Urge your lawmakers to end cannabis prohibition in 2022!

In case you missed it, House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D) has announced that the House intends to pass a bill to refer legalization to voters on the 2022 ballot. The announcement also included the formation of a legalization workgroup to study the issue. The workgroup held its first meeting last week, which is available to view here.

As the workgroup begins to meet, the Maryland Cannabis Policy Coalition has created a list of priorities we will be advocating for to ensure that legalization in achieved in 2022 without delay, is equitable, and seeks to repair the past harms of cannabis prohibition. This includes:

• Ensuring any voter referendum is self-executing and legalizes possession and home cultivation with no further legislative action needed.
• If legalization is referred to the ballot in 2022, the legislature should also enact implementing legislation in 2022 to ensure legalization is rooted in social equity and reparative justice.
• Reinvesting the bulk of tax revenue into disproportionately impacted communities.

You can check out the full list here.

It’s important that your lawmakers hear from their constituents. Be sure to reach out to them today and ask them to ensure equitable legalization is achieved in 2022!

A strong majority of Marylanders support legalizing cannabis for adults, but the legislature must act to bring equitable legalization to Maryland. Please reach out to your lawmakers today and share this message with your friends and family in Maryland. Stay tuned for future updates!

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Contact your lawmakers today and ask them to prioritize HB 150 in 2022!

This year, two House committees approved HB 150 — a bill to legalize and regulate cannabis for adults in Delaware. The bill was cleared and scheduled for a House floor vote on June 10, but unfortunately, that vote was postponed to allow more time to work on amendments.

The legislature adjourns today. However, since the General Assembly holds a two-year session, the bill will pick up where it left off in January 2022.

While it’s unfortunate that the bill wasn’t taken up this year, we must keep the pressure on lawmakers to prioritize HB 150 when they return in January. Please reach out to your lawmakers today and ask them to support HB 150 next session!

Be sure to stay plugged in to the Delaware Cannabis Policy Coalition email alerts leading up to 2022 for actions to take to help make sure HB 150 makes it over the finish line next year.

Mourning Deborah Hamilton

We also wanted to share some very sad news. Deborah Hamilton — who lobbied for medical cannabis, decriminalization, and legalization for MPP over the years — passed away recently. Debbie was among the most respected and skilled advocates in Leg Hall, and she was absolutely crucial to the progress that has been made in the First State for humane cannabis policies. We are lucky to have worked closely with her, and our hearts break for her family and loved ones.

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Ask your state senator to support legalization.

Last night, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted to legalize cannabis in a 72-61 vote!

Unfortunately, however, the legislature only has two days left before it adjourns for the year, and the Senate will not be taking up legalization. When the legislature reconvenes in 2022, legislation picks up where it left off — HF 600 will already be out of the House and in the Senate. However, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka has said his Republican caucus is strongly opposed.

Gov. Tim Walz supports legalization, meaning Sen. Gazelka’s Senate majority is the only thing standing in the way of legalization of cannabis in Minnesota.

Legalization would create tens of thousands of desperately needed jobs and hundreds of millions in tax revenue, and it would reduce unnecessary stops, searches, and arrests that unfairly and unequally target Black Minnesotans.

Let your state senator know you want the Senate to legalize cannabis for adults in 2022.

Then, spread the good news to others in Minnesota.

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Ask your legislators to pass the S.C. Compassionate Care Act in 2022.

The South Carolina Legislature adjourned today after once again failing to pass the S.C. Compassionate Care Act. This means another year of needless suffering for people with cancer, severe pain, seizure disorders, and other ailments.

We need your help to make sure that never happens again — and that 2022 is the year that patients finally get relief.

While the delay is heartbreaking, there is reason for hope. The South Carolina Medical Affairs Committee advanced medical cannabis legislation, and the bill sponsor — Sen. Tom Davis (R) — secured a commitment from his colleagues to allow the S.C. Compassionate Care Act to get a Senate floor vote early next year. Meanwhile, Gov. Henry McMaster’s stance on medical cannabis is improving. 

If you are a seriously ill patient who can benefit from medical cannabis, a close family member of a patient who could benefit, or if you’re a supportive veteran, past or current member of law enforcement, or medical professional, please let me know. Your voice is particularly important to this effort. Please include your address or nine-digit zip code so we can figure out who your state legislators are.

Together, we can finally bring a compassionate medical cannabis law to the Palmetto State.

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Sign up to become a volunteer signature gatherer.

Yesterday, Nebraska lawmakers effectively killed LB 474, legislation that would have established one of the most conservative medical cannabis programs in the country. Though a bipartisan majority of state senators voted to end a filibuster and allow the bill to proceed, it ultimately came up two votes short of meeting the necessary threshold.

While we hoped that enough lawmakers would listen to their constituents and do the right thing, this outcome was not entirely unexpected. 

Now it’s up to the people of Nebraska to provide the relief that so many patients and families deserve. The ballot committee, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, is now rallying supporters and ramping up their signature drive to put medical cannabis on the ballot in 2022. Please take action now to support this effort:

• Sign up to be a volunteer signature gatherer.

• Make a contribution to help the campaign print petitions and hire staff to oversee the signature drive.

In 2020, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana overcame a pandemic and collected more than enough signatures to qualify the initiative — and they can do it again. Unfortunately, a deeply flawed ruling from the Nebraska Supreme Court kept the initiative off the 2020 ballot. But this time they’re backing a one-sentence constitutional amendment designed to avoid all potential legal challenges. They are also working with a team of legal experts to guide the drafting of complementary statutory language. In short, their plan is to replicate the successful model of the 2020 casino gaming initiatives that passed in Nebraska last year. 

