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State & Local Government

Media Advisory: Medical marijuana protest to return to Green campaign (Wisconsin)

Media Advisory: Medical marijuana protest to return to Green campaign office Wednesday WHAT? Protest at Mark Green's Campaign Office WHERE? Mark Green's campaign office 1915 S. Webster, Allouez, Wi. WHEN? Wednesday, October 18 @ 10:00am Background: (WHO? and WHY?) Jacki Rickert, founder of Is My Medicine Legal Yet?, (www.immly.org) suffers from two incurable medical conditions, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and Advanced Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Jacki has found that marijuana helps treat these painful and debilitating illnesses, and with assistance from her physician, now deceased, she was approved to receive medical marijuana from the federal government's Compassionate IND program. However, the program was closed to new patients, and the 8 medical marijuana patients already in the program were grandfathered in. The program's 5 surviving patients continue to receive marijuana from the government to this day. Congressman Mark Green has been asked about his stance on medical marijuana, and he has written, "I believe current medical options are superior to legalizing an addictive and dangerous illegal drug". Jacki wants to know what medical options he's speaking of to treat her incurable conditions, since she has yet to find these superior medical options that he speaks of. Jacki Rickert went to Mark Green's office on October 10 with a letter, (http://www.immly.org/jacki2green.htm) asking him to tell her about these "superior medical options". He has yet to respond. The staffer in Mark Green's office said they would give this issue some thought, but when WGBA NBC 26 television asked for their stance, Mark Green's Campaign manager Mark Graul laughed and said that he didn't believe "the majority of Wisconsinites would want to legalize drugs". Mark Green's office figured they could just ignore Jacki since she came from far away, and is in a wheelchair. However, Jacki's supporters, including other medical marijuana patients, are coming back to his office to find out what these "superior medical options" are. For more information contact: Eric Tatera (920) 713-0230 (event coordinator in Green Bay) Jacki Rickert (715) 926-4950 (Mondovi) Gary Storck (608) 241-8922 (Madison) - 30 - (This blog post was published by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)

New JPI Report on Drug Treatment and Incarceration in Maryland

JPI is please to announce the release of our latest policy report, "Progress and challenges: An analysis of drug treatment and imprisonment in Maryland from 2000-2005." The report, authored by Kevin Pranis, shows that while many Maryland jurisdictions are making progress towards the goal of providing "treatment, not incarceration" for nonviolent substance abusers, the state's investments in treatment have not kept pace with demand, and the state spends far more to imprison people convicted of drug offenses than it spends to treat drug involved people through the criminal justice system. The report was covered in The Washington Post, The Associated Press, The Baltimore Sun, The Carol County Times, The Maryland Daily Record, and other papers and electronic media across the state, and in Washington, DC.

Media Regularly Misreport Marijuana/Drug Stories, New Book Charges

Press Release from the Marijuana Policy Project: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 Media Regularly Misreport Marijuana/Drug Stories, New Book Charges Other Chapters in "Pot Politics: Marijuana and the Costs of Prohibition" Examine Criminal Laws, Workplace Drug Testing, Prevention, Religious/Ethical Issues

Bungled DEA Raid Raises Troubling Questions

California NORML Release, Aug 31 2006 Yesterday's DEA raid at Trichome Healing Center in Van Nuys ended in a stand-down. No arrests were made. An undercover DEA team arrived without a warrant. One agent tried to gain entry with a bad ID, but was turned down. The agent blew his cool, a security guard saw his gun and thought he was a robber; a scuffle broke out, and other agents came to the rescue. After several hours, the DEA procured a warrant from a local judge. The DEA left the scene after midnight, but not before calling in a professional safecracker to clean out the premises. In the meantime, patient advocates were on hand protesting. Degee Coutee called an LAPD operator, who appeared unaware of the raid. LAPD arrived and reassured the crowd that they had a right to protest and take pictures.

MPP Seeks Help Gathering Signatures in Missoula--they need 11,000 in three weeks

Here's the text of the email they sent out today: Help urgently needed to put marijuana initiative on Missoula County ballot Marijuana Policy Project grant recipient Citizens for Responsible Crime Policy (CRCP) only has three weeks remaining to collect signatures for an initiative that would urge Missoula County law enforcement officers to make adult marijuana offenses the county’s lowest law enforcement priority, and they still need 11,000 more signatures!

Seattle Hempfest Sues City and Art Museum

NEWS RELEASE July 31, 2006 Contact: Dominic Holden ­ (206) 877-2240 Vivian McPeak ­ (206) 295-7258 Event backers file suit against City; Seattle Art Museum, Olympic Sculpture Park named Permit application unprocessed, sculpture park construction plans violate law, organizers say SEATTLE ­ The Seattle Hempfest is filing suit Monday in King County Superior Court against City officials Ken Bounds, the Parks Department Superintendent, and Virginia Swanson, the Special Events Committee Chair, to compel the officials to create safe access to Myrtle Edwards Park and issue a Special Event Permit in time for the August 2006 event.