On Wednesday, September 25th, 2019, NORML testified at the DC Council Committee on Labor and Workforce Development in support of B23-0309, the “Medical Marijuana Program Patient Employment Protection Amendment Act of 2019”, which seeks to expand workplace protections for medical cannabis patients in the District of Columbia.
Author: Tyler McFadden, NORML NE Political Associate
Garden State NORML Plans Lobby Day on September 23, 2019
Looking to capitalize on the renewed effort to legalize adult-use marijuana in the Garden State, McKeithen and her team have organized another rally and lobby day to urge lawmakers to support SB 2703: the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory and Expungement Aid Modernization Act.
New Hampshire is one step closer to legalizing medical homegrow
The New Hampshire State House voted today to override Governor Sununu’s veto of HB364. The override effort now goes to the New Hampshire State Senate for consideration, and they are expected to vote on Thursday morning.
Senator Rice Needs to Get Woke About Weed, Pt. 2
As New Jersey continues to fail its constituents each day they do not pass cannabis legalization for adult-use, the name of one state senator at the forefront of the fight against legalization remains permanently inked in shame: State Senator Ron Rice of the 28th District.
Legalization bill passes hurdle in Delaware
Today, dozens of advocates from across the state of Delaware came together at Legislative Hall to support HB110, a bill that seeks to legalize and regulate the sale of cannabis for adult-use in the First State.
Weekly Legislative Roundup 3/29
Welcome to the latest edition of NORML’s Weekly Legislative Roundup!
Connecticut: Big news for marijuana legalization
Big news out of Connecticut today, as a bill to legalize the adult-use and retail sale of marijuana has passed through a critical vote in the General Law Committee with a 10-8 majority.
New Jersey: Lawmakers Advance Important Marijuana Law Reform Bills
In some big news out of New Jersey, several marijuana reform bills have been voted out of their committees and are awaiting floor votes.
New York: the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA)
A.1617, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), has been re-introduced this legislative session. The bill would legalize the adult possession, use, and regulated sale of marijuana. Over the past twenty years, many New Yorkers have been negatively affected by the harms of prohibition in New York. With people of color accounting for nearly 85% of those arrested annually, the MRTA directs the benefits of taxing and regulating marijuana to these communities. Because structural racism is ingrained in marijuana prohibition, it’s important that the MRTA both ends marijuana prohibition and promotes racial justice. Significant steps are taken in the amended MRTA to ensure racial justice and a small business-friendly industry, including: Creating a micro-licensing structure, similar to New York’s rapidly…
New York: State legislature signals support for adult-use cannabis legalization
In news that bodes well for the future of cannabis legalization in the state of New York, both chambers of the state legislature have included legalization language in their annual budget proposals. Both budget proposals also address the expedited expungement of certain marijuana-related convictions, implementing social equity programs in the state’s growing marijuana industry, and diverting tax money earned through the legal cannabis industry to benefit communities that have borne the brunt of the most brutal aspects of marijuana prohibition and the war on drugs in New York. Though Governor Cuomo’s budget proposal does not allow for the personal cultivation of marijuana plants, the NY General Assembly’s budget proposal does promote home cultivation upon the legalization of adult-use and retail…