PUBLIC STRATEGIES, LLC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
JUNE 29, 2010
Montel Williams to NY Legislators: Pass Medical Marijuana Now
Former Talk Show Host, MS Patient Urges Albany Lawmakers to Act Without Delay
CONTACT: Vince Marrone â¦â¦â¦ 914-912-0526 or [email protected]
ALBANY, NEW YORK â At a press conference in Albany on Tuesday, former talk show host, U.S. Navy officer and New York City resident Montel Williams urged New York Governor David Paterson and members of the Legislature to act quickly in order to pass New Yorkâs medical marijuana bill.Â
           The New York bill would create one of the best-regulated systems in the country for providing seriously ill patients with safe and effective access to medical marijuana. Mr. Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis, and uses medical marijuana to help ease the effects of his condition.
           âNew York needs to act now to make marijuana legally available for medical use. Every day that we delay is another day of needless suffering for patients like me all across the state,â Williams said.
           âThousands of New Yorkers suffer from serious medical conditions that could benefit from the medical use of marijuana,â said Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried, Chair of the Assembly Health Committee and sponsor of the Assembly medical marijuana bill. âIf the patient and the doctor agree that the most effective medicine is marijuana, the government should not stand in the way. It is cruel to turn suffering patients into criminals when they are following what their doctor recommends.â
           âMedical use of marijuana for patients with acute conditions like HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and glaucoma relieves chronic pain and nausea and increases appetite,â said Sen. Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn), a former New York City police captain. âWhen our fellow humans are burdened by the dire effects of life-threatening illnesses, we must not allow insubstantial ideological arguments to increase their suffering. The proposed medical marijuana legislation contains the critical safeguards needed to guard against diversion or abuse and establish access for patients in need. It is our moral and ethical duty to alleviate misery in our fellow human beings. Any other substance shown to have such beneficial effect would already be in the arsenal of medical practitioners. I wholeheartedly urge passage of this legislation.â
           Also joining Mr. Williams was Craig Burridge, executive director of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY). PSSNY recently came out in support of New Yorkâs medical marijuana bill.
           âNew York has the opportunity to provide a model on how to mainstream medical marijuana to those patients who so desperately need it,â Burridge said. âFor those of us who have seen the suffering of a loved one, passage is long overdue.â
The New York bill would:
 * Allow patients facing serious, life-threatening or debilitating illnesses to get marijuana upon the recommendation of their physician.
 * Limit patient possession to no more than 2.5 ounces.
 * Grant the Department of Health the authority to license medical marijuana producers and dispensers, consistent with rules mirroring the state Controlled Substances Act.
 * Allow the Department of Health to establish fees sufficient to cover the cost of administering the program.
 * Allow state-licensed organizations, including pharmacies, to dispense medical marijuana to qualified patients.
 * Allow state-licensed organizations to produce marijuana for sale to dispensers only.
           Since 1996, 14 states and the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana laws. More than a dozen state legislatures considered the issue this year, and in November, citizens of Arizona and South Dakota will vote on medical marijuana ballot initiatives. Under New Yorkâs bill, the state department of health would play an active role in regulating pharmacies and dispensaries that would be licensed to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients.
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At about 11:15 Pacific time Tuesday night, the Oakland City Council passed an ordinance that would allow for four permitted industrial-scale medical marijuana cultivation facilities. In response to widespread concerns among the medical marijuana community, it also vowed to work on permitting medium-sized grows in the fall and to defer any crackdown on medium-sized grows until after the first large-scale permits are issued in January. Patients can still grow up to 32 square feet and to three-person collectives can still grow up to 96 square feet without permits. Look for a Chronicle feature story on this historic vote to be posted in the morning.
PUBLIC STRATEGIES, LLC
MEDIA ADVISORY
JUNE 28, 2010
Montel Williams to NY Legislators: Pass Medical Marijuana Now
Former Talk Show Host, MS Patient Will Urge Lawmakers in Albany Tuesday to Pass Medical Marijuana Bill Without Delay
CONTACT: Vince Marrone â¦â¦â¦ 914-912-0526 or [email protected]
ALBANY, NEW YORK â At a press conference in Albany on Tuesday, former talk show host, U.S. veteran and New York resident Montel Williams will urge New York Governor David Paterson and members of the state legislature to act quickly in order to finally pass New Yorkâs medical marijuana bill, which would create one of the best regulated systems in the country for providing seriously ill patients with safe and effective access to medical marijuana, if they receive a recommendation from their doctor. Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis, and uses medical marijuana to help ease the effects of his condition.
