Medical marijuana legislation introduced in West Virginia! Patients still lack protections

In exciting news, on February 21, Del. Mike Manypenny (D-Grafton) introduced the first ever effective medical marijuana bill in West Virginia. H.B. 3251, the "Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act,” would allow patients with a wide variety of serious, debilitating conditions, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and severe pain, nausea, seizures, and spasms, to use medical marijuana with a doctor’s certification. Patients and caregivers would be able to possess up to six plants and one ounce of marijuana. H.B. 3251 died in the Judiciary Committee, for the year, but it will carry over to 2012.

Sick and dying West Virginians need your help to ensure legislators will act to protect patients next year by moving H.B. 3251. You can start by contacting your legislators today and asking them to support legislation that protects the seriously ill. The more legislators hear from people like you, the more likely they are to pass effective medical marijuana laws.

In other news, in addition to some bills that would add new drug testing to various employment sectors, H.B. 2965 and H.B. 3079, which would have required drug testing for welfare recipients, were introduced this year. However, both bills died in committee, and so low-income individuals will not cruelly lose their only source of income simply for smoking a joint.

We are trying to organize for a big push next year, and we need your help. If you are supportive and are a medical professional, a seriously ill patient who might benefit from medical marijuana, a law enforcement official, a clergy member, or a member of the legal community, or you know someone else that is, please email nmamber@mpp.org to see how you can be of special help. Please be sure to include your address or nine-digit ZIP code. 

Learn more about West Virginia’s marijuana laws

West Virginia ranks fourth in the nation (tied with nine other states) for the harshest maximum sentences for possession of an ounce of marijuana, and African Americans in West Virginia are arrested for marijuana possession at nearly seven times the rate of whites. You can learn more about West Virginia’s marijuana laws by reading this short report  by Jon Gettman, PhD. Please write to your legislators and ask them to stop arresting people for possessing marijuana, or  ask them to end marijuana prohibition entirely.

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