Marijuana Policy Project

Although Iowa's 81st General Assembly saw a medical marijuana bill introduced during the 2005 session, the 82nd General Assembly has yet to introduce such legislation. Let's make sure that a medical marijuana bill is introduced when the General Assembly comes back to Des Moines on January 14.

To ensure that this happens, please contact your legislators today and urge them to introduce a medical marijuana bill in 2008. Let them know that medical decisions should be made by patients and doctors, not police and prosecutors.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City) introduced the medical marijuana bill in 2005, which sought to remove criminal penalties for patients who grow, possess, and use medical marijuana. Please take a few seconds to send him an e-mail thanking him for doing this.

One of the most interesting things you can do to get voters and legislators excited about reform is to ask your local radio stations to run MPP's radio ads as public service announcements. This is a great way to get the word out about the need for a medical marijuana law in Iowa. You can also write letters to the editor of your local newspapers. To do this click here. To learn about helping out in other ways, click here to find out more.

If you decide to contact your legislators, you may want to familiarize yourself with the most recent information on medical marijuana. You can do this by going to www.mpp.org/library and reviewing our extensive resources, which include briefing papers, model bills, scientific studies, and our state-by-state guide to medical marijuana laws. To receive news about marijuana policy reform in Iowa as it happens, be sure to subscribe to MPP's free legislative alert service, if you haven't done so already.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. If you are interested in getting more involved in marijuana policy reform in Iowa or want more information, please contact Nathan Miller at Nathan@mpp.org or at (202) 462-5747, ext. 118.