"It’s remarkable how much public support there is for medical cannabis in Nebraska despite extreme opposition from some Republican politicians in the state. It has to be credited to the families and patient advocates who have steadily made the case for compassion to their neighbors through years of educating and organizing. The politicians aren’t listening to these parents and suffering patients, but I think the voters certainly will," said Jared Moffat, MPP's campaigns manager.
“In return he’s done nothing. He hasn’t really even thrown a bone to cannabis reform advocates,” Matthew Schweich, the deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, told The News Station. ”So we’re not even seeing the smallest effort from President Biden to show that he’s listening to the American people, and I think that this is going to be a growing problem for him.”
"This study provides additional evidence that legalizing and regulating cannabis does not result in increased rates of use among teens. In fact, it suggests that cannabis legalization laws might be decreasing teen use," Matt Schweich, MPP's deputy director.
"We are grateful for the leadership of Sens. Booker, Schumer, and Wyden to end an eight-decades long policy failure and appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback as the sponsoring offices refine the bill," said Karen O’Keefe, MPP's director of state policies.
"While we are enthusiastic about the goals of the CAO Act Discussion Draft, we believe the regulatory aspects need significant clarification and revision to avoid unintended consequences. Our two major areas of concern are: the possible upending of state licensing and regulatory systems—driving sales underground—and the impact on medical cannabis access, including for those under the age of 21," said Karen O'Keefe, MPP's director of state policies.
The Marijuana Policy Project wrote in a 12-page letter that while the bill is a good start, it doesn’t go far enough to both protect current MJ users and to right the wrongs done to consumers in the past.
"Federal prohibition urgently needs to end. It has wasted billions of dollars while upending tens of thousands of lives—disproportionately those of Black and Brown Americans—over a plant that is safer than alcohol," said Karen O'Keefe, MPP's director of state policies.
New York is expected to reach $4.2B in annual sales by 2027 and according to the Marijuana Policy Project, the entire Northeast region, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, is expected to generate $8.7 billion in sales by that year.