Connecticut Will Be 17th State To Legalize Medical Marijuana
After a raucous debate last night that lasted longer than anticipated, the Connecticut senate passed a medical cannabis bill approved by the House earlier in the session that will now head to Governor Dannel Malloy’s willing pen for signature.
With Connecticut passing a medical cannabis bill, approximately one third of the US population now resides in a state that has decided to act in favor of it’s citizens’ will, as compared to the remarkably recalcitrant federal government, which, moronically, still insists cannabis is a dangerous ‘narcotic’ and has no accepted medical value what so ever.
Congratulations to Connecticut NORML and its coordinator Erik Williams for leading the charge to write and pass this important and affirming legislation (Erik and company had previously worked the legislature hard in 2011 to pass cannabis decriminalization laws)!
Connecticut’s bill creates guidelines and regulations for cultivation centers and dispensaries.
Read more about Connecticut’s new medical cannabis law here.
The New England clean sweep may happen this year with the New Hampshire legislature possibly overriding the Governor’s oft veto of their medical cannabis bills next week. In Massachusetts, this November voters are expected to approve by a large margin a medical cannabis legalization initiative (in 2008 Massachusetts voters approved a decriminalization initiative by a whopping sixty five percent).
From west to east, the states with legal protections for lawful medical cannabis patients are: Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine (as well as the District of Columbia).
Again, thanks to Connecticut NORML for being such a prime example of how effective citizen-advocacy can be to change cannabis laws.
Please consider making a donation to NORML or the NORML Foundation in support of our 235 chapter network in America where NORML has been putting the ‘grass’ into grassroots since 1970 to end Cannabis Prohibition.
Thanks for caring and sharing!
