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Changing Minds 2009
Changing Minds 2010
Director's Blog

Sensible Colorado: Exciting Speakers Announced for Saturday!


Stellar Speakers Announced for this Saturday's Stakeholder Meeting

Sensible Colorado is happy to announce the following line-up of speakers for 12/19's Medical Marijuana Stakeholder's Meeting.  

**Please arrive early and consider carpooling, as parking will be in high demand.**

1pm:  "Patients Perspective" panel featuring Damien LaGoy (AIDS activist), Dan Pope (Sensible Colorado), Roger Ronnas (Colorado Springs), and Vicki Meadows (Longmont).

2pm:  "Policy Makers" panel featuring Sen. Pat Steadman, fmr. Senator Bob Hagedorn, Sen. Chris Romer (invited), and Steve Fox (MPP.org).

3pm:  "Safe Access: Distribution Models" featuring Wanda James (Denver), Dr. Paul Bregman, Jill LaMouriex, and Todd Young (Boulder).

Sensible Colorado would like to send a warm thank you to the nascent DU Law Norml chapter for hosting this important event.  For more on this fien group, contact [email protected].

Event Details

WHAT:     Stakeholder Meeting to discuss medical marijuana policy in 2010

WHEN:     Saturday, December 19, 2009 from 1-4pm

WHERE:   University of Denver Law School, Student Forum, 2255 East Evans Ave., Denver CO 80208.  Map HERE.

WHO:       This event is free and open to the public.  Join patients, providers, legislators, and advocates.

Finally, please consider attending Arapahoe District Court this Friday (12/18) to show support for ending the city of Centennial's ban on dispensaries.  This hearing will occur at 1:30pm in courtroom 405 at 7325 S. Potomac St., Centennial, CO.

Americans for Safe Access: December Activist Newsletter

 

In This Issue:

AMA Says Marijuana is Medicine, Urges Change in Federal Position

ASA Threatens Suit if LA Bans Medical Marijuana Sales

ASA Targets Recalcitrant Law Enforcement Group

Celebrate the Year's Victories with ASA

ACTION ALERT: Urge Your Representative to cosponsor Truth in Trials!

Become an ASA Member!

Please support the work of Americans for Safe Access

On The Web:

ASA's Mission

What We Do

ASA Forums

ASA Blog

ASA YouTube

Legal Info

Take Action

Condition-Based Booklets

Join ASA Email Lists

ASA's Online Store

"Gear up" for medical cannabis activism with ASA's new T-shirts, hats, stickers, bags and more! All proceeds go to ASA advocacy

Americans for Safe Access

1322 Webster St., Ste. 402
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-251-1856
Fax: 510-251-2036

Email us!

Americans for Safe Access
Monthly Activist Newsletter

December 2009

Volume 4, Issue 12

AMA Says Marijuana is Medicine, Urges Change in Federal Position

Physicians' Group Wants Research Barriers Removed

The leading national doctors' group has now endorsed the medical use of cannabis and called for more research into the drug's potential. The move by the American Medical Association, the largest and most prestigious organization of physicians with nearly 250,000 members, officially calls on the federal government to recognize marijuana as a medicine and make it available for more clinical research.

The decision by the AMA marks a change in policy for the organization, which has historically supported the federal government's contention that there are no currently accepted medical uses for cannabis. Led by ASA Medical and Scientific Advisory Board member Dr. Sunil Aggrawal, the AMA's Medical Student Section pushed the larger organization to change its position based on the thousands of published, peer-reviewed scientific articles exploring the therapeutic applications of cannabis and cannabinoids, including 79 controlled clinical trials.

"It's been 72 years since the AMA has officially recognized that marijuana has both already-demonstrated and future-promising medical utility," said Dr. Aggarwal, who was one of the expert reviewers for the AMA. "The AMA has written an extensive, well-documented, evidence-based report."

The AMA's Council on Science and Public Health concluded that "controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis."

While these are conditions for which cannabis has been repeatedly shown to be effective, the AMA's formal recognition of the established science has larger policy implications. The U.S. federal government has long used the AMA's opposition to medical cannabis as justification for its own position. But that position has now been undermined by the AMA's report, which also urges the federal government to reconsider the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug. Reclassifying it as a medicine would, the AMA notes, help meet "the goal of facilitating clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods."

The full report has not yet been made public, as the AMA hopes to publish it in a peer-reviewed journal "to help educate the medical community about the scientific basis of botanical cannabis-based medicines."
The report follows a resolution adopted in June by the Medical Student Section and responds to three resolutions dealing with medical marijuana that have come before the AMA in the past year. In February 2008, a position similar to the AMA's was adopted by the American College of Physicians, the country's second-largest physician group and the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine. That resolution also called on the federal government to review marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning it is considered to be highly dangerous and have no medical use.

