Medical Marijuana
Maine Votes âYesâ on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
NOVEMBER 3, 2009
Maine Votes âYesâ on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries,
Becomes 3rd State to License Medical Marijuana Providers; Vote Seen as Latest Advance Spurred by Obama Policy
CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205
AUGUSTA, MAINE â In a landmark vote, Maine voters today approved Question 5, making the state the third in the country to license nonprofit organizations to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients and the first ever to do so by a vote of the people. With 49 percent of the vote tallied, the measure was cruising to an easy win with 60.2 percent voting âyesâ and 39.8 percent voting âno.â
        Under the measure, the state will license nonprofit organizations to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients and set rules for their operation. While 13 states permit medical use of marijuana, only Rhode Island and New Mexico have similar dispensary provisions, both of which were adopted by the statesâ legislatures. Maineâs original medical marijuana law was passed in 1999.
        âThis is a dramatic step forward, the first time that any stateâs voters have authorized the state government to license medical marijuana dispensaries,â said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., which drafted the initiative and provided start-up funding for the campaign. âComing a decade after passage of Maineâs original marijuana law, this is a huge sign that voters are comfortable with these laws, and also a sign that the recent change of policy from the Obama administration is having a major impact.â Â
        In October, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a formal policy indicating that federal prosecutors should not prosecute medical marijuana activities authorized by state law.
        Question 5 also expands the list of medical conditions qualifying for protection under Maineâs law to include several conditions that are included in most other medical marijuana states, including intractable pain, agitation of Alzheimerâs disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (âLou Gehrigâs diseaseâ).
        With more than 29,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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Medical marijuana override falls short in New Hampshire
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Marijuana Policy Project Alert | October 28, 2009 | |||||
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Dear friends: Today, the New Hampshire legislature came just shy of voting to override Gov. John Lynch (D)'s veto of the state's proposed medical marijuana law. Two-thirds of the votes were needed. Although we cleared the House with 67.6% of the vote (240-115), it lost in the Senate, 14-10. The bill had passed the legislature in June, by 232-108 in the House and 14-10 in the Senate. But on July 10, Gov. Lynch vetoed the bill, after refusing to meet with 15 patients and after failing to give input to the legislative conference committee, which amended the bill to address each of the eight concerns he had voiced in April. To override the veto and pass the bill into law, we needed supportive votes from two-thirds of voting members of the House and 16 votes in the Senate. Coming so close to victory makes losing more painful. Yet the support of MPPâs 29,000 dues-paying members allowed us to wage a fierce fight: We retained a top lobbying firm in the state and funded an outstanding organizer, Matt Simon, who leads the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. We also ran tens of thousands of dollars of TV, radio, and print ads featuring patients who were counting on the governor and legislature to do the right thing and generated hundreds of e-mails, calls, and faxes and postcards to the governor and key legislators. But the bill faced strong opposition from the state's attorney general and chiefs of police. However, weâre determined to see New Hampshire medical marijuana patients protected from arrest and jail. 71% of New Hampshire voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use and grow medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it, according to a 2008 Mason-Dixon poll. Would you help us come back even stronger? Please donât let the New Hampshire patients who spoke out publicly in support of this bill be ignored. Donate what you can today. Need one more reason? Do it for the memory of Scott Turner, a New Hampshire medical marijuana patient and activist who died August 4 after a long and painful battle with degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease. Together, we're going to win this fight. Thank you,
Rob Kampia P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled. Â |
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We are required by federal law to tell you that any donations you make to MPP may be used for political purposes, such as supporting or opposing candidates for federal office. | ||||||
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Medical Marijuana: A New Bill in Congress!
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Exploring the Role of the Medical Community in Shaping Drug Policy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Contact: Tony Newman 646-335-5384
October 26, 2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gabriel Sayegh 646-335-2264
Town Hall Forum Tuesday at Columbia Medical School: Exploring the Role of the Medical Community in Shaping Drug Policy
Topics to be Discussed: Marijuana Policy, Heroin Maintenance Programs and Other Health Strategies to Reduce the Death, Disease and Suffering Associated with both Drug Use and Drug Policies
Nationally and locally, a shift in the 40-year-old drug war is underway. President Obama has stated he wants to advance a public health approach to drug policy, and Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, has called for an end to the term âwar on drugsâ because it signifies a war on people. Congress is close to removing the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and ending the federal ban on funding syringe exchanges, which reduce the spread of blood-borne diseases. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder instructed federal agencies not to target patients who comply with state medical marijuana laws, raising new questions about federal marijuana policies. In New York, Governor Paterson enacted reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, signifying a shift away from a criminal justice-oriented approach to drug policy in favor of a health-oriented approach.
