Feature: Beyond 2008 -- Looking Past the November US Elections | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)

If you want to know what is planned for your state, read this article. If you want to have something happen in your State.........you.... will have to do something. VV

__________________
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/53595-vv-singing-blues-seed-perpetual.html
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-de...p-journal.html

Research into medicinal marijuana grows up. - By Amanda Schaffer - Slate Magazine This would be considered Mainstream Media imo. VV

__________________
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/53595-vv-singing-blues-seed-perpetual.html
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-de...p-journal.html

SPONSOR AND PROPONENT TESTIMONY HEARING SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 19

A Sponsor and Proponent Testimony Hearing for SB 343 has been
scheduled by the Ohio Senate Criminal Justice Committee for 10:00 am
on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 in the North Hearing Room at the Ohio
Statehouse. Known as the Ohio Medical Compassion Act, SB 343 would
allow patients and their caregivers to possess and cultivate
marijuana to treat the patients' serious illness. The Proponent
component of this hearing will be grounded in testimony from seasoned
medical professionals. If you would like to encourage your state
Senator to vote for this important legislation, please visit
https://ssl.capwiz.com/mpp/issues/alert/?alertid=11445816. It is
hoped that this bill will be accorded swift passage in consideration
of the highly successful Michigan Initiative.

MICHIGAN LEGALIZES MEDICAL marijuana

Before the statewide initiative was started in five citywide medical
marijuana votes, medical marijuana won in a landslide (with 62% in
Flint in February 2007; with 63% in Traverse City and 61% in Ferndale
in November 2005; with 74% in Ann Arbor in November 2004; and with
60% in Detroit in August 2004). All these efforts were spearheaded by
Michigan NORML http://www.minorml.org/ and it's affiliated chapters.
Based on these efforts Tim Beck wrote 'Taking the Initiative; A
Reformer's Guide to Direct Democracy' online at
http://www.drugsense.org/caip#take.

When the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care
http://stoparrestingpatients.org/ launched it's statewide signature
drive they sought the help of Michigan NORML. The NORML members
gathered a substantial share of the signatures, and then went on to
support the initiative in every way possible. They wrote letters to
the editor and OPEDs, which were published. They placed thousands of
Yes on 1 yard signs.

What they did not do was connect their effort in any way at with
NORML to preclude any perception that they were really working to
legalize marijuana. Thus they set a standard of professionalism for
other NORML chapters to emulate.

On Election Day, the initiative, on the ballot as Proposal 1, passed
by 63% with 3,005,678 Yes votes. It passed in every county in the
state. The new Michigan law, now known as The Michigan Medical
marijuana Act, will be certified and go into effect later this year.
However, implementing regulations to include the patient and
caregiver I.D. Card system may take until May of next year to go into
effect. Unique among the 13 states with medicinal marijuana laws,
covering a quarter of the U.S. population, Michigan's law recognizes
the patient identifying documents of the 12 other states.

The Ohio Patient Network salutes Michigan activists for their success
with the hope that it will catch not only the attention of Congress
but also the Ohio State Legislature.

MEETING WITH OHIO SENATOR TOM ROBERTS

The meeting of Ohio medical marijuana activists, called by Ohio
Senator Tom Roberts (D-5), was held on November 6, 2008, in the
Senate Minority Conference Room on the Southeast corner of the Ohio
Statehouse. Excluding the Senator and his staff, around fifteen
people participated in this meeting, including Ohio Patient Network
officers Jeff Horvath, Nikki Plassenthal, and Mary Jane Borden, each
of whom introduced themselves by their respective titles (Vice
President, Secretary, and Treasurer) and were recognized by the
Senator as such.

Others in attendance included Eleanor Ahrens, Christy Becker, Jim
Cowen, Tonya Davis, Dennis Day and Dawn Dunlap (Ohio Patient Action
Network); Damien Hardy (Senator Roberts' aide), Brian McCann, Cher
Neufer, Ed Orlett (Drug Policy Alliance), and Penny Tipps (State
street Consultants).

