Help Protect Marijuana Patients from the Feds - Pass It On

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Terminally ill patients with cancer, AIDS and other diseases have become collateral damage in the government's War on (some) Drugs. Will you make one phone call this Friday, June 4th to help protect them?


Find your Representative
http://www.house.gov

Call Them Toll Free
1-800-839-5276


Please tell your member of Congress that it is vital that they support the Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment when it comes up for a vote later this month. Be sure to stress that this vote would not legalize medical marijuana, but it would simply prevent the federal government from interfering in states that already have medical marijuana laws on the books. The amendment is often referred to as the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment. It was offered to last year's Commerce Justice State spending bill. (Note: Hinchey-Rohrbacher is pronounced Hinch-ee-Roy-bocker)


If you do not have time to call, please take a second to send a prewritten email your member of Congress and urge their support of the Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment by visiting:

http://capwiz.com/norml2/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=5962431


TALKING POINTS:
• Since 1996, voters in eight states have enacted laws that confer various state legal protections on persons who need medical marijuana along with their physicians and caregivers).  Hawaii became the first state legislature to enact medical marijuana legislation in 2001 and Maryland followed suit in 2003.  Residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington - roughly 20% of the U.S. population - live in states where public opinion and the will of the voters on medical marijuana has been transformed into meaningful law.
• Federal law still treats the use of marijuana, even for medical reasons, as a criminal offense.  Instead of changing federal law to reflect the reforms occurring in the states, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has increased enforcement efforts against Americans who use or grow marijuana for medicinal use, even in cases where such use is legal under state law.  California has become the focus of the DEA’s efforts. 
• In 2001, DEA agents raided and closed the West Hollywood-based Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center, a non-profit co-op that provided marijuana to approximately 1,000 patients with AIDS, cancer and terminal illnesses.  Although the co-op was operating legally under state law with the full support of local law enforcement and elected officials, 30 armed federal agents stormed the center, seizing marijuana plants, business documents, bank accounts and more than 3,000 confidential medical records.  The West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department refused to cooperate with the DEA in this raid. 
• Other raids have been made more recently, prompting the California legislature to pass a resolution urging Congress to respect state law, stop the DEA raids, and re-schedule marijuana to allow doctors to prescribe it.  The city and county of Santa Cruz, California have initiated a lawsuit against the federal government arguing that the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to arrest and imprison medical marijuana patients following state law.
• These raids use precious resources, cost money, and are needlessly cruel. 
• Responding to growing outrage, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) will, for the second year in a row, likely offer an amendment later this year that would prevent the DEA from spending money to undermine state medical marijuana laws. Once introduced, this amendment would force Congress to deal with the medical marijuana issue, particularly the raids.

[truthspeaker]

1. this amendment is by far the best way to protect seriously ill patients

from Asscroft oppression.

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2. I agree!!! EOM