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Press Release - New Report Co-Authored by SUNY Albany Researcher: Teen Marijuana Use Down in States With Medical Marijuana Laws

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 16, 2008

New Report Co-Authored by SUNY Albany Researcher: Teen Marijuana Use Down in States With Medical Marijuana Laws

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-668-6403 or 202-215-4205

ALBANY -- A newly updated analysis released today, co-authored by Dr. Mitch Earleywine, associate professor of psychology at the Albany campus of the State University of New York, shows that state medical marijuana laws have not increased teen marijuana use, despite fears that have been raised when such measures are considered. Teen marijuana use has consistently declined in states with medical marijuana laws, and generally more markedly than national averages.

The report, based entirely on data from federal and state government-funded drug use surveys, is available at http://www.mpp.org/teens.

In New York, medical marijuana legislation passed the state Assembly last year, and the issue awaits Senate action.

"Opponents of medical use of marijuana regularly argue that such laws 'send the wrong message to children,' but there is just no sign of that effect in the data," said Dr. Earleywine, a substance abuse researcher and author of the acclaimed book, "Understanding Marijuana" (Oxford University Press, 2002). "In every state for which there's data, teen marijuana use has gone down since the medical marijuana law was passed, often a much larger decline than nationally."

In California, which passed the first effective medical marijuana law in 1996, marijuana use has declined sharply among all age groups. Among ninth-graders, marijuana use in the past 30 days ("current use" as defined in the surveys) declined by 47 percent from 1995-96 to 2005-06, the latest survey results available.

A similar pattern is emerging in the states with newer medical marijuana laws. Vermont and Montana, whose medical marijuana laws were enacted in 2004, have seen declines in current marijuana use of 15 percent and 9 percent, respectively. In Rhode Island, whose medical marijuana law took effect in January 2006, current use declined 7 percent from 2005 to 2007. There are no before-and-after data available yet from New Mexico, whose medical marijuana law was passed last year. Overall, declines in teen marijuana use in the 11 medical marijuana states for which data are available have slightly exceeded the national trends.

With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 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 -- CDC Survey: As Many Teens Smoke Marijuana as Cigarettes, Cigarette Use Dropping Faster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 4, 2008

CDC Survey: As Many Teens Smoke Marijuana as Cigarettes, Cigarette Use Dropping Faster
Crackdown on Tobacco Sales to Kids Continues to Reduce Teen Access to Cigarettes

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-668-6403 or 202-215-4205

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two just-released federal reports indicate that regulation of tobacco continues to produce a steady drop in teen cigarette use and teen access to tobacco, with current cigarette use by high school students dropping markedly faster than use of marijuana.

The just-released 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports rates of current cigarette use and current marijuana use among teens in grades nine through 12 in a statistical tie at 20 percent and 19.7 percent, respectively. The cigarette use figure represents a sharp drop from the 2005 survey, when it was 23 percent. Marijuana use, at 20.2 percent in 2005, showed a much smaller decline.

Another report released this week, the Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Synar Report on tobacco sales to youth, showed the 10th straight annual decline in the rate of illegal tobacco sales to minors. In 1997, 40.1 percent of retailers violated laws against tobacco sales to minors. In 2007 the rate had dropped to just 10.5 percent, the lowest ever.

"Efforts to curb cigarette sales to teens have been wildly successful, and it's past time we applied those lessons to marijuana," said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "Tobacco retailers can be fined or put out of business if they sell to kids, but prohibition guarantees that we have zero control over marijuana dealers. Foolish policies have guaranteed that the marijuana industry is completely unregulated.

"This isn't about whether you think marijuana is good or bad, it's about common sense," Houston, a father of three children, continued. "If you think marijuana is bad, why would you want it controlled by unregulated criminals, which guarantees that kids have greater access to it?"

The full CDC report is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/yrbss07_mmwr.pdf. The 2007 Annual Synar report is at http://prevention.samhsa.gov/tobacco/synarreportfy2007.pdf.

