Minnesota law enforcement continues to mislead

In perhaps the most bewildering move yet from those who support arresting and incarcerating Minnesotan cancer, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis patients for simply seeking to alleviate their pain under their doctors' advice, Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom and a handful of other law enforcement officers shot off an angry and personal e-mail to Minnesota legislators — which you can read in full here. Citing their outrage with "the false rhetoric and accusations being made by the Marijuana Policy Project," these members of law enforcement countered that it was, in fact, the proponents of the bill who were being misleading and linked to a document they compiled to make their case — which, it turns out, contains at least 32 additional false and misleading claims! Please read on for all the details.

Thanks to your generous support, we've been able to point out these inaccuracies, creating Web videos demonstrating law enforcement's pattern of deception and exaggeration and distributing these to policy-makers and the media. Would you please consider donating $10 or more today to help us get out the truth about medical marijuana and this bill?

As many Minnesotans already know from stories in the press last week, S.F. 345 — the medical marijuana bill — has been under fire from a small but vocal group within the law enforcement community. Officials like Mr. Backstrom have again and again made false claims about medical marijuana, and specifically about what the Minnesota bill would do, how it would work, and who it would affect.

In an effort to set the record straight, we released a detailed 18-page document refuting their claims. And beginning last Tuesday, we've posted daily online videos debunking their specific exaggerations, misrepresentations, and outright falsehoods.

When MPP hit back against the lies being told about S.F. 345, we anticipated a response from law enforcement. But we had no idea that the response would come in the form it came last Thursday.

In their e-mail to legislators, these officials linked to a "point-by-point summary" of their concerns with the bill, originally distributed last year, and firmly stated, "We stand behind the accuracy of these comments and strongly urge you to review all of the true facts behind this issue before you cast your vote."

There's only one problem — this document they stand so firmly behind is itself riddled with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and outright lies, most of which have been debunked already. In any case, we've compiled another list of these falsehoods and provided even more rebuttals, which you can read here.

Amazingly, some of these claims are no longer true specifically because the bill's authors amended S.F. 345 in mid-2007 to address law enforcement concerns, and the text they point to no longer exists in the bill!

Enough is enough.

If you are as profoundly bewildered by and disappointed in this pattern of bad faith on the part of our opponents as we are, please take a minute to e-mail the Dakota County Attorney's Office. (In all your interactions with Mr. Backstrom's office — whether by e-mail or telephone at (651) 437-3191 — please remember to be polite and professional. It is appropriate to express anger and outrage at the persistent misrepresentations that law enforcement has presented to the legislature and the press in an effort to derail bill, but it is never appropriate to be abusive. You can simply state, "I am a Minnesotan and I have been dismayed at the false claims County Attorney Backstrom has made about the medical marijuana bill. I implore him to leave issues of medical treatment to medical professionals and to refrain from misrepresenting this issue.")

The fact is that, in many states, law enforcement has objected to provisions in medical marijuana legislation. Over the course of our efforts, individual members of the law enforcement community have occasionally exaggerated the dangers of marijuana, or made disputable claims despite readily available evidence to the contrary. But in Minnesota, as elsewhere, we have made every effort to work with them. As a matter of fact, the bill's authors have made at least 19 specific amendments to allay law enforcement concerns.

But never has there been such a persistent campaign of mistruth waged by prosecutors and law enforcement officials. It is simply and unequivocally wrong — and befuddling — to proclaim that one "stands behind" statements that are no longer true or valid — if, indeed, they ever were.

And to do so is a plain disservice to Minnesotans. In this context, it hardly even matters that Minnesotans support a compassionate medical marijuana law by an overwhelming margin. They deserve good faith arguments from all sides.

No one should ever invent facts out of whole cloth. No one should ever twist facts to suit their political purpose. And, certainly, no one should ever "stand behind" outdated critiques of a piece of legislation, citing specific provisions that no longer exist in the bill — and were removed at their request! — as evidence for their position.  

Minnesotans deserve far better than this.

Please take a moment to e-mail County Attorney Backstrom and urge him to abandon his campaign of misrepresentation. And please donate what you can today so we can continue to keep our opposition on the defensive.

There comes a time when it is simply unethical to allow falsehoods to go unchallenged — when to be silent is to lie. Minnesota might well be the 13th medical marijuana state in a matter of weeks, provided all supporters do and give what they can today.

Thank you for your support. Please pass this message along to your friends and family in Minnesota. We've never been so close to protecting patients from arrest and jail in Minnesota — and we can't allow this steady stream of law enforcement misrepresentation to sabotage a compassionate law which would protect some of our most vulnerable citizens.