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Media Advisory -- DOJ: Policy Statements on Medical Marijuana Don't Affect Federal Sentencing 4/23

MEDIA ADVISORY Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: April 21, 2009 DOJ: Policy Statements on Medical Marijuana Don't Affect Federal Sentencing Advocacy group to argue at 4/23 sentencing hearing that Lynch did not violate state law Los Angeles, CA -- Legal counsel for the advocacy organization Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will appear on behalf of Charles C. Lynch at his federal sentencing hearing on Thursday, April 23rd to challenge the federal government's claim of state law violations. Even though defendants are prevented from using a medical marijuana defense in federal court, they can argue state law compliance at sentencing. ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford will argue that Lynch in no way violated state law, something that U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien has alleged in his sentencing recommendations. At Lynch's previously scheduled sentencing hearing on March 23rd, federal district court Judge George H. Wu asked for written clarification from the U.S. Attorney General as to whether recent statements by that office would impact Lynch's sentencing. In a brief filed Friday, U.S. Attorney O'Brien stated that "the Deputy Attorney General has reviewed the facts of this case and determined that the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of defendant are entirely consistent with the policies of DOJ and with public statements made by the Attorney General with respect to marijuana prosecutions." Lynch's sentencing, which was originally postponed until April 30th, was changed by Judge Wu to April 23rd. What: Sentencing hearing for Charles C. Lynch at which state law compliance will be argued by Chief Counsel for medical marijuana advocates Americans for Safe Access When: Thursday, April 23rd at 10:30 a.m. Where: Los Angeles Federal Court, 312 N. Spring Street, Courtroom 10 "It's bad enough that the Justice Department is accusing Lynch of violating state law in order to sentence him in federal court," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford. "But, there is not even any evidence that state law was violated." Despite a March 2008 public statement by then-Senator Obama that he was "not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws" on medical marijuana, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has since stated that the DOJ would still "go after those people who violate both federal and state law." Advocates contend that the federal government should not even be prosecuting violations of state medical marijuana law. "It's disingenuous to accuse people of state law violations and then prosecute them under federal law, thereby denying them an adequate defense in federal court," continued Elford. Because of the June 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v. Raich, federal medical marijuana defendants are prohibited from entering evidence related to medical marijuana or their compliance with local and state laws. With more than two dozen pending federal medical marijuana cases, advocates are demanding that the government cease prosecutions or remove them to state court where evidence can properly be heard. Defense attorneys are seeking time served for Lynch, but he faces a mandatory minimum of 6 years and the possibility of up to 20 years in federal prison. Before his medical marijuana dispensary was raided by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents in March of 2007, Lynch had operated for 11 months without incident, and with the blessing of the Morro Bay City Council, the local Chamber of Commerce, and other community members. Two months after Lynch closed his dispensary, Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers, he was indicted and charged with conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute marijuana and concentrated cannabis, manufacturing more than 100 plants, knowingly maintaining a drug premises, and sales of marijuana to a person under the age of 21. None of the federal charges constitute violations of local or state law. Further information: DOJ Response to Judge Wu's request for clarification: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/DOJ_Lynch_Response.pdf Charles C. Lynch Interview with John Stossel: http://www.friendsofccl.com/johnstossel.htm Friends of Charles C. Lynch website: http://www.friendsofccl.com # # #

TV Ad Campaign Boosts Medical Marijuana Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
APRIL 21, 2009

TV Ad Campaign Boosts Medical Marijuana Bill
With Senate Vote Nearing, Spots With Real Patients to Air in Chicago, Peoria, and Decatur/Springfield/Champaign

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

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- With a Senate floor vote on medical marijuana legislation expected by the end of the month, supporters are taking to the airwaves with a pair of TV spots in which real Illinois medical marijuana patients tell their stories. The spots, introduced at a Statehouse press conference today, have begun airing in the Chicago, Peoria, and Decatur/Springfield/Champaign media markets.

     The ads, featuring Lucie Macfarlane of Joliet and Lisa Lange Van Camp of Lindenhurst, can be viewed at www.mpp.org/ads.

     "I used to be on so many narcotics that I had lost my desire to live," said Macfarlane, who suffers from neurofibromatosis, a painful disease that causes tumors to grow on nerve tissue. "Marijuana literally helped save my life by allowing me to cut back on the highly addictive painkillers that I had been prescribed for over a decade. I'm now totally off Oxycontin and am only taking Norco and marijuana for my pain. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my story with other Illinoisans, some of whom may be in need of this law more than I am."

