Medical Marijuana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 9, 2009   

House Appropriations Committee Seeks Clarification on Medical Marijuana Policy
Amendment Seeks Explanation in Light of Attorney General Holder's Recent Statements

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 202-215-4205 or 415-585-6404

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In light of recent statements by Attorney General Eric Holder indicating that the Obama administration would not pursue prosecutions of individuals involved in medical marijuana activities sanctioned by state law, the House Appropriations Committee has added language seeking clarification of the new policy to the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill.

     The language, sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), states, "There have been conflicting public reports about the Department's enforcement of medical marijuana policies. Within 60 days of enactment, the Department shall provide to the Committee clarification of the Department's policy regarding enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources against individuals involved in medical marijuana activities."

     In past years, Hinchey and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) have sponsored an amendment aimed at ending Drug Enforcement Administration raids on state-legal medical marijuana patients and providers. But in recent months, Attorney General Eric Holder has disavowed any intent to pursue such attacks. Last week, Holder told KOB-TV in Albuquerque, "For those organizations that are doing so sanctioned by state law and do it in a way that is consistent with state law, and given the limited resources that we have, that will not be an emphasis for this administration. ... Medicinal marijuana ... that is something for the states to decide."

     "We are glad to see the federal government finally moving toward sanity on medical marijuana," said Marijuana Policy Project director of government relations Aaron Houston. "No one battling serious illness and following their state's laws should live in fear of our federal government, and we look forward to clear assurances that suffering patients will be left alone."

     With more than 27,000 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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 1, 2009   

After Making History in Senate, Medical Marijuana Bill Poised for House Floor Vote Later This Year

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- Although the clock ran out before it could be acted on by the Illinois House of Representatives this weekend, medical marijuana legislation is now well positioned for a House floor vote, possibly before the end of the year, advocates said today.

     Within 48 hours of passing the Senate 30-28, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act had already soared through the House Human Services Committee and was ready for its final reading and vote on the House floor. Tax legislation, however, occupied all of the House's time in the session's final hours.

     "This bill gained more and more momentum at every stage of the legislative process, and I think the pace at which it moved is testament to the support it enjoys," said Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), deputy majority leader and chief House sponsor of SB 1381. "Although today's top priority was the tax bill, I think the time has come for Illinois to enact a medical marijuana law. We just need to shore up a few votes before calling this bill to the floor."

     The measure could be brought to the House floor for a vote during the November veto session or when the General Assembly reconvenes in January 2010 for the second half of the current session.

     "Of course I'm disappointed," said Jamie Clayton of Grafton, an AIDS patient who participated in a groundbreaking FDA-approved study proving medical marijuana's efficacy in treating pain caused by nerve damage. "But the fact remains that we made it further than ever before. Hundreds of patients like myself came forward this year to plead with our legislators to enact this law, and we will not give up, ever. As someone who volunteered for a clinical study that proved the benefits of medical marijuana, I've felt the relief it can provide first-hand and learned how it can allow me to cut back on some of the prescription narcotics I have to take. A lot of people need this law, and we're not going away."

     With more than 27,000 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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
MAY 28, 2009   

Medical Marijuana Bill Quickly Passes House Health and Human Services Committee
Quick Approval Shows Surging Momentum

 

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- In a move whose speed took even supporters by surprise, the House Health and Human Services Committee approved the medical marijuana bill passed by the full Senate yesterday. The committee had approved the House version of the bill earlier in the year, but needed to ok the Senate version, which had received several amendments.

     "I am delighted by the way this legislation has continued to pick up momentum," said Dan Linn, Executive Director of the Illinois Cannabis Patients Association. "Illinois voters overwhelmingly want to protect patients who need medical marijuana, and both houses of the legislature are hearing that message loud and clear."

     Julie Falco of Chicago, who uses medical marijuana to relieve the painful symptoms of multiple sclerosis and who has been advocating for medical marijuana legislation since 2004, said, "I want to personally thank all the members of the committee for listening to the patients who need this medicine and understanding why we don't have time to wait. We don't want to be criminals for simply trying to cope with our illnesses, and I truly believe this will be the year we finally get some relief."

     Swift committee passage is seen as greatly increasing the chances that the full House will act on the measure before the end of the legislative session May 31.

     With more than 27,000 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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
MAY 22, 2009

Medical Marijuana Supporters Vow to Keep Fighting After Veto

2010 Constitutional Amendment Likely

CONTACT: Former Rep. Chris DeLaForest (R-Andover)......................................................(763) 439-1178

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA -- Supporters of medical marijuana legislation declared their intention to continue the fight to protect patients despite Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of the bill tonight, raising the possibility of a constitutional amendment on the 2010 ballot.

     Before passing the legislation, the House amended it to greatly narrow its scope. The ability of patients to grow their own medical marijuana was removed, and the bill was narrowed to cover only patients suffering from terminal illnesses.

     "I'm disappointed in the governor's action, but I'm not giving up," said Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia), sponsor of the House bill. "This would have been the narrowest, strictest medical marijuana law in the country, but the bottom line remains that there are patients suffering terribly who need protection, and I won't stop till they are protected."

     "For the governor to veto this legislation even after the House narrowed it so much that thousands of suffering patients would have been without protection is just unbelievably cruel," said Senate bill sponsor Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing). "Since the governor has refused to listen to reason or to the overwhelming majority of Minnesotans, we have no choice but to bypass him and take this directly to the people through a constitutional amendment."

