwise deal with mobility challenges.

Utah joins 20 other medical cannabis states in allowing home delivery, and it is the third state to add the option during the pandemic.

Many thanks to each of the 10,000 MPP supporters who signed our petition to improve medical cannabis access during the coronavirus and to those of you who wrote Gov. Herbert to urge adoption of home delivery!

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Ask your state senator to support home delivery and allowing medical cannabis for all debilitating conditions.

We have good news and bad news from the Louisiana State Legislature.

The good news is the House overwhelmingly approved bills to allow medical cannabis for any debilitating condition (HB 819) and to permanently allow regulated home delivery (HB 792). The bad news is that the bill to allow raw, flower cannabis has still not gotten a hearing (HB 385) after its sponsor pulled the bill from a committee agenda. If HB 385 isn’t scheduled for a hearing today, it will die.

Please email your state senator today to ask them to support HB 819 and HB 792.

To go the extra mile, consider writing Rep. Ted James, who sponsors HB 385, to respectfully urge him to ask that it be scheduled for a hearing. Rep. James has been a longtime champion, so please be sure to be polite and respectful. He also recently survived a life-threatening bout of coronavirus and is not personally going to the capital due to public health concerns.

However, even if Rep. James is not present, the bill can be heard with another representative presenting it. Louisiana is one of only two medical cannabis states that continue to ban cannabis in its natural, plant form. Because extracts are far more expensive to produce, this drives up costs and results in a program that is out of reach to most of the state’s residents.

After you take action, please spread the word to other compassionate Louisianans, so that they, too, can raise their voices.

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Email the governor today and urge him to ensure patient access during COVID-19.

During times of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing, Gov. David Ige has issued a stay-at-home order and temporary closure of non-essential businesses through April 30.

Hawaii’s medical cannabis businesses have been declared essential businesses under the governor’s order and remain open to patients across the state.

Still, there are further actions that can be taken to ensure patients can safely access their medicine in a way that is consistent with public health guidelines on preventing the spread of coronavirus:

• Allowing and encouraging cannabis delivery, including allowing for it to be contactless (This is particularly important for patients who are homebound, immunocompromised, or otherwise particularly at-risk.)
• Allowing and encouraging online ordering and curbside pickup from dispensaries

A number of states with medical cannabis programs have already implemented these measures in response to coronavirus.

Click here to email Gov. Ige to thank him for declaring medical cannabis businesses essential and urge him to allow home delivery and curbside pickup.

After you write the governor, you can go the extra mile by sharing this message with others, calling the governor at (808) 586-0034, and signing our petition for safe access in times of coronavirus here.

Thank you for your compassion. We wish you and your loved ones well.

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Email the mayor today and urge her to further ensure patient access during COVID-19.

In response to COVID-19, Mayor Bowser has issued a stay-at-home order for D.C. residents and a temporary closure of non-essential businesses.

Fortunately, medical cannabis businesses have been deemed “essential” under the order and remain open to patients across the District.

Still, there are additional actions that could be taken to ensure patients can safely access their medicine in a way that is consistent with public health guidelines on preventing the spread of coronavirus:

• Allowing and encouraging cannabis delivery, including allowing for it to be contactless. (This is particularly important for patients who are immunocompromised, elderly, or otherwise particularly at-risk.)
• Allowing and encouraging online ordering and curbside pickup from dispensaries
• Extending the expiration date of medical cannabis cards until after the crisis has abated

A number of states with medical cannabis programs have already implemented these measures in response to coronavirus.

Click here to email Mayor Bowser to thank her for declaring medical cannabis businesses essential and to urge her to pursue further steps to safeguard access while promoting social distancing.

You can also sign our petition for safe access in times of coronavirus here.

Thank you for your compassion. We wish you and your loved ones well.

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Encourage Gov. Dunleavy to maintain and extend good cannabis policies.

As governments today respond to COVID-19, it’s critical that medical patients maintain access to cannabis for medical use. This is particularly true in Alaska, and we are asking for your help.

Please join with us in asking Gov. Mike Dunleavy to ensure that cannabis businesses, which serve patients along with adult consumers, are included as essential businesses. Click here to send a message to the governor to thank him for keeping businesses open so far and to ask for his support on behalf of patients all around the state.

As of today, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, California, Illinois, Michigan, Maine, Maryland, and Nevada, along with a long list of medical-only states, have declared that retail cannabis establishments are “essential services.” That designation helps ensure access even if there is a stay-at-home order. Alaska’s governor has not yet extended that protection to cannabis businesses, leaving patients and consumers vulnerable. Without a home delivery option, patients and consumers would simply be cut off if retail shops closed. That should not be acceptable, and the governor should hear that message. Help us get word to his office.

The flip side is for all of us in the cannabis movement to remember that in many ways, we are also stewards of health. Businesses should consider measures to help ensure the well-being of their patients and customers through social distancing and good business practices.

Some resources:

• Our own letter to the governor is available here.
• The Alaska Marijuana Industry Association’s great letter and recommendations for businesses is here.
• A chart we put together that compares different state approaches in response to COVID-19 is here.
• The link to get word to the Alaska governor’s office on this issue is here.

Please stay safe, and mind your health and the health of this community.

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