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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

APRIL 14, 2010

Medical Marijuana Expected to Qualify for Arizona Ballot

Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project will turn in more than 250,000 signatures today to place initiative on November ballot

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or [email protected]

PHOENIX, ARIZONA — Today, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project will submit more than 250,000 signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office in order to place medical marijuana on the November ballot in Arizona. The initiative requires 153,365 signatures to qualify for the ballot. Once the initiative qualifies, Arizona voters will be asked on November 2 to vote yes on the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, which would allow terminally and seriously ill patients who find relief from marijuana to use it with their doctor’s approval.

         “We are proud to turn in these signatures today on behalf of the thousands of patients in Arizona who will benefit from this law once it is enacted,” said Andrew Myers, campaign manager for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project. “People suffering from multiple sclerosis, cancer, AIDS, and other serious illnesses should not be forced to seek on the streets the medicine they and their doctors know they need. This initiative proposes instead a dispensary system that will give patients safe and reliable access to medical marijuana if they possess a doctor’s recommendation to use it. We look forward to qualifying for the ballot and bringing our message to voters over the coming months.” 

         Upon its passage, medical marijuana will be regulated by the Arizona Department of Health Services and will permit qualifying patients or their caregivers to legally purchase their medicine from tightly regulated clinics, as they would any other medicine – they need not purchase it from the criminal market. It will protect seriously ill patients from arrest and prosecution for the simple act of taking doctor-recommended medicine.

         If the initiative qualifies, Arizona will join South Dakota in having medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot this November. Currently 14 states have effective medical marijuana laws, and more than a dozen other states, including New York, Illinois, and Delaware, are considering medical marijuana laws this year.

         AMMPP receives significant support and funding from the Marijuana Policy Project. With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

APRIL 14, 2010

MPP Urges Furlough of Marijuana Offenders Before Violent Convicts

In Congressional Testimony, MPP Calls for Prioritizing Release of Marijuana Offenders When States Furlough Prisoners to Save Money

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. In that testimony, he asked the subcommittee to urge the Department of Justice to encourage states that furlough prisoners because of budget crunches “to certify that no inmates convicted of crimes of violence, including sexual abuse and assault, will be released before non-violent offenders whose sole offense relates to the possession, sale, or manufacture of marijuana.” 

         On March 31, the Associated Press reported a disturbing trend: “Inmates convicted of violent crimes are among those being freed early from California jails to save money, despite lawmakers’ promises that they would exclude most dangerous prisoners and sex offenders … An Associated Press review of inmate data shows that some of the freed criminals were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, battery, domestic violence, and attacks on children and the elderly.” The A.P. noted that similar programs were initiated or expanded in a dozen other states: Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

         Houston asked the subcommittee to urge the Department of Justice to consider conditioning grant awards to states and municipal correctional systems on their certification that no inmates convicted of crimes of violence will have been furloughed before non-violent marijuana offenders.

         “Prioritizing the release of people whose only crime is marijuana-related just makes sense,” Houston said.

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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