Selthofner says Support the States’ Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act – HR 1983
Jay Selthofner, director with NORML and speaker on the THC Tour addressed a group of medical marijuana advocates about the importance of supporting the States’ Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act – HR 1983. As well as providing some talking points and signature pages for HR 1983, Jay also provides some of his opinions of the current situation. The audience members also participated in an active cannabis conversation, as we all work together to address medical marijuana reform and tackling the issue from all angles.
Stressing the importance of the gaining support in a wide variety of areas and from a variety of people, activists discuss strategies for gaining support in the medical and professional markets. Engaging people everyday in a conversation and asking them for help in the process is critical, new contacts supporting medical marijuana reform need to be flowing into our legislators office everyday. Keep the line of communication open! A special thank you to our local supporters and members for helping organize the meeting and actively participating in the process.
Support the States’ Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act – HR 1983
Federal lawmakers have reintroduced legislation to provide for additional and necessary legal protections for state-authorized medical marijuana patients.
The measure also calls for an expedited rescheduling review by the federal government that would reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act, recognizing the plant’s accepted medical use and streamlining the federal approval process for medical marijuana research.
Sixteen states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington — and the District of Columbia have enacted laws protecting medical marijuana patients from state prosecution. Yet in all of these states, patients and providers still face the risk of federal sanction — even when their actions are fully compliant with state law. In fact, in recent months federal officials have stepped up their threats against state recognized patients and providers, stating, “The United States Attorneys Office … will vigorously prosecute individuals and organizations that participate in … activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.”
It is time that we allowed our unique federalist system to work the way it was intended. Patients and their state representatives should have the authority to enact laws permitting the medical use of cannabis — free from federal interference.
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