I am writing to urge your YES vote on AB 1356. This bill will help secure safe cannabis access for many of your constituents just like me. Right now, there simply aren’t enough cannabis shops for many of us to get the products we need. I have family members and friends who need to access medicinal cannabis products and have no realistic means for getting safe, tested, legal products. Making us drive miles to find what we need when we voted for a thriving legal market is simply against the will of the California voters and your constituents. Please remember our voices when you cast your vote, and vote YES on AB 1356 to make sure we are heard. This bill is exactly the kind of practical solution our state needs.

As a constituent of your district and medical cannabis patient, I am writing to urge you to vote YES on AB 1356. This legislation is an important step in the right direction to help cannabis patients all over our state get access to the medicine that they need. This legislation will legitimately help save lives. Everyone needs to understand that cannabis is medicine. Cannabis has a demonstrated and effective medical application for conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, diabetes and PTSD. We would never let there be a ceiling on access to pharmacies in our state, so we cannot let outdated perceptions of cannabis rule the underlying medical facts. AB 1356 will give us the access that California’s patients desperately need. Please vote YES and help make sure patients have access to their medicine.

I respectfully urge you to vote YES on AB 1356. As a constituent in your district and the family member of a medical cannabis patient, I am writing to tell you that this bill will dramatically increase the access that my loved one has to their medicine. The rollout of cannabis licensing has stalled at unacceptable levels. This lack of access has pulled the rug out from under parents of sick children, as well as spouses of patients, and family members of other loved ones who rely on specific cannabis products for treatment. It robs them of peace of mind, and time, since they must travel from dispensary to dispensary, searching for the product their family members need. An increase in licensing is a common sense measure that will create a tangible improvement in quality of life for those who need it most. Cannabis products have been proven to have effective medical applications, and we need to finally have our licensing scheme reflect these enormous benefits. For these reasons I strongly urge your YES vote on AB 1356.

I am a constituent in your district and I am writing to ask for your YES vote on AB 1356. This bill will give medical cannabis patients across our state access to the medication that they need and the peace of mind that they deserve. Providing these patients with appropriate access to legal and tested medical cannabis will have profoundly positive effects on their health outcomes, and our state should be working to make sure adequate access exists for those who need it most. We cannot afford to bicker over licenses when our patients’ health is in question. This bill gives us a clear framework to work off of and make sure that patients’ needs are put at the forefront of importance. When you have the opportunity, please remember our state’s cannabis patients and vote YES on AB 1356.

I am a constituent in your district and I urge you to vote YES on AB 1356. This bill will help bring the promised economic benefits of cannabis legalization to California. We voted for Prop. 64 not only for legal access to cannabis, but also to generate millions in tax dollars and create good jobs for our state. In reality, we’ve come up short on both fronts. This is because 76% of cities and counties have banned cannabis retailers. On top of this, these local bans force small business owners out of a licensing structure when they’ve already invested their time, money and effort. AB 1356 will help these business owners by giving them the real opportunity to operate legally and create jobs across the board that will help our communities. I strongly urge your support of AB 1356 and am counting on your yes vote to get it through the legislative process. With the passage of this legislation and the expansion of cannabis licensing to much greater levels California can finally enjoy the full potential of a thriving, legal cannabis marketplace.

I respectfully urge your YES vote on AB 1356. I am a constituent in your district, and your yes vote on this bill will help ensure Californians have access to a safe, legal cannabis marketplace where small businesses can thrive. Right now, more than three quarters of cities and counties ban cannabis retail. This is not what we voted for when we passed Prop 64. These local bans and unwieldy requirements have blocked far too many California small business owners have invested their time, effort, and finances from the legal cannabis marketplace. AB 1356 will spur job creation in the cannabis industry, ranging from sales and customer service, security, manufacturing, cultivation, distribution and laboratory science. These are good, well-paying jobs that will afford opportunities for individuals and communities across the state who already voted for Prop. 64. AB 1356 will require cities and counties where Prop 64 passed by more than 50% to grant one retail cannabis license for every four onsite alcohol consumption licenses. I strongly urge you to vote YES on AB 1356, which is the most important step California can take to ensure access to a legal cannabis marketplace.

As a constituent in your district, I am urging you to vote YES on AB 1356. In doing so, your vote is one huge step forward to helping expand access to a functional, legal cannabis marketplace by mandating a 25% ratio of cannabis retailers to on-site liquor licenses. Right now, more than 76% of cities and counties throughout the state ban cannabis retailers. This is despite more than 70% of cities and counties voting to pass Prop. 64 in 2016 to replace the illicit market with a legal system that would allow access to cannabis. Local bans have stifled the prospect of generating promised tax revenue, ensuring patients have access, and creating good jobs. AB 1356 simply sides with the will of the voters and expands licensing opportunities for cannabis retailers throughout the state. I strongly support this bill, and hope that you vote YES to move it forward through the legislative process, and finally give Californians the legal marketplace and tax revenue that was promised when we voted yes on Prop 64.

As a voter in your district, I am writing to you to ask you to vote YES on AB 1356. We were promised a thriving legal cannabis marketplace, and have instead been given a dysfunctional, convoluted system without the access or benefits we were promised. State lawmakers lauded the ability of Prop 64 to raise hundreds of millions in tax revenue that would be used for tangible benefits that we would see across the state. Yet we are coming up on halfway through 2019 and these all seem like empty promises. AB 1356 allows to begin to fix this problem, and allows Californians to finally feel some optimism that our voices are no longer being ignored on something that we decisively passed as a state. Your constituents are counting on you to vote YES on AB 1356 and make sure that our voices are heard on this important piece of legislation.

