FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 27, 2010
D.C. Medical Marijuana Law Clears Congressional Hurdle
Congress Takes No Action to Overturn D.C. Council Bill; Officials Now Tasked With Establishing Regulations, Taking Dispensary Applications
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or 443-927-6400
WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s medical marijuana law cleared a mandatory 30-day Congressional review period Monday night, after Congress declined to take action against a D.C. Council bill that allows the District to license between five and eight medical marijuana dispensaries. Norton made the announcement on Tuesday. The District will join 14 states across the country in having effective medical marijuana laws.
This historic development comes almost 12 years after 69 percent of District voters approved a referendum on medical marijuana in 1998. Congress had blocked the law’s implementation until last year. Now the District Department of Health and Mayor Adrian Fenty are tasked with developing a set of regulations for dispensaries that will be licensed to distribute medical marijuana to qualified patients. Medical marijuana is not fully legal yet, as the new law allows qualified patients to legally possess marijuana only if it comes from a licensed dispensary.
“After thwarting the will of District voters for more than a decade, Congress is no longer standing in the way of effective relief for D.C. residents who struggle with chronic ailments,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “This moment is a long overdue victory for both D.C. home rule and the wellbeing of District residents whose doctors believe medical marijuana can help ease their pain.”
Under the bill, patients who are suffering from chronic conditions including HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis, and receive a recommendation from their doctor will be able to obtain safe access to medical marijuana through a system of licensed dispensaries. A task force will be charged with, among other things, recommending additional conditions, such as PTSD or severe, chronic pain to the list of qualifying conditions. Unlike the laws in 13 out of 14 medical marijuana states, patients will not be allowed to grow their own medicine, though the task force will also examine the issue of home cultivation. Medical marijuana will be subject to the city’s 6 percent sales tax.
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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Tell the Senate: |
Dear friends,
Yes, you read that correctly. A bill has just reached the floor of the U.S. Senate that would double penalties for any edible products combined with medical marijuana in California and other states that provide relief for patients. The worst part is that the bill was written and sponsored by a Democratic senator from California!!!
The bill is currently awaiting a vote. That's why we need you to write your two United States Senators today and urge them to defeat this terrible bill.
As you probably know, many patients prefer to eat - rather than smoke or vaporize - medical marijuana. To illustrate how inhumane this bill is, consider this scenario. The bill would double the federal prison sentence if a college student home to help care for his brother undergoing chemotherapy baked marijuana brownies for him to eat, even if it was recommended by his doctor!!!
Please write the Senate now to defeat this heartless bill. And if you appreciate SSDP taking the lead on important issues like this, please consider donating today.
Thanks,
Aaron Houston
Executive Director
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Washington, D.C.
Cultural Baggage * Century of Lies * 4:20 Drug War NEWS * Time 4 Hemp
Note: I now produce a segment each Friday at 11:45 PM Central for Time 4 Hemp on American Freedom Radio (dot com)
Cultural Baggage for 07/25/10 29:00 Len Richmond, producer of new film: "What if Cannabis Cured Cancer" + Michael Krawitz re VA's allowing med marijuana & Paul Armentano re bogus Govt stats for emergency room visits for marijuana
LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2999
TRANSCRIPT: Tue
Century of Lies for 07/25/10 29:00 Michelle Alexander, author of "The New Jim Crow - Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness"
LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3000
TRANSCRIPT: Mon
4:20 Drug War NEWS, 07/26 to 08/01/10 Link at www.drugtruth.net on the right margin -
Sun - Paul Armentano of NORML re Sen. Feinstien not representing her consituents Sat - Mason Tvert of Safer Choice on why DARE dares not compare alcohol to marijuana Fri - Neil Franklin, director Law Enforcement Against Prohibiiton on being prohibited from attending SAMHSA conference Thu - Michelle Alexander, author of "The New Jim Crow"
Wed - Mary Jane Borden of Drug War Facts re narco violence in Mexico Tue - Paul Armentano of NORML on emergency room visits for marijuana Mon - Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access on positive VA ruling on medical cannabis use
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There's something very seductive about police officers speaking out against the drug war and explaining how their experiences led them to oppose prohibition. Maybe that's why government officials don't want LEAP represented at an upcoming conference on substance abuse:
Three new videos from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, filmed at the Vienna AIDS 2010 conference this month. In one of them, former US President Bill Clinton calls for harm reduction, an approach to substance misuse and other social issues of which the most well-known example is needle exchange programs.
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