Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project 760.799.2055

2008 can be the year when the medical marijuana movement makes its biggest leap forward since Prop. 215 was passed by California’s voters in 1996. There are stark differences on the issue of medical marijuana between most of the candidates running for the U.S. Congress. What happens in this election can cause a significant shift in our ability to have safe, reliable and affordable access to this ancient herb. But you don’t have to wait to vote in November to make a difference right now. The Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment is coming up for the fifth time in as many years. This amendment to the funding bill for the Dept. of Justice will stop the DEA raids on medical marijuana patients and providers. The amendment reads: “None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Justice may be used to prevent the States of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, or Washington from implementing State laws authorizing the use of medical marijuana in those States.” In 2007 the bill failed with 259 votes opposed to stopping the raids and 163 in support of ending the raids. Convinced that this is a battle that can be won, the Marijuana Policy Project has taken a leading role in working to get the amendment passed. They have selected a number of Representatives who have opposed the amendment in the past, but are believed to be reasonable enough on this issue that it would be very worthwhile for their constituents to contact them.
Two of these reasonable Representatives are in our neck of the woods. I am asking you to contact them because if we can change just 49 votes across the fifty states, we could all sleep more peacefully knowing that the safe, reliable and affordable access to medicinal marijuana would be greatly enhanced.
If you live in one of the congressional districts below, please take time to help persuade your member of Congress to support this
important amendment.
Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto), District 43
(Representing the cities of San Bernardino, Fontana, Colton, Ontario, Rialto and, Bloomington.) District map: http://snipurl.com/2kp3w
District office:
201 North "E" Street, Ste 102
San Bernardino, CA 92401
(909) 885-2222
Congresswoman Mary Bono-Mack (R-Palm Springs), District
45 (Representing the cities of Moreno Valley, Hemet, Murrieta, and the Coachella Valley – from Palm Springs to Blythe.) District map: http://snipurl.com/2kpca
District offices:
707 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Ste 9
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 320-1076
1600 E. Florida Ave, Ste 301
Hemet, CA 92544
(951) 658-2312
MPP is asking constituents to do one or all of the three following actions:
1.) If you are a patient who relies on medical marijuana to treat a serious illness or an advocate for its use, please consider visiting your congressional representative’s district office to discuss the importance of passing the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment. Although it might take a couple hours of your time and some of your $$ for gas, next to being a lobbyist dangling lots of reelection campaign money in front of them, it is the single
most effective action an individual can take. If you can do it, I strongly urge you to do so.
To aid constituents in contacting their Representatives, MPP has several state field organizers available for contact. In California, if
you would like more information on visiting your Congressperson’s office, contact Aaron Smith at asmith@mpp.org or
(866) 287-6792 right away. He will answer all your questions on how to do this. Aaron is a dynamic individual with a vast knowledge of the issues and is very good at explaining them in terms we can understand. Chatting with him on the phone will in and of itself be very illuminating and worthwhile. So give him a
call and then pay a visit to your Congressperson’s local office.
2.) Recognizing that many people cannot go to their Congressperson’s office, the next best thing is to make a telephone call. Using the information above, call your congressional representative’s office and ask him/her to support the Hinchey-Rohrabacher (pronounced Hinch-ee/Ror-bok-er)
medical marijuana amendment.
3.) Like the classic James Stewart film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, MPP wants to take large sacks of mail and hand-signed letters to your congressional representative asking them to vote for the amendment. That can be accomplished by you writing a letter (typed is excellent, but hand written letters are flawless) and sending it to your Congressional Representative’s address above and then sending a copy of the letter to MPP so that they can be hand-delivered in huge sacks to your Representatives capitol office. Send the copy of your letter to:
MPP
818 Third St.
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
All you have to say in the letter is “Vote For Hinchey/Rohrabacher” and then sign the letter. Adding a personal line or two is excellent – something like “I am a patient and . . “ or maybe “Marijuana is good medicine . . “ or maybe “States should have the right to determine what is in the best interest of  . . .” – you get the idea. But if you would like some assistance in letter writing, get in touch with Aaron again at asmith@mpp.org or (866)
287-6792. This would give you another change to speak with Aaron and tap into his storehouse of knowledge.
The Hinchey-Rohrabacher is really significant stuff and is the most likely vehicle available at this time to advance the cause of
medicinal marijuana. Although I will continue to bring you information on this critical piece of legislation, I encourage you to stay in touch with everything that is happening with Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment by signing up for MPP’s Action Alerts at www.mpp.org/subscribe.
Notice that you are not being asked to send an email at this time – that will come later. But doing the above now is very important, so please take whatever time you can and do one, two or all three of the above. If you do, I would really appreciate it if you would take a moment and shoot me an email or give me a call at 760-799-2055 and let me know what you did and what response you get.
There is something you can do right this second – that’s right – this very second. Coming up for a vote in the next day or two in the California State Senate is SJR 20. If passed, this will be the first time any state legislature has called on the federal government to respect the rights of states to determine what is in the best interest of the health and welfare of its citizens and to stop the DEA raids in California.
By entering your zip code at the following website, you will get the name and phone number of your state senator. There is a sample script to guide you in calling your California senator urging her/him to vote for SJR 20. The call can be made anytime as you can leave a voice message if the office is not open when you call. Here’s the website:
https://ssl.capwiz.com/mpp/callalert/index.tt?alertid=11183966
Please take 90 seconds of your time, go to the website
and make the call.
Lanny
760-799-2055