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Press Release: For a True European Action on Drugs

PRESS RELEASE Antwerpen, 26 June 2009 Today, the European Commission will announce the European Action on Drugs, asking citizens to join efforts to fight drugs. So far only the Foundation for a Drug Free Europe linked with the Scientology Church has reacted positively. The European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policy calls upon the European Union to take genuine action on drugs, namely to end drug prohibition. A "European Action on Drugs" Announcing its "European Action on Drugs", the European Commission is inviting European citizens to take "practical and creative initiatives that positively influence drug-related behaviour in European society". Before taking this invitation seriously, there is something that European citizens should know. Since 1991, when negotiations developed a common European Union policy comcerning drugs, the role that "civil society" should play in this policy has always been stressed - on paper. In practice, Member States Governments and the European Commission have never taken this commitment seriously. 1. A sincere involvement of citizens in the development and implementation of drug policy has been sabotaged even before it ever could come into place. Since 1993 civil society organisations have proposed the European Union to set up mechanisms to enable the involvement and participation of users of illicit substances, NGOs, the voluntary sector and the general public in discussing drug-related issues. Nothing has ever happened with those proposals. In July 2007, the European Commission issued a call for proposals for NGOs to be included in a "Civil Society Forum on Drugs". In this forum 26 organizations were selected by the European Commission and invited to an annual meeting (of 1,5 days) to analyse and recommend on the impact of drug policy in the European Union. Sadly, the reports of this meeting are filtered by the European Commission, so no critical comments are being published. During the 2009 session of this Forum in March, the European Commission presented the idea of creating a European Alliance on Drugs, with the aim of obtaining "a large number of commitments of organisations, companies and individual citizens who would support a common effort to raise concern on the risks related to drugs”, and formulate their own initiative that the Commission would then endorse by publishing it on a website or giving resources. The proposal was almost unanimously rejected at this Forum. Of all participants to the CSF only one, the Foundation For a Drug Free Europe, reacted positively on the idea. This organisation is linked to the Scientology Church, which is currently being prosecuted in France and Belgium, and which is known for having radical moral positions concerning drugs. 2. The data on drug use in the European Union indicate that drug prohibition is a failure According to the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction, cannabis consumption in the Netherlands, where this substance is legally available to adults, is lower than in several EU countries (like France and the United Kingdom among others), where cannabis is totally prohibited. This indication proves that the theory that prohibition helps to reduce the level of use is wrong. In March 2009, the European Union published an evaluation report on the results of global drug policy for the period 1998 to 2007. The evaluation did not find any evidence that the global drug problem had been reduced. On the contrary, in the past ten years, prices have fallen, and drugs have become easier to obtain, also for young people. 3. The EMCDDA estimates the drug-related public expenditure in Europe to be around 40 billion euro a year (that is 60 euro for every EU citizen, children included). Those funds are being spent in order to stop people in the EU from using illegal drugs. However, since drugs were declared illegal, production and consumption have increased, and an enormous black market has been created for goods that could be produced legal- and safely. The United Nations has estimated the value of this market at more than 400 billion USD, or 6 percent of global trade. Most problems related to drug use are not caused by the drugs themselves, but by the fact that they are produced and distributed in an unlawful and uncontrolled environment. What does this mean? It means that the European Commission is asking citizens to cooperate with a policy that in reality promotes crime and increases health risks. Drug prohibition increases the profitability of the product. It has an adverse effect on public health, as it makes any real control of production, distribution and consumption of these products impossible. It undermines serious efforts to reduce harm related to drug use or to prevent misuse. In the current repressive climate, it is impossible to communicate openly about the issue. In short, drug prohibition is a failed policy. Instead, under a regime of legal but controlled drug production and distribution to adults the health and safety conditions surrounding the use of these substances could be improved considerably. Encod calls upon the European Union to take genuine action on drugs that would effectively be supported by the greater proportion of civil society organisations that are involved in the drug issue. At the next UN meeting on drug policies in Vienna in March 2010, European Union Member States should propose to remove the obstacles in the UN conventions to starting experiments with the legal regulation of the drug market that are not based on total prohibition. Thus several European countries could set in motion a process that will replace a costly, failed and counter-productive policy with a rational and human approach. Thank you very much for your attention. Sincerely yours, on behalf of Encod Marisa Felicissimo, Belgium Antonio Escobar, Spain Joep Oomen, Belgium Frederick Polak, The Netherlands Jorge Roque, Portugal -- EUROPEAN COALITION FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES Lange Lozanastraat 14 – 2018 Antwerpen - Belgium Tel. + 32 (0)3 293 0886 / Mob. + 32 (0)495 122644 E-mail: [email protected] / www.encod.org

