Call Governor Hogan today and ask that he sign HB 837!

It’s been a busy week for cannabis policy reform in Annapolis! The legislature has approved HB 1 — which will refer the question of legalization to voters on the November ballot. Marylanders have long supported legalizing cannabis for adults, and this fall they will have the opportunity to weigh in to end cannabis prohibition in the Free State.

The legislature also approved HB 837 — legislation that would take effect if voters approve legalization. HB 837 would allow residents 21 and older to legally possess up to 1.5 ounces and cultivate up to two plants beginning July 1, 2023. The bills also include limited expungement, funding for minority- and women-owned businesses, and a community reinvestment and repair fund — that would be contingent on voter approval of HB 1.

You can check out our summary of the bills here.

The companion legislation now heads to Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk, where he can sign it into law, let it became law without his signature, or veto the legislation. Call the governor now and ask that he sign HB 837 into law!

Encouragingly, the bills passed with a veto-proof majority (92-37 in the House and 30-15 in the Senate). If the governor vetoed HB 837, there should still be time left in session for the legislature to override a veto before they adjourn on April 11.

Ask Gov. Hogan to stand with the majority of Marylanders and sign HB 837 into law!

Thank you to everyone who helped achieve this historic victory today! Maryland has taken a big step to finally end cannabis prohibition.

Read more

Exciting news! Moments ago, Gov. Lamont signed S.B. 1201 — “An Act Concerning Equitable and Responsible Regulation of Cannabis” — into law, making Connecticut the 19th state to end cannabis prohibition. Connecticut is the sixth state to legalize via its state legislature and the fourth state to legalize this year, along with New Mexico, New York, and Virginia.

You may recall, earlier this month the House and Senate passed S.B. 1201 in special session on 76-62 and 16-11 votes, respectively. With Gov. Lamont’s signature, cannabis prohibition will effectively end in Connecticut on July 1.

Starting on July 1, adults over the age of 21 will be allowed to possess up to one and a half ounces of cannabis on their person and up to five ounces in a locked trunk or secured at their home. Legal sales are anticipated to begin by May 2022. Adults will be allowed to securely cultivate cannabis at home starting July 1, 2023.

Additionally, 50% of licenses will be reserved for equity applicants, and up to 75% of the revenue will be dedicated towards equity efforts and community reinvestment. You can check out a full summary of the bill here and a condensed summary here.  

MPP is proud to have played a leading role in this multi-year effort to reform Connecticut’s cannabis laws. However, this accomplishment would not have been possible without all of your calls, emails, texts, and support over the years to get this equity-centered legislation across the finish line. This is our collective victory to share.

Congratulations!

Read more

S. 25 creates a Cannabis Business Development Fund to assist social equity applicants.

On Monday, Governor Phil Scott signed S. 25, a bill that will strengthen the social equity provisions in Vermont’s cannabis legalization law. S. 25 requires the Cannabis Control Board to reduce or eliminate licensing fees for social equity applicants, which are defined as “individuals from communities that historically have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition or individuals directly and personally impacted by cannabis prohibition,” and it creates a Cannabis Business Development Fund to assist these applicants.  

The bill also modifies sections of the law dealing with advertising and other aspects of cannabis regulation. Before passing S. 25, the House removed a provision that would have incentivized municipalities to vote on whether to approve retail sales by March 2023.

In other news, the three-person Cannabis Control Board has begun working to develop regulations for Vermont’s adult-use cannabis market.

Now that Vermont has legalized cannabis and is well on its way to establishing a well-regulated, equitable market, we believe the Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana has succeeded in fulfilling its purpose. Many thanks to Laura Subin, the Necrason Group, and all of our coalition members and allies who worked so hard to end cannabis prohibition in the Green Mountain State!

This will be the final email from the Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana. However, we will continue to send you updates from the Marijuana Policy Project from time to time. It is still imperative that we end the federal war on cannabis, which tears families apart, drives up costs for patients and consumers, and makes local equity efforts more difficult.

We are very grateful for your support, without which this important victory would not have been possible.

Read more

Yesterday, the New Mexico House and Senate passed a bill to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for adults 21 and older during a special session called for that purpose by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. When she signs the bill, New Mexico will become the 17th state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the fourth to do so through the legislative process rather than by voter initiative.

You can read a summary of the final bill, HB 2, here.

Thanks to all who contacted their legislators and urged them to support this important reform!

In addition to legalizing personal possession of at least two ounces of cannabis, HB 2 will also allow home cultivation of six mature plants. A companion bill — SB 2 — would provide for automatic expungement.

Congratulations to all of the lawmakers and advocates who made this victory possible, including our allies at the Drug Policy Alliance.

Please share this excellent news with your family and friends!

Read more

New York just legalized adult-use cannabis! 

Last night, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) received final approval from state legislators, and earlier today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo officially signed the legislation into law, making New York the 16th state to end cannabis prohibition and the third to adopt a legalization policy via its state legislature.

Under the legislation, adults over 21 may possess up to three ounces of cannabis and 24 grams of concentrate, plus adults can grow a maximum of three mature plants and three immature plants once regulations are adopted. Legal possession of up to three ounces is effective immediately. Additionally, the law includes provisions for automatic expungement, community reinvestment, and measures to ensure the industry includes communities that have been disproportionately targeted by cannabis enforcement. Our summary of the MRTA is available here.

We expect this to be a record-breaking year for legalization in state legislatures. Until today, only two state legislatures had ever passed cannabis legalization — Illinois and Vermont, both efforts led by MPP. Now, we may see two legislatures pass legalization this WEEK alone.

