MEDIA ADVISORY

MARCH 2, 2009  

Medical Marijuana Bill Faces Senate Committee Hearing Tuesday

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

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA — Minnesota's medical marijuana bill faces its next crucial committee test in the Senate Judiciary Committee this Tuesday. If passed, the measure would make Minnesota the 14th state to permit medical use of marijuana by seriously ill patients with a physician's recommendation. The newest such law, in Michigan, was passed by voters in November with a record-setting 63 percent voting "yes."

    WHAT: Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and vote on medical marijuana legislation
    WHO: Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing) and committee members
    WHEN: Tuesday, March 3, 3 p.m.
    WHERE: Rm. 15, State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul

Dear friends:

When I spoke with Barack Obama at a Capitol Hill reception in September 2004 (two months before his election to the U.S. Senate), he said he agreed with me that states should have the right to determine their own medical marijuana policies without federal interference.

That was the beginning of a series of events that culminated two days ago, when Attorney General Eric Holder announced — while standing next to the current DEA administrator — there will be no more DEA raids on medical marijuana establishments in California or elsewhere. This is significant, given that Holder is the "top cop" of the nation and the boss of the DEA!

Medical marijuana patients, dispensary owners and staffers, growers, MPP staffers, and other activists are breathing a sigh of relief ... having been terrorized by the Bush administration for eight years.  How did we get to this point?

Please watch this one-minute video clip of Obama responding to one of our campaign volunteers in New Hampshire on August 21, 2007, in the heat of the presidential primary campaign ...

After that, Obama publicly reiterated that he would discontinue Bush's policy, including in an interview with the editorial board of an Oregon paper. And, since Obama was elected, we've kept in touch with high-level staffers in the White House and on his transition team, as a way of keeping this issue on their radar screen until the policy was officially changed. 

Then, when Bush holdovers in the DEA raided five medical marijuana dispensaries in California in the days after Obama took office on January 20, MPP barraged the media and MPP members barraged the Obama administration to demand an end to the DEA's raids (and to fire the Bush holdovers).

And, of course, MPP and a host of other organizations — including conservative groups like Citizens Against Government Waste — have built support for the annual vote (from 2003 to 2007) on the House floor for an amendment that would have forbidden the DEA and the Justice Department from spending taxpayer money to subvert state-level medical marijuana laws.

All of this advocacy by thousands of patients, dispensary owners, volunteers, paid lobbyists, medical associations, and so many others has paid off. You did it; we all did it.

Now it's time for us to take our work to the next level by (1) enacting medical marijuana laws in Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New York; (2) improving California's and Rhode Island's existing medical marijuana laws in order to provide licenses to dispensaries in both states; (3) reopening the federal "compassionate IND program" so that patients in all 50 states can obtain legal access to medical marijuana; and (4) passing our medical marijuana ballot initiative in Arizona in November 2010.

Please consider making a financial donation to all of this work.  Thanks so much ...

Sincerely,

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

REPORTER:  "Right after the inauguration, there were some raids on California medical marijuana dispensaries. Was that a deliberate decision by you, by the Justice Department? As a prediction of policy going forward, do you expect those sorts of raids to continue? (muffled) The president said during the campaign —"

ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER:  "Well, what the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing here in law enforcement. He was my boss during the campaign, he is formally and technically and by law my boss now, and so what he said during the campaign is now American policy."

Dear ASA Supporter,

Speaking at a press conference on Feb. 25 with DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that ending federal medical marijuana raids "is now American policy." The Attorney General’s comments are the latest sign of a sea change in federal policy prompted by a groundswell of grassroots pressure by Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and our allies. They came as a response to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raids carried out by Bush Administration holdovers in California in January and February.

ASA needs your support to keep grassroots pressure on the Attorney General. Please support ASA today.

President Obama indicated he would end the DEA raids during his presidential campaign, a position reiterated by the White House following DEA raids in raids which took placeon February 4. In response to a question last night about DEA raids at medical marijuana facilities in California, Holder said, "What the President said during the campaign...is consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement. He was my boss in the campaign....He is my boss now. What he said in the campaign is now American policy."