Drug Truth - Cult Bag 06/25/09

The Unvarnished Truth From the Drug Truth Network Cultural Baggage for 06/24/09, 29:00 Dr. Moises Naim, editor of Foreign Policy magazine & Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief and speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition + "Interesting Man"III & Abolitionist MomentLINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2473 Transcript: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2473#comments Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston, 90.1 FM. You can Listen Live Online at www.kpft.org - Century of Lies, SUN, 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT: NEXT: Peter Moskos, Author, LEAP Speaker - Cultural Baggage WED, 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 CT, 10:30 MT & 9:30 AM PT: NEXT: Jamie Fellner, Human Rights Watch Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org We have potcasts, transcripts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US, Canada and Australia! We now feature TRANSCRIPTS of most of our programs again! Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, DTN Producer, 713-849-6869, www.drugtruth.net

Press Release: U.S. Supreme Court Declares Strip Search Of 13-Year-Old Student Unconstitutional

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/25/09 CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; [email protected] U.S. Supreme Court Declares Strip Search Of 13-Year-Old Student Unconstitutional Ruling In ACLU Case Is Vindication of Students' Constitutional Rights WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate's uncorroborated accusation that she previously possessed ibuprofen. The American Civil Liberties Union represents April Redding, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, whose daughter, Savana Redding, was strip searched by Safford Middle School officials six years ago. "We are pleased that the Supreme Court recognized that school officials had no reason to strip search Savana Redding and that the decision to do so was unconstitutional," said Adam Wolf, an attorney with the ACLU who argued the case before the Court. "Today's ruling affirms that schools are not constitutional dead zones. While we are disappointed with the Court's conclusion that the law was not clear before today and therefore school officials were not found liable, at least other students will not have to go through what Savana experienced." Savana Redding, an eighth grade honor roll student at Safford Middle School in Safford, Arizona, was pulled from class on October 8, 2003 by the school's vice principal, Kerry Wilson. Earlier that day, Wilson had discovered prescription-strength ibuprofen - 400 milligram pills equivalent to two over-the-counter ibuprofen pills, such as Advil - in the possession of Redding's classmate. Under questioning and faced with punishment, the classmate claimed that Redding, who had no history of disciplinary problems, had given her the pills. After escorting Redding to his office, Wilson demanded that she consent to a search of her possessions. Redding agreed, wanting to prove she had nothing to hide. Wilson did not inform Redding of the reason for the search. Joined by a female school administrative assistant, Wilson searched Redding's backpack and found nothing. Instructed by Wilson, the administrative assistant then took Redding to the school nurse's office in order to perform a strip search. In the school nurse's office, Redding was ordered to strip to her underwear. She was then commanded to pull her bra out and to the side, exposing her breasts, and to pull her underwear out at the crotch, exposing her pelvic area. The strip search failed to uncover any ibuprofen pills. "The strip search was the most humiliating experience I have ever had," said Redding in a sworn affidavit following the incident. "I held my head down so that they could not see that I was about to cry." The strip search was undertaken based solely on the uncorroborated claims of the classmate facing punishment. No attempt was made to corroborate the classmate's accusations among other students or teachers. No physical evidence suggested that Redding might be in possession of ibuprofen pills or that she was concealing them in her undergarments. Furthermore, the classmate had not claimed that Redding currently possessed any pills, nor had the classmate given any indication as to where they might be concealed. No attempt was made to contact Redding's parents prior to conducting the strip search. In response to today's ruling, Redding said, "I wanted to make sure that no other person would have to go through this, so I am pleased by the Court's decision. I'm glad to have helped make students feel safer in school." The case, Safford Unified School District v. Redding, was appealed from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which found the strip search to be unconstitutional. A six-judge majority of the appeals court further held that, since the strip search was clearly unreasonable, the school official who ordered the search is not entitled to immunity. In today's Supreme Court decision, despite deeming the strip search of Redding unconstitutional, the Court found that the school officials involved are immune from liability. The decision leaves open the possibility, however, that the Safford Unified School district could be held liable. "Neither the Constitution nor common sense permits school officials to treat a strip search the same as a locker or backpack search," said Steven R. Shapiro, the ACLU's national Legal Director. "Today's ruling eliminates any confusion that school officials may have had about this seemingly obvious point." The ACLU and ACLU of Arizona were joined in the case by Bruce Macdonald, with the law firm McNamara, Goldsmith, Jackson & Macdonald, and Andrew Petersen, with the firm Humphrey & Petersen. In addition, a broad constellation of adolescent health experts and privacy rights advocates filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Redding, including the National Education Association, National Association of Social Workers (NASW), CATO Institute, Rutherford Institute, Goldwater Institute and Urban Justice Center, among others. Today's decision is available online at: www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/40031lgl20090625.html The ACLU's brief in the case is available online at: www.aclu.org/scotus/2008term/saffordunifiedschooldistrictv.redding/39160lgl20090325.html