What is the role of the medical community in shaping health-oriented approaches to drug policy? This town hall-style seminar will explore the role of the medical and research community in shaping a more evidenced-based drug policy. Drs. H. Westley Clark and Ethan Nadelmann will give presentations on what components an evidenced-based drug policy should include, and discuss the role the medical community can play in their development.
Speakers:
H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., M.P.H.
Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Ethan Nadelmann, Ph.D., J.D.
Founder and Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading organization promoting policy alternatives to the drug war that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.
Moderated by Dr. Carl Hart, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology of Columbia University
Time:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Tuesday, October 27th 2009 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Place: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â First Floor Hellman Auditorium
                      New York State Psychiatric Institute
1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032
This event is free and open to the public.
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Press Release: N.H. Patients Make Final Plea for Medical Marijuana Law in Tuesday Press Conference
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
OCTOBER 26, 2009
N.H. Patients Make Final Plea for Medical Marijuana Law in Tuesday Press Conference
CONTACT: Matt Simon, New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy⦠(603) 391-7450
CONCORDâ One day prior to the final vote on HB 648, patients and advocates will hold a Tuesday morning press conference urging legislators to end the uncertainty and pass this bill into law when they vote Oct. 28.
Additionally, half-page newspaper ads have been slated to run Tuesday in the Concord Monitor and the New Hampshire Union-Leader urging support for the override.
HB 648 passed the House and Senate June 24, but was subsequently vetoed by Gov. John Lynch. If it becomes law, New Hampshire would become the 14th state to protect seriously ill patients from arrest for using medical marijuana if their doctor recommends it.
WHAT: Press conference urging legislators to pass the medical marijuana bill into law
WHO: Advocates scheduled to participate include: ?                             Â
Rep. Evalyn Merrick, prime sponsor of HB 648
Barbara Filleul, a cancer survivor from Concord
Dennis Acton, a cancer survivor from Fremont
Former state Sen. Burt Cohen, a survivor of Hepatitis-C
Matt Simon, executive director for the N.H. Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy
WHEN: Tuesday, October 27, 10 a.m.
WHERE: Legislative Office Building lobby, Concord, N.H.
Press Release: Jay Leno mocks Miss New Jerseyâs use of medical marijuana
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2009
CONTACT: Ken @ (609) 394-2137
Tonight Show host Jay Leno mocks Miss New Jerseyâs use of medical marijuana
WHO: Tonight Show host Jay Leno
WHAT: Mocked Miss New Jerseyâs Medical Marijuana Use
WHEN: October 22, 2009
WHERE: Opening monologue
WHY: Lenoâs ignorance of marijuanaâs therapeutic value
During his opening monologue last night, Tonight Show host Jay Leno mocked a former Miss New Jerseyâs use of medical marijuana to relieve her asthma symptoms. Leno said that âsmoking marijuana to cure asthma is like eating (fast food) to cure diarrheaâ¦If she really wants to cure her asthma she should leave New Jersey.â Georgine DiMaria, 24, the 2006 Miss New Jersey said that as a child her asthma was so severe that it left her bedridden, forcing her to be homeschooled. "When you can't breathe, nothing else matters," DiMaria said in the Press of Atlantic City in April 2009. At the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia in April 2009, Miss DiMaria eloquently described how marijuana has consistently relieved her asthma symptoms. Miss DiMaria does not smoke the marijuanaâshe uses a vaporizer and inhales the therapeutic vapors, which are both bronchodilating and anxiety-relieving. Many asthmatics report finding relief from the use of marijuanaâeven smoked marijuanaâand scientific studies support the first-hand experiences of these patients.