With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 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: First Global Conference on Methamphetamine to Convene in Prague

Press Release Contact: Luciano Colonna

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2008 Global Conference On Methamphetamine

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 Chair, Executive Program Committee

+00 (1) 801 635 7736 (USA / MTD, HAR; UTC – 6 hours)

[email protected]

FIRST GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON METHAMPHETAMINE TO CONVENE IN PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC, ON SEPTEMBER 15-16, 2008

Experts in Science, Public Health, Government, Drug Policy, Treatment, Prevention, Law Enforcement, and the Private Sector Will Meet to Examine the Intersection between Methamphetamine, Public Health, Law Enforcement, and Civil Society.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, June 4 ­­­­-- As the use of methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants proliferates across the globe, there is an emerging consensus among experts that methamphetamine use is a unique and complex problem that presents a significant challenge to existing philosophies and strategies. The First Global Conference on Methamphetamine will provide an arena for the world’s foremost scientists, leaders and professionals working on issues of drug use to come together to discuss a wide variety of topics centering around methamphetamine. The Conference will take place in Prague’s Historic City Hall on September 15 – 16 (Monday & Tuesday), 2008.

As the first event to gather global experts from a wide diversity of fields, the conference is assured to be an unparalleled event. Confirmed speakers from USA, China, Australia, Thailand, Russia, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, New Zealand, Indonesia, Poland, Iran, Serbia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Great Britain and the United Nations will address the conference theme of “Science, Strategy and Response.” Representatives from international agencies, civil society, academia, science, law enforcement and others will have the unique opportunity to discuss key issues including: Treatment, HIV, Trafficking, Production, Environmental Impact, Law Enforcement, Policy, Current Research, Regional Updates, and Innovative Global Approaches.

According to estimates by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO): More individuals worldwide now use stimulants than opiates and cocaine combined. Methamphetamine is the most widely used illicit drug in the world except for cannabis. Over 26 million individuals used amphetamine-type stimulants in 2006.

Established trends show methamphetamine use to be widespread in North American, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand; while India, Pakistan, Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe represent emerging markets or areas of perceived risk. Yet the development of appropriate and effective responses to stimulants lags. In most cases, treatment and prevention are inappropriately modeled on opiate and alcohol treatment, ignoring both the physical properties of the drug itself, and the fact that methamphetamine use patterns vary widely, and effective responses must be tailored to the unique needs of regions, cultures, and individual users. A lack of infrastructure, of funding, and of experts trained specifically in methamphetamine response compounds the problem.

As nations struggle to develop appropriate responses to methamphetamine, it is crucial that the most current scientific research, information, and best practices be available to those seeking to implement solutions. The primary goal of the First Global Conference on Methamphetamine is to provide a context for this important work to take place.

Featured Speakers Will Include:

- Apinun Aramrattana, MD, PhD, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai

- Jeremy Douglas. Manager, Global SMART Program, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna

- Ahmed Elkashef, M.D. Division of Pharmacotherapies & Medical Consequences, NIDA, Washington, D.C.

- Carl Hart, PhD, Professor, Neuroscience Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York

- Evgeny Krupitsky, MD, PhD, Prof., Bekhterev Research Psychoneurological Institute, St. Petersburg

- Prof. Lin Lu, MD, PhD, Director, National Institute of Drugs and Development, Beijing

- Donald Rothenbaum, Senior Vice President, Network Environmental Systems, San Diego

- Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, MSW, Director, Open Society's Institute's Global Drug Policy Program, Warsaw

- Azarakhsh Mokri, MD, Iranian Nation Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran

- Ethan Nadelmann, JD, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance, New York

- Caitlin Padgett, Coordinator and Founder of Youth R.I.S.E., Vancouver

- Andreas Plüddemann, Senior Scientist, Alcohol & Drug Abuse Research Unit Medical, Cape Town

