| Medical Marijuana Legislation Reintroduced in Illinois Legislature Urge Your Representative to Support HB 30! |
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Legislation that seeks to legalize the physician-supervised use of medical marijuana has been reintroduced in the Illinois legislature.
House Bill 30,, allows qualified patients to possess and consume marijuana for medical purposes.
In the previous session, similar legislation was approved by the Senate but was narrowly defeated by the House.
Members of the House Rules Committee voted in favor of an amended version of HB 30 on Wednesday, March 9th. The revised version of the bill removes the language that previously sought to provide qualified patients with the legal option to cultivate personal use amounts of medical marijuana at home.
While NORML finds aspects of the amended version of HB 30 unduly restrictive, particularly its exclusion of home cultivation, its passage will ensure that certain authorized medical marijuana patients will no longer have to fear arrest or prosecution from state law enforcement.
Fifteen states Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington and the District of Columbia have enacted laws protecting medical marijuana patients from state prosecution.
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Legislation that seeks to legalize the physician-supervised use of medical cannabis passed the House Healthcare Availability and Access Committee and is now waiting for a floor vote from the Illinois House of Representatives.
House Bill 30, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, allows qualified patients to possess and grow cannabis for medical purposes. Please contact your State Representative and State Senator and urge them to pass this much needed legislation as soon as possible. By calling 217-782-2000 the state directory operators will be able to connect you to your legislators’ offices. Please let us know what responses you get from these lawmakers. If you can setup an appointment to meet with them in person that is even better.
In the previous session, similar legislation was approved by the Senate but was narrowly defeated by the House.
Fifteen states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — and the District of Columbia have enacted laws protecting medical cannabis patients from state prosecution. There is no legitimate reason why Illinois patients should not enjoy these same legal protections.
Contact your state House member and tell them to support HB 30 by visiting NORML’s ‘Take Action’ Center here:
http://www.capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=22584516
A quick update about the Illinois NORML Lobby Day in Springfield yesterday, April 13th. We had a chance to meet and discuss HB 30, the current version of the Medical Cannabis bill, with several State Representatives, as well as many other people touring the Capitol. We also watched as the bill was also further amended on the floor, bringing it to the stage (known officially as “3rd Reading”) where it is now poised to be called and voted upon by the full House after a final debate. If you’d like to follow the live video feed of the House to watch and see if HB 30 is called for a vote, check out this link:
http://www.ilga.gov/house/audvid.asp
It’s also not too late to make a difference, if you have a few minutes to spare. Please call your State Representative to ask them to support HB30, and make sure to let them know that you support IL NORML and thank them for taking the time to listen to your concerns. If you’re not sure who your State Rep is, check this website to find out:
http://www.elections.il.gov/districtlocator/districtofficialsearchbyaddress.aspx
Once you find their name and district, you can look up their contact info here:
Thanks for all your continued support of Illinois NORML and cannabis regulation reform!
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