     "Nobody should ever have to live in fear of arrest for treating their illness," said Lisa Lange Van Camp, a Lindenhurst resident who lives with severe osteoarthritis, complicated by a rare condition, Dercum's disease. To date, Lisa has had both knees replaced, had one spinal fusion and currently needs five more spinal levels fused. "I should have the right to make my own treatment decisions regarding medical cannabis, based on my physician's recommendation, and to do so with dignity.  I hope our lawmakers hear this message loud and clear and pass the medical marijuana bill without delay."

     "Seriously ill patients like Lisa and Lucie should not have to fear being arrested for using a medicine that can, and has, helped them," said Sen. William Haine (D-Alton), a four-term former state's attorney and sponsor of the medical marijuana bill. "It is our hope that my colleagues in the Senate will recognize that there are many patients out there who could benefit from this legislation and pass this sensible, compassionate bill now. We have changed the bill significantly to meet the concerns of law enforcement. It's time for the state of Illinois to meet the concerns of her citizens who are suffering and might be helped by the restricted use of marijuana."

     Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), sponsor of the House version of the medical marijuana bill, said he hopes the new ads remind people how important the legislation is for real, suffering Illinois citizens.

     "These ads are a forceful reminder about what this bill is really about -- providing for the health and comfort of seriously ill patients who seek relief from a proven safe, effective treatment," Lang said.

     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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Medical Marijuana Advocates to Announce TV Ad Campaign at Statehouse Press Conference Tuesday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
APRIL 20, 2009

Medical Marijuana Advocates to Announce TV Ad Campaign at Statehouse Press Conference Tuesday
Spots to Feature Patients Benefiting from Medical Marijuana

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

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- Supporters of the medical marijuana bill that will soon be voted on by the Illinois Senate will unveil a new TV ad campaign in support of the bill at a Statehouse press conference Tuesday. The new spots, featuring two patients who have benefited from medical marijuana, will be shown at the news conference, and DVD copies will be made available to the media.

     WHAT: Press conference to announce new TV ad campaign in support of medical marijuana legislation.

     WHO: Sen. William Haine (D-Alton), sponsor of the Senate medical marijuana bill; Lucie Mcfarlane, Joliet resident whose use of medical marijuana for the pain caused by neurofibromatosis has allowed her to greatly reduce her reliance on highly addictive narcotic painkillers; Lisa Lange Van Camp of Lindenhurst, who uses medical marijuana to treat severe osteoarthritis complicated by Dercum's disease.

     WHEN: Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 10:15 a.m.

     WHERE: Illinois State Capitol, Press Room, West Second Mezzanine, Springfield.

     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 -- Obama in Mexico: Marijuana on the Agenda?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
APRIL 15, 2009

Obama in Mexico: Marijuana on the Agenda?

In Possible Rebuke to Obama, Mexico's Ambassador Said an End to Marijuana Prohibition "Needs to Be Taken Seriously"

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With President Obama leaving for talks with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Thursday, marijuana policy reformers are wondering if the role of U.S. marijuana laws in subsidizing vicious Mexican drug gangs will get the serious attention that Mexico's ambassador to the U.S. recently said it deserves. Obama's visit comes immediately after Mexico's Congress held a historic debate on ending marijuana prohibition.

     "In his only public statement on the issue since taking office, President Obama treated the question of ending marijuana prohibition as a joke, but the families of the 7,000 murdered by Mexican drug gangs know it's not funny," said Marijuana Policy Project executive director Rob Kampia. "By refusing to bring the massive marijuana industry out of the shadows and regulate it as we do beer, wine and liquor, we've handed a massive subsidy to some of the most brutal thugs on the planet."

     In an April 12  discussion of Mexico's brutal drug cartels on CBS's "Face the Nation," Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan was asked by host Bob Schieffer, "What if marijuana were legalized? Would that change this situation?"

     Rather than dismissing the idea as President Obama did in his recent online town hall meeting, Sarukhan said, "This is a debate that needs to be taken seriously, that we have to engage in on both sides of the border."

     "Ambassador Sarukhan got it exactly right," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "The public in both countries is ready for a serious discussion about the marijuana laws that are directly aiding the murderous gangs that are killing people daily and now operate in 230 U.S. cities. It's time for Presidents Obama and Calderon to show the sort of decisive leadership that's needed to get both of our countries out of this mess."