- Richard Rawson, PhD, UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Los Angeles

- Michael Siever, PhD, Director of The Stonewall Project, San Francisco

- Pavlo Smyrnov, MPH., Deputy Executive Director, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Kiev

- Alex Wodak, MD, Director, Alcohol and Drug Services Vincent's Hospital, Sydney

- Chris Wilkins, PhD, Senior Researcher & Drugs Team Leader at SHORE/Whariki, Massey University, Auckland - Gady Zabicky, MD, Centro Nacional para la Prevención y Control del VIH/SIDA, Mexico City - Tomas Zabransky, MD, PhD, R and D Manager, Centre for Addictology, Charles University, Prague

FOR MEDIA: The major sessions of the conference are open to reporters. Site visits, photo opportunities and interviews can be arranged. For journalists not traveling to Prague, interviews and briefings with key spokespeople and presenters can be arranged on request.

Sponsors and Partners include: The Czech Republic, Charles University, the City of Prague, Network Environmental Systems, Podane Ruce, Cranstoun Drug Services, Sananim, Institute Scan, Systems, Inc, and The Thorne Group.

Website: www.globalmethamphetamine.com

Contact: Luciano Colonna Chair, Executive Program Committee - 2008 Global Conference On Methamphetamine +00 (1) 801 635 7736 (USA); [email protected]

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Press Release: New York Patients Announce Medical Marijuana TV Ad Campaign

Gretchen Steele

For Release: June 3, 2008

Contact:
Bryan O’Malley, 518-455-4941 (office)/518-495-2181 (cellular)
Dan Bernath, MPP Assistant Director of Communications, 202-462-5747 ex. 115

New York Patients Announce Medical Marijuana TV Ad Campaign
Legislation Would Protect Seriously Ill from Arrest, Jail

ALBANY, NEW YORK — Hoping to build support in Albany for legislation to protect seriously ill New Yorkers from arrest for using doctor-recommended medical marijuana, patients at a press conference today unveiled a new TV ad that begins airing today across the state. The bill has passed the Assembly, but has not been acted on in the state Senate.

The ad – available at mpp.org/NYads and http://youtube.com/watch?v=wARi35Jz2nM – features Kingston resident Burton Aldrich, a quadriplegic who relies on medical marijuana to control the excruciating pain and violent spasms related to his condition. In the ad, Aldrich says, "I don’t know if I would be around if it wasn’t for marijuana."

"I use medical marijuana with my doctors' support because I can't find anything that works as well with as few side effects," Aldrich said. "I have no choice but to break the law in order to find relief. That's wrong. I'm counting on the Senate to do the sensible, compassionate thing and make it right."

Bill sponsor Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried called on his Senate colleagues to finish the work the Assembly started last year when it passed a medical marijuana bill, 95-52.

"When the law says we must arrest sick and dying patients for seeking relief from debilitating pain, then it's time to change the law," the Assembly Health Committee chair said. "There’s no excuse for this cruel injustice."

Following the press conference, patients from across the state joined Aldrich to lobby senators to support medical marijuana legislation. Those lobbying included Bruce Dunn of Otsego County, who suffers chronic pain from a vehicle accident in 1988; Barbara Jackson, a cancer survivor from the Bronx who was arrested for using marijuana to treat dangerous appetite loss; and Richard Williams of Richmondville who has battled HIV for 20 years and also has hepatitis C.

With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 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 www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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Press Release: New York Patients to Announce TV Ad Campaign, Urge Senate to Pass Medical Marijuana Law

Gretchen Steele
For Release: June 2, 2008

Contact:
Bryan O’Malley, 518-455-4941 (office) / 518-495-2181 (cellular)
Dan Bernath, MPP Assistant Director of Communications, 202-462-5747 ex. 115

**MEDIA ADVISORY**
New York Patients to Announce TV Ad Campaign, Urge Senate to Pass Medical Marijuana Law

Patients with serious medical conditions from the across the state will join Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried (D, WF – Manhattan) to unveil a new TV ad campaign urging the Senate to pass medical marijuana legislation before its June 23 adjournment. Right after the press conference, patients with serious conditions will lobby their senators on the issue. Journalists are invited to follow along.

