"The war on cannabis and its disparate enforcement has led to devastating costs and decades of harm to people and communities of color. Del. Lewis’ bill would work to reverse this damage by removing one of the most common pretexts for arrests and providing meaningful economic opportunities and community reinvestment for those that have been hit hardest by prohibition," said Steve Hawkins, MPP's executive director.

"Though this isn’t an ideal legalization bill, it’s a significant testament to the strength of our movement that legalization opponents are now preemptively filing their own legislation to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults. These lawmakers are aware that a majority of their constituents support legalization, and you have to give them some credit for acknowledging that," said Jared Moffat, MPP's state campaigns manager.

"The General Assembly should seriously consider legalizing and regulating cannabis for adults this year. Delaware’s neighbor, New Jersey, and 14 other states have already moved forward with this more sensible policy. The longer Delaware waits, the state will continue to miss out on a new source of jobs and revenue. It is past time to end prohibition in the First State," said Olivia Naugle, MPP's legislative analyst.

"With the passage of these initiatives, one-third of the population now lives in jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis for adult use, and 70% of all states have embraced cannabis for medical use," said Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project.

“By avoiding unnecessary delays, Arizona will accelerate the timeline for job creation, business investment, and new tax revenue," said Matthew Schweich, MPP's deputy director.

Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for Marijuana Policy Project, is bullish about MMJ passage in Alabama, Kentucky and South Carolina. “We are feeling quite good about those three states,” O’Keefe said.

"The clean sweep of state-level legalization victories in November reflects that this is a policy that Americans are in favor of, regardless of political affiliation," said Violet Cavendish, MPP's communications manager.

"It’s encouraging to see Rep. Roers Jones and her colleagues continue the push to reduce harsh and senseless penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana in North Dakota. Decriminalization is no substitute for legalizing and regulating marijuana for adults, as several of North Dakota’s neighbors have now done. But passage of this bill would continue the trend of progress the state has seen in recent years," said Jared Moffat, MPP's state campaigns manager.

"Allowing for public consumption would provide a place to go for those who are unable to consume legal cannabis in their private residences. People living in federally subsidized housing, for example, risk eviction for legal cannabis use, due to the discrepancy between federal and state marijuana laws," said Violet Cavendish, MPP's communications manager.

"This is not the time for anybody to take their foot off the gas. This will require a dedicated group of people who are going to put their time and energy and effort into it," said Steve Hawkins, MPP's executive director.