     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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Media Advisory: Federal Position on Medical Marijuana Put Before Ninth Circuit Today

MEDIA ADVISORY Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: April 14, 2009 Contact: 510-251-1856 x307 Federal Position on Medical Marijuana Put Before Ninth Circuit Tuesday Federal hearing is latest battle on whether policy is based on science or politics San Francisco, CA -- Medical marijuana advocates will get to argue before the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, April 14th, the right to challenge an outdated position held by the federal government: "marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States." The national advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed a lawsuit in February 2007 demanding that the federal government cease issuing misinformation and correct its statements on medical marijuana. "We welcome the Obama Administration's recently stated commitment to making policy decisions based on science, not politics," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with ASA. "This case is designed to ensure that the federal government's policy on medical marijuana is not politically motivated." What: Oral arguments in a case before the Ninth Circuit that challenges the government's position on medical marijuana When: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. Where: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Courtroom 4 at 95 Seventh Street, San Francisco, CA In order to challenge the government's position, advocates are using a little-known law called the Data Quality Act (DQA). The DQA requires federal agencies such as Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to rely on sound science when disseminating information to the public. One of the main issues in the case is whether citizens have a right to challenge government information believed to be inaccurate or based on faulty, unreliable data. "The science to support medical marijuana is overwhelming," said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. "It's time for the federal government to acknowledge the efficacy of medical marijuana and stop holding science hostage to politics." On March 9, 2009, President Obama issued a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies stating that, "The public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decisions," and calling for "transparency in the preparation, identification, and use of scientific and technological information in policymaking." The original DQA petition was filed in October of 2004, aimed at forcing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) -- the FDA's parent agency -- to correct statements about the medical value of marijuana. After more than two years of delay by the federal government and a refusal to act on the petition, a lawsuit was filed in February of 2007. Despite a rejection by the federal district court in late 2007, Science Magazine published an editorial that year claiming that HHS had "violated its own DQA guidelines." Preeminent legal scholar Alan Morrison, who founded Public Citizen's Litigation Group and who currently teaches at American University's Washington College of Law, is co-counsel in the case and will be arguing before the court on behalf ASA and patients across the country. "Citizens have a right to expect the government to be transparent and to use the best available information for policy decisions," said Morrison. "Unfortunately, so far, the government has been anything but transparent and has failed to produce any evidence for its policy statements on medical marijuana." In April 2006, while ASA was awaiting a response to the petition from HHS, the FDA issued a statement claiming that it conducted an "inter-agency review" and had "concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana..." However, none of the alleged scientific evidence used to reach that conclusion was ever provided to ASA or the public. Further information: DQA Opening Appeal Brief: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/DQA_Appeal_Brief.pdf President Obama's memorandum on scientific integrity: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Memorandum-for-the-Heads-of-Executive-Departments-and-Agencies-3-9-09/ DQA Background info: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/DQA

Press Release: Report: Federal Monopoly Obstructs Medical Marijuana Research, Conflict of Interest by University of Mississippi Professor Exposed