WHAT: Press conference to announce new TV ad campaign for New York's medical marijuana bill followed by "lobby day"

WHO: Scheduled participants include:

• Assembly Health Committee Chair and sponsor Richard N. Gottfried

• Burton Aldrich, a quadriplegic father of five from Kingston, featured in the ads

• Glenn Amandola, a retired New York City police officer who suffers from chronic pain and a seizure disorder after being injured on the job

• Bruce Dunn of Otsego County, who suffers chronic pain from a vehicle accident in 1988

• Fred McLaughlin, a multiple sclerosis patient from Long Island

• Barbara Jackson, a cancer survivor from the Bronx who was prosecuted for using marijuana to treat dangerous appetite loss

• Richard Williams of Richmondville who has battled HIV for 20 years and also has hepatitis C

WHEN: Tuesday, June 3 at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Room 823, Legislative Office Building, Albany

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Press Release -- Breaking News: Vermont Hemp Bill Becomes law

[Courtesy of Vote Hemp] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2008 CONTACT: Adam Eidinger, t: 202-744-2671, e: [email protected] or Tom Murphy, t: 207-542-4998, e: [email protected] Hemp for Vermont Bill Becomes Law State Wants Federal Permission for Farmers to Grow Hemp MONTPELIER, Vermont – Vote Hemp, a grassroots advocacy organization working to give farmers the right to grow non-drug industrial hemp, is extremely pleased that Vermont Governor Jim Douglas allowed H.267, the Hemp for Vermont Bill, to become law without his signature yesterday afternoon. The bill overwhelmingly passed both the House (126 to 9) and the Senate (25 to 1). The new law sets up a state-regulated program for farmers to grow non-drug industrial hemp, which is used in a wide variety of products, including nutritious foods, cosmetics, body care, clothing, tree-free paper, auto parts, building materials and much more. Learn more about industrial hemp at: www.VoteHemp.com. Smart and effective grassroots organizing by Vote Hemp and the Vermont-based advocacy group Rural Vermont (www.ruralvermont.org) mobilized farmers and local businesses, many of which pledged to buy their hemp raw materials in-state if they have the opportunity. Rural Vermont’s Director Amy Shollenberger says that “the Hemp for Vermont bill is another step toward legalizing this important crop for farmers. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't allow this crop to be grown. Looking at the Canadian experience, hemp provides a good return for the farmer. It's a high-yield crop and a great crop to mix in with corn.” Vermont grows an average of 90,000 acres of corn per year, a small amount compared to Midwest states; however, the need for a good rotation crop exists nationwide. From candle makers to dairymen to retailers, Vermont voters strongly support hemp farming. Admittedly a niche market now, hemp is becoming more common in stores and products across the country every day. Over the past ten years, farmers in Canada have grown an average of 16,500 acres of hemp per year, primarily for use in food products. In Vermont, the interest in hemp includes for use in food products, as well as in quality and affordable animal bedding for the state’s estimated 140,000 cows. “Vermont’s federal delegation can now take this law to the U.S. Congress and call for a fix to this problem of farmers missing out on a very useful and profitable crop,” comments Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “North Dakota farmers who want to grow hemp per state law are currently appealing their lawsuit in the federal courts. The real question is whether these hemp-friendly state congressional delegations feel compelled to act,” adds Steenstra. Rural Vermont’s Shollenberger states that “the Vermont law is significant for two reasons. First, no other state until now has followed North Dakota’s lead by creating real-world regulations for farmers to grow industrial hemp. Second, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont is Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, as well as a member of the Committee on Agriculture – relevant committees that could consider legislation. We also have a friend at the USDA in new Secretary Ed Schaffer who signed North Dakota’s hemp bill as Governor. I plan to visit Washington, DC and try to figure out what Congress and the Administration intend to do.” # # # Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow this agricultural crop. More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses may be found at www.VoteHemp.com and www.HempIndustries.org. BETA SP or 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: California Assembly Votes to Protect Medical Marijuana Patients' Right to Work