     "The governor thinks I'm a criminal for allowing my daughter some comfort during the last months of her life," said Joni Whiting of Jordan, whose adult daughter's suffering was relieved by medical marijuana while she was undergoing treatment for the melanoma that eventually killed her. "I don't know how he sleeps at night, but I do know I'm not giving up until others in my daughter's situation are protected."

     Thirteen states, comprising approximately one-quarter of the U.S. population, now permit medical use of marijuana under state law if a physician has recommended it.

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Dear Friends:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) today vetoed the medical marijuana bill just passed by the Minnesota Legislature.

MPP has been lobbying in Minnesota for five years, pushing our medical marijuana bill closer and closer to passing. The Senate passed our bill on May 4, and on Monday, the House followed suit … the first time a medical marijuana bill has been debated on the floor of the Minnesota House in history.

However, because the governor had been threatening a veto, the House narrowed the scope of the bill, hoping to find common ground with the governor and start protecting Minnesota's patients from arrest and jail. The final version of the bill was watered down beyond what any medical marijuana advocates wanted to see — in its ultimate version protecting only terminally ill patients.

And yet disgustingly, the governor still vetoed it, while simultaneously claiming that he “has great empathy for the sick” … the same sick and dying people he has now sentenced to arrest and jail.

Disgusted? Me too.

It's not going to end here. Every recent poll shows that Minnesotans support medical marijuana by a 2-to-1 margin, and if the governor won't listen to them, we can bypass him entirely. In Minnesota, constitutional amendments bypass the governor and are instead ratified by voters after passing the legislature. We can lobby next year to pass a constitutional amendment for a comprehensive medical marijuana law that would appear on the state's November 2010 ballot.

But that would mean going from our lobbying campaign in the legislature — which was expensive but affordable — to a ballot initiative campaign, which would require statewide advertising, which is much more expensive. What do you think? Should we should stand up and fight? Taking the battle to the next level will cost more but would be the only way forward.

If you're outraged by the governor's cruelty and want to gird for the next stage of battle, can you help us show the governor and other prohibitionists like him that their time is past? We can win — just like we've won in other states  — but we need your help to do it.

Thank you,

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.

Dear Friends:

Yesterday, MPP's campaign committee, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project (AMMPP), launched a signature drive to place a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in Arizona.

The initiative would allow seriously ill patients who find relief from marijuana to use it with their doctors' approval, much like the laws in the other 13 medical marijuana states do. What's unique about the Arizona law is that it would permit qualifying patients or their caregivers to legally purchase marijuana from licensed dispensaries — so they wouldn't need to obtain it from the criminal market.

The importance of this can't be overstated. Although medical marijuana collectives exist in other states, state laws permitting them are a hodgepodge, leaving them largely unregulated and subject to legal challenges. In Arizona, our initiative would provide clear guidelines for state-regulated dispensaries, thus ensuring safe access for patients — meaning that Arizona would have the best medical marijuana law in the country.

But to get the initiative on the ballot, our campaign committee must collect 153,365 valid signatures from Arizona voters, which means about 250,000 gross signatures. We know from our past successful signature drives, like in Michigan, that it costs about $2 to collect every signature (because of the costs of paying canvassers, checking validity, and so forth), which means it will take $500,000 to fund this stage of the campaign.

Can you help?

As you can see at the bottom of this message, a major philanthropist is willing to match your donation dollar-for-dollar, so AMMPP only needs you and other MPP members to donate a total of $250,000. Arizona patients and I are grateful for anything you can do to help.

The chances of this initiative winning are strong. According to a February 2009 poll, 65% of Arizona voters support removing criminal penalties for the medical use of marijuana. And we've contracted with the best political consultants in the Arizona, who are building coalitions with organizations in the state … have hired an experienced campaign manager on the ground in Phoenix … and have already garnered the support of state opinion leaders.

Will you be part of this exciting campaign and help protect another state's medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail?  By donating to our campaign committee here, you can ensure the initiative wins.

Thank you,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
MAY 18, 2009   

Supreme Court Squashes Challenge to Prop. 215
Advocates Press Counties to Issue ID Cards as Court Refuses to Hear San Diego/San Bernardino Suit

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought by San Diego and San Bernardino Counties that sought to challenge the validity of California's medical marijuana laws, removing the last obstacle to medical marijuana ID cards being issued to qualified patients throughout California. Nine counties have failed to begin issuing the state-mandated cards, often citing the San Diego lawsuit as a reason.

     "The court has flattened the last faint justification for counties refusing to issue ID cards to legally qualified medical marijuana patients," said MPP California policy director Aaron Smith. "We expect all nine counties that have delayed issuing cards to start following the law immediately and stop putting patients at needless risk."

     San Diego County, which is required by California law to issue ID cards to legally qualified medical marijuana patients, had challenged the state law, claiming it was preempted by federal anti-marijuana statutes (a claim that had never even made by the federal government, despite its opposition to medical marijuana). San Bernardino County had joined the litigation. The preemption claim was firmly rejected by every court that reviewed the case. The California 4th District Court of Appeals wrote in its unanimous ruling, "Congress does not have the authority to compel the states to direct their law enforcement personnel to enforce federal laws."  After the California Supreme Court refused to hear San Diego's appeal, the counties went to the U.S. Supreme Court with its claim of federal supremacy, and the U.S. Supreme Court today refused to hear the case.

      "It's time for San Diego and San Bernardino Counties to end their war on the sick and obey the law," Smith said. "And taxpayers should hold to account the irresponsible officials who wasted their tax dollars on frivolous litigation."

     With more than 27,000 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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