PRESS RELEASE Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: April 7, 2009 Report: Federal Monopoly Obstructs Medical Marijuana Research, Conflict of Interest by University of Mississippi Professor Exposed Washington, D.C. -- Medical marijuana advocates issued a report today aimed at drawing attention to the federal government's monopoly on the production of marijuana for medical research. The 14-page report, entitled "Obstruction of Medical Cannabis Research in the U.S.," highlights the federal effort to impede therapeutic research on marijuana and exposes a conflict of interest for University of Mississippi professor Mahmoud ElSohly, who holds an exclusive cultivation license issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the national medical marijuana advocacy group that issued the report, draws attention to the ways in which the federal monopoly impedes meaningful research and points to the need for a new policy that can be implemented under the Obama Administration. "In the United States, research is stalled," said Caren Woodson, ASA's Government Affairs Director. "And, in some cases, research is blocked by a complicated federal approval process, which restricts access to research-grade marijuana." Specifically, the report emphasizes the way in which government agencies -- namely the DEA and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) -- selectively delay the process by which researchers obtain marijuana for FDA-approved studies. The report also highlights a federal "double standard" on medical marijuana illustrated by testimony from public officials who concede to marijuana's therapeutic efficacy as long as it is produced in pill. The report also emphasizes a 2007 ruling by the DEA's own Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner that "the existing supply of marijuana [for research] is not adequate" and that an expansion of such research is "in the public interest." Judge Bittner's recommendations were in response to an application by University of Massachusetts at Amherst professor Lyle Craker to be another cultivator of marijuana for FDA-approved studies. The application was denied by the DEA in the final weeks of the Bush Administration and is currently being appealed. In March 2009, the Los Angeles Times editorialized that, "The attorney general (Holder) should heed calls to end the DEA's obstruction of serious research into the medicinal value of marijuana." Perhaps most alarming is the report's exposure of the federal license that enables professor ElSohly to exclusively produce marijuana for the pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt, a subsidiary of Tyco International. This arrangement appears to be for the purpose of bringing to market a generic form of Marinol (a pill of THC, the active compound in marijuana, suspended in oil) due to go off-patent in 2011, thereby directly enriching ElSohly at a price that he and/or the federal government sets. To enable this scheme, the U.S. government has requested the United Nations increase a quota (from past years) for marijuana production by 900 percent. The request to increase federal marijuana production is a requirement of the U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Recommendations outlined in the report include, implementation of Judge Bittner's 2007 recommendations, streamlining the approval process for obtaining research-grade marijuana, and ultimately a removal of marijuana from the list of Schedule I substances, so that it can be made available to all who would benefit from its therapeutic properties. "The current research challenge is to conduct large-scale human clinical trials that evaluate the remarkable range of potential applications for cannabis-based treatments to specific medical conditions," continued Woodson. Further information: ASA report on the obstruction of medical cannabis research in the US: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/Research_Obstruction_Report.pdf DEA Administrative Law Judge Bittner 2007 ruling: http://www.maps.org/ALJfindings.pdf # # #

Press Release: FAMM Cheers Passage of Rockefeller Drug Law Reform

Families Against Mandatory Minimums logo

 

 

Press Release: April 3, 2009                                       
Contact: [email protected]                                                                                          

 

FAMM Cheers Passage of Rockefeller Drug Law Reform

Changes Further "Smart on Crime" Sentencing Trend

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a national advocacy organization dedicated to reforming mandatory minimum sentencing laws, today applauds New York state leaders responsible for approving legislation that substantially overhauls and reforms New York's Rockefeller drug laws, once the toughest in the nation. FAMM also congratulates the efforts of families, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and advocates who made these changes possible.

The agreement, included as part of the New York budget bill, now awaits Governor David Paterson's signature.  It will restore judicial discretion in many drug cases, expand drug treatment and alternatives to incarceration, and provide retroactive sentencing relief for people serving prison time for low-level drug offenses.  It also allows approximately 1,500 people incarcerated for low-level nonviolent drug offenses to apply for resentencing and increases penalties for "drug kingpins" and adults who sell drugs to young people.

Deborah Fleischaker, director of state legislative affairs of FAMM, issued the following statement in response to today's news:

"New York's decision to eliminate its draconian Rockefeller laws marks a step toward policies that are both tough and smart on crime. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws are a driving force in skyrocketing prison populations.  Many states and the federal government followed New York's lead and enacted mandatory minimums in the 1970s and 1980s, believing these "one-size-fits-all" sentences would dry up the drug supply and eliminate drug addiction.  Sadly, mandatory minimums in New York and elsewhere have the opposite effect, filling our prisons with drug addicts instead of drug kingpins, and causing the erosion of faith in the fairness of the criminal justice system because of severe racial disparities caused by these laws.

Being tough on crime is not enough.  States must figure out how to protect public safety, without wasting thousands of lives and millions of dollars.  By repealing the Rockefeller drug laws, New York has just taken an enormous step toward finding that balance.

New York has joined the growing wave of states that recognize the harm caused by mandatory minimum sentencing.  From Michigan's elimination of most of its drug mandatory minimum laws, to Nevada's decision to repeal mandatory sentencing enhancements, to Pennsylvania's decision to have its Sentencing Commission study the effectiveness of mandatory minimum sentences, states are waking to the idea that mandatory minimum sentences lead to bloated budgets, fail to protect public safety, and are bad criminal justice policy.

