Cannabis is already available to more than 230 million Americans for medical use and, according to an April survey by Pew Research, 91 percent of residents believe marijuana should be legal for that purpose.
Many elected officials, however, have hesitated to follow suit.
His legislation would empower doctors to clear patients with “debilitating medical conditions” — diseases such as cancer, epilepsy and glaucoma — to use medical marijuana.
Alabama: The House passed a medical marijuana legalization bill Thursday 68-34.
Kay Ivey has signed other limited medical cannabis legislation in the past, including one to allow pediatric epilepsy patients to use CBD oil, it’s unclear what her stance is on broader medical marijuana legalization.
Kansas: Democratic Gov.
Texas is home to a restrictive medical cannabis program, allowing only patients with intractable epilepsy to access cannabis products, which must contain less than 0.5 percent THC.
While advocates acknowledge the legislation is an improvement, many urged lawmakers to do away with the THC cap altogether.
Minnesota: There is widespread, bipartisan support for expanding Minnesota’s medical program.
But despite widespread support for adding flower products and making other tweaks to the program, it’s uncertain whether legislation will make it across the finish line.
A bill is being carried by House Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee and cleared that chamber by a 73-26 vote.
The fate of both bills in the Senate is unclear, since no action has been taken on either of them.
An effort to legalize medical marijuana stalled in Kentucky this year, despite a successful vote for a medical marijuana bill on the House floor last year.
If it doesn’t get a vote before the Legislature adjourns next Thursday, lawmakers can pick it up where they left off next year instead of going through the committee process again, O’Keefe, with the Marijuana Policy Project, explained.
While medical marijuana supporters expressed serious reservations about the proposal — it would require the federal government to remove marijuana from Schedule I for the state to move forward with its own medical cannabis program — they acknowledged it was better than nothing.
A medical marijuana bill is moving forward in Nebraska, but there’s almost no chance it’s going to succeed given Republican Gov.
Advocates in Wyoming face similar challenges as the state has very high signature thresholds in addition to geographic distribution requirements, a tough task given how vast the state is.