Medical marijuana bill deadline approaching: Leadership needs to hear from you!

Published: March 11, 2010

Dear MPP Supporter: We only have one week left until a March 16 deadline after which it becomes much more difficult for bills to be voted out of committee, and there is still no indication that medical marijuana will get a vote! We’ve had a great response from our last alert that urged you to call legislative leadership — with Rep. Sanchez’s staffer saying they received "thousands" of calls — but we need your help to keep up the pressure. Even if you’ve already called, please make these three phone calls today. Please also pass this on to your friends and family. Please call Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo and request that he urge Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez to give HB 2160 a committee vote. Urge him to listen to his constituents and his compassion. Once you have completed that call, I hope you will then call Rep. Sánchez, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health. HB 2160 was given a hearing in May 2009 in this committee, but committee leadership has yet to give it a vote. Help convince the co-chairman to act! Please call Senate President Teresa Murray and ask her to put pressure on the House to send HB 2160 to her chamber. Once you have finished making these vital calls, please e-mail me at rcapecchi@mpp.org and let me know how they went. I know that, on some levels, making a few calls can be a hassle. However, these calls are a breeze considering what the hundreds of seriously ill Bay Staters deal with every day. Please also spread the word to other compassionate Bay Staters. While you keep the pressure up on the phone lines, we’re also taking the call for action to the media. Our grantee, the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, held a press conference at the State House today highlighting the importance of this issue. Keep an eye out for coverage of this event in your local media outlets. In addition to patients and advocates, the state nurses association and public health association just joined in the call to pass this compassionate measure. Thank you so much for all your time, energy and support. Sincerely, Robert J. Capecchi Legislative Analyst Marijuana Policy Project