Contrary to the claims of those who oppose these reforms, removing the mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes is not "soft on crime."  Politicians need to concern themselves with crafting smart criminal justice policies, instead of settling for the expensive and unworkable status quo.  The New York reforms, though long overdue, are good news for New Yorkers and the rest of the nation.  A recent report by Pew Center on the States shows why.   One in 31 Americans are under some form of criminal justice control - in prison, on probation or on parole - and one in 100 are in prison or jail.  The cost of this overreliance on corrections is staggering - last year it was the fastest expanding major segment of state budgets, and over the past two decades, its growth as a share of state expenditures has been second only to Medicaid. State corrections costs now top $50 billion annually and consume one in every 15 discretionary dollars."

Families Against Mandatory Minimums is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports fair and proportionate sentencing laws that allow judicial discretion while maintaining public safety. For more information on FAMM, visit www.famm.org or contact Monica Pratt Raffanel at [email protected].

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Sentences that Fit. Justice that Works.

Press Release: Reps. Barney Frank and Ron Paul Introduce Hemp Bill HR 1866

VH


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2009
 
   
CONTACT:     Tom Murphy 207-542-4998
                                    [email protected]
                     Adam Eidinger 202-744-2671
                            [email protected]


Representatives Barney Frank and Ron Paul Introduce
Hemp Farming Legislation - HR 1866
 
WASHINGTON, DC - A federal bill was introduced yesterday that, if passed into law, would remove restrictions on the cultivation of non-psychoactive industrial hemp.  The chief sponsors of HR 1866, "The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009," Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX), were joined by nine other U.S. House members split equally between Republicans and Democrats.
 
 "It is unfortunate that the federal government has stood in the way of American farmers, including many who are struggling to make ends meet, from competing in the global industrial hemp market," said Representative Ron Paul during his introduction of the bill yesterday before the U.S. House.  "Indeed, the founders of our nation, some of whom grew hemp, would surely find that federal restrictions on farmers growing a safe and profitable crop on their own land are inconsistent with the constitutional guarantee of a limited, restrained federal government.  Therefore, I urge my colleagues to stand up for American farmers and co-sponsor the Industrial Hemp Farming Act," concluded Paul.
 
"With so much discussion lately in the media about drug policy, it is surprising that the tragedy of American hemp farming hasn't come up as a 'no-brainer' for reform," says Vote Hemp President, Eric Steenstra.  "Hemp is a versatile, environmentally-friendly crop that has not been grown here for over fifty years because of a politicized interpretation of the nation's drug laws by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  President Obama should direct the DEA to stop confusing industrial hemp with its genetically distinct cousin, marijuana.  While the new bill in Congress is a welcome step, the hemp industry is hopeful that President Obama's administration will prioritize hemp's benefits to farmers.  Jobs would be created overnight, as there are numerous U.S. companies that now have no choice but to import hemp raw materials worth many millions of dollars per year," adds Steenstra.
 
U.S. companies that manufacture or sell products made with hemp include Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, a California company who manufactures the number-one-selling natural soap, and FlexForm Technologies, an Indiana company whose natural fiber materials are used in over two million cars on the road today.  Hemp food manufacturers, such as French Meadow Bakery, Hempzels, Living Harvest, Nature's Path and Nutiva, now make their products from Canadian hemp.  Although hemp now grows wild across the U.S., a vestige of centuries of hemp farming here, the hemp for these products must be imported.  Hemp clothing is made around the world by well-known brands such as Patagonia, Bono's Edun and Giorgio Armani.
 
There is strong support among key national organizations for a change in the federal government's position on hemp.  The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) "supports revisions to the federal rules and regulations authorizing commercial production of industrial hemp."  The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has also passed a pro-hemp resolution.
 
Numerous individual states have expressed interest in and support for industrial hemp as well.  Sixteen states have passed pro-hemp legislation, and eight states (Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia) have removed barriers to its production or research.  North Dakota has been issuing state licenses to farmers for two years now.  The new bill will remove federal barriers and allow laws in these states regulating the growing and processing of hemp to take effect.
 
"Under the current national drug control policy, industrial hemp can be imported, but it can't be grown by American farmers," says Steenstra.  "The DEA has taken the Controlled Substances Act's antiquated definition of marijuana out of context and used it as an excuse to ban industrial hemp farming.  The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009 will return us to more rational times when the government regulated marijuana, but allowed farmers to continue raising industrial hemp just as they always had."
 
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More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses can be found at www.VoteHemp.com.
BETA SP and DVD Video News Releases featuring footage of hemp farming in other countries are available upon request by contacting Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671.