Medical marijuana patients and advocates, who have mounted a massive grassroots campaign to influence the new Administration’s policy, cheered the Attorney General’s comments. 72 million Americans live in states where medical cannabis is legal, but federal law prohibits its use under any circumstances. More than 100 Americans are currently facing prosecution, sentencing, or serving time in prison for medical cannabis offense right now. ASA needs your help to ensure that the emerging change in federal policy signals an end to prosecutions and brings those already serving time for medical cannabis offenses home to their families.

ASA has provided recommendations for a new national medical cannabis policy to President Obama and the 111th Congress earlier this year. We are working overtime now to be sure those recommendations are heard in this new era of compassionate federal policy. Please support ASA in this effort.

Sincerely,

Don Duncan
California Director
Americans for Safe Access

ASA California Weekly Alert: 02-20-09

Weekly Round Up
1. 2009 Medical Marijuana Week Recap
2. Palm Springs Votes to Allow Dispensaries
3. Laguna Beach Passes Dispensary Moratorium

Take Action
4. Go back and Participate in ASA's MMJ Week Actions!

Chapter and Affiliate Meetings
5. Saturday, February 21st – Los Angeles: L.A. ASA Meeting
6. Tuesday, February 24th - San Francisco: SF ASA Meeting
7. Wednesday, February 25th - Oakland: East Bay ASA Meeting

Court Support
8. Monday, February 23rd - Los Angeles: Protest to Support Charles Lynch Against Federal Injustice

Special Events
9. Saturday February 21st - Los Angeles: LA-ASA Meeting & Activist Training
10. Sunday February 22nd - Oakland: East Bay Medical Cannabis Activists Mixer
11. Wednesday, March 11th - Riverside County AIDS Conference to Include Medical Cannabis Panel

Weekly Round Up

1. 2009 Medical Marijuana Week Recap

Medical cannabis activists across the country have been participating in this year's "Medical Marijuana Week 2009", which has included a week long series of events and actions designed to get people to participate, become active advocates, and to learn and think more about what issues, prejudices, and exciting medical breakthroughs surround the cannabis plant and are as yet still unaddressed.

In the past week, activists in California took part in events that included legal trainings, film screenings, public seed plantings, art shows, and festivals, as well as charity events that raised awareness and benefited homeless communities.  All the way across the country in our nation's capital, activists from Maryland ASA chapters held candle light vigils, educational medical cannabis teach-ins, and a party to celebrate the hard work their chapters have done to introduce legislation in the Maryland state legislature.

On the activism side, ASA has been sending actions to our national list all week, encouraging people to stand up and get active in ways they might normally wouldn't.  Actions this week included officially joining up with ASA through a membership or signing up for the Ambassador program, spending a day reading and learning about the history or new science of cannabis, recruiting others, meeting with elected officials, and connecting with medical cannabis POW's.  We've received great feedback and lots of participation from our membership - so thanks to all of you who took part in the actions of the past week!  Keep it up!   This has been a great way to bring attention to medical cannabis with a week of actions that have helped to rejuvenate our community  of activists.   It's been a great week and I can't wait until 2010!

2. Palm Springs Votes to Allow Dispensaries

This week the City Council members of Palm Springs voted to make it the first city in Riverside County to allow medical cannabis dispensing collectives.  The decision by the Council was intended to improve access of medical cannabis and keep local residents from having to resort to the illicit market for their treatment.  Activists have long been pressuring Palm Springs and other parts of Riverside County to allow dispensing collectives, and the 3-1 vote in favor demonstrates the fruits of that labor.

The ordinance will go into effect in 30 days following its second reading, and allows two dispensing collectives to operate within city limits.  According to Councilmember Ginny Foat, "This is an incredible first step."

Dispensary regulations have been a growing trend in California, as cities and counties work to address the needs of the medical cannabis patients in their communities, and as California state law has become increasingly clear about the legality of the dispensing collectives, as evidenced most recently in guidelines released by California Attorney General Jerry Brown.  In addition, research has indicated that dispensing collectives can not only improve the safety of communities, but can also lead to greater health outcomes of patients who are members.

