Dear ASA Supporters, My name is Toby. In 2005, my partner David Harde, a patient and caregiver, and I were raided by local authorities in an investigation. In light of the fact that case could not successfully be prosecuted given California state law, our case was turned over to the federal government. The reason I am sharing my story with you now is because the U.S. House of Representatives will soon debate the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment. This amendment could have prevented the devastating story I want to share with you. A few days prior to July 4, 2006, eight federal agents arrived at our door. We were handcuffed and carted off to the Federal Court House in Sacramento. The only thing this experience has taught me is that the federal government will use fear and intimidation to tear families apart. The details of this experience are still overwhelming. We are not dangerous people, or are we a threat to anyone. It's estimated that the federal government spent nearly $200,000 on the eight agents and other resources used to conduct this “sting” operation. This is why the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment is so important to both taxpayers and patients alike. Knowing that the federal government does not recognize state protection of medical marijuana patients and providers, David and I, like so many others made the difficult decision to resolve the case against him as quickly as possible. We chose to take a plea bargain. To my devastated surprise, David was sentenced to years of prison time, will have to serve a lengthy probation, pay astronomical fines. It feels like an eternity will pass before we will have our lives back. To David’s credit, his friends, relatives and local community members sent letters to the judge, appealing for a more lenient sentence. As a result, the judge issued a sentence for David well below the minimum sentencing guideline - the first time the judge had taken such action during his tenure on the federal bench. Still, 30 months is a long time to be away from those you love. Sadly, our story is only one of dozens of cases (http://www.safeaccessnow.org/section.php?id=184) that could have been prevented by the passage of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment. It is up to compassionate people like you to educate your representatives on this amendment. On behalf of David, myself and all the victims of the federal attack on medical cannabis, I ask you to contact your representative today. We are under a time constraint so I am asking you to take action now. Here are two ways to contact your representative: 1. E-mail Your Member of Congress. Visit ASA’s action page (http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3471) to send your Congressional Representative an e-mail urging him/her to support the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment. 2) Call Your Member of Congress. Every single phone call counts! Call your Congressional Representative and tell them if adopted this amendment will do two things: (a) Conserve taxpayers’ money by blocking funding for DEA raids in legal medical cannabis states against state certified medical cannabis patients and caregivers. (b) Protect legal medical cannabis patients from having their homes and workspaces unnecessarily raided by the DEA. For phone numbers of your representatives, visit www.house.gov or call the congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Give the operator your zip code and ask to be connected to your U.S. Representative. This experience has changed our lives, broken our hearts, mended our love and taught us to be open with our needs and know that family, friends, and community will respond with abundance and love. Please help prevent further stories like mine from happening to other patients and providers. Please do the compassionate thing and contact your representative today (http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3471). Thank you, Toby