Press Release: Barney Frank Introduces Sweeping Reform of Federal Marijuana Laws

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 18, 2009

Barney Frank Introduces Sweeping Reform of Federal Marijuana Laws
Measure Comes as Growing Chorus Calls for End to Prohibition

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With criticism of marijuana prohibition rising, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced legislation to end federal criminal penalties for possession or not-for-profit transfer of small amounts of marijuana.

     "Congressman Frank's bill represents a major step toward sanity in federal marijuana policy," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "Calls for rethinking our marijuana policies are coming from all quarters, and for good reason. Our decades-long war on marijuana has given us the worst of all possible worlds -- a drug that's widely used and universally available but produced and sold entirely by unregulated criminals who obey no rules and pay no taxes."

     Frank's bill would remove federal criminal penalties for possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana and the not-for-profit transfer of up to 1 ounce (28.3 grams) of marijuana. It would not change marijuana's status as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act and would not change federal laws prohibiting the cultivation of marijuana, sale of marijuana for profit, or import or export of marijuana. It also would not affect any state or local marijuana laws or regulations.

     As recently as 2005, no national opinion survey had ever found a level of support for making marijuana a legal, regulated product above 36 percent. This year, a succession of major surveys have found levels of support for "legalization" ranging from 40 percent (Rasmussen) to 46 percent (ABC News/Washington Post) and even as high as 52 percent (Zogby). A June 12 report from CQ Researcher noted that opposition to legally regulated marijuana "appears to be weakening."

     With more than 27,000 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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Press Release: NH Legislative Committee Approves Revised Medical Marijuana Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUNE 18, 2009

Committee Approves Revised Medical Marijuana Bill

Legislators Worked to Address Governor Lynch's Concerns, Eliminate Possibilities for Diversion

CONTACT: Matt Simon, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, (603) 391-7450

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — All seven legislators who were tasked with crafting a compromise on the medical marijuana bill signed off on the revised version today. A vote to approve the new language is expected June 24 in the House and Senate, after which the bill will proceed to Gov. John Lynch's desk.

     This special seven-member "committee of conference," chaired by House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee Chairwoman Rep. Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua), was formed to address eight specific concerns that were expressed by Lynch. The bill had passed both Houses in slightly different forms and was scheduled for final approval in the House when Lynch's office reportedly informed Rosenwald that the bill would be vetoed if passed in its original form.

     Since then, the bill has been rewritten to address all eight concerns. Most significantly, the new bill will not permit patients or their caregivers to cultivate their own marijuana plants, as patients are permitted to do in all 13 states that currently protect medical marijuana patients from arrest. Instead, the amended bill would allow for the creation of up to three nonprofit "compassion centers," which could legally cultivate medical marijuana and dispense it to patients.

     Rather than creating a new model from scratch, the committee of conference produced a bill similar to legislation that passed in Rhode Island Tuesday. That state's bill, which adds compassion centers to its already existing medical marijuana program, will become law now that legislators overrode Gov. Donald Carcieri's veto, 67-0 in the Rhode Island House and 35-3 in the Senate. New Hampshire’s bill is much more restrictive than Rhode Island's law, which also allows patients and their caregivers to cultivate medical marijuana.

     Advocates were confident that the amendment would remove all reasonable objections to HB 648.

