Medical Marijuana

Update: An amended version of HB 1580 was signed into law and is now Act 1098. It states, “A cultivation facility, dispensary, or other marijuana business shall collect and remit a special privilege tax of four percent from the gross receipts or gross proceeds derived from each sale of usable marijuana.”
Update: The House concurred, and HB 1580 now awaits Governor Hutchinson’s signature.
Update: The Senate approved HB 1580 with a 31-1 vote. The bill already passed the House, but was sent back there for a concurrence vote after amendments were added in the Senate.
Update: HB 1580 was returned by committee, with recommendation that it Do Pass.
Update: HB 1580 was referred to committee in the Senate.
Update: HB 1580 was approved by House lawmakers in a 77 to 3 vote. It now awaits action by the Senate.
House Bill 1580 imposes a special eight percent statewide tax upon medical marijuana sales. This tax would be in addition to the imposition of existing state and local taxes.

While NORML generally does not oppose the imposition of fair and reasonable sales taxes on the commercial sales of cannabis for recreational purposes, we do not support such excessive taxation on medical sales. Most other states that regulate medical cannabis sales do not impose such taxes and Arkansas patients should not be forced to pay these excessive costs.

Enter your information below to contact your elected officials and urge them to oppose this measure.

Update: Gov. Jim Justice signed SB 386 into law on April 19.
Update: The House and Senate concurred on an amended version of SB 386 on April 6. A summary of the amended bill is online here. The measure now goes to the Governor, who indicates that he intends to sign it.
Update: SB 386 passed the House with an amendment by Delegate John Shott, (R-Mercer) that would prohibit herbal marijuana, ban home grown, and charge $50,000 annual fees for growers and processors. 
Governor Jim Justice, in the past had clearly stated that he supports medical marijuana, so the last hurdle appears to be whether the Senate will agree to the onerous new amendment added by the House.
Update: SB 386 passed the Senate by a vote of 28-6 and will now head to the House.
A coalition of Senate lawmakers have introduced legislation, SB 386, which seeks to establish the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act — a state-sponsored program that will permit qualified patients to obtain medical cannabis from licensed dispensaries. A House version of the bill, HB 2677, is also pending.

Passage of the bill establishes a commission tasked with developing “policies, procedures, guidelines, and regulations to implement programs to make medical cannabis available to qualifying patients in a safe and effective manner.”

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted statewide provisions allowing patients access to cannabis therapy. West Virginia patients deserve these same protections.

Please enter your information below to contact your state Senator and urge them to support this pending legislation.

Update: AB-1578 was passed by members of the Senate Public Safety Committee on June 27 by a 5-2 vote.
Update: AB 1578 passed the Assembly on June 1 and now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Update: AB 1578 was passed by members of the House Public Safety Committee on April 18 by a vote of 5-2.
Legislation is pending, Assembly Bill 1578, to try and limit potential federal interference in the state’s marijuana regulatory laws.

The bill states, “This bill would prohibit a state or local agency, as defined, from taking certain actions without a court order signed by a judge, including using agency money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to assist a federal agency to investigate, detain, detect, report, or arrest a person for commercial or noncommercial marijuana or medical cannabis activity that is authorized by law in the State of California and transferring an individual to federal law enforcement authorities for purposes of marijuana enforcement.”

The majority of Californians desire a legally regulated marijuana market. Passage of this act will limit state or local agencies from working with the federal government to undermine these regulations. 

Please use the pre-written letter below to contact your elected officials in support of AB 1578. Additional information regarding pending legislation is available from California NORML.

Update: Indicating to reporters that a federal crackdown is forthcoming, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said “I’m definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana,” he said. “States they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not.” 
Update: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested that the Trump administration will step up enforcement of federal laws against marijuana. “I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement,” Spicer said, and added that the exact policy is “a question for the Department of Justice.”
With public support for reforming marijuana laws at an all time high, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), and Don Young (R-AK) have formed the first-ever Congressional Cannabis Caucus to develop and promote sensible cannabis policy reform and work to ease the tension between federal and state cannabis laws. 

Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation’s nearly century-long experiment with marijuana prohibition. The continued criminalization of adult marijuana use is out-of-step with the views of adults throughout America, 93% of whom support medical marijuana (Quinnipiac, 2017) and 60 percent of whom endorse the outright legalization of recreational cannabis (Gallup, 2016). 

The leadership displayed by Representatives Rohrabacher, Blumenauer, Polis, and Young is a testament to this growing public consensus. The official establishment of this Caucus represents our growing, bipartisan support in Congress.

These House members represent constituents in four of the eight states that have enacted laws regulating cannabis for adult use. Twenty-one additional states have enacted comprehensive medical cannabis laws, and 15 additional states have enacted more limited medical cannabis laws. In total, over 40 US states have adopted laws rolling back cannabis prohibition at the state level, representing 95% of the U.S. House of Representatives and 88% of the Senate.  
Enter your information below to urge your member of Congress to join the Cannabis Caucus. 