WHAT: Press conference with Montel Williams
WHEN: Tuesday, June 29. 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Common area outside Senate Lobby, near the stairs, 3rd floor of the Capitol
        Since 1996, 14 states and the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana laws. More than a dozen state legislatures considered the issue this year, and in November, citizens of Arizona and South Dakota will vote on medical marijuana ballot initiatives. Under New Yorkâs bill, the state department of health would play an active role in regulating pharmacies and dispensaries that would be licensed to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients.
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CONTACT: [email protected] or 215 586 3483
Philadelphia: Details of the new marijuana procedure
by Chris Goldstein 6/9/2010
The DAâs office reports that six marijuana consumers entered the new diversion program for minor pot possession yesterday, the first time it was available. Here are the main points of the new procedure:
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â No criminal prosecution in court
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â No bail money required for release: Previously all minor marijuana offenders had a bail amount set. If they could not come up with bail money they were held until arraignment. Today, those who enter into the diversion program are released after processing.
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â No drug conviction on record: By entering the new diversion program an individual pleads to a lesser offense. This means: Students will not lose loans; teachers and others will not face losing employment; public record searches will not reveal a marijuana related conviction
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Offense is automatically expunged: Entering the new diversion program also means the arrest is expunged from the individualâs permanent record, without having to hire an attorney.
The change in marijuana possession procedures was announced by District Attorney Seth Williams in April and vocally backed by Pennsylvania State Supreme Court.
Philadelphia is the only jurisdiction in Pennsylvania that cannot issue the summary violations on the street to the offender. Thus, officers will still be required to take marijuana consumers briefly into custody to process them into the new diversion program.
Still, the possibility of taking over 4,700 small pot possession cases out of the criminal court system should have a tangible impact on court efficiency. The new diversion program, if employed in a majority of these type of cases, could save the Public Safety budget hundreds of thousands of tax dollars this year alone.
The cost savings would be closer to $3million every year if Philadelphia Police were given the same power as their peers around the state to issue the marijuana possession summary violations on the street.
PhillyNORML conducts annual reports on the local marijuana arrests. More info:
Philly: Marijuana mug shots cost city $3million annually
Philly: White women rarely arrested for pot
PhillyNORML is the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The group meets twice each month to plan reform activities.
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Original blog link: http://www.examiner.com/x-29881-Philadelphia-NORML-Examiner~y2010m6d9-Philadelphia-Details-of-the-new-marijuana-procedureÂ
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
JUNE 7, 2010
Colorado Gives Marijuana Dispensaries Legal Status
Governor Signs Regulations for Stateâs Medical Marijuana Industry
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 202-905-2030 or [email protected]
DENVER, COLORADO âToday, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) signed legislation that will regulate the stateâs medical marijuana dispensaries through a system of local and state licenses, but still allow individual localities to ban dispensaries. Currently there are an estimated 1,100 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Colorado â the most in any state other than California, which does not have statewide dispensary regulations. Colorado officials estimate that about half of current dispensaries will be able to comply with new regulations.
        âBy approving a statewide system of dispensaries through which patients can safely acquire marijuana, Colorado is taking a significant amount of revenue away from the dangerous, illicit, and unsanctioned market created by prohibition,â said Karen OâKeefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. âInstead, patients will now be able to obtain marijuana from a sensible and orderly system of law-abiding and regulated providers. The scope of this newly regulated industry makes it the largest ever in the United States.â
        Under the regulations, dispensary owners will be subject to licensing fees and criminal background checks. Dispensaries will be required to grow 70 percent of the marijuana they sell and, like liquor stores, could not operate within 1,000 feet of a school.
        A state-regulated medical marijuana program is up and running in New Mexico and similar programs will soon be operational in Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. â but the number of sanctioned dispensaries to be allowed in each of those states is fewer than 10. Coloradoâs law will authorize hundreds, and potentially more if future demand increases.
        A Rasmussen telephone poll released May 15 showed that there is also plurality support among Colorado voters for further expanding the stateâs marijuana laws. Forty-nine percent of likely voters said they support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, with an additional 13 percent still undecided.Â
        With more than 124,000 members and supporters 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 www.mpp.org.
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