[For] chronically ill individuals suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV or other diseases – who can’t stomach the side effects of heavy-duty painkillers such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin – there is no legitimate reason why they shouldn’t be able to find a little comfort in their less than comfortable existence. ... Governor, the time has come to do the right thing. Supporters of this bill have done everything you have asked. There is only one thing left to do. Sign the bill. (July 1, 2009)

People with debilitating conditions who use pot as medicine may finally see the threat of criminal charges go up in smoke, as the state's altered medical marijuana bill is expected to receive a final review in the Legislature today. The changes a conference committee made to the bill will be put to the test, as a vote to approve the new language of the bill is scheduled in the New Hampshire House and Senate, before being sent for final endorsement from Gov. John Lynch. The original bill passed in both the House and the Senate before Lynch told members of the House he would veto it if there weren't changes made. (June 24, 2009)

Delaware legislators don't necessarily have to stick out their necks politically to legalize medical marijuana use here. Since California passed a law legalizing medical marijuana in 1996, 12 more states have followed suit. An advocate of the Delaware proposal says that tally is more significant than it might seem. ... "They've been passing at the rate of one a year since 1996, even with intense opposition from the federal government. In most places, there's very intense opposition from law enforcement combined with, frankly, timidity on the part of legislators who don't understand how popular this issue is. They're more afraid of the issue than they need to be," [said Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project.] (June 22, 2009)

Rhode Island approved "compassion centers" — places where chronically ill Rhode Island residents who are registered with the state's health department and have a prescription from a doctor may buy pot to ease their pain. ... [Penny] Bacchiochi said that compared with the new Rhode Island law, Connecticut's proposal "was a baby step." It would have allowed patients with conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis or AIDS to grow up to four marijuana plants in their homes with a doctor's prescription. (June 19, 2009)

If a bill before the state Senate is passed, Delaware soon could join 13 other states that have legalized the possession of marijuana for medical use, but while there appears to be significant popular support for the measure, some legislators and physicians aren’t quite ready to jump on the bandwagon. ... Noah Mamber, a legislative analyst with the Washington D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, said his group wants to reassure doctors that a medical marijuana law would not usurp their authority to work with their patients in the best way they see fit. ... “We trust doctors a lot in our society. We trust them to prescribe very serious drugs like opiates, which can cause overdoses that can lead to death,” he said. “Clearly, if we can trust doctors to prescribe these much more serious and dangerous drugs, we can trust doctors to do the right thing and have the right judgment in prescribing medical marijuana to patients who need it.” (June 17, 2009)

After testimony from a Southfield clinic doctor who recommends medical marijuana, a judge in the 43rd District Court in Madison Heights has dismissed felony manufacturing charges against a Madison Heights couple, who were growing plants they thought were legal under the state’s medical marijuana law. At issue was whether Robert Redden, 59, and Torey Clark, 47, could use a letter from their doctor as authorization to grow a legal number of plants in the absence of the state-sponsored ID program. The couple ... argued that the letter ... was sufficient, whereas Madison Heights police and the Oakland County prosecutor’s office said it was not. (June 17, 2009)

Rhode Island became the third state in the country Tuesday to allow the sale of marijuana for medical purposes. The House and Senate easily overrode Governor Carcieri’s veto of bills that would permit up to three dispensaries that advocates have dubbed “compassion centers.” (June 16, 2009)

The savage drug war in Mexico. Crumbling state budgets. Weariness with current drug policy. The election of a president who said, "Yes — I inhaled." These developments and others are kindling unprecedented optimism among the many Americans who want to see marijuana legalized. Doing so, they contend to an ever-more-receptive audience, could weaken the Mexican cartels now profiting from U.S. pot sales, save billions in law enforcement costs, and generate billions more in tax revenue from one of the nation's biggest cash crops. (June 15, 2009)

As Michigan works out the kinks of a new medical-marijuana law — passed by 63 percent of voters — its future success could serve as the bellwether for other states considering similar legislation. "We do believe that Michigan is a precursor for other Midwestern states," says Greg Francisco, the executive director of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, which is bringing together new users to help educate them and encourage ethical consumption. (June 14, 2009)

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — The New Hampshire Legislature approved a bill today to end the threat of arrest for seriously ill patients who use medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation. HB 648, which was amended earlier this month by a special legislative committee to address eight specific concerns expressed by Gov. John Lynch, now goes to the governor's desk for approval. The bill as it was originally conceived had already passed both chambers of the Legislature. The new bill passed by 14-10 in the Senate and 232-108 in the House. (June 24, 2009)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With criticism of marijuana prohibition rising, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced legislation to end federal criminal penalties for possession or not-for-profit transfer of small amounts of marijuana. "Congressman Frank's bill represents a major step toward sanity in federal marijuana policy," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "Calls for rethinking our marijuana policies are coming from all quarters, and for good reason. Our decades-long war on marijuana has given us the worst of all possible worlds -- a drug that's widely used and universally available but produced and sold entirely by unregulated criminals who obey no rules and pay no taxes." (June 18, 2009)