âMedical marijuana is not a joke,â said Ken Wolski, RN, from the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey. âMarijuana is a safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agent for a wide variety of diseases, symptoms, and medical conditions. It is an outrage that patients in New Jersey continue to go to jail for trying to relieve their suffering and it is a further outrage that all Mr. Leno can do is make fun of this.â
The "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act,â which was approved by the New Jersey Senate, awaits a vote in the Assembly. This bill would allow New Jersey patients to use a small amount of marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it, in a program run by the Department of Health and Senior Services. Governor Jon Corzine has said that he would sign the bill into law when it gets to his desk.
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Medical Marijuana Regulations: We need your input!
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On the heels of victory...
Dear friends:
Following the enormous victory for medical marijuana patients and their caregivers on Monday, a strong MPP champion on Capitol Hill, Congressman Sam Farr (D-Calif.), plans to introduce an important bill in Congress next week.
While the new Department of Justice policy creates a de facto protection for patients and caregivers who are "in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana," the Farr bill â which MPP staff helped write years ago â will codify this protection in law.
It will also address another injustice:Â Currently, medical marijuana patients in the 13 states where medical marijuana is legal are barred from telling federal jurors that their use of marijuana was for medical purposes, even when state laws explicitly permit medical use. Congressman Farr's Truth in Trials Act would guarantee defendants in federal medical marijuana cases the right to explain that their marijuana was for medical use. And more importantly, defendants could be found not guilty if the jury finds that they followed state medical marijuana laws.
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Will you please urge your member of Congress to co-sponsor this legislation? MPP's online action system makes it easy: Just enter your contact information and we'll do the rest.
This is such an exciting time for our issue. Thank you for standing with us in the fight.
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.
Press Release: U.S. Attorneyâs Announcement Brings New Hope for Medical Marijuana Bill in New Hampshire
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
OCTOBER 22, 2009
U.S. Attorneyâs Announcement Brings New Hope for Medical Marijuana Bill in New Hampshire
Medical marijuana vote Oct. 28; poll shows 71% support
CONTACT: Matt Simon, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policyâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦(603) 391-7450
CONCORD â Patients and their advocates received new hope Tuesday in their effort to pass a medical marijuana bill in New Hampshire. The U.S. attorney for New Hampshire, John Kacavas, announced that his department will not prosecute seriously ill patients who use marijuana to relieve their suffering.
The statement from Kacavas came one day after the Obama administration issued guidelines to federal prosecutors and the DEA directing them not to expend limited resources prosecuting medical marijuana patients in states where doctors may legally recommend the drug. Kacavas went a step further, telling reporters his office would not prosecute patients for possessing marijuana regardless of whether HB 648 passes or fails.Â
When the bill was debated earlier this year, many legislators expressed concern that a New Hampshire law could not protect patients from federal prosecutions. In light of Kacavasâ announcement, advocates say it is now clear that patients have nothing to fear from federal agents in New Hampshire.
âItâs great to hear that Iâm safe from the federal authorities,â said 24-year old Clayton Holton, a Somersworth resident who suffers from muscular dystrophy and lost his ability to walk at age 10. âUnfortunately, if HB 648 doesnât pass, Iâll still have to live in fear of New Hampshire state and local police.â
A 2008 Mason-Dixon poll showed that 71% of New Hampshire voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill patients access to medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it.
Matt Simon, executive director for the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, praised the announcement from Kacavas but pointed out that of the more than 800,000 marijuana arrests that take place each year in the US, 99% are made by state and local law enforcement officers. âIf legislators want to see some of New Hampshireâs most vulnerable citizens receive protection from arrest, there is no good reason left for them to vote against HB 648,â he said.
Cancer survivor Dennis Acton, a Fremont resident, also cheered the new development. âItâs great to see the federal government finally acknowledging that states should be free to determine their own policies,â he said. âNow itâs clear that the responsibility of changing this law rests with our own state legislature, and nobody else.â
The bill is scheduled for a final vote in the House and Senate Oct. 28. Two-thirds majorities will be necessary to override Gov. John Lynchâs veto and pass the bill into law. When the bill passed June 24, the House vote was 232-108 (68%) and the Senate vote was 14-10, only two votes short of the override threshold.