Electoral Politics
Group Calls on Elected Officials in Texas to Stop Taking Alcohol Money Until Marijuana Is Legalized (Press Release)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 2, 2010
CONTACT: Craig Johnson, 469-733-6769, [email protected]
DALLAS, TX Dec. 2, 2010 -- With Texas politicians collecting a significant percentage of their campaign contributions from the alcohol industry after the November election, the Safer Texas Campaign (a project of ProtectYouth.org) is renewing its call on elected representatives to stop accepting such money until Texas passes legislation allowing the regulated use and sale of marijuana as a safer alternative to alcohol.
According to campaign records provided by the nonpartisan, nonprofit FollowtheMoney.org, the five Texas politicians who have received the largest contributions from the alcohol industry are Governor Rick Perry, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, and Attorney General Greg Abbott, all have so far received a total of $1.4 million during the 2010 election cycle.
Governor Rick Perry and the Texas State Legislature passed House Bill 1199 in 2003, a bill that made it significantly easier for alcohol industry groups to pass sales initiatives in "dry" cities. Despite the tremendous social and economic cost of alcohol use on families and communities, the legislation received no opposition from law enforcement or substance abuse prevention organizations.
Since HB 1199 took effect, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission reports at least 391 local alcohol sales initiatives have passed statewide (compared to only 71 initiatives approved by voters during the eight years prior to HB 1199), and the number of "dry" counties has dropped from 51 to 26.
Studies show that alcohol use contributes to aggressive and risk-taking behavior potentially leading to acts of violence, whereas marijuana use does not. The US Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey reported that two-thirds of victims who suffered violence by an intimate (a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend) reported that alcohol had been a factor and that drinking is a factor in 75 percent of domestic violence incidents involving spouses. A Harvard School of Public Health study reported in 2004 that 72 percent of college rapes nationwide occurred when the female was too intoxicated by alcohol to resist/consent.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of alcohol poisoning deaths in the United States is shockingly high, consistently between 300 and 400 each year; whereas, there are no records of deaths from marijuana poisonings.
The recent California effort towards legitimate regulation of the marijuana market, Proposition 19 (also known as the Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Act), was opposed by the state's largest alcohol industry group, California Beer & Beverage Distributors.
The Safer Texas Campaign states that it is not anti-alcohol, nor does it advocate the use of marijuana. "Our campaign works to address increasing public safety concerns that our state laws prohibiting the marijuana market are sending a dangerous message to the public that alcohol is more acceptable than marijuana," said Craig Johnson, coordinator of the Safer Texas Campaign. "Every objective study on alcohol and marijuana has shown marijuana is a much safer substance than alcohol to both the user and to society, so our legislators should not be driving more Texans to drink by prohibiting the safer alternative of marijuana."
More info online at http://www.SaferTexas.org
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Super Tuesday is a Week Away -- E-mail the Candidates about Medical Marijuana Today!
[Courtesy of Americans for Safe Access]
Dear ASA Supporter,
Next week, thousands of citizens nationwide will line up to vote in one of more than 20 presidential primaries held on Super Tuesday. Click here to send an e-mail and fax to the presidential candidates to commit to ending DEA raids on medical marijuana providers.
Over the past several months, the medical marijuana community has interacted with many of the candidates in both the Republican and Democratic parties. While ASA has not endorsed a candidate, ASA activists, chapters, and affiliates participated in bird-dogging events throughout the country, asking the candidates tough questions about medical marijuana, ending DEA raids, and prioritizing research. Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana, in New Hampshire, questioned all of the candidates about their positions on DEA raids on medical marijuana patients and providers. Ultimately, several candidates stated that they would end the DEA raids, and four of them are still in the presidential race!
With Super Tuesday on the horizon, it is time to challenge the presidential candidates who have publicly supported medical marijuana to take their commitment to safe access one step further by pledging to end federal raids if elected. We are calling on these candidates to commit to issue an Executive Order that would end federal interference in medical marijuana states. Click here to send an e-mail and fax to the candidates right away!
We are calling on Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, Senator Edwards, and Congressman Ron Paul to pledge that they will issue an Executive Order that says:
No funds made available to the Department of Justice shall be used to prevent States from implementing adopted laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana. In particular, no funds shall be used to investigate, seize, arrest or prosecute in association with the distribution of medical marijuana, unless such distribution has been found by adjudication to violate state or local law.
Click here to e-mail and fax the candidates, challenging them to stand up for medical marijuana patients and to protect taxpayersâ dollars. It is time for the candidates to show that their campaigns are not about rhetoric, but about protecting the rights of Americans.
Sincerely,
Sonnet Seeborg-GabbardField Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access
P.S. Please enable more actions like these in the future. Sending faxes costs ASA ten cents per fax, and as you know, that can add up! Click here to donate to ASA and ensure future actions such as these.
Americans for Safe Access is the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.