Posts Tagged ‘Vermont medical marijuana bill’

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The Vermont House Committee on Human Services voted 10-1 yesterday in favor of S.7. The bill now goes to the House Committee on Judiciary, which will schedule hearings shortly. The Senate already overwhelmingly passed S.7 on March 1.

If you have not already done so, please take action now and write a letter to the editor of your local paper. The opinion page is one of the most read parts of the newspaper, and legislators often look to the opinion pages to see where their constituents stand on an issue. It?s imperative that they see supportive letters.

If you are a medical marijuana patient who does not currently qualify under the medical marijuana law or who finds the plant limits insufficient, and you are interested in helping to expand the law, please contact me by e-mailing Zane@mpp.org. If you are a medical professional, a law enforcement official, or a clergy member, you can also be of special help.

Then, if you have not already done so, please send a letter to your representatives urging them to support the medical marijuana bills. We have several pre-written letters available for you, but a personally crafted letter is much more effective. Please take a moment to personalize your letter before sending it. If you need additional information about medical marijuana, you can use some material from our library.

Vermont’s law is currently very restrictive, both in terms of qualifying conditions and amount of medical marijuana plants patients can cultivate. Currently, only patients suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, or multiple sclerosis qualify for Vermont’s medical marijuana program. S.7 will add serious conditions that cause nausea, wasting, chronic pain, or seizures to the law. Additionally, this compassionate legislation will increase the number of plants that a patient in the program may possess, because the current limits are not adequate for patients. It also reduces the program registration fee from $100 to $50.

Please take action now to enact this compassionate bill: If you have not done so already, please write your state legislators and submit a letter to the editor of one or more local newspapers. Then, ask your friends and family to do the same. Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project.

Vermont Judiciary Committee passes medical marijuana improvement bill!

In a 4-1 vote this morning, the Vermont Judiciary Committee passed S.7, a bill that will improve the current medical marijuana law. After this inspiring victory, the bill is now headed to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Thank you to everyone who took a moment to write and call the Judiciary Committee members. If you have not already done so, please contact your state senator now and urge him or her to vote in favor of S.7. You can use our automated system to send your senator a letter; it takes only a couple moments.

The version of the bill approved by the Judiciary Committee will add chronic conditions that cause severe pain, nausea, wasting, or seizures to the list of conditions for which patients may use medical marijuana. This will allow many seriously ill Vermonters who do not currently qualify under the law to get the protection they need. Additionally, this legislation will increase the number of plants that registered patients are allowed to grow to four mature plants and 10 immature plants. It will also increase the amount of usable marijuana patients are allowed to possess to 2 ounces.

A great way to build on the momentum of this victory is to write a letter to the editor of your local papers, expressing your support for the committee’s action and your hope that lawmakers will support this compassionate legislation. Our automated system will easily allow you to send a letter to newspapers in Vermont. Feel free to draw from the talking points that we have provided, but remember that a personalized letter is more likely to be published than a form letter. Please send a letter today.

Clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee was a major hurdle. In order to ensure that the Senate Health and Welfare Committee also approves S.7, they need to hear from Vermont patients and medical experts. If you are a patient or medical expert and are willing to testify before the committee, please contact me by e-mailing zane@mpp.org?or calling (202) 462-5747 ext. 119.

This victory demonstrates significant progress for medical marijuana in Vermont. We will continue to keep you updated as this legislation moves through the legislature.

I was talking with a friend the other day about her job. She works at City Market and was very excited about a new project they kicked off. in Burlington, Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op and Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier worked out a plan to help support a Vermont dairy business (Monument Farms Dairy processing and bottling plant) by creating their own milk label called “Vermont Co-op Milk”.

This is a great example of businesses (yes, co-ops and farms are businesses) working together to benefit each other. The co-ops with a private label. The Vermont farmer receiving some price stability and a improved profit margin.

A similar idea has been ongoing in NH for the last eight years.

Food co-ops create milk brand–Burlington Freepress
Got Brand? Three Food Co-ops Unbottle a Joint Milk Label–Seven Days