About the Marijuana Policy Project
Lobbying Congress to pass medical marijuana legislation
November's elections have created the best conditions ever for
passing medical marijuana legislation in Congress, as the entire
Democratic leadership is supportive of medical marijuana.
Expanding medical marijuana laws in Rhode Island and Vermont
Rhode Island's medical marijuana law — passed by the state
legislature over the governor's veto in 2006 — must be reauthorized
by the legislature by July 2007. Vermont's medical marijuana law —
passed by the state legislature in 2004 — only allows people
diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, cancer, or multiple sclerosis to use medical
marijuana, and no legal protections are provided to unregistered
patients.
Passing medical marijuana bills in Illinois, Minnesota, and New York:
MPP has retained professional lobbyists in the capitals of Illinois,
Minnesota, and New York for the purpose of passing our medical
marijuana legislation through each state legislature, similar to how
Hawaii, Vermont, Rhode Island, and New Mexico passed medical
marijuana bills in 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2007 respectively. See
il.mpp.org … and mn.mpp.org … and ny.mpp.org for details.
Medical marijuana initiatives in up to four states
As in most states, the majority of voters in Michigan support making
medical marijuana legal, so MPP is currently exploring the
possibility of placing a medical marijuana initiative on each of
these states' ballots in November 2008.
"Decriminalization" initiative in Massachusetts
Since 2000, Massachusetts residents have approved 41 local marijuana-
related initiatives by an average of 63% of the vote. The vast
majority of these nonbinding initiatives urge state legislators to
support legislation to make the possession of up to one ounce of
marijuana punishable by a citation and a fine, as opposed to arrest
and jail. This string of local victories — as well as growing support
for such legislation in the state legislature — means that
Massachusetts is ready for a statewide initiative to remove the
threat of arrest and jail for adult marijuana users.
Building a coalition of supporters in Nevada
MPP's ballot initiative to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in
Nevada received 44% of the vote in November — the highest proportion
of the vote that any such measure in any state has received. Because
public support for making marijuana "legal" has been rising at the
rate of about 1% per year nationally, it's quite possible that
another marijuana initiative could pass in Nevada in November 2010.
To prepare for this, MPP will be hiring one full-time staffer in Las
Vegas or Reno to organize a statewide coalition of supportive
organizations and influential individuals.
Ending marijuana prohibition in California
In November 2006, residents of Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa
Monica voted to make marijuana offenses the lowest law enforcement
priority in all three cities. The Santa Cruz measure also urges the
California and federal governments to tax and regulate marijuana
similarly to alcohol. In 2004, Oakland voters enacted a similar
proposal, and the West Hollywood City Council and the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors also de-prioritized marijuana offenses last
year. MPP hopes that the successful passage of these six measures
will lead to the introduction of legislation in Sacramento to tax and
regulate marijuana statewide. Visit taxandregulate.org for details.
Lobbying the presidential candidates to support medical marijuana access
In anticipation of the New Hampshire presidential primary campaign,
MPP unleashed a full-time grassroots operation to pressure the
presidential candidates on the medical marijuana issue.
E-mail alert network
MPP monitors every marijuana-related bill in Congress, all 50 state legislatures, and the District of Columbia -- and sends timely e-mail alerts to MPP's members and supporters. MPP's 52 legislative Web sites allow visitors to quickly and easily e-mail their elected officials. (For example, see www.mpp.org/CA.)
1995: In its first year of existence, MPP successfully lobbied for changes to federal marijuana sentencing policies, which resulted in the early release of hundreds of nonviolent marijuana prisoners.
1999: MPP provided testimony and witnesses, including numerous patients, for the Institute of Medicine's federally funded examination of medical marijuana, which resulted in the publication of the landmark report Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base.
2000: MPP drafted and successfully lobbied for the passage of Hawaii's medical marijuana law.
2003: MPP led a successful, multi-year campaign for Maryland's medical marijuana law — the first ever signed by a Republican governor. In addition, MPP lobbied Congress to end the Drug Enforcement Administration's hostile raids on medical marijuana patients and providers. While MPP lost the vote, an unprecedented 152 House members voted to end the raids.
2004: This monumental year included several successes:
- MPP's high-profile campaign to get the Democratic presidential primary candidates on record about medical marijuana resulted in five of the nine candidates, including Sen. John Kerry, taking positive positions on medical marijuana.
- Vermont became the ninth medical marijuana state, following an intensive MPP lobbying and public education campaign. (See vmpp.org.)
- MPP successfully ran or funded 17 winning ballot initiatives: most notably in Montana, where MPP's medical marijuana initiative won with 62% of the vote — three points more than Bush got — making it the 10th medical marijuana state. (See montanacares.org.)
- In Alaska, MPP helped garner the all-time biggest vote for a full repeal of marijuana prohibition in the history of the country (44%). (See regulatemarijuanainalaska.org.)
2006: 2006 saw several victories:
- MPP drafted and successfully lobbied for the passage of Rhode Island's medical marijuana law, forcing an override of the governor's veto in the process.
- MPP's high-profile ballot initiative to tax and regulate marijuana in Nevada received 44% of the vote, tying with Alaska for the all-time largest vote ever to end marijuana prohibition in a state.
- The MPP grants program funded successful initiatives to make marijuana possession the lowest law enforcement priority in three California cities (Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa Monica) and in Missoula County, Montana.
- Following an intensive MPP lobbying campaign, MPP helped to garner 163 votes in the U.S. House of Representatives to stop arresting medical marijuana patients — an all-time record of support for medical marijuana access.
