Urge Your Lawmakers to Support HB 625 and SB 1611
Legislation that seeks to legalize the physician-supervised use of medical marijuana has been reintroduced in the Massachusetts legislature.
House Bill 625 (and companion bill SB 1611) amends state law to “authorize an individual to use marijuana for medical purposes as directed by a physician.” The proposed legislation would allow for authroized patients to obtain their marijuana from state-licensed non-profit distribution centers. Qualified patients would also be permitted under the law to possess 24 plants and four ounces of usable marijuana.
Full text of the measure can be read here. This proposal has been referred to the Joint Committee on Public Health, which heard testimony in favor of the measure on Tuesday, June 28. Representatives from the Massachusetts affiliate of NORML spoke at the hearing. Media reports of this hearing are available online here and here.
Sixteen states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington — in addition to the District of Columbia have enacted laws protecting medical marijuana patients from state prosecution. There is no legitimate reason why Massachusetts patients should not enjoy these same legal protections.
Please urge your member of the House and Senate to support this legislation by entering your zip code below. Additional information regarding this and other pending marijuana law reform measures in Massachusetts is available from www.masscann.org.