[Courtesy of Americans for Safe Access] For Immediate Release: May 28, 2008 Americans for Safe Access Contact: ASA Media Liaison Kris Hermes (510) 681-6361 California Assembly Votes to Protect Medical Marijuana Patients' Right to Work Anti-discrimination bill AB2279 passes State Assembly Today Sacramento, CA -- A medical marijuana employment rights bill, which would protect hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients in California from employment discrimination, passed the State Assembly today. AB2279, introduced in February by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-authored by Assemblymembers Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego), would reverse a January California Supreme Court decision in the case Ross v. RagingWire. Support for the bill has been widespread, coming from labor, business, and health groups at the local and national level. "The California Assembly has acted to protect the right of patients to work and be productive members of society," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access, the medical marijuana advocacy group that argued the case before the Court and is now a sponsor of the bill. "The State Senate now has the important task of passing this bill with the aim to protect the jobs of thousands of Californians with serious illnesses such as cancer and HIV/AIDS." The bill leaves intact existing state law prohibiting medical marijuana consumption at the workplace or during working hours and protects employers from liability by carving out an exception for safety-sensitive positions. "AB2279 is not about being under the influence while at work. That's against the law, and will remain so," said Mr. Leno, the bill's author. "It's about allowing patients who are able to work safely and who use their doctor-recommended medication in the privacy of their own home, to not be arbitrarily fired from their jobs," continued Mr. Leno. "The voters who supported Proposition 215 did not intend for medical marijuana patients to be forced into unemployment in order to benefit from their medicine." On January 24, in a 5-2 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace. The plaintiff in the case, Gary Ross, is a 46-year old disabled veteran who was a systems engineer living Carmichael, California, when he was fired from his job in 2001 at RagingWire Telecommunications for testing positive for marijuana. "It's important that we not allow employment discrimination in California," said former plaintiff Gary Ross. "If the Court is going to ignore the need for protection, then it's up to the legislature to ensure that productive workers like me are free from discrimination." The decision in Ross v. RagingWire dealt a harsh blow to patients in the courts, shifting the debate to the state legislature. But, before the court made its final decision, Ross enjoyed the support of ten state and national medical organizations, all of the original co-authors of the Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420), and disability rights groups. Since it began recording instances of employment discrimination in 2005, ASA has received hundreds of such reports from all across California. Further information: Employment rights legislation AB2279: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AB2279.pdf ASA page on AB2279, including Fact Sheet and Letters of Support: http://www.americansforsafeaccessnow.org/AB2279 Legal briefs and rulings in the Ross v. RagingWire case: http://www.americansforsafeaccessnow.org/Ross

Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced in Ohio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 23, 2008

Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced in Ohio
Bill Is Similar to Michigan Initiative Expected to Pass Handily

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-668-6403 or 202-215-4205

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Sen. Tom Roberts (D-Trotwood) introduced legislation today that would make Ohio the 13th state to permit medical use of marijuana by seriously ill patients without fear of arrest. The measure, S.B. 343, comes in the wake of growing support for medical marijuana nationwide and is similar to a Michigan ballot initiative that is heavily favored to pass in November.

Twelve states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington -- currently have medical marijuana laws. Similar measures are under consideration in several other states, including Illinois and New York.