"The two largest physician groups in the U.S. have established medical marijuana as a health care issue that must be addressed," said ASA Government Affairs Director Caren Woodson. "Both organizations have underscored the need for change by placing patients above politics."

The AMA joins the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the British Medical Association, the Canadian Medical Association, and dozens of other organizations of health professionals in recognizing established therapeutic uses and calling for additional research.

See the AMA report at: AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AMA_Report.pdf

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ASA's 2009 Holiday Party -- Oakland, California

Americans for Safe Access 2009 Holiday Party

Wednesday, December 16th at 7:30 PM

Live Music with Brass Liberation Orchestra, DJs, Entertainment by Shamanic Cheerleaders, Silent Auction, Appetizers & Champagne.

Hosted by Steph Sherer, Executive Director & Founder of ASA
Screening of "Medical Cannabis in California: A report from the front-line"

Age 21+, Please Bring ID

Maxwell's Restaurant & Lounge
341 14th Street at Webster in Oakland

$25 Pre-sale tickets online:  www.americansforsafeaccess.org/holidayparty

Or call ASA's office at 510-251-1856

Disenfranchisement News: Governor's Swan Song Sounds Hopeful

[Courtesy of The Sentencing Project] 

December 7, 2009

Disenfranchisement news

Virginia

Governor's Swan Song to the Tune of Restoring Votes

During one of his last radio show broadcasts, outgoing Governor Tim Kaine talked about being one of two governors that have strongly advocated for the reenfranchisement of individuals with felony records. Kaine, who leaves office in January, encouraged residents to continue to apply for vote restoration.

When asked why Kaine would not sign an executive order restoring voting rights prior to stepping down, he said, "our analysis of Virginia law is that I can't just do a blanket restoration - I have to restore people by name."

Kaine and predecessor Mark R. Warner have restored the rights of more Virginians "than any of the previous governors of the commonwealth combined," according to WSLS 10.

"If your felony was a nonviolent felony, we restored every right of everybody who applies," Kaine said of the restoration process while in office. "If it's a violent felony, we dig into it a little more."

National

Chicken Stealers Disenfranchised -- Then and Now

The recent edition of the Journal of Southern History features an article by Pippa Holloway entitled, "A Chicken-Stealer Shall Lose His Vote - Disfranchisement from Larceny in the South," an essay on the policy all southern states (excluding Texas) adopted between 1874 and 1882 to disenfranchise individuals for petty theft. The changes were part of an effort to ban African Americans from voting and to restore the Democratic Party to political dominance in the region, according to Holloway, an associate history professor at Middle Tennessee University.

According to the journal abstract, the essay highlights the fact that "two southern states that had never disfranchised for any crimes amended their constitutions to establish this penalty for the first time in the 1870s. Finally, southern courts interpreted existing laws to include misdemeanors as disfranchising crimes. While Democrats celebrated the success of these laws in disfranchising African Americans, Republicans criticized their racial and partisan impact. Although Democrats used a variety of techniques to ensure their electoral dominance, these new laws were one tool used by Democrats to deny the vote to Republicans in some of the most tightly-contested elections of this period."

 

Press Release: National Boards of Pharmacy Conference Focuses on Medical Marijuana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 3, 2009 CONTACT: ASA Media Liaison Kris Hermes at 510-681-6361 National Boards of Pharmacy Conference Focuses on Medical Marijuana Advocacy Group Presents on Medical Marijuana Alongside AMA & Other Health Experts Tucson, AZ -- As pharmacists and drug regulators from across the country convene in Tucson this week for their Winter symposium, they will be discussing medical marijuana, an issue which is headlining the agenda. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) opens its symposium on Thursday with several presentations on medical marijuana by an array of speakers and experts, including Caren Woodson, Government Affairs Director with Americans for Safe Access, the country's largest advocacy organization focused on the issue. "We welcome the interest in medical marijuana by the Boards of Pharmacy and want to work with them to address this public health issue," said Woodson. "State Boards of Pharmacy can have an impact on medical marijuana and we want to work with them to adopt sensible policies." The Oregon Board of Pharmacy has been ordered to remove marijuana from its state list of Schedule I drugs, per legislation signed by Governor Kulongoski in August. In addition, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy is currently considering rescheduling marijuana as a result of litigation. Woodson will co-present on a panel Thursday morning with Barry D. Dickinson, the Director of Science & Biotechnology for the American Medical Association, and Alice Mead, the Director of U.S. Public Relations for GW Pharmaceuticals, a U.K. company conducting clinical trials for a medical marijuana extract. The panel is entitled, "Should Marijuana be a Medical Option?" Later, Woodson will take part in a point-counterpoint on medical marijuana with Dickinson, Mead and other experts, including Andrea Barthwell, former deputy director for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy and other marijuana researchers. The NABP symposium will be attended by Boards of Pharmacy executive officers, members, and other state and federal regulators as well as stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry. Both the California Attorney General's office and the California Department of Public Health are sending representatives to the symposium. Attendees will be able to earn continuing pharmacy education credit for their participation in medical marijuana panels. The mission of the NABP is to assist its member boards in developing, implementing, and enforcing uniform standards for the purpose of protecting the public health. The State Boards of Pharmacy oversee the classification of controlled substances, such as marijuana, at the state level, similar to the way that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) oversee the federal classification of controlled substances. While state controlled substance lists routinely match the federal list, the State Boards of Pharmacy can change the classification of particular drugs independent of the federal government. The NABP symposium follows a report on medical marijuana issued last month by the American Medical Association, in which the oldest and largest physician-based group in the U.S. urged the federal government to review the Schedule I status for marijuana. The AMA noted that marijuana appeared to be efficacious for several health conditions and said that further research was needed to assess whether marijuana should continue to be considered a dangerous drug with no medical value. Further Information: The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy 2009 Symposium Schedule: http://www.nabp.net/whatsnew/meetings/2009symposium/ ASA National Policy Platform: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/ASA_Natl_Policy_Agenda_09-11.pdf # # #