3. Laguna Beach Passes Dispensary Moratorium

Unfortunately, not all municipalities are moving in the same direction with regard to dispensary regulations.  While Palm Springs became the first city in Riverside County to allow dispensing collectives, the City Council of Laguna Beach voted to implement a moratorium,  putting the halt on a dispensary that had been set to open in the city's downtown area.

The 45-day moratorium was established at least in part because Councilors claimed to require more time to consider how the permit process would move forward and for them to consider their "regulatory options".   Some cities have passed moratoriums in order to buy themselves time to draft ordinances, but others have used the moratoriums as a means to stall and postpone dealing with the issue, before ultimately passing bans altogether.   This was a concern of local advocates.

Laguna Beach residents who spoke out in defense of the dispensing collective cited personal stories of loved ones with severe illness and their need for safe access to  their medication,  as opposed to driving to "illegal set-ups", as one resident put it.    

Dear friends:

Although Washington, D.C., passed a ballot initiative to allow medical marijuana use in 1998, with an overwhelming 69% of the vote, Congress has thwarted the will of D.C. voters and prevented the law from taking effect.

In fact, originally — until a court intervened — Congress even tried to stop the vote from being counted! 

Would you please take a minute to ask Congress to stop overriding the will of D.C. voters, and let D.C.'s medical marijuana law go into effect? MPP's online action center makes it easy.

Even the sponsor of the original federal law, former Congressman Bob Barr (R-Ga.), has called for the repeal of the very law he authored a decade ago, saying, “Continuing to have the federal government run roughshod over the states, even if the citizens of a state decide they wish to legalize medicinal marijuana, for example, is wrong.”

In 2007, MPP worked with Congressman Barr to try to remove this provision so D.C.'s medical marijuana law could go into effect. But at the time, Democrats in Congress didn't want to force the issue with then-President Bush, who they knew would use such an opportunity to stoke the flames of the culture war. However, now that we have a president in the White House who has already signaled support for medical marijuana access, this is the best opportunity we've ever had to repeal this terrible provision.

Please take a minute right now to tell Congress to stop thwarting the will of D.C. voters.

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 ASA Supporter,

This weekend when you’re reading the Sunday paper, flip to the Letters to the Editor section and skim the opinions of some readers. The Letters to the Editor (LTE’s) section is one of the most widely read, and its how others learn about what issues are important in their area. As someone who cares about medical cannabis, it’s up to you to write one in support! Take some time on Sunday to write and submit a brief LTE to your local paper!

Letters to the Editor are usually short, only a few sentences or a couple paragraphs that stress an issue in a succinct way. Just a couple of talking points is all you need – and opportunities to write a good LTE are all around!

LTE’s that are most likely to get published are ones that “piggyback” off of current events already in the news. For instance, President Obama issued a White House statement earlier this month that was covered by numerous papers across the country. Now is a good time to send an LTE praising President Obama for his statement and connecting it to needed action by the community. Get talking points here!

Also, President Obama continues to appoint officials who will influence medical cannabis policy. Obama’s choice for Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Gil Kerlikowske was the former Seattle Police Chief who worked under and in compliance with the medical cannabis laws of Washington State. It’s a great opportunity to get talking points and write an LTE!

ASA provides an excellen t tool to find contact information for papers in your area. All you have to do is put in your zip code! And also check out ASA’s site for tips on writing LTE’s and keeping them short, succinct, and to the point.

Keep an eye open for other opportunities to write a medical cannabis LTE. State laws, publicized arrests or raids of medical cannabis patients, caregivers, or collectives, public events or hearings related to the issue, and events hosted by the local ASA chapter – all are great subjects for LTE’s!

As a medical cannabis supporter, if you don’t raise your voice on this issue, no one else will. It’s up to you to bring medical cannabis to the attention of your community through local media! Good luck and get writing!

Sincerely,

George Pappas
Field Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access