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MEDIA ADVISORY: January 27, 2009 Contact: Naomi Long (202) 669-6071 Maryland Legislature to Consider Criminalizing Salvia Divinorum Both Senate and House to Hold Hearings on Bills to Outlaw the Currently Legal, Psychoactive Plant What: Hearings for bills to criminalize salvia - House Bill 8 and Senate Bill 9 When: Tuesday, January 27, 1 p.m. Where: HB 8 – House Judiciary Committee room 101; SB 9 – Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee room, Ste. 2E Maryland state legislators are seeking to make salvia divinorum a Schedule I drug which would make the substance illegal and out of the realm of research. Opponents say the bill will have the consequence of making it easier for minors to obtain salvia by putting an outright ban on the drug and driving it underground rather than seeking to bring the sale and use of the drug under state regulation and control. Schedule I designations are reserved for substances with the highest potential for abuse and the lowest medicinal value. “We are very concerned about youth drug use, including the use of Salvia, but by outlawing and prohibiting it legislators will make the problem even worse,” said Naomi Long, Director, of the Drug Policy Alliance, D.C. and Maryland Project. “We can curb youth access to Salvia by enacting age controls and placement restrictions similar to our strategies to reduce teenage smoking. We didn’t have to criminalize tobacco or create prison sentences to achieve success. Criminalizing drugs makes it easier for young people to obtain them because the underground market doesn’t check an ID to see if someone’s an adult.” Neither the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) nor Congress have taken any action on Salvia Divinorum. Studies have shown that Salvia has no known potential for abuse and may be a candidate for treating addiction, eating disorders, and even HIV infections. The bills, House Bill 8 and Senate Bill 9 are scheduled for hearings in the Judiciary Committee room 101 and Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee room Suite 2E on January 27 at 1 p.m. The bills to criminalize salvia, a psychoactive herb, have been introduced by Delegates Addie Eckardt (R) Jeannie Haddaway(R) and Senator Richard Colburn (R). The Drug Policy Alliance opposes both bills.

Dear friends, CONCORD, N.H. -- The NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy today announced its support for HB 648, a bill that would protect seriously ill patients from arrest if their doctors recommend marijuana. The group also announced the launch of NHCompassion.org, a new Web site featuring New Hampshire patients, which will serve as a home base for the effort to pass medical marijuana legislation. "HB 648 simply acknowledges the obvious fact that some seriously ill New Hampshire patients benefit from their medicinal use of marijuana," observed Matt Simon, the organization's executive director. "There is no moral justification for continuing a policy that criminalizes patients for trying to relieve their suffering." Simon said he's optimistic about the bill's chances, and noted that New Hampshire voters support medical marijuana reform by a wider margin than they supported most successful candidates in the 2008 election. Simon cited a poll conducted last April by Mason-Dixon Research, which found that of New Hampshire voters, 71 percent supported "changing the law in New Hampshire to allow seriously and terminally ill patients to use and grow medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it." Only 21 percent of voters said they opposed the reform, with 8 percent undecided. Details on the poll are available at nhcompassion.org. A similar bill, HB 774, was narrowly rejected (186-177) by the House in 2007, but Simon said he believes support will be much stronger this year. "In the past two years, the consensus for allowing medical marijuana has grown. Michigan and New Mexico enacted medical marijuana laws, and now 25 percent of Americans live in medical marijuana states. In addition, the prestigious American College of Physicians issued a paper supporting marijuana's medical value. And, the new U.S. president has pledged to end the federal raids on medical marijuana providers, which had been a concern for many legislators." The bill's prime sponsor is Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster), joined by co-sponsors Sen. John Gallus (R-Berlin), Sen. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth), Rep. Tom Donovan (D-Claremont), Rep. James "Doc" Pilliod (R-Belmont), Rep. Trinka Russell (D-Stratham) and Rep. Don Petterson (D-Brentwood). An initial hearing for the bill has not yet been scheduled. If the effort to pass HB 648 succeeds, New Hampshire would become the 14th state since 1996 to pass legislation protecting medical marijuana patients, joining Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. # # # Thanks, -- Matt Simon Executive Director NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy NHCompassion.org [email protected] [4] (603) 391-7450 "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of the substance." - Francis L. Young, DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge, 1988

4:20 Drug War NEWS from 90.1 FM in Houston and dozens of radio affiliates in the US, Canada and Australia & on the web at www.kpft.org. 4:20 Drug War NEWS 01/26/09 to 02/01/09 now online (3:00 ea:) Select online at www.drugtruth.net Sun - Cliff Schaffer discusses financial meltdown & the drug war Sat - Doug McVay returns with Drug War Facts Fri - Howard Wooldridge of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition & horse Misty featured in Horse Connection magazine Thu - Phil Smith of the Drug War Chronicle returns with Corrupt Cop Story Wed - Terry Nelson reports for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Tue - A new documentary "Tulia, Texas" will premier on PBS on Feb 10 Mon - Mexico drug war escalation per Hou Chron & El Paso Times Next - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: "Tulia Texas" producer Cassandra Herman + Tulia Defense Attorney Jeff Blackburn - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT, 9:30 AM PT: UTEP Professor Kathleen Staudt Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, and www.audioport.org Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net