Topics covered included LTEs; meetings with editorial boards;
consumption (the Senator wanted to know how much patients typically
consumed); Marinol and Sativex; possible pharmaceutical industry
resistance; and opposition to the bill from government agencies.
Medical marijuana advocates should be inspired by the harmony and
unified purpose displayed at this meeting.

OPN ANNUAL MEETING HELD ON MAY 31, 2008

The Ohio Patient Network held its Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 31,
2008, at the offices of the Columbus Free Press at 1000 East Broad
Street, Columbus, OH. Forty-three people participated in this meeting
to elect the organization's officers for the coming year.

After the meeting, OPN Past President, Mary Jane Borden commented,
"This is a very special board. Well over half of the original
co-founders came together to seat this board, which includes three of
them in the positions of President, Vice President, and Treasurer."
Board President Brandy Zink said that she looks forward to setting
the organization on a course to better achieve its goals and be of
service to patients. "With the introduction of the Ohio Medical
Compassion Act, there is a greater need for educational resources
from a credible, professional organization such as the Ohio Patient Network.

The OPN Board Members are listed at
http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/content/view/16/34/

RIGHT, MORAL AND GOOD

It has been said that we are living in a time of great change. There
are new voices in Washington, the legislature, and even in the world
of activism. If we could offer leadership advice at this pivotal
moment, we wish that change, which has been given so much lip
service, would be based on the principle of right, moral, and good.
We encourage leadership to weigh decision making and subsequent
action using this three-legged principle. Right, moral, and good means:

Right: Right refers to the information on which decisions are made
and asks if that fact base is correct. What are the holes in it and
where might it be potentially wrong? Is the information on which
actions are planned logical? Does it pass the smell or common sense
test? Can it be substantiated by independent, third party sources?
Right is not a feeling; it is the truth and cold hard facts that
withstand repeated tests to discredit them.

Moral: Morality concerns principles of conduct. For moral teachings,
we often look to the Golden Rule or the 10 Commandments. The Golden
Rule quite simply states, "Do unto others as you would have others do
unto you." As most people don't seek harm, we should behave toward
others as we would want them behave toward us. The 10 Commandments
also provide a moral compass. "Do not bear false witness against your
neighbor" - don't lie. "Do not steal" - don't take things that aren't
yours. "Do not covet." - don't desire or scheme to obtain that which
belongs to another. Morality doesn't equate to any specific religion
or doctrine; all religions have their tests of moral conduct. Still,
moral conduct pivots on the query: does action find its roots in
lies, harm, theft, or greed? Would I want to be treated this way?

Good: Good is actually a two-part test. There is the definition of
good as beneficial and also good as of high quality. The beneficial
test of good deals with well being. Good draws a direct line to
positivity, prosperity, health, and vitality. It easily bridges to
its benefits to others through the greater good. Good being of high
quality equates to functional excellence. When something is good, all
parts work, all pieces fit together, beauty radiates, and intended
results are achieved. In both definitions, good refers to a plural or
to the larger whole. As a two-part test, good asks, is action both
beneficial to and functional for the larger whole and for the greater good?

The right, moral, and good paradigm of decision making is a three
legged stool that will topple when one leg becomes compromised.
Actions cannot be moral or good if their fact base is lacking. They
are neither right nor good if based in lies, theft, or greed. They
can't be right or moral, if they function improperly or harm overall
well being.

We encourage leadership both nationally and locally to weigh these
three tenets in the decision making process and as it considers
actions based on this process. If we are to engender change at this
pivotal time, then change should mend the rips and tears in our
culture. Engaging in thinking that is right, moral, and good -
holistically - gives all of us the best chance of achieving the
results that we all want and for which we chanted change in the first place.

You may wish to read another essay on this topic, "On Harmony,"
http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/content/view/817/2/

You can also participate in an online discussion about it on our
forum at http://www.ohiopatientnetwork.org/zot/viewtopic.php?t=535.

THE OPN WEBSITE AND EMAIL LISTS

A Thank You goes out to Jo-D Harrison, our OPN Ohio Patient Network - Home
webmaster. While she has made minor changes to the current OPN
website she has plans to move the entire website into a more modern
webmastering software in the future. Please note that a number pages
on the website have yet to be updated.

