Ill.: Vote delayed; write a letter to the editor in support of medical marijuana

It looks like the Senate floor vote on the medical marijuana bill will be pushed to next week, but we are gaining momentum every day and picking up new supporters as we go.

As you have no doubt seen, a lot of great news coverage and editorials have been generated over the last few weeks in support of the medical marijuana bill. The Chicago Sun Times editorialized in favor of the bill, the Chicago Tribune reported on clergy support, and former members of law enforcement have published letters in support of this legislation — click here and here to read them.

To keep this issue alive in the media and demonstrate to legislators that the public supports this legislation, please consider writing a letter to the editor (LTE) and submitting it to your local newspaper today.

Tips for writing and sending an LTE:

• Limit your letter to 150 - 200 words and stay on point. This is not the time to discuss recreational use, hemp, or other issues irrelevant to the medical use of marijuana.
  
• Try and submit your letter to the editor as soon as possible. The sooner you submit a letter in response to a recent publication the better your chance of it being published.
  
• Include your full name, hometown, and daytime telephone number at the end of your letter (they will not print your number, but do need it for verification purposes).
  
• Send the text of your letter in the body of the e-mail (many newspapers won't accept letters as attachments).

Keep an eye out for an alert next week updating you on the status of the bill. In the meantime, please forward this alert to others so they can call and write their senators in support of SB 1381. Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project.