Landmark Marijuana Reform Could be Coming this April... IF you Contact Your Senator

     This week, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to pass the MORE (Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement) Act, which would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, 50 years after it was first recommended that this step be taken. Its fate in the Senate is still unclear. 60 votes are needed to pass the bill. Most Democrats will likely vote for the bill because it will end the most irrational part of the War on Drugs. However, the bill has plenty of benefits for the Republicans in the Senate: 91 percent of Americans think medical marijuana should be legal, and well over 70 percent think marijuana should be decriminalized. That includes the vast majority of Republicans. Marijuana has an amazing ability to reap tax benefits and its legalization had drastically reduced crime in certain states while also providing extra funding to respond to such crimes and freeing up room to lock up the most violent offenders. What better way to reduce government overreach than decriminalizing marijuana and leaving it up to states to decide? Landmark marijuana reform could be coming this April; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is a cosponsor of the bill and has stated that it is a priority. If just one in four Republican senators vote for this bill, marijuana will be decriminalized in the United States at the federal level. That's why it's critical to reach out to your senators, Democratic or Republican, to make sure they plan to vote for the MORE Act and pressure them if they indicate otherwise. That's not the only way you can influence public policy. At the state level, too, action is being taken:

1. In Maryland, an Assembly-passed bill that would put a ballot question on marijuana legalization on the November ballot needs to be approved by the Senate. With nearly 70 percent of state residents supporting legalization, it would be virtually guaranteed come November.
2. In Rhode Island, the House and Senate are holding hearings on a legislative package to legalize marijuana, and, with Governor McKee endorsing legal marijuana in January, it is widely expected that any legalization would come this year.
3. In New Hampshire, a bill (albeit moderate) that would legalize marijuana received a statement of non-opposition from Governor Chris Sununu, who has historically been anti-marijuana. His office will be the most important one to contact regarding this issue.
4. In Ohio, with the GOP legislature and governor rejecting any conversations related to marijuana legalization, organizers need to get 100,000 more legal signatures to force the issue onto the ballot in November.
5. In Arkansas, residents have until July 8th to collect 90,000 valid signatures to put marijuana decriminalization on the November ballot.
6. In Nebraska, residents who successfully passed medical marijuana in 2020, only to have it stricken down on a technicality, are fighting to win again in November 2022.
7. In South Carolina, the Senate has passed a medical marijuana bill, leaving the state's General Assembly to pass the bill and send it to the governor.
8. In Kentucky, the General Assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill and Governor Andy Beshear has indicated he will sign it, leaving it up to the Kentucky Senate, which has previously stalled similar legislation.
9. In North Carolina, where marijuana has already been decriminalized, a bill that would legalize medical marijuana has garnered bipartisan support in the legislature and would easily be signed by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, putting the state one step away from full legalization.
10. In Alabama, which legalized medical marijuana, the Senate has a chance to vote on a bipartisan bill to decriminalize marijuana.
11. In Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz has proposed the legalization of marijuana as a bill passes through the House.
12. In Wisconsin, both Democrats and Republicans have introduced bills to legalize medical marijuana.
13. In Missouri, which has legalized medical marijuana and decriminalized it for recreational use, a petition drive is aiming to secure enough signatures for a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana 
14. In Kansas, a bill is being discussed in the Senate to legalize medical marijuana.
15. In Pennsylvania, a bill to legalize marijuana has a decent chance of passing, being discussed in the state legislature, where, if passed, it has the support of Governor Tom Wolf.