• New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called a special session, which started yesterday, to finish the job on legalization. During the regular session, the House passed an equitable legalization bill, but the clock ran out before the Senate could. Already, committees have advanced legalization during the special session.
   
• Today, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam formally recommended the legislature move up legalization of possession and home cultivation to July 2021. (The legislatively passed bill did not legalize possession and home cultivation until 2024.) The legislature will consider his changes — which the speaker supports — on April 7.
   
• In addition, Delaware, Connecticut, and Rhode Island — all of which MPP is heavily involved in — have a real chance of passing legalization legislatively this year.

Adding New York to the list, 38% of Americans now live in a legalization state. But, that means 62% do not, despite more than two-thirds of Americans supporting legalization. We need your help to change that, so please support our work to pass more bills through state legislatures by making a donation today. 

Congratulations to the Empire State on this huge victory, and kudos to all the advocates who worked to make it possible!

Read more

Our hard work paid off. Earlier this week, the South Dakota House of Representatives rejected House Bill 1100, which means Measure 26 will take effect on July 1 exactly as voters approved it last November.

To each supporter who sent an email, called their legislators, or attended a cracker barrel — THANK YOU! This was a truly remarkable victory. We took on the political establishment of South Dakota, and the strength of our numbers prevailed. 

We now must turn our full attention to defending Amendment A. On Wednesday, our legal team filed their first round of arguments with the South Dakota Supreme Court in the appeal to overturn Judge Klinger's previous ruling. We remain confident that the law — and the integrity of South Dakota's ballot initiative process — will be upheld.

We don't like to keep asking, but this legal fight was never part of the campaign budget, and we need your help to cover the costs associated with the lawsuit. If you are able, please contribute any amount you can to the MPP Foundation South Dakota Legal Defense Fund. All donations are tax deductible. Please use this link to donate:

There is more work ahead of us, but we won a major battle this week. We are grateful to all of you for your commitment and tireless advocacy. Working together, we will continue to defend sensible marijuana policies and the will of the voters. 

Thank you.

Read more

There are just a few weeks until Election Day, and the South Dakota campaign is heating up. The opponents are doing everything they can to defeat marijuana reform. They’re resorting to scare tactics and lies, making false claims about Colorado, and being dishonest about the details of Amendment A (the legalization initiative).

The good news is, the 2020 campaign -- South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws -- is fighting back. They sent a mailer to tens of thousands of voters across the state. They’re running TV and digital ads that explain the benefits of Amendment A (which legalizes marijuana for adults 21 and over and protects medical marijuana access) and Measure 26 (the medical marijuana initiative). They have some great Facebook videos from supporters (including popular travel writer and public TV host Rick Steves) that they’re sharing with voters across the state. They’re getting their message out through the media, making the case for legal access to medical marijuana and pushing back on the opponents' false claims.  

And last week they organized an awesome day of action across the state!

The campaign is working very hard, and they’re still on a path to victory.

But in past campaigns in other states, anti-reform forces have spent big money in the final weeks before Election Day. So we can’t take anything for granted in South Dakota.

Here’s how you can help:

1. If you know someone in South Dakota, tell them to double check that they are registered to vote! The deadline is October 19. If they have questions, they should visit SouthDakota2020.org/vote or contact the campaign on Facebook. 

2. If you can, please make a donation directly to South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws. Whether it’s $10 or $100, it will really help the campaign.

3. Buy an A+26 t-shirt! Fifteen dollars ($15) from each purchase is donated to the campaign.

MPP staff are playing an important role in this exciting campaign, which will be historic. Until now, no state has approved medical marijuana and legalization for adults on the same ballot. Let’s make sure our friends in South Dakota have all the support they need to achieve victory on Election Day.

Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday to prevent the federal government from interfering with state laws regulating marijuana for all purposes, including adult use.

"Today's vote is the most significant step Congress has ever taken toward ending federal marijuana prohibition."

- Steven Hawkins, MPP Executive Director

Yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives, an extraordinary milestone was achieved when the body approved a measure by a 267-165 vote to prevent the Department of Justice from using funds to interfere with the implementation of state laws that have legalized marijuana for adults. Since 2014, Congress has renewed a provision that prevented federal interference in states' medical marijuana programs, but this goes further and includes adult-use legalization, too.

The significance of this development cannot be overstated. As MPP Executive Director Steve Hawkins put it this vote means "Congress is recognizing that the federal government must let the states decide on cannabis legalization — and not the other way around." But this win was only made possible with your support.

Please help MPP continue to achieve victories like this by making a contribution to the effort today.

The bipartisan amendment, offered by Reps. Tom McClintock (R-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) to the House version of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, prohibits the Justice Department, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, from using funds to interfere in the implementation of state laws that allow the use, possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana. The measure is broader than previous amendments, which applied only to medical marijuana laws.

We should all take a moment to savor this seminal achievement and to appreciate how far we've come as a movement. But we can't afford to rest on our laurels, to count on momentum alone to drive future progress, or to assume others will step up to support ending marijuana prohibition nationwide.

Your gift of support today is critical to ensure that MPP has the resources it needs to keep on fighting and winning. Click here to donate now.

The Senate is expected to take up companion legislation in the coming weeks, and it's going to take all the efforts of MPP's policy experts, allies, and coalition partners to push this bill forward. Most importantly, strong and active support from people like you, who know firsthand the injustice and illogic of marijuana prohibition, will be key to moving this legislation across the finish line.

Thank you for all you've done to help us get this far. The MPP mission to end marijuana prohibition has never been so close to being realized, and with your support, we will make that vision a reality.

Read more