Press Release: State Legislature Passes Historic Drug Law Reforms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2009 CONTACT: Jennifer Carnig, 845.553.0349 / 212.607.3363 / [email protected] State Legislature Passes Historic Drug Law Reforms April 2, 2009 -- The New York Civil Liberties Union today applauded the State Legislature for passing historic reforms to New York State’s notoriously harsh and ineffective mandatory minimum drug sentencing scheme. “These reforms are a major step toward ending a disastrous policy that has ruined lives, torn apart families and caused enormous racial inequities,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “Substance abuse is both a public health and a law enforcement issue and today, after 36 long years, New York will finally start treating it that way.” Enacted in 1973, the Rockefeller Drug Laws mandated extremely harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. Though the laws are intended to target drug kingpins, most sentenced under them are convicted of low-level, nonviolent offenses. Most of the nearly 12,000 New Yorkers serving time for drug offenses have substance abuse problems; many others turned to drugs because of problems related to homelessness, mental illness or unemployment. For decades, the NYCLU, criminal justice advocates and medical experts have sought to untie the hands of judges and allow substance abuse to be treated as a public health matter. As noted in the New York State Sentencing Commission’s recent report, sentencing non-violent drug offenders to prison is ineffective and counterproductive, and has resulted in unconscionable racial disparities: Blacks and Hispanics comprise more than 90 percent of those currently incarcerated for drug felonies, though most people using illegal drugs are white. “Governor Paterson deserves an enormous amount of credit for his leadership in making good on his promise to New Yorkers to make drug law reform a priority,” Lieberman said. “He was a leader on this issue in the state senate and stayed true to his beliefs when he became governor and succeeded in working effectively with the assembly and the senate to make reform a reality.” The Rockefeller bill embraces two fundamental principles of reform: It eliminates mandatory minimum sentences, and significantly restores judges’ ability to order treatment and rehabilitation instead of incarceration. “These reforms do not eliminate irrationality and injustice from the drug sentencing laws, but it shifts New York’s failed drug policy away from mass incarceration and toward a public health model,” said Robert Perry, NYCLU legislative director. “This is a historic occasion.” Once Governor Paterson signs the bill into law, it will: • Restore the authority of a judge to send individuals charged with drug offenses into substance abuse treatment rather than prison; • Expand in-prison treatment and re-entry services so that people who want and need help can access it; and • Allow for approximately 1,500 people serving excessive sentences for low-level nonviolent drug offenses to apply for resentencing. While these reforms represent a historic step forward in overhauling the drug laws, significant remnants of the Rockefeller Drug Law scheme remain in place. The NYCLU noted, for example, that the bill: • Permits unreasonably harsh maximum sentences for low-level, non-violent drug offenses; • Disqualifies from eligibility for treatment and rehabilitation individuals who may be most in need of such programs; and • Retains a weight-based sentencing scheme that will mandate a long prison sentence for people who should be eligible for treatment. “The bill restores an important measure of common sense and rationality to our drug laws,” Lieberman said. “But there is more work to be done in the future to restore fundamental justice and fairness to our criminal justice system.” - xxx -

Press Release: Senate Finance Committee Passes Medical Marijuana Bill, 9-3

Minnesota Cares logo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
APRIL 2, 2009

Senate Finance Committee Passes Medical Marijuana Bill, 9-3

 

CONTACT: Former Rep. Chris DeLaForest (R-Andover)........................................................(763) 439-1178

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA -- The Senate Finance Committee passed the Senate version of Minnesota's medical marijuana bill, S.F. 97, today by a vote of 9 to 3. Having passed this final Senate committee, the bill now moves to the Senate floor.

     "I am delighted that this compassionate, sensible bill is now on its way to the Senate floor," said bill sponsor Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing). "With Michigan's medical marijuana law taking full effect this weekend, I am increasingly optimistic that Minnesota will soon become the 14th state to get politics out of the doctor-patient relationship and protect medical marijuana patients from arrest."

     Laws removing criminal penalties for patients using medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation are in effect in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Michigan's law, which takes full effect on April 4, is the most recently enacted, passing with a record-setting 63 percent "yes" vote last November.

     Numerous other states, including Illinois, New Hampshire and New Jersey, are presently considering similar legislation. The Obama administration recently announced a policy of non-interference with state medical marijuana laws, pledging to conduct raids or arrests only when individuals have violated both state and federal law.

     Organizations that have recognized marijuana's medical uses include the American College of Physicians, American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, among others.

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