"This bill is strikingly similar to the Michigan medical marijuana initiative, which polling shows to be leading by a wide margin," said Ray Warren, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "We're seeing a real groundswell of support for medical marijuana legislation in the Midwest, both among the public and within the medical community. There's no longer any doubt that marijuana can help some patients who suffer terribly, and voters in places like Michigan, Ohio and Illinois don't want their tax dollars spent arresting seriously ill patients who are simply trying to get some relief."

In Michigan, the only independent poll published so far -- conducted in mid-March by the Marketing Resource Group for Inside Michigan Politics -- showed the measure leading by a 67 percent to 28 percent margin, with only 5 percent undecided or declining to answer. In Illinois, where a medical marijuana bill is now moving through the legislature, a Mason-Dixon poll showed 68 percent in favor and 27 percent opposed.

Like the Michigan proposal, Sen. Roberts' bill would protect patients from arrest and jail if they have been diagnosed with one of a defined list of medical conditions and their doctor has recommended the use of marijuana. Patients would have to register with the state and receive an ID card, and would be limited in the amount of marijuana they could legally possess.

The last year has seen a series of statements in support of medical marijuana from a variety of medical organizations, including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the 124,000-member American College of Physicians, which in February declared, "ACP strongly urges protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as permitted under state laws."

With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 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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Bill to Protect Prop. 215 Passes Assembly Appropriations Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 22, 2008

Bill to Protect Prop. 215 Passes Assembly Appropriations Committee
AB 2743 Would End the Use of California Resources in Federal Medical Marijuana Raids, Now Heads to Assembly Floor

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-668-6403 or 202-215-4205

SACRAMENTO -- In what advocates hailed as an important step toward protecting California law, the Assembly Appropriations Committee passed AB 2743 by a vote of 9-7 today. The measure, authored by Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego), would protect the integrity of California's medical marijuana law by making it the policy of state and local law enforcement agencies not to cooperate with the Drug Enforcement Administration or other federal agencies in raids on state-legal medical marijuana patients and caregivers.

DEA raids on medical marijuana patients and providers who are allowed to cultivate and possess marijuana under California law have been assisted - and in some cases requested - by local law enforcement agencies in communities around the state, including Los Angeles, Bakersfield, San Mateo, San Diego and many others.

Jon Palmer, who uses medical marijuana to ease the agony caused by a rare blood disorder, lost his safe source of medicine when Kern County sheriff's deputies assisted the DEA in arresting the operators of Nature's Medicinal in Bakersfield. "Faced with the prospect of having to immediately double my morphine dosage and take to the streets to find my medicine, I was devastated," Palmer said. "The most outrageous part of the ordeal is that local officials used state and local tax dollars to arrest these individuals who were in full compliance with state and local laws."

"This bill is about maintaining the integrity of California law," said Aaron Smith, California state organizer for the Marijuana Policy Project. "Our medical marijuana law enjoys the support of three out of four Californians, yet in too many cases federal officials have intruded into our state affairs and raided patients and caregivers. Due to these federal prosecutions, sick, elderly and disabled Californians who almost certainly would have been found innocent in a state court are in federal prison right now. At a time when state and local governments are in fiscal crisis, California tax dollars shouldn't be used to undermine our own laws."

With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 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: South Carolina Supreme Court Reverses 20-Year Homicide Conviction of Regina McKnight

