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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

MARCH 17, 2010

Medical Marijuana Qualifies for November Ballot in South Dakota

“Measure 13” Would Allow Seriously Ill Patients to Use Medical Marijuana With a Doctor’s Recommendation

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

Emmett Reistroffer, South Dakota Coalition for Compassion … 605-370-1108, [email protected]

         PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA — In November 2010, South Dakotans will once again have the opportunity to make the medical use of marijuana legal in the state. The South Dakota Coalition for Compassion, a nonprofit group composed of physicians, patients, law enforcement officials and private citizens, received word from the Secretary of State this week that “Measure 13” had qualified for the ballot. The campaign submitted close to 32,000 signatures last month. They needed just 16,776 valid signatures to qualify.

         South Dakotans voted on a similar initiative in 2006, with the measure narrowly failing by a 52% to 48% margin. This year’s “South Dakota Safe Access Act” is sponsored by Patrick K. Lynch, former chairman of the board for the North Central States Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and was drafted with the assistance of the Marijuana Policy Project.

         “We are excited that South Dakota voters will have another opportunity to make the medical use of marijuana legal for patients in the state,” said Steve Fox, director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Given the increasing level of support for medical marijuana across the country over the past few years, we are fully confident that a solid majority of voters in the state will support patients’ rights this November.”

         The initiative, if passed into law, would allow medical marijuana cardholders to possess up to one ounce of marijuana if they have been diagnosed with or are undergoing treatment for certain cancers, glaucoma, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, seizures or multiple sclerosis, along with other specifically diagnosable ailments. The initiative outlines specific disabilities that qualify patients for use, rules regarding registration cards, distribution, and rules for establishing a registry for medical marijuana users.

         The entire initiative can be read at http://www.sdcompassion.org/sdsaa.htm

         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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MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                                                                               

MARCH 17, 2010                                                                                                                                                     

Medical Marijuana Bill to Be Debated by Senate Committee on Thursday

SB 627 Would Allow Seriously Ill Patients to Use Medical Marijuana With Doctor’s Recommendation

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

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND— Tomorrow, on Thursday, March 18, the state Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee will receive testimony on SB 627, a bill that would make Maryland the 15^th state in the nation to have an effective medical marijuana law. Sponsored by Frederick County Republican Sen. David Brinkley, the bill would allow pharmacies or other state-regulated outlets to dispense medical marijuana to patients who receive a recommendation from their doctor. The bipartisan bill is cosponsored by Senate President Mike Miller, Minority Leader Allan Kittleman, Minority Whip Nancy Jacobs, and Deputy Majority Leader Robert Garigiola, among others.

         WHAT: Hearing on SB 627, a medical marijuana bill in Maryland

         WHERE: 2 East, Miller Senate Building, 11 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD

WHEN: Thursday, March 18, at 1 p.m. (Please note that 11 bills are scheduled for the 1:00 p.m. hearing and we don’t know what order they will be called in.)

         WHO: Patients, advocates and others will testify

         The House Judiciary and Health and Government Operations committees heard testimony Feb. 26 on HB 712, companion legislation sponsored by Del. Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore County), an E.R. physician, and cosponsored by 47 other delegates. Several doctors, patients and advocates spoke in support of the bill during the previous hearing, and a similar turnout is expected Thursday.

         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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MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                                                                               

MARCH 17, 2010                                                                                                                                                     

Kansas Medical Marijuana Bill to be Subject of Informational Hearing Today

Rep. Gail Finney Has Proposed a Bill that Would Allow Doctors to Recommend Medical Marijuana for Seriously Ill Patients

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

TOPEKA, KANSAS— Today, the Kansas House Health and Human Services Committee will hold an informational hearing on a medical marijuana bill proposed by Rep. Gail Finney. Under the proposal, doctors could recommend medical marijuana to patients with serious illnesses such as cancer or HIV/AIDS. Fourteen other states, including Colorado and New Mexico, have passed similar laws.

         WHAT: Informational presentation on medical marijuana

         WHERE: Docking State Office Building, Room 784, 915 SW, Harrison Street, Topeka

WHEN: Wednesday, March 17, at 1 p.m.

         WHO: Patients, medical professionals, and others will speak.  

         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                                                                                                                                 

MARCH 16, 2010

MPP Calls for National Boycott of Wal-Mart

Corporation Fired a Michigan Patient For Using Medical Marijuana Under State Law With a Doctor’s Recommendation

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the nation’s largest marijuana policy reform organization called upon shoppers across the country to boycott Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in order to protest the unjust and potentially unlawful firing of Joseph Casias, a 29-year-old medical marijuana patient and sinus cancer survivor who suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. Casias’s cancer is in remission, and marijuana alleviates his pain that resulted from it. The Marijuana Policy Project is asking shoppers to demand that Wal-Mart abandon its discriminatory policy of firing employees who are legal medical marijuana patients under state law.

         After dutifully working at a Wal-Mart in Battle Creek, Michigan, for five years, Casias was suddenly terminated because he tested positive for marijuana during a drug screening administered after he sprained his knee on the job. Casias, who was named store Associate of the Year in 2008, is a registered medical marijuana patient in Michigan, where it is legal to use medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation.

         “It’s despicable that Wal-Mart would fire such a hardworking and seriously ill employee simply for treating his symptoms with a medicine that he is authorized to use under state law,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project and lead drafter of Michigan’s medical marijuana law. “Would Wal-Mart also fire someone for taking doctor-prescribed Percocet, or any of the other legal medications sold in many of Wal-Mart’s own stores?”  

         Casias’s firing violates the “Michigan Medical Marihuana Act,” which reads in part that a qualifying patient shall not be “denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to … disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for the medical use of marihuana.” Under the law, the definition of “medical use” contains “internal possession”— having marijuana in one’s system. The law does not require employers to allow the “ingestion of marihuana in any workplace” or employees to work while under the influence, but there is no allegation that Casias used marijuana at work or worked while impaired.  To add further insult to injury, Wal-Mart is contesting Casias’s eligibility for unemployment.

         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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Dear friends:

Joseph Casias, a medical marijuana patient and cancer survivor in Michigan, has been fired by Wal-Mart simply for following his doctor's recommendation and trying to ease his pain.

Just 29 years old, Joe has already survived sinus cancer and now suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. He's spent the last five years working at a Wal-Mart in Battle Creek, Michigan and was honored as the store's Associate of the Year in 2008. Joe also happens to be a legal medical marijuana patient, registered with the state of Michigan. After a recent workplace injury, Joe was given a drug screen — which he failed because of his medical marijuana use.

Rather than having compassion and understanding for a model employee who was following the law, Wal-Mart fired Joe and has recently contested his unemployment benefits.

Will you help us send a message to Wal-Mart that punishing medical marijuana patients who are trying to get better, following their doctor’s advice, and adhering to state law is cruel and unacceptable?

MPP is calling on our members to boycott Wal-Mart until it abandons its discriminatory policy of firing employees who are legal medical marijuana patients under state law. Please help us send a message to Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke that you don't support Wal-Mart’s policy and won't be shopping there until it’s changed.

Check out this video of local activists in Michigan protesting Wal-Mart’s actions. Together, we can let Wal-Mart and other businesses know that discrimination against medical marijuana patients will not go unchallenged.

Sincerely,