NMM has filed a pair of two new complementary ballot initiatives for medical cannabis

Medical cannabis advocates in Nebraska are not backing down. Last weekend, volunteers from across the state mobilized to officially launch the #NMM2022 signature drive to qualify a pair of medical cannabis initiatives for the ballot next year.

Please get involved and support this important effort. Right now, the campaign is asking supporters to share your story about why you support medical cannabis, become a volunteer petition circulator, and donate to the signature drive.

If the campaign is successful in collecting enough signatures by next summer, voters will have an opportunity to approve both measures in the November 2022 election. You can learn more about the initiatives and read the full language here.

Crista Eggers, whose seven-year-old son Colton suffers from daily epileptic seizures, is leading the grassroots signature drive as the statewide campaign coordinator. In a recent interview with KETV Channel 7, Crista and Nicole, whose child also has epilepsy, explained what is at stake in this campaign. Please watch this emotional news clip and share with your friends and family.

For many families, the stakes of this fight couldn't be higher. Now is the time for all of us to step up. Will you commit to standing with the parents and patients who are suffering?

Please forward this email to others, and if you are not already, follow NMM on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay plugged into this exciting campaign!

Keep checking your inbox for more updates on Nebraska.

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Support the families and patients fighting for medical cannabis in Nebraska

Thanks to a new 2022 ballot initiative effort, Nebraskans may have an opportunity to end the criminalization of medical cannabis in their state next year. 

Led by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM), a ballot question committee, local advocates intend to qualify a pair of initiatives ahead of the November election next year. In total, they’ll need to gather about 175,000 valid signatures from voters across the state before the July 7, 2022 deadline. Sponsors of the initiatives, State Senators Anna Wishart and Adam Morfeld, recently filed drafts of the measures with the Nebraska Secretary of State. The campaign expects to begin circulating petitions later this month.

You can support the signature drive by donating directly to the campaign! A contribution of any amount will help print petitions, provide fuel for volunteers’ travel, and move the campaign closer to qualifying for the ballot.

The NMM campaign is now recruiting volunteers from across the state. They are working to organize local teams and mobilize supporters to be part of the grassroots signature drive. You can get involved by signing up here!

I hope you will support this important effort to bring compassionate cannabis laws to Nebraska. Please forward this email to other supporters and stay tuned for more updates as the petition language is finalized and the signature drive ramps up!

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Check out Sensible Change MN’s comprehensive 2020 voter guide.

With Election Day less than two months away, Minnesota voters have an opportunity to usher in a new legislature that will put an end to the state’s senseless war on cannabis.

While House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D) has championed legalization, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R) has said his caucus is strongly opposed and that legalization would not pass the Senate under his control. Senate leaders even stood in the way of allowing flower cannabis for medical purposes this year.

Our allies at Sensible Change MN have released a voter guide to educate voters about Minnesota state legislative candidates’ stances on cannabis policy. They sent every candidate for state House and Senate questions on where they stand on important medical cannabis reforms, legalization for adults’ use, and social equity.

Check out their Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota Senate voter guides. (Updates will be made as more responses come in.)

In other news, the Minnesota Office of Medical Cannabis is considering petitions to add qualifying conditions to the state’s medical cannabis program — anxiety, sickle cell disease, and tic disorder. You can submit written comments in support of one or all of these petitions by emailing the program by October 16.

Thanks for your support for humane and sensible cannabis policies! Please spread the word to others who may be interested in helping relegate cannabis prohibition to the dustbin of history.

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Sign your petitions from home to ensure legalization is on the November ballot!

New Approach Montana is pulling out all the stops to get the signatures it needs to qualify adult-use legalization for Montana’s November ballot.

Despite getting a late start due to the health crisis sweeping the nation, the campaign launched its signature drive on May 9, instituting a comprehensive set of public health protocols to limit contact between circulators and petition signers. And, earlier this week, the campaign released a new website that allows Montana voters to sign petition documents from home! Follow the link below to download and print using your printer or to request that the campaign mail your petitions.

The campaign’s new website allows Montana residents to choose between two options to sign petition documents remotely. Voters can request a mailed packet that includes instructions, printed petition documents to sign, and a pre-addressed, pre-paid envelope to return the signed documents to the campaign. The other option allows voters to print the documents at home, sign, and return them by mail.

It has never been easier to sign a ballot initiative petition in Montana. If you have any questions, just email the campaign at info@newapproachmt.org. And of course, if you prefer to sign in person, you can find a map of signing locations here.

Every signature counts, and we’re asking all Montanans to take just a few minutes to print and sign these petitions. Please also spread the word about this unique petition-signing opportunity to your friends, family, and neighbors around the state. Just a few signatures could determine the fate of ending marijuana prohibition in Montana this year.

Thank you in advance for assisting this important campaign.

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Submit a letter of support if you could benefit from allowing oral uptake delivery or from adding chronic pain or TBI to the program.

Minnesota's medical cannabis law started as one of the most restrictive in the nation. Thanks to the hard work of our allies at Sensible Minnesota and the voices of patients and providers, it has steadily been expanded via the Department of Health petition process. Intractable pain, PTSD, autism, and other conditions have been added administratively to include tens of thousands more patients.

Sensible Minnesota is now focused on expanding conditions to include chronic pain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and to allow oral uptake delivery. If you are a patient, caregiver, family member, healthcare provider, or someone else who could benefit from the addition of these conditions or delivery method, please consider providing a letter of support by the end of the day on Friday, July 26.

The National Academy of Sciences found there is conclusive or substantial evidence that cannabis relieves chronic pain. Adding "chronic pain" would allow thousands more patients to qualify who do not fall under the restrictive definition of intractable pain.

Oral uptake delivery — which can be done with gums, lozenges, or mints — permits patients to absorb cannabinoids through the mucosal lining of the mouth. This means the patient doesn't need to swallow the product, which can take far longer to get into the bloodstream to provide relief.

If you are a pain or TBI patient who has already received benefit from medical cannabis, please consider providing a letter to share your story.

You can submit your letter of support using Sensible Minnesota's online form or via email to petitions@sensible.mn. If you have questions or would like more information, please reach out to petitions@sensible.mn.

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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 petitions in their area. If you are a Mississippi resident who is willing to help collect signatures, please email the signature collection coordinator: JB Brown.

For more information on the campaign or to get involved, please go to www.medicalmarijuana2020.com. It’s time for patients suffering in Mississippi to have access to medical marijuana.

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The Denver Campaign for Limited Social Use submitted more than 10,000 signatures Monday in support of a city initiative that would allow the limited social use — but not sale — of marijuana at commercial establishments in areas restricted to adults 21 and older.

4,726 valid signatures of registered city voters are needed to qualify for the November 2015 ballot. The city clerk has 25 days to certify the petition.

Under the proposed measure, businesses that have a license to sell alcohol for onsite consumption would be able to decide whether to allow cannabis consumption on the premises. Businesses that choose to allow only cannabis consumption (without licensed alcohol consumption) would be subject to regulation by the city, including restrictions on location and hours of operation. All commercial establishments that allow adults to use marijuana would be required to comply with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which means (1) only non-smokable forms of marijuana would be allowed indoors, and (2) smoking marijuana would only be allowed in existing designated smoking areas that are not viewable to the public.

A strong majority (56%) of likely 2015 voters in Denver support the proposed initiative, according to a survey conducted in June by Public Policy Polling. Just 40% are opposed. The full results are available here.

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