[Courtesy of National Advocates for Pregnant Woman & Drug Policy Alliance] For Immediate Release: May 12, 2008 For More Info: Lynn Paltrow 917-921-7421 or Tony Newman 646-335-5384 South Carolina Supreme Court Reverses 20-Year Homicide Conviction of Regina McKnight Decision Recognizes Research Linking Cocaine to Stillbirths Based on "Outdated" and Inaccurate Medical Information COLUMBIA, SC – Today, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Regina McKnight did not have a fair trial when she was convicted in 2001, becoming the first woman in South Carolina to be convicted of homicide by child abuse as a result of suffering an unintentional stillbirth. McKnight was arrested in 1999, several months after she experienced a stillbirth at Conway Hospital. McKnight’s conviction was based on the jury’s acceptance of the scientifically unsupported claim that her cocaine use caused the stillbirth. McKnight had no prior arrest history and even prosecutors agreed that she had no intention of harming the fetus or losing the pregnancy. Nevertheless, upon conviction she was given a twenty-year sentence, suspended to twelve years in prison with no chance for parole. She was projected to be released in 2010. The medical community has strongly opposed McKnight’s prosecution and conviction. From the beginning, leading South Carolina and national medical, public health, and child welfare organizations and experts have opposed the prosecution and conviction. These organizations—represented by National Advocates for Pregnant Women and the Drug Policy Alliance, with South Carolina counsel Susan Dunn included the South Carolina Medical Association, the South Carolina Nurses Association, the South Carolina Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, and the South Carolina Coalition for Healthy Families—argued in an amicus (friend of the court) brief that women do not lose their rights to a fair trial upon becoming pregnant and challenged the state’s evidence that cocaine use or anything else that McKnight did or did not do caused the stillbirth. In 2002 counsel for Ms. McKnight challenged the constitutionality of using homicide statutes to prosecute women who experience stillbirths. On appeal, a bare majority of the State Supreme Court upheld the conviction and the new interpretation of the state's homicide law. The Court held that a pregnant woman who unintentionally heightens the risk of a stillbirth could be found guilty of “extreme indifference to human life” homicide. Under this decision a conviction for homicide is permitted on any evidence that a pregnant woman engaged in activity “public[ly] know[n]” to be “potentially fatal” to a fetus. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the decision. Today’s ruling focused on the question of whether Ms. McKnight received a fair trial and concluded that Ms. McKnight's counsel was "ineffective in her preparation of McKnight's defense through expert testimony and cross-examination." The decision also indicated that the medical and scientific basis for her prosecution and that of other women in the state is based on outdated and inaccurate medical information. “Significantly, the opinion acknowledges that current research simply does not support the assumption that prenatal exposure to cocaine results in harm to the fetus, and the opinion makes clear that it is certainly 'no more harmful to a fetus than nicotine use, poor nutrition, lack of prenatal care, or other conditions commonly associated with the urban poor.'” said Susan K. Dunn, counsel for amicus. “This decision puts prosecutors across the state on notice that they must actually prove that an illegal drug has risked or caused harm—not simply rely on prejudice and medical misinformation.” This ruling addressed a petition filed on behalf of McKnight seeking a judicial review to determine whether the person is imprisoned lawfully or should be released from custody. The petition must show that the court ordered the imprisonment based on a legal or factual error. In McKnight, the factual error was accepting a causal link between McKnight’s cocaine use and her stillbirth. The legal errors were not calling medical expert as witnesses who could refute that link, failing to investigate the medical evidence the state's witnesses relied on and that was based on outdated scientific studies, and failing to challenge the court's confusing and contradictory explanations to the jury of what "intent" Ms. McKnight had to have. “Ms. McKnight is one of more than 500 women in South Carolina who experience stillbirths each year, and in many of those cases, medicine just can’t determine the cause,” said Brandi Parrish, coordinator of the South Carolina Coalition for Healthy Families. “It is a tragedy that Ms. McKnight has been in prison for nearly eight years for a crime she did not commit. Families in South Carolina are not helped by treating stillbirths as crimes and wasting hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to imprison innocent mothers.” The medical and public health groups also raised concerns about the consequences of South Carolina’s policy of arresting pregnant women who experience drug problems. In their brief, they cited the fact that threatening pregnant women with jail time deters them from seeking prenatal care and other vital services, as has been the case in South Carolina since the Whitner ruling in 1997 that originally permitted prosecution of pregnant women under state child endangerment charges. Ms. McKnight is represented on the petition by C. Rauch Wise of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina Foundation, Inc., and Matthew Hersh and Julie Carpenter of the law firm Jenner & Block for the DKT Liberty Project.
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