We have much to be thankful for this year. Lawmakers in 22 states have passed legislation to advance cannabis reform, Vermont became the first state to end marijuana prohibition legislatively, the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth became the first US territory to pass a regulated marijuana marketplace, and four states approved voter-initiated ballot measures that legalized adult use (Michigan) and medical marijuana (Oklahoma, Utah, and Missouri).
One of the US Senate’s leading marijuana prohibitionists, Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, will no longer be heading the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 116th Congress. As Chair, Grassley had refused to hold any hearings or votes on marijuana-related legislation.
Members of Texas NORML are energized and hopeful for meaningful marijuana law reforms after the 2018 midterm elections where twelve incumbents were replaced with Freshman in the House and two in the Senate. State lawmakers have begun introducing legislation for consideration during the upcoming 2019 Texas legislative session.
Post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, and other medical issues can be a matter of life or death, and failure of VA policy to allow physicians to openly talk about cannabis or recommend it has a deleterious effect on the doctor-patient relationship and on the well-being of our veterans.
United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced that he will resign, effective immediately, from the office of the Department of Justice.
Marijuana reformers enjoyed numerous federal, state, and local victories last night. Here are the highlights.
Voters on election day decided in favor of several gubernatorial candidates who campaigned on promises to either address or enact statewide marijuana law reforms as Governor. NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “In 2019, we anticipate unprecedented legislative activity at the state level in favor of marijuana law reform legislation, and we expect to see several significant legislative victories before the year’s end.”
With the approval of Proposition 2, Utah has become the 33rd state to regulate the licensed production and distribution of medical cannabis products to qualified patients. The vote comes ahead of a proposed special legislative session of the Utah legislature to address specific rules and regulations governing medical cannabis patient access.