Thanks in large part to everyone who took action, the California tax rollback is now a reality! 

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed AB 564 into law. Now, cannabis consumers and business owners will feel relief from the 19% cannabis excise tax reverting back to 15% on October 1.

We are extremely grateful to our allies at Cal NORML for not only sponsoring this bill, but playing a leading role in getting it across the finish line! Also, thank you to Assemblymember Matt Haney for championing the legislation. 

As always, we will continue to push back on any harmful cannabis proposals that affect patients and consumers! 

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A California Assembly bill introduced this session (AB564) would stop the cannabis sales tax increase that is set to bump the current 15% excise tax up to 19%. This tax hike would likely crush many already struggling cannabis businesses financially. If passed, the bill would be effective immediately, ensuring the tax jump to 19% will not take place.

If you live in California, act now and ask legislators to repeal the biennial cannabis tax rate increase!

A bill enacted in 2022 eliminated a cultivation excise tax and required the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to adjust the excise rate every two years to account for the added revenue that would have been generated by the cultivation tax. AB564 would stop both this year’s tax increase and planned biennial hikes in the future.

Excessive tax rates would damage the legal, regulated cannabis market, which is struggling to compete with the unregulated, untaxed cannabis market and intoxicating hemp. In 2023, a little over 15% of cannabis business operators defaulted on their taxes.

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Urge Council members to remove cannabis from the proposed at-home smoking ban.

Five years after California voters legalized cannabis for adults, the San Jose City Council is considering taking a giant step backwards. It is considering including cannabis in a proposed ban on smoking and vaping in apartments and condos. Smoking cannabis in public is illegal, so this would essentially re-criminalize cannabis for anyone who doesn’t live in a single-family home or duplex.

The Council is also considering how such a ban would be enforced, which might include eviction.

Tomorrow afternoon, a Council committee will hear from the public on the proposal, including about whether cannabis smoking and/or cannabis vaping should be included in the ban, and what the penalties should be for violations. 

Here’s what you can do to defend your hard-won rights:

1) Send the committee members a message using our automated system. Consider personalizing the letter, especially if this impacts you directly.

2) Speak out at tomorrow’s hearing:

TOMORROW,  Thursday, December 9, meeting starts at 1:30 p.m.
The smoking ban is item d.3 on the agenda.
You can comment by Zoom OR call in by phone: 888 475 4499. Webinar ID: 935 2441 5809
Click *9 to raise a hand to speak. Press *6 to unmute.
Details are available here.

3) Spread the word. Share this on social media and mobilize your friends.

Let the City Council know it’s wrong to ban cannabis vaping and smoking at home.

Unlike cigarettes, cannabis is not linked to lung cancer. Rather than being a hazard, cannabis is an essential part of treatment for millions of Americans. And for many, edibles are no substitute: Lots of cannabis consumers rely on the rapid effect and precise dosage of inhaled cannabis.

Advocates have defeated similar, misguided proposals in San Francisco and my city — West Hollywood — where cannabis was exempted.

Together, we can stop this ill-conceived proposal, which would strip San Jose City residents of their rights and set a devastating precedent. 

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Click here to send a message opposing federal caps and product bans.

Not satisfied with federal prohibition alone, some in Congress now want to limit state programs. In a shocking move, two powerful Senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Dianne Feinstein of California, issued a report on behalf of the U.S. Senate drug caucus indicating they may seek to impose federal caps on THC in products in legal state cannabis programs. Anything over the cap would be banned. 

Ask your Senators to push back on this offensive proposal.

States around the country have shown they are capable of deciding for themselves which products to allow, and so far cap-and-ban proposals have been nearly universally rejected. Cap-and-ban proposals overlook the needs of medical cannabis patients and reintroduce exactly the same prohibition policies that led to legalization — the criminalization of cannabis and the uneven enforcement against people of color, long the hallmark of cannabis prohibition.

