Vigil for Victims set for June 7th in Madison

Third Annual Vigil for Victims of Medical Marijuana Prohibition.

Time     Tuesday, June 7 · 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Location     King Street sidewalk of State Capitol, Madison, WI

MADISON: Medical cannabis supporters will gather next Tuesday at the King St. corner of the State Capitol to remember victims of medical marijuana prohibition. This year will mark the third year for the vigil, which runs from 4-6pm. The vigil will feature tributes to patients who fell victim to medical cannabis prohibition as well as Madison guitarist Mark Shanahan. Shanahan will begin the event by performing the Wisconsin medical cannabis anthem, “Legal Medicine Blues” at 4pm.

The vigil is again being organized by the medical cannabis advocacy group Is My Medicine Legal YET?, along with theMadison and Wisconsin chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and JRMMA.org.

The list of names of those who passed away without legal access to medical cannabis read at the vigil grows each year. Last year the passing of Madison medical cannabis patient activist Mary Powers still hung heavy on friends at the event. This year, attendees will be remembering longtime Madison activist Ben Masel, who died April 30 after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. At the conclusion of the vigil at 6pm, attendees will parade around the Capitol in support of medical cannabis in Wisconsin.

The June 7 vigil date commemorates the date that Cheryl Miller passed away of complications of multiple sclerosis in 2003 at a New Jersey hospital. Wisconsin medical cannabis activists Jacki Rickert and Gary Storck were close friends of Cheryl. Along with her husband Jim Miller, a familiar face at Madison’s annual marijuana harvest festival, the four became known as the “Medical Marijuana Commando Squad”.

The four staged a demonstration at former Congressman Bob Barr’s office in Oct. 1999 to protest his amendment blocking a DC medical cannabis initiative. In 2002, Cheryl Miller starred in a Libertarian TV ad that cost Barr his congressional seat. After her passing in 2003, the surviving MMJ Commando Squad members, along with Cheryl’s family and friends staged a 2-day memorial in Washington DC including a candlelight vigil at the US Supreme Court that was the original inspiration for the Madison event.

Article by Gary Storck, Madison NORML Examiner

Facebook Event for the Vigil for Victims, please check the facebook event page for final details of this event, thank you.