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Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Tell the NM Senate to Vote For Compassion on Medical Marijuana
From the Drug Policy Alliance Action Center:
Medical marijuana legislation is headed to the New Mexico Senate floor this week after passing the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 7 to 3 on Monday evening! This is the final push to get SB 238, the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, through the Senate and into the House for final committee hearings and the House floor vote.
This is the year to finally help patients access the medicine they so desperately need! Please call your Senator by Thursday and encourage them to support SB 238 during the floor vote.
You'll want to call your Senator's Capitol office phone number, which can be found at the NM State Legislature website. If you don't know your Senator's name, just enter your zip code plus four. Click here to find your zip plus four-digit code.
Tips on Making a Call: Most legislators' staff answer their phones during the session and log all of the messages. The call only takes a minute. The call to your Senator will take little time but make a huge impact.
- Be courteous, positive, and brief.
- Identify yourself and mention that you are a constituent.
- Ask the legislator to vote yes for SB 238 on the Senate floor.
- Feel free to briefly tell them why you personally support the bill.
In Brief: The Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act would allow qualified patients suffering from certain serious illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and epilepsy to use marijuana for relief from their symptoms. Feel free to refer to our or before you call.
Thanks so much for calling - and please feel free to forward this information to other individuals and email lists that might be interested. The more voices that speak up for these bills, the more likely they will become law. If you have any questions please call us at (505) 983-3277.
Reena Szczepanski
Drug Policy Alliance Network
www.improveNewMexico.org
Learn More About the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act: The Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act would allow qualified patients suffering from certain serious illnesses - such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, and epilepsy - to use marijuana for relief of their symptoms. The law would require a patient to receive a recommendation for cannabis (i.e., medical marijuana) from his/her medical provider. The patient could then apply to participate in the program through the Department of Health, and an independent review board of doctors would consider each application.
Upon approval by the board, the patient would receive a registry identification card from the New Mexico Department of Health, certifying that he/she was a participant in the Lynn and Erin program. By registering in this way, the patient and the patient's primary caregiver would be allowed to possess only enough cannabis to treat the patient. Only providers who already can prescribe controlled substances could recommend patients for the program. The Department of Health will develop regulations for licensed producers within the state, identifying standards for safety, security, and distribution.
The new law would not allow medical marijuana use in public, and would penalize lying to a law enforcement officer regarding the medical use of marijuana. The Department of Health would keep a registry of participants so that law enforcement officers could confirm the validity of a patient's registration card. Patients under 18 years old could only participate with parental consent.
February 6, 2007 at 12:23 PM in Healthcare, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink
Comments
I think that it will pass the Senate. It's in the House that there has been trouble with this bill in the past.
And has Richardson said anything about his stance on this? How do you think it will look for his Presidential hopes if he signs this into law?
Posted by: | Feb 6, 2007 2:50:00 PM
What I've heard is that Richardson supports it, but what he does or doesn't do to get it passed is another thing. He can always blame it not passing on someone else and still get credit for being for it. You know how too many Democrats want it both ways of late.
Posted by: Old Dem | Feb 6, 2007 3:48:33 PM
Yes, the word last year was that Richardson killed the bill by having Rep. Lujan assign it to the House Agriculture committee. Click to read last year's DFNM post on what happened to the bill.
Also, here's how Sen. Dede Feldman reported it on her blog last year:
"On another sad note, the House Agriculture Committee—in front of an audience composed of many terminally ill patients and others who have hoped for some relief now for three years—yesterday killed the Medical Marijuana Bill. The vote came largely on party lines, with conservative Democratic rancher Rep. Joe Stell from Carlsbad, crossing over and casting the determining vote. I don’t blame Stell, though, the die had been cast when the bill was referred to that committee, by House Speaker Ben Lujan. It probably was the only House committee that would have killed it."
I think it's important that we contact Gov. Richardson this year and insist that he support the bill and do everything he can to see it pass. And if something similar takes place this year, he should be called on it publically and nationally. If he wants to run as a progressive Democrat as he seems to be doing, he needs to be held to his promises.
Posted by: barb | Feb 6, 2007 4:16:24 PM