Ironically, 60% of voters in Sen. Cornyn’s home state of Texas support legalization, along with 68% of voters in Sen. Feinstein’s state of California. To say their proposal is out of step with voters in their own states, much less nationally, is an understatement. 

Prohibition and its failed policies must end, and you can help. Please take a moment to send a quick email to your Senators and a clear message to prohibitionists: stop working against the will of the voters and let the states continue to regulate cannabis without interference.   

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A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health found little effect of adult-use marijuana laws on prevalence of marijuana use among youth.

In this examination, researchers focused specifically on 504 justice system-involved adolescents in California, who, as they point out, have substantially higher marijuana use levels as compared to the general youth population. Among this population, they found marijuana use levels in the past 24 hours were similar in 2015 (before adult-use marijuana was legalized) and in 2018 (after adult-use marijuana was legalized and implemented in the state).

The authors then compared the findings of the California youth population with a group of justice system-involved adolescents in Pennsylvania, a state that has not legalized cannabis for adult use and had lower levels of marijuana use than in California at baseline. If adult-use legalization laws increased adolescent marijuana use, the gap in marijuana use prevalence across the groups in the two states would be expected to grow. However, the gap actually grew smaller because marijuana prevalence increased relatively faster among the Pennsylvania adolescents.

As a whole, the study suggests that marijuana legalization has not had much overall effect on youth marijuana use during the past two decades. Over the past 10 years, state marijuana laws have changed substantially, with 11 states and D.C. legalizing cannabis for adults. Nonetheless, youth use rates have remained quite steady, indicating that major changes in the legality of marijuana across the U.S. have not impacted adolescent use.

The abstract of the study, “Marijuana use among justice-involved youths after California statewide legalization, 2015-2018,” appears here, and an accompanying editorial, “Marijuana legalization and marijuana prevalence among adolescents,” can be found here. 

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LD 1539 improves Maine’s medical marijuana program for patients and industry

Today, the omnibus medical marijuana bill that was passed last spring goes into effect. The bill makes major improvements to Maine’s medical marijuana program. Among some of the changes, the legislation:

• removes the qualifying condition list so that any Mainer can use medical marijuana so long as their doctor thinks it would be helpful for them;
• eliminates the requirement that a patient must designate a caregiver or dispensary as their sole provider, allowing for more patient choice;
• adds two more dispensaries to the existing eight dispensaries and removes the cap on the dispensaries after January 1, 2021; and
• allows for caregivers to open storefront businesses.

More than two years since Maine voters legalized marijuana for adults, adult-use stores have still not opened, largely due to obstruction from departing Gov. Paul LePage. In the meantime, these changes will help improve and expand medical cannabis access, including by making it more affordable.

As for the adult-use program, the state has recently hired BOTEC, out of Washington State, to help write the rules governing commercial marijuana. A significant amount of “rulemaking” has been done at the committee level, and we hope this work is respected. We hope the new governor, Janet Mills, will work diligently to get Maine’s new program off the ground. Please send her team an email, asking for marijuana legalization to be a year one priority.

Adult-use sales are up and running in all three other states where voters legalized marijuana in 2016 — California, Nevada, and Massachusetts. In Nevada, sales began more than a year ago. Please ask Gov.-elect Mills to move forward promptly, and share this with friends and family in Maine.

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Another election, and another historic night for marijuana reform.

Michigan has passed legalization! MPP played a central role in this campaign from start to finish. From coordinating the initiative drafting to overseeing the production of TV ads, MPP staffers worked alongside a excellent campaign team for two years to make Michigan the first state in the Midwest to adopt legalization. This is a huge win that will maintain our momentum in Washington, D.C. to pass a landmark federal reform bill through Congress in the near future.

Utah passed medical marijuana! MPP led the drafting process and played an important supporting role throughout the campaign. We are so proud of the Utah Patients Coalition team on this historic win that will end the heartless policy of criminalizing patients. If we can pass medical marijuana in Utah, then we can pass it in any state in the country…and we will.

