Brittney Walker: February 2019

Thursday, 28 February 2019

Marijuana reform is budding in New Hampshire!

Here in New Hampshire, there has been a great deal of progress in the last few years. Several bills have been introduced in the state legislature, ranging from legal hemp production to adult-use marijuana legalization, and the fight for freedom has never been more widely supported than now. New Hampshire residents overwhelmingly support marijuana legalization; in a recent poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire, 68% of New Hampshirites support full marijuana legalization, and the New Hampshire General Court is finally listening to the will of the people and is pushing for meaningful marijuana reform.

There have been so far been eight major reform bills introduced in the New Hampshire General Court during the current legislative session.

— Bipartisan bill HB 481 would legalize the personal adult-use, possession, cultivation, and retail sale of marijuana. It passed the House on 2/27/2019 by a vote of 209-147. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

For more information on this bill and to send a message to your State Senator in support of this legislation, click here.

— Bipartisan bill HB 399 would allow those convicted of past marijuana offenses to file a petition with the court to expunge any criminal records of the possession of three-fourths of an ounce of marijuana or less. This bill passed the House on 1/31 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.

For more information on this bill and to send a message to your State Senator in support of this legislation, click here.

— Bills SB 175 and HB 461 would expand the qualifying conditions under New Hampshire’s medical marijuana program. S. 175 would allow physicians to recommend marijuana to any patient they believe would benefit from its therapeutic use, and HB 461 would allow physicians to recommend medical marijuana to patients suffering from moderate to severe insomnia, moderate to severe anxiety, or Lyme disease. S. 175 was referred to the Health and Human Services Committee and HB 461 was referred to the Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee on 1/03/2019.

For more information on these bills and to send a message to your State lawmakers in support of this legislation, click here.

— Bipartisan bill HB 459 would legalize the production of industrial hemp in the state of New Hampshire to be in compliance with current federal hemp regulations and establish rules for such production. It was referred to the Environment and Agriculture Committee on 1/03/2019.

For more information on this bill and to send a message to your State Representative in support of this legislation, click here.

— HB 350 would expand the number of medical professionals eligible to recommend medical cannabis by allowing physician assistants to issue recommendations to qualified patients. It was referred to the Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee on 1/02/2019, which recommended that the bill “ought to pass with amendment” and will soon be brought to the House floor for a vote.

For more information on this bill and to send a message to your State Representative in support of this legislation, click here.

— HB 335 would expand access to medical cannabis by allowing the Department of Health and Human Services to authorize additional dispensaries licenses in certain geographic areas of New Hampshire. It has passed the House and now goes to the Senate for consideration.

For more information on this bill and to send a message to your State Senator in support of this legislation, click here.

— Bipartisan bill HB. 364 would permit qualified patients to grow up to fourteen marijuana plants (two mature and twelve seedlings) and to possess up to six ounces of homegrown medical cannabis for their personal use. It was referred to the Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee on 1/03/2019.

For more information on this bill and to send a message to your State Representative in support of this legislation, click here.

— HB 366 would expand New Hampshire’s list of qualifying conditions for the State’s medical marijuana program to include opioid dependence and withdrawal. It was referred to the Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee on 1/03/2019.

For more information on this bill and to send a message to your State Representative in support of this legislation, click here.

Though reform is inevitable, it will not happen without New Hampshirites such as yourself making your voices heard in the name of personal freedom. We need your help to keep fighting to legalize marijuana nationwide. Please send messages in support of the bills summarized herein to spur sensible marijuana reform in the Granite State.

Rep. Lee: I Just Introduced The Marijuana Justice Act

Congresswoman Barbara Lee represents California’s 13th district

First off, I want to thank you for being an active member of the cannabis reform movement and I am proud to tell you that we have never been closer to ending the counterproductive and cruel policy of marijuana criminalization than we are right now.

Today, I introduced the Marijuana Justice Act of 2019 and I have every intention of moving the bill forward, but I need your help.

Will you tell your member of Congress to join me as a cosponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act?

The prohibition of marijuana has had a devastating effect on communities of color. Although whites and blacks have been found to use marijuana at similar rates, a 2013 report by the ACLU found that a “black person is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person.” As a result, low-income communities and communities of color have been subject to mass-criminalization and mass incarceration.

We can stop this. The Marijuana Justice Act would deschedule marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and seek to correct these racial disparities in arrests and sentencing. Further, it mandates that all records of federal possession convictions are expunged and resources be made available to local units of government to assist in the expungement of prior state and local convictions.

If this is important to you, then contact your member of Congress and tell them to cosponsor The Marijuana Justice Act now.

In addition to incentivizing states to legalize marijuana, the Marijuana Justice Act seeks to repair some of the damage marijuana prohibition has done to this country’s most vulnerable communities. For those communities that have been economically and socially disenfranchised by overcriminalization and cyclical incarceration, this legislation provides funding to programs focused on youth development, citizen re-entry, job training, health education, and funding for community resources such as public libraries and community centers.

Members of Congress must not turn their backs on the millions of Americans nationwide who rely on access to marijuana for their health, wellness, and liberty. According to recently released nationwide survey data, a supermajority of Americans strongly support patients’ access to medical marijuana and oppose federal interference in these matters. A recent poll shows that 93 percent of Americans support the medical use of marijuana, and a poll conducted by the Center for American Progress found American voter support of legalized marijuana is at an all-time high, with 68% of respondents indicating their support. Perhaps most importantly, the poll shows a majority of voters in both major political parties and independents now believe that marijuana should be legal, with the most dramatic jump in support observed in Republican respondents.

Send a message to your Representative in support of the Marijuana Justice Act now!

In the last session of Congress, 10% of the membership of the House of Representatives were co-sponsors of this bill, a historic level of support. By adding your voice to the growing chorus of calls for reform from around the country, we can finally end marijuana prohibition once and for all in a way that provides justice to those who were most harmed.

Thank You,
Barbara Lee