     "As amended, HB 648 would create the most tightly crafted medical marijuana law in the country," said Matt Simon, executive director for the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. "Some legislators voted against the bill initially because they felt that distribution of medical marijuana should be tightly controlled. If these legislators truly believe patients should not have to live in fear of being arrested by New Hampshire police, they should be willing to support this version of the bill."

     In the coming week, advocates will present legislators with a document – available online at www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/hb-648-has-been-amended-to.html – detailing the committee's changes and specifies how all eight of the governor's concerns have been addressed.

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Press Release: Rhode Island to License Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Historic Move

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 16, 2009

Rhode Island to License Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Move Hailed as Historic
Legislature Overrides Veto; Rhode Island Is First State to Expand an Existing Medical Marijuana Law to Permit Dispensaries

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND -- In a historic first, Rhode Island legislators today made their state the first ever to expand an existing medical marijuana law to allow for state-licensed compassion centers to grow and distribute marijuana to registered patients. Legislators easily overrode the veto issued by Gov. Donald Carcieri with override votes of 68-0 in the House and 35-3 in the Senate.

     Rhode Island's medical marijuana law, like most such state laws, did not set up a formal distribution system, but simply allowed patients to grow a limited quantity of medical marijuana for their own use or designate a caregiver to grow it for them. In March, New Mexico became the first state to grant a state license to a medical marijuana producer, pursuant to legislation passed last year.

     "We are seeing a historic shift to allowing state-licensed, regulated medical marijuana production and distribution," said Karen O'Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "Combining regulated distribution with provisions for patients to grow a limited quantity for themselves is the best way to assure safe access for patients, with solid safeguards to prevent abuse." States where medical marijuana bills that include a dispensary provision are under consideration include Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and a similar ballot initiative is now being circulated in Arizona. This November, Maine voters will vote on a ballot initiative to add dispensaries to the state's medical marijuana law.

     "During the Bush administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided medical marijuana patients and caregivers in California, leaving states hesitant to set up state-regulated distribution," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "Now that the Obama administration has announced a policy change, state legislators seem to feel safer adopting a sensible, regulated system of medical marijuana distribution that avoids the mistakes of California, where dispensaries sprang up with no rules. This is a historic step forward."

     With more than 27,000 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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MPP Condemns Prison Sentence for Medical Marijuana Defendant Charles C. Lynch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 11, 2009

MPP Condemns Prison Sentence for Medical Marijuana Defendant Charles C. Lynch

Law-Abiding Medical Marijuana Collective Was Licensed by City

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications, 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205
                   Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director, 707-575-9870

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA —The Marijuana Policy Project strongly condemned today's federal sentencing of Charles C. Lynch, a California medical marijuana provider who worked scrupulously to follow state and local laws but now faces one year and one day in federal prison.

    "Years from now, Mr. Lynch may well be remembered as the last American to go to federal prison for a mistake, the final victim of an already repudiated policy well on its way to the ash heap of history, but whose mean-spirited effects still linger," said MPP executive director Rob Kampia. "This sentence is a cruel and pointless miscarriage of justice. Mr. Lynch and his attorneys say they plan to appeal, and we hope they succeed. With federal law enforcement at the Mexican border so overwhelmed that traffickers coming through with up to 500 pounds of marijuana are let go, even one more penny spent persecuting a man who is not a criminal in any rational sense of the word is an outrageous waste of resources."

    In February, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that henceforth the Drug Enforcement Administration would only conduct enforcement actions against medical marijuana defendants who were violating both state and federal law, reversing the Bush administration's policy of ignoring state medical marijuana laws.

    Lynch's medical marijuana collective was licensed by the city of Morro Bay, and officials routinely inspected the facility to monitor compliance with state and local laws. But because federal law makes no statutory allowance for medical marijuana, all evidence related to California's medical marijuana law was barred from his trial.

    With more than 27,000 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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Press Release: House Appropriations Committee Seeks Clarification on Medical Marijuana Policy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 9, 2009   

House Appropriations Committee Seeks Clarification on Medical Marijuana Policy
Amendment Seeks Explanation in Light of Attorney General Holder's Recent Statements

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 202-215-4205 or 415-585-6404

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In light of recent statements by Attorney General Eric Holder indicating that the Obama administration would not pursue prosecutions of individuals involved in medical marijuana activities sanctioned by state law, the House Appropriations Committee has added language seeking clarification of the new policy to the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill.