In Missouri, voters approved medical marijuana, and they chose the best of the three possible initiatives. We congratulate our allies in the marijuana reform movement for this important win that will help patients access the medicine they need.

Sadly, North Dakota did not pass its legalization initiative. In such a conservative state, it was always an uphill battle. The proponents ran a strong campaign, but in a midterm year, the electorate was always going to be a challenge. North Dakota passed medical marijuana in 2016. It’s only a matter of time before the state adopts legalization, either via ballot initiative or legislative action.

As a movement, we won three out of four states. And for MPP, we’ve now played a leading role in seven of the 10 states that have legalized marijuana for adults (Colorado, Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Vermont, and Michigan).

We couldn’t do this work without the support of voters, allies, activists, and donors. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made these crucial victories last night possible.

In other great news, voters elected at least seven governors who support ending marijuana prohibition — Ned Lamont in Connecticut, JB Pritzker in Illinois, Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico, Tim Walz in Minnesota, Gavin Newsom in California, Jared Polis in Colorado, and Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan. For more details, check out our elections page.

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A new poll shows the Michigan marijuana legalization campaign ahead with 56% support. While we remain cautiously optimistic about success on Election Day, we are not out of the woods yet.

A well-funded opposition campaign could still emerge. If that happens, we would likely see misleading TV and online ads telling voters that legalization has failed in Colorado, California, and beyond.

The Michigan campaign needs resources in order to present voters with the facts on this issue: prohibition has proven to be an utter failure and legalization policies are working effectively in other states.

There are just 55 days until Election Day. I know you get many such requests, but will you make a $20 donation today to support legalization in Michigan?

Michigan is a very important campaign for these reasons:

– Michigan would be the first state in the Midwest to legalize, putting pressure on nearby states including Illinois and Ohio;
– Michigan would become the second most populous state in the country to fully legalize marijuana; and
– A victory in Michigan would further increase pressure on Congress to pass federal reform in 2019.

This November, let’s make Michigan the 10th state to legalize marijuana.

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Two compassionate cannabis-related bills are advancing, and, if you’re a California resident, now is a good time to voice your support. Here’s a rundown:

AB 1793 would make expungement automatic for cannabis-related convictions that today are no longer considered crimes. It passed the Assembly in May, the Senate earlier today, and it’s now headed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk! If you live in California, let Gov. Brown know it’s time to repair the harm caused by outdated marijuana-war policy. Californians shouldn’t be branded with a scarlet letter for conduct that is now legal.

Meanwhile, SB 829 would waive cultivation fees for donations medical cannabis businesses make to low- or no-income patients. This bill passed the Senate on May 17 followed by three Assembly committees after that. Now it faces an Assembly floor vote. If you’re a Californian and you haven’t already, use this link to send a message to your Assemblymember in support.

Finally, it’s not too late to comment on proposed agency rules for cannabis businesses. For the proposed text, summaries, and contact info for submitting comments, visit the state’s website. Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 27.

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Members of the public are invited to provide comments on California’s proposed rules for cannabis businesses. The Bureau of Cannabis Control and other agencies seek public comments as they consider a permanent set of rules — replacing those temporarily in place.

For background, including the text of the proposed rules, summaries, and the agencies’ reasoning for seeking changes, visit the state’s website. Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 27.

For the most part, permanent rules would mirror those currently in place – but there are some key differences. A big improvement is a clarifying statement that adults 21 and older could receive cannabis deliveries at their own homes, statewide. This is a much-needed solution for those who live in parts of the state that have banned retail sales.

Unfortunately, the transition from illicit to legal sales has not gone as quickly as many had predicted in California, due in large part to rural communities that have refused to allow legal sales. By ensuring that deliveries are available for adults everywhere, consumers are given an option for safe, discreet, and legal sales.

Not all proposed rule changes are positive. One change would limit medical cannabis dispensaries to the sale of cannabis products and branded merchandise, preventing them from offering holistic health services such as counseling and support.

If you are a California resident, take a look at the proposed rules and be sure to send comments so they can be received before the deadline on the 27.

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