I am writing as a constituent in your district, to urge you to vote YES on AB 1356. This bill is critical because it would ensure access to a safe, legal cannabis marketplace in California. Despite voters passing Prop. 64 in 2016, an alarming 77% of California cities have banned cannabis retailers, and many nonprofit medical cannabis collectives struggling to obtain licenses may shut their doors in the coming months due to burdensome licensing requirements. This means that despite legalization, Californians who depend on medical cannabis may have even less access to treatments than they did before. This is unacceptable. California has the opportunity to be on the forefront of cannabis legalization, and instead, local bans have prevented us from expanding access to patients who need it, and deprived us of hundreds millions of dollars in tax revenue that could be generated from legal cannabis retailers. AB 1356 would help close this gap in access and tax revenue by requiring local jurisdictions where more than 50% of residents voted in favor of Prop. 64 to grant retail and medical dispensary licenses equal to 25% of the number of on-site liquor licenses in the jurisdiction—or clearly demonstrate that the local electorate does not want access to cannabis products. AB 1356 is a sensible solution, and I respectfully urge you to vote YES.

I am a constituent in your district and urge your AYE vote on AB 1356. Your support of this critical bill is a huge step to helping ensure Californians have access to a legal and functional cannabis marketplace, which they voted for with Prop. 64. Only 13% of California cities and counties have permitted cannabis retail businesses to date. This is despite 70% of cities and counties having voted yes on Prop 64 in 2016. Local bans have deprived our state of much-needed tax revenue, which would help fund our schools, public safety, and other important programs. These bans have also made it difficult for patients who live in “cannabis deserts” who have to drive long distance to obtain cannabis treatments, especially in places where delivery is unavailable. AB 1356 will require local elected officials to grant one cannabis retail license for every four on-site liquor licenses. This bill represents a balance of local control and a functional cannabis marketplace, and it’s the right approach for California. I respectfully urge you to vote YES on AB 1356 and help advance it through the legislative process. By expanding the number of retail licenses in CA, we can finally give Californians the flourishing legal marketplace and tax revenue that was promised.

As a constituent in your district, I am writing to urge your SUPPORT for AB 1356 (Ting). AB 1356 is an important step in expanding veteran access to medicinal cannabis. California has the nation’s largest population of veterans, with 2 million veterans living here as of the last Census. Without access through the VA system, and with veterans across the state opting for medicinal cannabis instead of addictive opioids, we need to make sure there is a safe and legal marketplace for veterans to obtain medicinal cannabis. This bill would provide that safe avenue for our veterans, and is an important step towards making sure that those veterans who opt for cannabis treatment are able to obtain their medicines. Please vote YES on AB 1356 to make sure our veterans feel your full support. Right now, it is almost impossible for small-business owners to secure a license to operate legally in nearly 77% of cities and counties in the state. This is not what Californians voted for when they overwhelmingly passed Prop. 64 in 2016. Far too many California small business owners have invested their time, effort, and finances into a business with the expectation that they would be able to operate legally. Because of unwieldy requirements and local bans, many business owners who would like to comply with the law simply cannot afford to, or have been shut out since the recreational market opened. Local bans have forces hard-working small business owners to choose between working without a license and losing their business entirely. AB 1356 will spur job creation in the cannabis industry, ranging from sales and customer service, security, manufacturing, cultivation, distribution and laboratory science. These are good, well-paying jobs that will afford opportunities for individuals and communities that have been the most negatively impacted by the War on Drugs. I strongly and respectfully urge you to vote YES on AB 1356, which is the most important step California can take to ensure access to a legal cannabis marketplace.

I’m writing to you to ask you to please vote YES on AB 1356. I am a constituent in your district and expanded access to medical cannabis will make a huge difference for patients across your district. Currently it is nearly impossible to find a legal cannabis retailer within a reasonable distance from where I live, and even though a majority of us voted for Prop 64, we are being crowded out of the legal market and pushed toward illicit market operators who are not regulated at the same level. All we want is the ability to buy safe, tested, legal products from licensed retailers. This bill would be a great step in the right direction to give those of us who need our medication access to options. I hope you support this legislation because I believe it’s the right approach and we need to make sure the most effective, affordable and compassionate treatment options are available and easy to access for patients who depend on medical cannabis.

Your yes vote on AB 1356 will help bring relief to thousands of medicinal cannabis patients who desperately need access to their treatments. As a constituent in your district, I respectfully urge your yes vote to advance this bill through the legislative process. AB 1356 will expand and expedite permitting for cannabis retailers, increasing safe and legal access for these patients who need their medication. Even with delivery services available, there are currently vast areas of the state who lack access to medical cannabis because the closest retailer is simply too far away for delivery. 76% of cities and counties have banned cannabis retailers. Traveling to a cannabis dispensary can be burdensome and even painful for patients with a chronic or severe illness. Ensuring safe and convenient access is particularly important in jurisdictions with populations of patients with conditions for which cannabis has a demonstrated and effective medical application, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, diabetes and PTSD. Providing these patients with appropriate access to legal and tested medical cannabis will have profoundly positive effects on their health outcomes. AB 1356 is a commonsense approach and I strongly urge your yes vote on this bill. Please consider the vast positive impact this legislation will have on California's medicinal cannabis patients.