Our Momentum Continues: Read The Sentencing Times

Sentencing Times

Race & Justice News

also in sentencing times:

·         New Race and Justice Clearinghouse Launched

·         Life Sentences Examined in New Report

 

Contact Us

Send an email to
The Sentencing Project.

Get Out the Vote for The Sentencing Project

If you're a CREDO/Working Assets member, you can vote on how to distribute the 2009 donations funding to 50 progressive nonprofit organizations. The extra support will go a long way toward helping us continue to do our vital work advocating for more fair and effective criminal justice policies.

Voting is easy. Go to workingassets.com/voting and vote for us.

Not a CREDO or Working Assets member? You can sign up for CREDO Action or switch to CREDO Mobile, a service of Working Assets.

For more information, click here.

Thank you for voting!

The Sentencing Project
514 Tenth Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004
202.628.0871

 

Fall 2009

The fall edition of
sentencing Times is here

The Sentencing Project is proud to share its achievements in research, advocacy, and policy reform. Please take a look inside our Fall newsletter or open the Sentencing Times for a complete version.

policy

Crack equalization bill passes in
House Judiciary

The prospects for significant reform to the federal crack cocaine sentencing policies improved dramatically over the summer, when a bill that would equalize the penalties for powder and crack cocaine offenses passed out of the House Judiciary Committee. The reform bill, HR 3245, was introduced by Congressman Bobby Scott, Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois also introduced a bill in the Senate in October.

Legal

Supreme court considers juvenile life without parole

The Sentencing Project submitted an amicus brief in two cases that were heard by the Supreme Court. Oral arguments were presented in the cases of two Florida individuals sentenced to life without parole for non-homicide offenses committed when they were juveniles. The Sentencing Project's amicus was prepared and submitted with the help of the law firm O'Melveny & Meyers, which provided pro bono services.

research

report finds first racial shift in drug war

The Sentencing Project released a report documenting that for the first time in the 25 years since the inception of the "war on drugs," the number of African Americans incarcerated in state prisons for drug offenses declined. The report received national media attention in outlets including the Washington Post, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and on CNN.

advocacy

Sentencing project steps up state focus

In May, The Sentencing Project ramped up its activities in the states when Nicole D. Porter joined the staff as State Advocacy Coordinator. Porter has already initiated a new listserv for state advocates to use to share ideas and stragies for state-level reforms.

"Every state has its own distinctions, and each state legislature has its own traditions and nuances, but advocates from different states can learn from each other in terms of strategy, outreach, messaging and public education," said Porter. 

Read the full version of Sentencing Times.

Back to top ^

The Sentencing Project is a national organization working for a fair and effective criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing law and practice, and alternatives to incarceration.

Patients Out of Time: Announcing a New Look

Announcing a new look to http://www.MedicalCannabis.com/ Patients Out of Time is pleased to notify the professional health care community of the most unique educational platform for the exploration of medicinal cannabis (marijuana) science in the United States. This site provides visitors with a wide array of information related to the efficacy of cannabis as medicine. Links are provided to the faculty and agendas of five past accredited clinical conferences and to Google video and You Tube video of over 50 academic presentations of world-wide cannabis related science. A link is provided for registration for media, exhibitors, health care professionals and the public for The Sixth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics to be held April 15-17, 2010 in Warwick (Providence), RI. The forum is co-sponsored by Patients Out of Time, the School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco , the Rhode Island State Nurses Association, and the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC). The forum will be located at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Crossings. Medical Doctors and Registered Nurses will also find continuing medical education credits (CME's) or continuing education contact hours available "on-line" that are based on clinical research conducted world-wide on the cannabis plant. These credits, authorized by the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association are provided by the UCSF School of Medicine, Office of Continuing Education through a direct link on the web site. Journalists and other media representatives are advised to seek the opinion of medical professionals of great expertise in therapeutic cannabis treatments and the interpretation of new cannabis science rather than the traditional sources of cannabis information which are staffed by administrators and lobbyists, not medical professionals. The four United States federally supplied cannabis patients, medical doctors and registered nurses are available for interview or consultation with Patients Out of Time. Contact: Al Byrne, Co-founder Patients Out of Time, 501c3 educational charity 1472 Fish Pond Rd. Howardsville, VA 24562 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (434) 263-4484 Fax: (434) 263-6753

