This Month's Top Marijuana Policy Developments — marijuanamajority.com

[Panich52]

From marijuanamajority.com

This Month's Top Marijuana Policy Developments

Here's some of the most important legislative and business news you need to know about from the past month:

More marijuana initiatives qualify for state ballots. This month we got official certification that advocates collected enough signatures to put a measure to legalize marijuana on the Massachusetts November ballot. It was also determined that Arkansas and Montana voters will get to decide on medical marijuana initiatives. Here's a complete look at the confirmed statewide marijuana ballot questions that voters will decide on this year:

Arkansas: Medical cannabis - no official ballot number yet
https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.arcompassion.com/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=1
California: Full legalization - Proposition 64
https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.yeson64.org/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=2
Florida: Medical cannabis - Amendment 2
https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.unitedforcare.org/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=3
Maine: Full legalization - Question 1
https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https://www.regulatemaine.org/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=4
Massachusetts: Full legalization - Question 4
https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https://www.regulatemassachusetts.org/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=5
Montana: Restore state's existing medical cannabis law - Initiative 182
https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.yeson182.org/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=6
Nevada: Full legalization - Question 2
https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https://www.regulatemarijuanainnevada.org/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=7
Also, it is likely that next month we will see confirmation that a full legalization initiative qualified for Arizona's https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=https://www.regulatemarijuanainarizona.org/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=8 ballot and a medical cannabis measure will appear before Missouri voters. https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.newapproachmissouri.com/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=9

More evidence proves voters are ready for marijuana reform. Several polls came out this month showing our movement poised to win a number of victories this year and in the future:

In Florida, 77% of likely voters say they support the state's medical marijuana initiative.
Medical cannabis enjoys huge support in Missouri, where 62% of voters say they'll support the initiative if it qualifies for the ballot.
A big majority of New Hampshire residents -- 61% -- support ending marijuana prohibition.
In Wisconsin, 59% of voters want to legalize cannabis.
And a national survey found that 55% of Americans support legalizing marijuana and -- for the first time -- more Republicans want to end prohibition than continue it.

Senators explore marijuana science. A Senate subcommittee held a hearing ( https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/researching-the-potential-medical-benefits-and-risks-of-marijuana&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=15 ) on medical marijuana research during which lawmakers pressed a witness from the Food and Drug Administration about when we might find out what FDA recommended about marijuana rescheduling to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The FDA official wasn't willing to reveal much, but DEA could issue its ruling on whether to move marijuana out of Schedule I any day now.

Even drug warriors want to make marijuana research easier. In other Congressional news, two of the U.S. Senate's most ardent prohibitionists, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), teamed up to introduce a bill ( https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID%3D013F8738-A2B1-4628-A06B-E7BA629C9518&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=16 ) to streamline medical marijuana research. The move could be seen as a way to further delay real policy change, but advocates are confident that results from any new research would only make it that much harder for lawmakers to continue standing in the way of legal medical cannabis.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania decriminalizes marijuana. The City Council in Pennsylvania's capital unanimously voted ( https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/07/harrisburg_decriminalizes_mari.html&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=17 ) to reduce the penalty for cannabis possession from a misdemeanor to a summary offense similar to a traffic ticket. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh both recently enacted similar reforms.

U.S. territory could legalize marijuana. A senator from the Northern Mariana Islands introduced a bill ( https://marijuanamajority.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/07/marijuana-could-be-legalized-in-u-s-territory/&e=6e12b70a9eaaa3cab2a55d7f153a8abb&utm_source=marijuanamajority&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july_newsletter&n=18 ) that, if approved by the legislature and signed by the governor, would put a full marijuana legalization measure before the commonwealth's voters this fall.

But despite these signs of momentum, marijuana isn't going to legalize itself. Recent polls in two states where legalization will appear on November ballots show concerning signs. In Arizona, a survey found the state's anti-prohibition measure trailing 39% - 51%. And in Massachusetts, a poll showed legalization losing 41% - 51%. While long-term momentum has clearly been on our side, we can't take victory for granted. Too many losses this year could make it much, much harder to change federal laws in Congress and to convince state lawmakers to enact better local policies.


#freetheweed

[B Calm]

1. Now that Pence is gone, maybe someday Indiana will be on the list.

[TonyPDX]

2. Legalization has to start at the state level. Even if the Feds waved a wand and removed all

classifications from cannabis and legalized nationally, conservative states would likely claim Federal overreach and keep legal cannabis tied up in court for years. States that have done the groundwork of explaining the TRUTH about cannabis to their neighbors wouldn't suffer the conservative reaction.