     The language, sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), states, "There have been conflicting public reports about the Department's enforcement of medical marijuana policies. Within 60 days of enactment, the Department shall provide to the Committee clarification of the Department's policy regarding enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources against individuals involved in medical marijuana activities."

     In past years, Hinchey and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) have sponsored an amendment aimed at ending Drug Enforcement Administration raids on state-legal medical marijuana patients and providers. But in recent months, Attorney General Eric Holder has disavowed any intent to pursue such attacks. Last week, Holder told KOB-TV in Albuquerque, "For those organizations that are doing so sanctioned by state law and do it in a way that is consistent with state law, and given the limited resources that we have, that will not be an emphasis for this administration. ... Medicinal marijuana ... that is something for the states to decide."

     "We are glad to see the federal government finally moving toward sanity on medical marijuana," said Marijuana Policy Project director of government relations Aaron Houston. "No one battling serious illness and following their state's laws should live in fear of our federal government, and we look forward to clear assurances that suffering patients will be left alone."

     With more than 27,000 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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Press Release: New Anti-Drug Plan Doomed to Failure, Reformers Charge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 5, 2005

New Anti-Drug Plan Doomed to Failure, Reformers Charge
Failure to Consider Fundamental Reforms Guarantees Cartels Will Continue to Dominate Marijuana Trade

 

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 202-215-4205 or 415-585-6404

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The new anti-drug initiative for the Southwestern border announced today by the Obama administration is doomed to failure because it simply dresses up failed policies in new clothing, the Marijuana Policy Project charged today.

     "The new plan simply calls for rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "The plan ignores the central problem, which is that our policy of marijuana prohibition has handed the Mexican cartels a massive market that keeps them rolling in cash, not just in Mexico, but according to the Department of Justice, in 230 American cities."

     Houston noted that federal officials have stated that 60 to 70 percent of the cartels' profits come from the marijuana trade, and that the Mexican government seems to be signaling its unhappiness with the United States' current policy. "The Mexican Congress strategically scheduled consideration of legislation to remove criminal penalties for marijuana possession to coincide with President Obama's trip there," Houston said. He also noted that Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhán called for the debate on regulating and taxing marijuana to be "taken seriously on both sides of the border" on national television.

     "Rather than trying to make America's 15 million monthly marijuana consumers go away, we need to gain control of this market by regulating marijuana like we do beer, wine and liquor," Houston said. "Any anti-drug effort that leaves the marijuana trade in the hands of the cartels is nothing but a full-employment plan for professional drug warriors and cartel bosses alike, not a serious proposal to address the problem."

     With more than 27,000 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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Press Release: After Making History in Senate, Medical Marijuana Bill Poised for House Floor Vote Later This Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 1, 2009   

After Making History in Senate, Medical Marijuana Bill Poised for House Floor Vote Later This Year

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- Although the clock ran out before it could be acted on by the Illinois House of Representatives this weekend, medical marijuana legislation is now well positioned for a House floor vote, possibly before the end of the year, advocates said today.

     Within 48 hours of passing the Senate 30-28, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act had already soared through the House Human Services Committee and was ready for its final reading and vote on the House floor. Tax legislation, however, occupied all of the House's time in the session's final hours.

     "This bill gained more and more momentum at every stage of the legislative process, and I think the pace at which it moved is testament to the support it enjoys," said Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), deputy majority leader and chief House sponsor of SB 1381. "Although today's top priority was the tax bill, I think the time has come for Illinois to enact a medical marijuana law. We just need to shore up a few votes before calling this bill to the floor."

     The measure could be brought to the House floor for a vote during the November veto session or when the General Assembly reconvenes in January 2010 for the second half of the current session.

     "Of course I'm disappointed," said Jamie Clayton of Grafton, an AIDS patient who participated in a groundbreaking FDA-approved study proving medical marijuana's efficacy in treating pain caused by nerve damage. "But the fact remains that we made it further than ever before. Hundreds of patients like myself came forward this year to plead with our legislators to enact this law, and we will not give up, ever. As someone who volunteered for a clinical study that proved the benefits of medical marijuana, I've felt the relief it can provide first-hand and learned how it can allow me to cut back on some of the prescription narcotics I have to take. A lot of people need this law, and we're not going away."

     With more than 27,000 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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