Marijuana Vote Tommorow or Thursday

[moe.ron]

Do it, don't do it. It's all good. I'm here to inform.

Congress will vote on an amendment tomorrow (Wednesday) or Thursday that would stop the Ashcroft Justice Department from arresting cancer, AIDS, MS and other patients who use medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation. Please call Congress and urge your U.S. Representative to protect medical marijuana patients.

This vote will be the most important vote on marijuana policy reform in Congress this year and support for the amendment is growing.

Thousands of Americans who use medical marijuana to ease their pain and Suffering need your help. Please call Congress TODAY!

ACTIONS TO TAKE

1) Call Your U.S. Representative Today for free, by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 1-800-839-5276.

Tell the person who answers the phone that you strongly support the Hinchey/Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment that will be offered to the Commerce Justice State spending bill this week, and that you want your
Representative to vote for it. This vote is about whether or not the Justice Department should stop wasting scare law enforcement resources arresting cancer, AIDS, and MS patients who use medical marijuana in compliance with state law. A yes vote is a vote to protect patients and
save taxpayer money. (Note: Hinchey/Rohrabacher is pronounced Hinch-e/Roy-bocker)

Not sure who represents you? See www.house.gov.

2) Forward this alert to your friends, family, co-workers.

3) If you have not done so already, please write your Representative and ask him/her to support the Hinchey/Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment
by visiting:

http://capwiz.com/norml2/mail/onecli...lertid=5962431 (this takes 30 seconds)

MORE INFO Responding to growing conflict between the states and the federal government over the issue of medical marijuana, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) will again offer an amendment
to the Commerce-Jusitce-State spending bill that would prevent the U.S. Justice Department from undermining state efforts to provide terminally ill and chronic pain patients access to doctor-recommended medical marijuana. The amendment would prohibit the Justice Department from spending any money on arresting or prosecuting medical marijuana patients in states where medical marijuana is legal. 152 members of Congress voted for a similar amendment last year. We need to pick up 66 additional votes to pass this amendment.

Since 1996, 11 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington) have adopted medical marijuana laws. The U.S. Justice Department, however, continues to spend millions of dollars arresting medical marijuana patients and their caregivers - even in states where medical marijuana is legal. At a time when violent drug cartels remain at large and threats of terrorism continue to emerge, it is irresponsible for the Justice Department to jeopardize public safety by wasting scarce law enforcement resources conducting raids on hospice centers and medical marijuana patients.

The Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment would not prevent the Justice Department from arresting people using, growing, or selling marijuana for recreational use. Nor would it prevent the Justice Department from arresting medical marijuana patients in the states that
have not approved the drug for this use. It simply revents the federal government from arresting seriously ill patients that use marijuana for medical reasons in states that have adopted medical marijuana laws.

Substantial majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents support medical marijuana. A 2001 Pew Research Center poll found that 73% of Americans support medical marijuana. A 2002 Time/CNN poll found that 80%
of Americans support it. The Institute of Medicine has etermined that nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety "all can be mitigated by marijuana." Allowing cancer, AIDS, and MS patients legal access to medical marijuana is supported by the American Nurses Association, American Public
Health Association, American Bar Association, the Whitman-Walker Clinic, and Kaiser Permanente, among other groups.