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California Tax and Regulate Cannabis Initiative Suspends Signature Gathering--Because They Have Enough Already!
Congress is starting to listen...
I wanted to say thank you to Sioux Colombe, an ASA Ambassador in Sacramento, California. The email she received below demonstrates that Congress is starting to hear us.
Sioux had asked her Member of Congress, Representative Doris Matsui, to support the Truth in Trials Act. Sioux got the response below, which is a perfect example of the kind of dialog we want to build with our elected officials.
This reply means that Rep. Matsui's office took the time to research the Truth in Trials Act and respond. The next step is to ask Rep. Matsui to become a supporter -- a "cosponsor" -- of the bill.
Will you do the same for your U.S. Representative?Â
If your Rep gets a phone call from you, they will start paying attention.
Here's what you have to do -- it will take 5 minutes.
1. Find out who your Rep is. Go to http://www.house.gov and type in your zip code in the upper left corner. If it asks for your full "Zip+4", just look at your last piece of junk mail.
2. Dial 202-224-3121. Ask the operator to transfer you to your Member of Congress.
3. Tell your Rep ... "I'm calling from ______ and I want you to cosponsor HR 3939, the Truth in Trials Act."
4. Reply to this email and tell me who you called.
Thanks!
- Sanjeev, ASA
P.S. The full email that Sioux received is below.
Sanjeev Bery
National Field Director
Americans for Safe Access
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui
To: Sioux Colombe
Sent: Tue, December 1, 2009 12:22:29 PM
Subject: From the Office of Congresswoman Matsui
December 1, 2009Â
Â
Ms. Sioux Colombe
Sacramento, California
Dear Sioux:
Thank you for contacting me regarding medical marijuana. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
As you may know, 13 states, including California, currently allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. In these jurisdictions, state-level penalties for the cultivation, possession, and use of medical marijuana have been removed, and programs to regulate patients' use have been established or are currently being considered. However, in these 13 states where medical marijuana use is legal, users remain subject to federal penalties for such use.
In an effort to correct this, legislation has been introduced in the 111th Congress to permit the use of medical marijuana under federal law in states where marijuana is currently being used for medicinal purposes. The Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act (H.R. 2835), would achieve this end by re-classifying marijuana into a less restrictive category of drug under the regulatory structure of the Controlled Substances Act.
Another piece of legislation, the Truth in Trials Act (H.R. 3939), responds to the Justice Department's directive on medical marijuana policy, which tells federal prosecutors to avoid pursuing cases against individuals who legally use medical marijuana. Specifically, H.R. 3939 would allow a person on trial for a federal marijuana-related offense to introduce evidence that the alleged marijuana-related activities were performed in compliance with state laws.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding medical marijuana. To learn more about my work in Congress, or to sign up for occasional e-mail updates, please visit my website at http://matsui.house.gov.
Sincerely,
DORIS O. MATSUI
Member of Congress
Our Momentum Continues: Read The Sentencing Times
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Patients Out of Time: Announcing a New Look
Feature: Medical Marijuana Gets Historic First House Hearing in Pennsylvania
Latin America: Mexico Drug War Update--December 2
Proof that the Drug War Sucks: Mexico
TIJUANA, Mexico â Tijuana's public security spokesman says a fleet of brand new patrol cars has been burned in a Molotov cocktail attack.
Ernesto Alvarez says the 28 vehicles were hit in the predawn attack at a Mazda dealership. Six were destroyed, the rest damaged but possibly reparable. [AP]
Reparable, you say? Yeah, imagine it's your first day on the job as a cop in Tijuana and they give you a new patrol car that's already been lightly toasted by a firebomb.
Why Legalizing Marijuana Will Reduce Violent Crime
An argument over marijuana inside a Hialeah apartment Tuesday left one man dead, one wounded and a third under arrest, police said.
Really awful stuff. One guy thought he was gonna get robbed, pulled a gun and everything went crazy from there. You couldn't possibly keep track of how often things like this are happening.
And I can just picture the anti-drug crowd crowing, "and you want to legalize this stuff?" You're damn right we do. We want to decide who sells and where they'll be located. We can keep this business out of apartment buildings filled with children and put it in a safe place instead. Until that happens, you can never know when or where the next violent tragedy will occur. Currently, it's being sold in all the wrong places by all the wrong people. We can fix that. Easily.
Fortunately, the folks at The Miami Herald seem to be on the right track here. Right next to the story is a poll asking "Do you think legalizing marijuana would reduce crime?" So far 75% say yes, and maybe you guys can help bring that number up even higher. It's a good sign that the press is beginning to make that connection. There's no better time to discuss legalization than when lives are lost over a bag of marijuana.
Medical Marijuana Stakeholder Meeting
Development First: Lessons Learned in Promoting Rural Development and Reducing Illicit Crop Cultivation in Afghanistan and the Andes
Medical Marijuana: San Diego Dispensary Operator Found Not Guilty
BBC News Says Hash is Safer Than Marijuana
The experts believe skunk is particularly damaging because it contains more THC.
â¦
Unlike skunk, hashish - cannabis resin - contains substantial quantities of another chemical called cannabidiol or CBD and research suggests this can act as an antidote to the THC, counteracting its psychotic side effects.
And where did all that delicious, brain-nurturing CBD come from? It came from the cannabis plant, i.e. the exact thing you're claiming is so dangerous. The statement above, though not entirely untrue, highlights the fundamental ignorance about the cannabis plant that underlies this whole crazy obsession with "skunk" that has gripped the British press for years now. So let me break this down for you:
1. Skunk is just one variety of cannabis and hardly comprises the bulk of the market for good marijuana. It's an old strain that's been hybridized a million times over with other strains to the point that one rarely knows if they're smoking Skunk or not. Many strains contain some amount of Skunk, but there's generally no way to tell, especially if you're buying on the black market. In reality, the British press is just using the term "skunk" as slang for any type of high-potency marijuana. And that's why the hash comparison is absurdâ¦
2. The only reason hash is often high in CBD is because hash is usually made from indica strains, which produce more CBD. But most commercial cannabis is indica-dominant anyway, so the whole idea that hash contains some special ingredient that's missing from cannabis is just pure nonsense. It all comes from the plant and it just depends what variety you're using. Instead of calling everything "skunk" and confusing everyone, why not educate the public about which strains have the healthiest ingredients?
If you're concerned about the safety of marijuana users, there is absolutely only one logical solution: regulate and control the product so that users know what they're getting and researchers know what they're studying. We could argue about this for a thousand years, or we could test it out right now and learn the truth.
Middle East: Hamas Adopts Tough New Drug Laws, Includes Death Penalty for Dealers
Study Shows Marijuana Reduces Other Drug Use
In the study, 40 percent of marijuana users said they have used marijuana to control their alcohol addictions, 66 percent said they used marijuana instead of prescription drugs, and 26 percent said marijuana helped them stay off other illegal drugs. [MPP]
For the 1000th time, the empirical reality about marijuana turns out to be the precise opposite of what the propaganda would have you believe.
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