Nebraskans overwhelmingly support creating a system of safe, legal access to medical cannabis. Please support and get involved with the 2022 ballot campaign. With your help, the people will prevail. 

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Urge your lawmakers to end cannabis prohibition in 2022!

The Maryland General Assembly wrapped up its 2021 legislative session on Monday. A comprehensive bill—HB 32— was introduced and championed by Delegate Jazz Lewis, but unfortunately the bill was not taken up this session.

With the legislature unwilling to take up legalization this year, the focus now shifts to passing legalization in 2022.

It’s important your lawmakers hear from you in the time leading up to the 2022 session. Email your lawmakers and ask them to make legalization a priority next year!

To go the extra mile, reach out to your lawmakers and schedule a meeting with them during the off-session. You can find tips for meeting with legislators here and effective arguments for legalizing and regulating cannabis here.

The Maryland Cannabis Policy Coalition will continue to lay the groundwork for legalization in 2022. Make sure you’re plugged in to receive future updates. If you are a member of an organization that would like to join our coalition, we would love to hear from you.

Let’s send a strong message that equitable cannabis legalization must be a priority next year!

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On Saturday, July 5, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Compassionate Care Act into law, making New York the 23rd state with an effective medical marijuana law. The law goes into effect immediately, although patients are not expected to have legal protections or safe access to medical marijuana until 2016. 

The law’s passage is the product of many years of work by legislative champions, led by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, and, more recently, Sen. Diane Savino, patients, their loved ones, and advocacy organizations, including MPP and Compassionate Care NY. Thanks to each and every one of you who made this law possible.

While there are many reasons to rejoice, the law is unfortunately much more limited than what was introduced, largely due to amendments Gov. Cuomo insisted upon. Many seriously ill patients will be left behind, at least initially.

Only patients with one of 10 serious conditions will qualify, although the health department is allowed to add qualifying conditions. The law allows far too few dispensaries by providing for no more than five growers, with up to four dispensing locations each. Patients will not be able to smoke cannabis. A summary of the new law is available here.

While this is a vital step forward, the work to ensure that all seriously ill patients who can benefit from medical cannabis have reasonable access to it is not done. Stay tuned for updates on how you can help improve New York’s new medical marijuana program.

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[caption id="attachment_7655" align="alignright" width="214"] Sen. Diane Savino[/caption]

Today, the Senate Health Committee will vote on Sen. Diane Savino’s medical marijuana bill. This will be the first time since 2010 that a Senate committee has voted on the Compassionate Care Act, which has already been approved by the Assembly four times. If the bill passes the Senate Health Committee, it must pass at least one more committee vote before heading to the full Senate.

Thousands of New Yorkers continue to suffer needlessly because they cannot safely access medical marijuana, including children enduring hundreds of debilitating seizures daily. Get to know some of these children by watching this video produced by our allies at “NY Parents for Legalizing MMJ.”

The Compassionate Care Act would provide safe, legal access to medical marijuana for thousands of patients. An overwhelming 88% of New Yorkers support allowing medical marijuana.

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[caption id="attachment_7644" align="alignright" width="254"] Sen. Diane Savino[/caption]

New York Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island) claims she has rallied enough votes to pass SB 4406, which legalizes medical marijuana. Thirty-nine senators, seven more than what is needed to pass the bill, have pledged their support.

However, gathering this support has come at a price. Three significant changes differentiate the current bill from the original.

First, physicians are limited to recommending medical marijuana for only 20 conditions. Secondly, the bill would create an advisory committee to recommend additions to the list of qualifying conditions. This board could also hear appeals for individual patients who fall outside of the list. Lastly, people under 21 would not be permitted to smoke marijuana as a treatment; they would be restricted to ingesting or vaporizing.

Other details of the bill include required medical marijuana cards for patients, a limit of up to 2.5 ounces per 30-day supply, and the dispensaries would have to pay taxes to the state.

According to the New York Daily News, it looks like the Senate’s Health Committee will take up the bill at noon on Tuesday.

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This Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce an executive action creating a medical marijuana program. While it’s encouraging that he has realized patients should not be punished for using their medicine, unlike the medical marijuana bill sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Senator Diane Savino, Gov. Cuomo’s proposal would not create an effective program. The "State of the State" address will be streaming live at 11:30am ET on Wednesday.

[caption id="attachment_7194" align="alignright" width="194"] Gov. Andrew Cuomo[/caption]

It appears the governor’s plan would only allow patients to access marijuana from a limited number of hospitals, which would dispense marijuana that was either obtained from a federally approved source or that is illegal to dispense under federal law. But the federal government has refused to provide marijuana even to some short-term FDA-approved studies, and there is no reason to think it will approve marijuana for longer-term patient access. Meanwhile, hospitals surely wouldn’t break federal law by distributing unapproved marijuana.

A similar medical marijuana law that passed in Maryland last year, by all accounts, just won’t work. If you live in New York State, let your legislators know the way to protect patients is by enacting a comprehensive medical marijuana bill.

New York patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses deserve protection from prosecution, and access to medical marijuana through a viable program — such as those that have passed in 20 other states, plus D.C. If you are a New York resident, please email your legislators today and urge them to support Assemblyman Gottfried and Senator Savino’s medical marijuana bill.

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