Please Support H.R. 3245, the "Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act." National Call in Day: Dec. 2, 2009

Please Support H.R. 3245, the "Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act."

Take Action!

National Call in Day: Wednesday, December 2, 2009

For the first time, crack cocaine sentencing reform legislation received a favorable vote in Congress when the House Judiciary Committee in July approved the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009, H.R. 3245.  This bill would completely eliminate the crack-powder sentencing disparity by applying current powder cocaine sentences to all forms of cocaine.  To move the bill forward we need a vote on the bill by the entire House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, December 2, please help NACDL reach this goal by calling your Representative and asking them to support and cosponsor H.R. 3245 .  Take action by clicking the link above and/or by entering your zip code to obtain your Representative's office phone number.  Please use the talking points provided to tell your Representative to support this important piece of legislation.

With support from the Administration and key members of Congress, the prospects for reforming this unjust, 23-year-old law are good.  Change cannot happen, however, without your continued pressure on Members of Congress.

Electrifying

Reform Conference 2009

 

Dear friends,

Hear what DPA Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann had to say about the Reform Conference.

Ethan 2009 Conference Video

Watch the video

Electrifying.

That’s how it felt last week in Albuquerque to gather with more than 1,000 activists working for drug policy reform.

Even if you couldn’t make it to the Reform Conference yourself, you can check out the major plenary speeches, candlelight vigil, and our Twitter feed – you can start by hearing how energized I was on the last day of the conference.

You won’t believe how fired up former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson was at the closing plenary.  You’ll be moved by the speakers at our candlelight vigil in honor of drug war victims.  And you can get a sense of what it was like to be there on the ground from the loyal reformers who Tweeted from the conference.

Last week in Albuquerque I saw a movement inspired, reenergized, and eager to meet the challenges and successes of the road ahead.

I hope you will keep this feeling with you in the months to come, and mark your calendars for the next Reform Conference – November 2-5, 2011 at the Westin Bonaventure hotel in Los Angeles, California.

Thank you, now and in the future, for all that you do.

Sincerely,

 

 

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the videos from this year’s conference!

      and

     Reform Conference Co-Hosts
Reform Conference 2009 Email Stationery Footer

Marijuana Policy Project’s 15th Anniversary Gala to Celebrate ‘15 States in 15 Years’

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                   

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

Marijuana Policy Project’s 15th Anniversary Gala to Celebrate ‘15 States in 15 Years’

Celebrity guests and other prominent figures will help celebrate MPP’s remarkable passage of improved marijuana laws in 15 states in 15 years

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP assistant director of communications …… 202-905-2030 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Marijuana Policy Project, America’s largest marijuana policy reform organization, will look back on 15 productive years of improving marijuana laws at a January 13 gala that will feature guest speakers such as talk show host Montel Williams. The star-studded host committee includes Melissa Etheridge, Tom Robbins, Bill Maher, Ben Taylor, Steve Buscemi, Susan Sarandon, Lewis Black, Nicole Atkins, Margaret Cho, Mark Leno, Hal Sparks, Ani DiFranco, Garry Trudeau, and Medeski, Martin and Wood, along with many other prominent supporters.     

         When MPP was founded in 1995, medical marijuana was illegal in all 50 states.  Since then, 13 states have passed medical marijuana laws, with Michigan becoming the 13th state in November 2008, when Michigan voters passed MPP's ballot initiative by a 63% to 37% margin.  By the end of 2010, MPP is hopeful that medical marijuana will be legal in 15 states (with passage in New York and New Jersey).

         At the same time, marijuana possession is now decriminalized in 13 states, with Massachusetts becoming the 13th state in November 2008, when Massachusetts voters passed MPP's ballot initiative by a 65% to 35% margin.  In 2010, MPP is hopeful that marijuana will be decriminalized in 15 states (with Rhode Island and Vermont becoming the 14th and 15th states).

         WHAT: The Marijuana Policy Project’s 15th Anniversary Celebration

         WHEN: January 13, 2010. Press Availability from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.

                        Reception from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Dinner from 7:30 to 11:00 p.m.

         WHERE: Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, 20001

         Tickets cost $250 each, or $2,000 for a table.

         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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