Title:
Act now to defeat bad marijuana bills in Mississippi
Message:
On January 16, I told you about H.B. 421, the medical marijuana bill that was introduced in the Mississippi Legislature. That bill still awaits a hearing in the House Judiciary A Committee, so please click here to urge the committee members to consider this compassionate legislation.
Today, I’m writing to tell you about a few bad bills that are being considered in the state legislature.
As you may know, Mississippi is currently a "decriminalization" state -- meaning that first-offense possession of a small amount of marijuana is punishable only by a fine, not jail time. H.B. 492 would change this sensible law. The bill would sentence people to jail for five days if convicted of first-offense possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana. H.B. 1147 would go one step further: It proposes drastic increases in fines for marijuana possession, and even more outrageously, it would send low-level offenders to prison for six months!
These two bills have been referred to the House Judiciary A Committee, like the medical marijuana bill. Please take some time to call the committee members and urge them to vote for sensible marijuana policy, and against these two bad bills. Remind them that police, judicial, and correctional resources are already stretched thin enough- - and that they should vote against wasting more of Mississippi's resources. Remember to be polite, as we want to appeal to legislators, not alienate them. The committee members are:
Rep. Edward Blackmon Jr. (D-57 -- committee chairman -- (601) 859-1567
Rep. James C. Simpson Jr. (R-120) -- vice chairman -- (228) 863-6534
Rep. Mark Baker (R-74) -- (601) 824-7455
Rep. Earle S. Banks (D-67) -- (601) 969-2221
Rep. Gary Chism (R-37) -- (662) 327-0777
Rep. Bryant W. Clark (D-47) -- (662) 834-6133
Rep. Linda Coleman (D-29) -- (662) 843-5253
Rep. J. P. Compretta (D-122) -- (228) 467-1010
Rep. Bill Denny (R-64) -- (601) 956-6807
Rep. Tyrone Ellis (D-38) -- (662) 324-5433
Rep. Jamie Franks (D-19) -- (662) 842-0380
Rep. Frances Fredericks (D-119) -- (228) 864-9319
Rep. D. Stephen Holland (D-16) -- (662) 840-5000
Rep. Robert L. Johnson III (D-94) -- (601) 442-9371
Rep. John Mayo (D-25) -- (662) 902-8633
Rep. Bobby Moak (D-53) -- (800) 595-6244
Rep. Harvey Moss (D-2) -- (662) 287-6590
Rep. Willie J. Perkins Sr. (D-32) -- (662) 455-1211
Rep. John R. Reeves (R-71) -- (601) 355-9600
Rep. Thomas U. Reynolds (D-33) -- (662) 647-3203
Rep. Walter L. Robinson Jr. (D-63) -- (601) 866-7011
Rep. Margaret Rogers (D-14) -- number unlisted
Rep. Clayton Smith (R-59) -- (601) 992-1635
Rep. Mary Ann Stevens (D-48) -- (601) 359-9473
Rep. Percy W. Watson (D-103) -- (601) 545-1051
Additionally, Judiciary A will be considering two bad bills that have been introduced in the past but never made it out of committee. H.B. 210 would make it a felony to bring any controlled substance (including marijuana) into any state, county, or municipal building. And H.B. 486 would require a $1,000 fine and three days in jail for anyone convicted of any level of marijuana possession within 1,500 feet of a school.
These bills have failed in the past, but we don't want them to pass this time around. So, when speaking with the committee members, remember to urge them to vote against anything that would needlessly increase penalties and waste the state's resources. Please do put some time aside to call these legislators, as your voice will help ensure victory.
Finally, if you are a medical marijuana patient or a medical professional, and could testify in favor of the medical marijuana bill, please e-mail Anthony@mpp.org. Thank you to everyone who has already gotten in touch with us; unfortunately at this time we have not been able to translate your support into legislative results. We are working with various people in Mississippi to bring the issue of medical marijuana forward, so stay tuned for future developments.
Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please forward this message along to your family and friends in Mississippi, so that they, too, may become involved in reform.