And also Thank You to our listmaster, Richard Lake. We plan to
reactivate our discussion list in the near future. If you have
questions about our email lists please contact Richard at
richard@ohiopatient.net

We are undecided about which direction to take our OPNews email list.
Doing a monthly message as we did in the past was very labor
intensive. Perhaps it would be better to create and send OPNews as
needed. For example, when an actual hearing in the legislature is
scheduled. This could result in two or three messages in a month or,
rarely, a month with no messages. If you have an opinion or
suggestions please email richard@ohiopatient.net

HELP THE OPN SUPPORT PATIENTS

The Ohio Patient Network's goal is to provide a voice for Ohio's
medicinal cannabis patients and create an environment where this
vital medicine becomes an accepted and legitimate therapy. To do
this, we need your help.

We'd like you to personally become involved in OPN by donating your
time. Please check out our various committees on our website.

If you'd prefer, you can also support medicinal cannabis and what we
are doing by contributing monetarily to OPN. Please note that the
Ohio Patient Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in the
State of Ohio.

Donations to OPN are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
Please visit our website (http://ohiopatient.net) and click on the
Donate button on any page to make a contribution using your credit
card. Please note that these donations will be processed through Paypal.

If you would prefer to donate by check or money order, please make
them payable to the "Ohio Patient Network" and mail to P.O. Box
26353, Columbus, OH 43216.

Thank you for supporting the Ohio Patient Network

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR

Find your Representative in the Ohio House at http://www.house.state.oh.us/

Find your Ohio Senator at http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/

Write to your officials care of their district office, or send your
letter to their Columbus office at:

The Honorable (name)
Ohio House of Representatives
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43266-0603

-or-

The Honorable (name)
Ohio Senate Building
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Telephone calls and emails are also persuasive, especially when the
constituent contacts the district office.
I just got this in the mail. Ohio folks heads up.

__________________
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/53595-vv-singing-blues-seed-perpetual.html
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-de...p-journal.html

Hard to read that map in the article, but it looks like the decriminalization advocates are going to fire up in nevada for the 2010 election. I think we lost 48-52 last time, this economy has probably made quite a few more stoners, so it should pass with ease.

__________________
Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

I had a discussion with one of the folks that worked on that campaign too. They would love to go back and finish the job without the ondcp. VV

__________________
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/53595-vv-singing-blues-seed-perpetual.html
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-de...p-journal.html

Cannabis 'could stop dementia in its tracks' | Mail Online
This article says cannibus PREVENTS the onset of dimentia. Its use to prevent the onset, if it only delayed it for a few years would save us a $100,000,000,000.00 in so called 'health care' for those that worked to make our country what it is. VV

__________________
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/53595-vv-singing-blues-seed-perpetual.html
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-de...p-journal.html

90.3 WCPN ideastream | Ohio Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Medical Marijuana Click on the start arrow, its short, its all positve as far as I can tell. The change for a conservative to be talking about commando cops, his concern about the conflict is easy to answer. Someone in Ohio needs to take the time to address his concerns in a polite manner, thank him for being concerned about the patients, not wanting to get their hopes up etc. Offer to have a meeting with his staff, four or five knowledgable patients that offer to answer questions from his staff so he will know how the patients feel. His concern should not stop him from voting for it and even supporting it, if he knows the patients would rather take their chances with the bill than without it, if that is the truth. I have not read this bill, anyone that has or can link it, please post it here. VV

__________________
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/53595-vv-singing-blues-seed-perpetual.html
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-de...p-journal.html

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=526142 This is the best response to what is going on in Massachusetts I have seen. VV

__________________
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/53595-vv-singing-blues-seed-perpetual.html
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-de...p-journal.html

This is excellent info. It warms my heart indeed that it comes from an American on RIU. Bravo!!!!

Now that's what i call being exactly a year late. I'm a complete fanny! hahahahahahahahaha( technically a fanny is a vagina in these parts, not an arse)hahahahaha

What i read of this thread was certainly the most apt political thread on RIU. Worth keeping alive.