Medical Marijuana

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

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.

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

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

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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 22, 2008

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.

    Denominations with official positions supporting medical marijuana include the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), Union for Reform Judaism, Episcopal Church, and United Church of Christ.  In addition to clergy from these denominations, medical marijuana supporters in Minnesota include clergy from Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, and Baptist congregations.

    Clergy from these nine denominations endorsed the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative’s statement of principle reading, “Licensed medical doctors should not be punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill patients, and seriously ill patients should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patient’s physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.”

    This is precisely what S.F. 345, Minnesota’s medical marijuana bill, would accomplish.  Similar laws have been enacted in 12 other states.  Patients in Minnesota suffering from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other serious illnesses who find marijuana to be helpful currently face a terrible choice: Either continue to suffer needlessly or risk arrest and jail. Although the Senate has already passed the bill, and polls show an overwhelming majority of Minnesotans in favor of it, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has threatened to veto is as long as members of the law enforcement community oppose it.

    “Medical marijuana is an issue of mercy and compassion,” said the Rev. Mark Stenberg from Mercy Seat Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.  “It's immoral to punish people for making an earnest attempt at healing.  As people of faith, we are called to stand up for humans who are suffering needlessly.”

    A letter featuring the statement signed by fifty Minnesota religious leaders was sent to all members of the state House.  Many of the clergypersons followed up by making phone calls to their representatives.

    “The moral choice on this issue is clear,” said Charles Thomas, executive director of IDPI, which is coordinating the religious lobbying efforts in Minnesota.  “We pray that the House, the law enforcement community, and Governor Pawlenty will heed this call for compassion.”

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