The bill to legalize retail sales and the bill to automatically expunge records for past offenses are both advancing to the desk of Gov. Phil Scott — please call him today and encourage him to sign them into law! The bill to legalize, regulate, and tax adult-use cannabis sales cleared its final legislative hurdle this morning when the Senate approved it in a final vote of 23-6. The Senate also granted final approval to the bill that would automatically expunge records for past low-level cannabis…

The Senate is expected to send S. 54 to the desk of Gov. Phil Scott next week — please call him today and encourage him to sign it! The bill to legalize, regulate, and tax adult-use cannabis sales cleared yet another hurdle today when the House approved it in a final vote of 92-56. The Senate is expected to pass S. 54 next week, after which it will proceed to the desk of Gov. Phil Scott. Please take a moment to call Gov. Phil Scott at 802-828-3333 and encourage him to sign it when it reaches his…

House and Senate negotiators agreed to a compromise yesterday evening — urge your lawmakers to support S. 54 in a final vote, then call Gov. Phil Scott and ask him to sign it! After many years of hard work by legislators and advocates, the House and Senate have finally reached an agreement on the details of a bill to legalize and regulate cannabis sales. Please write your representatives and senators and urge them to support S. 54 in a final vote! Then, call Gov. Phil Scott and encourage him to…

We wanted to share with you a study performed by Professor Fred Cartensen, Director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis (CCEA), and commissioned by MPP with the goal of better understanding the potential economic effects of cannabis legalization in Connecticut. The estimates are conservative and provide insight into the financial possibilities that lie ahead once Connecticut begins to regulate and tax cannabis like other states in the region and throughout the country. The study projects…

The legislature is resuming its work on the bill to legalize and regulate cannabis sales — write your state representatives to follow up on their votes from earlier this year and remind them of S. 54’s importance to Vermont’s economic recovery! Tomorrow, the conference committee that has been formed to work out a final version of Vermont’s cannabis regulation bill will hold its first meeting! S. 54, which already passed the House (90-54) and the Senate (23-5), has been awaiting action from this…

Contact your lawmakers and ask them to support legalizing cannabis! The Virginia Legislature convenes for a special session tomorrow to focus on budgeting, criminal justice, and police reform. There is increasing momentum from elected officials to consider cannabis legalization during the special session! Both the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and Attorney General Mark Herring have included cannabis legalization in their list of priorities for the special session, and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney…

Next Tuesday, August 11 is Primary Election Day for the Connecticut General Assembly. This year’s election will be critical in determining whether Connecticut will finally legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older. We’ve put together a voter guide on where the candidates stand on legalizing, regulating, and taxing cannabis for adults 21 and older. It includes responses to our questionnaire along with past public statements. Unfortunately, this year’s legalization bill stalled due to COVID. I encourage…

The legislature is planning to resume its work soon — email your elected officials now and urge them to make passage of S. 54 a top priority! Vermont’s economy has been crippled in recent months by COVID-19. It is unfortunate that adult-use cannabis businesses were not already operating before the pandemic arrived, because they could have provided an important source of jobs and tax revenue during the crisis. Fortunately, the legislature will have an opportunity to finish its work and pass a final…

On Friday, July 17, we got an exciting update out of Big Sky Country: according to numbers tallied by local officials, BOTH legalization initiatives have received enough signatures to qualify for the statewide ballot this fall! That’s really good news. But leaders of the campaign are nervous about the potential emergence of a well-financed opposition effort assisted by groups like SAM. Winning in Montana is not going to be easy, and due to the challenges the campaign faced in the signature drive,…

Ask your lawmakers to support legalizing and regulating marijuana for adults. I have some encouraging news to share with you. Last week, a majority of Senate Democrats authored a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf arguing that adult-use marijuana legalization should be immediately pursued to make up revenue losses from the coronavirus pandemic. The letter, which was signed by 18 Senate Democrats in total, argues that legalizing adult-use cannabis can protect Pennsylvanians from harmful tax hikes and spending…