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — All seven legislators who were tasked with crafting a compromise on the medical marijuana bill signed off on the revised version today. A vote to approve the new language is expected June 24 in the House and Senate, after which the bill will proceed to Gov. John Lynch's desk. This special seven-member "committee of conference," chaired by House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee Chairwoman Rep. Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua), was formed to address eight specific concerns that were expressed by Lynch. The bill had passed both Houses in slightly different forms and was scheduled for final approval in the House when Lynch's office reportedly informed Rosenwald that the bill would be vetoed if passed in its original form. (June 18, 2009)

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — In a historic first, the House Committee on Health will take testimony on House Bill 1380, a measure to protect seriously ill North Carolinians from the risk of arrest and jail for using marijuana for medical purposes if their physician recommends it. The session, scheduled for Thursday, June 18 at noon, will be North Carolina's first-ever legislative hearing on a measure that would provide effective protection to medical marijuana patients. (June 17, 2009)

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND -- In a historic first, Rhode Island legislators today made their state the first ever to expand an existing medical marijuana law to allow for state-licensed compassion centers to grow and distribute marijuana to registered patients. Legislators easily overrode the veto issued by Gov. Donald Carcieri with override votes of 68-0 in the House and 35-3 in the Senate. Rhode Island's medical marijuana law, like most such state laws, did not set up a formal distribution system, but simply allowed patients to grow a limited quantity of medical marijuana for their own use or designate a caregiver to grow it for them. In March, New Mexico became the first state to grant a state license to a medical marijuana producer, pursuant to legislation passed last year. (June 16, 2009)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA —The Marijuana Policy Project strongly condemned today's federal sentencing of Charles C. Lynch, a California medical marijuana provider who worked scrupulously to follow state and local laws but now faces one year and one day in federal prison. "Years from now, Mr. Lynch may well be remembered as the last American to go to federal prison for a mistake, the final victim of an already repudiated policy well on its way to the ash heap of history, but whose mean-spirited effects still linger," said MPP executive director Rob Kampia. "This sentence is a cruel and pointless miscarriage of justice. Mr. Lynch and his attorneys say they plan to appeal, and we hope they succeed. With federal law enforcement at the Mexican border so overwhelmed that traffickers coming through with up to 500 pounds of marijuana are let go, even one more penny spent persecuting a man who is not a criminal in any rational sense of the word is an outrageous waste of resources." (June 11, 2009)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In light of recent statements by Attorney General Eric Holder indicating that the Obama administration would not pursue prosecutions of individuals involved in medical marijuana activities sanctioned by state law, the House Appropriations Committee has added language seeking clarification of the new policy to the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill. The language, sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), states, "There have been conflicting public reports about the Department's enforcement of medical marijuana policies. Within 60 days of enactment, the Department shall provide to the Committee clarification of the Department's policy regarding enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources against individuals involved in medical marijuana activities." (June 9, 2009)

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- The Illinois Senate passed a bill today, 30-28, that would allow seriously ill patients with certain debilitating conditions to use marijuana for medical purposes if their physician has recommended it. SB 1381, which passed with both Republican and Democratic support, now moves to the House for consideration. A companion bill, HB 2514, passed a House committee in March, but proponents expect the House to take up the Senate's version for debate. (May 27, 2009)

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — The Senate today added three members to a "committee of conference" that will work to negotiate a compromise with Gov. John Lynch on HB 648, the medical marijuana bill. Sens. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth), Peggy Gilmour (D-Hollis) and John Gallus (R-Berlin) will join Reps. Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua), Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster), Robert Bridgham (D-Carroll) and David Welch (R-Kingston), who were named to the committee last week. Advocates expressed hope that the team of legislators will craft a compromise that will address Gov. Lynch's concerns without jeopardizing seriously ill patients. Many of the committee members were very involved in writing and rewriting HB 648, and all voted in favor of the bill. (May 20, 2009)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by San Diego and San Bernardino Counties that challenged the validity of California's medical marijuana laws today, putting to rest a common objection by medical marijuana opponents that federal law overrides states medical marijuana laws. "The Supreme Court and the lower courts in California have blown away the myth that federal law somehow prevents states from legalizing medical marijuana," said Rob Kampia, executive director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "Opponents can no longer hide behind federal law in order to excuse their war on medical marijuana patients." (May 18, 2009)