Update: Governor Dennis Daugaard signed legislation March 27, Senate Bill 95, excluding cannabidiol (CBD) from the legal definition of marijuana.
The measure reclassifies CBD under state law as a schedule IV controlled substance. You can read the full text here.
The measure does not establish rules regarding the use of CBD by qualified patients.
Update: Members of the House Health and Human Services Committee removed the FDA provision from SB 95 and passed it 7 to 3 on March 2.
Update: SB 95 passed in the Senate on February 21, and was first read in the House and referred to committee on February 23.
Update: SB 95 was amended by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee so that it will only be excluded from the definition of marijuana once it is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This amendment essentially makes this bill moot.
Update: Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB 157 by a vote of 7 to 3 on February 14.

Two bills are pending in South Dakota that provide various protections for medical marijuana users in South Dakota. SB 95 and SB 157 do not establish a South Dakota program, but protect those individuals who are prescribed medical marijuana in another state.

SB 95 removes cannabidiol from schedule I and places it in schedule IV. Furthermore, it excludes cannabidiol entirely from the definition of marijuana.

SB 157 protects patients that possess marijuana while they have a valid medical card from another state. The measure “covers patients who have moved to Colorado… or another legal state and done their due diligence for being prescribed medical marijuana.”

Although neither bill is perfect, both are a step in the right direction and would provide protection to thousands of patients in South Dakota.

Enter your information below to contact your elected officials and urge them to protect patients’ access to medical marijuana and cannabidiol.

Update: Members of the Senate Judiciary have failed to take any further action regrading SB 860. No further movement is expected on either bill this legislative session.
Update: The House version of the bill has been tabled for the 2017 legislative session.
Update: SB 860 was placed on the calendar of the Criminal Justice Subcommittee for March 14 and HB 673 was deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to March 28.
Update: SB 1119 and SB 673 were debated by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 7.
Update: HB 860 and SB 673 have been introduced to the House and Senate, respectively, and referred to committees.
Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, and Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, are sponsoring the legislature’s most concerted effort to legalize medical use of marijuana. 
Under present law, the possession of any amount of marijuana is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $250 fine. 
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted statewide provisions allowing patients access to cannabis therapy. Data from other states finds that the enactment of medical marijuana access is associated with lower rates of opioid abuse and mortality, and does not negatively impact workplace safety, teen use, or motor vehicle safety.
Please contact your elected officials and urge them to move forward with this effort. 

Update: The second bill, Assembly Bill 75, was referred to committee.
Update: The first bill, Senate Bill 38, was referred to committee.
Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and Representative Chris Taylor (D-Madison) introduced a pair of bills seeking to provide qualified patients with legal access to medical cannabis. The first bill establishes a statewide medical marijuana program, while the second bill would poll voters’ attitudes on the issue in the form of a non-binding statewide referendum.

Speaking at a news conference, Sen. Erpenbach said that the passage of his legislation will put patients “in a situation where they don’t have to break the law anymore.” 

Please use the pre-written letter below to urge lawmakers to move forward with permitting patients legal access to cannabis therapy.

Legislation is pending in the House, HB 1877, The Medical Marijuana Act of 2017.

Passage of the Act would regulate state-licensed dispensaries to provide up to two and one-half ounces of marijuana to qualifying patients. 

Separate provisions protect the rights of patients from civil sanctions, stating: “An employer shall not discriminate against an individual in hiring, termination or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize an individual, based upon the past or present status of the individual as a qualifying patient or designated caregiver; A person otherwise entitled to custody of, or visitation or parenting time with, a minor shall not be denied custody, visitation or parenting time solely for conduct allowed under this act.”

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted statewide provisions allowing patients access to cannabis therapy. Oklahoma patients deserve these same protections.

Please use the pre-written letter below to urge lawmakers to move forward with this important legislation. 

For additional information on statewide reform efforts, please follow Oklahoma NORML director Norma Sapp on Facebook here.

Update: (2/27) Indicating to reporters that a federal crackdown is forthcoming, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said “I’m definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana,” he said. “States they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not.” 
Update: (2/23) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested that the Trump administration will step up enforcement of federal laws against marijuana. “I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement,” Spicer said, and added that the exact policy is “a question for the Department of Justice.”
Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), along with six other Republicans and six Democrats, has reintroduced bipartisan legislation, ‘The Respect State Marijuana Laws Act,’ to prevent the federal government from criminally prosecuting individuals and/or businesses who are engaging in state-sanctioned activities specific to the possession, use, production, and distribution of marijuana.

HR 975 states, ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions of this subchapter related to marihuana shall not apply to any person acting in compliance with State laws relating to the production, possession, distribution, dispensation, administration, or delivery of marihuana.’’

Passage of this Act would halt federal officials from prosecuting individuals and businesses for violating the Controlled Substances Act in the 29 states that permit either the medical or adult use and distribution of marijuana. According to national polling, 71 percent of voters believe that the federal government should respect these laws and not interfere with them. 

With the recent confirmation of militant marijuana prohibitionist Jeff Sessions to the position of US Attorney General, passage of this Act is necessary to ensure that medical marijuana patients and others are protected from undue federal interference. 

Please enter your information below to contact your House member and urge them to support this crucial pending legislation.