Our best year ever: Top 10 signs of progress in 2009

Dear friends:

By any measure, 2009 was the best year for marijuana policy reform in U.S. history. Check out these 10 signs of progress, most of which have been spearheaded by MPP:

1.     The governments of Massachusetts and Michigan implemented the ballot initiatives we passed in these two states on November 4, 2008. As a result, marijuana possession is now a $100 ticketable offense in Massachusetts, and the possession and cultivation of medical marijuana is now legal in Michigan.

2.     On October 19, the Obama administration announced that the DEA and the Justice Department would de-prioritize any new raids of medical marijuana establishments in California and elsewhere that are abiding by state law. This is the most significant, positive change in federal marijuana policy in 31 years!

3.     On November 10, the American Medical Association rescinded its previous support of classifying marijuana alongside LSD, PCP, and heroin under federal law.

4.     MPP has made significant progress on medical marijuana bills in Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New York. If we succeed in seven states between now and the summer of 2011 — which is actually looking likely at this point — the number of medical marijuana states will jump from 13 to 20.

5.     We've already collected 200,000 of the 250,000 signatures that are needed in Arizona to place on the November 2010 ballot an initiative to legalize medical marijuana, including authorizing 120 dispensaries statewide, which would give Arizona the best medical marijuana law in the country. Fully 65% of Arizona voters support this initiative.

6.     In California, a bill to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol is pending in the state Assembly, the introduction of which generated a huge wave of positive news coverage nationwide, which we followed up with a TV ad that generated an even bigger wave of news coverage. We're working to build support for this landmark piece of legislation, which has a chance to pass out of committee in January.

7.     MPP opened an office in Las Vegas, for the purpose of building a statewide coalition to pass a ballot initiative to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. We plan to pass this initiative in November 2012, which would give Nevada the best marijuana law in the world.

8.     Other than California and Nevada, there are at least four other states that are now in play for being the first to end marijuana prohibition entirely: (1) Colorado, which has seen an explosion of medical marijuana dispensaries since January and is now polling at 48% in favor of regulating marijuana like alcohol; (2) Rhode Island, which recently overrode its governor's veto in order to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, and which has since launched a study commission to draft a bill to regulate marijuana like alcohol; (3) New Hampshire, where a bill to regulate and tax marijuana has been introduced for the 2010 session; and (4) Washington state, where six representatives have prefiled a bill to tax and regulate marijuana.

9.     After 11 years of MPP's congressional lobbying efforts, the U.S. Congress finally removed the federal ban on implementing Washington, D.C.'s medical marijuana law. Medical marijuana could be available in our nation's capital starting this spring.

10.   And it looks like, finally, we'll soon have a bill introduced in Congress that would wipe out marijuana prohibition entirely on the federal level, which is our ultimate goal in Washington, D.C. This will take years to pass, so we might as well get started now.

Our accomplishments in 2009 were made possible by the generous support of our 29,000 members. Please help us kick off 2010 with a bang by making a donation today. 

Sincerely,