New York City Council stands up for medical marijuana patients

Yesterday, the New York City Council passed a medical marijuana resolution by a landslide 44-4 vote. The resolution—Res. 71-A—makes New York the third city in the state to call on the state legislature to pass MPP-backed legislation to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and prosecution.

Res. 71-A spelled out the numerous reasons the City Council decided to endorse New York's medical marijuana bills, A. 5796-A and S. 4805. It mentioned that New York's MS, AIDS, epilepsy, and cancer patients have long sought legal access to medical marijuana, that there is much scientific support for medical marijuana, and that the American Nurses Association supports medical marijuana legislation. It also cited the particulars of New York's medical marijuana bill, the fact that federal law does not hinder states' rights to pass laws allowing medical marijuana, and the tremendous public support for medical marijuana in New York.

The council resolved, "the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to adopt A. 5796-A and S. 4805, which would legalize the possession, manufacture, sale, administration, delivery, dispensing and distribution of marijuana in connection with medical use for certified patients."

In the past year, Albany and Buffalo passed similar city council resolutions by overwhelming majorities. New York's resolution sends a strong message to the legislature that New Yorkers want the seriously ill to be protected from arrest. The New York City Council represents almost one-third of New York state's population.

Two of the three Republican council members who were present for the vote did not object to the resolution—Andrew Lanza (51st District) and James Oddo (50th District). Please thank Council Member Phillip Reed (D-8th District) for introducing Res. 71-A. And here's a special thank you to all of the New York City residents who helped take New York a step closer to passing A. 5796-A by urging the Health Committee to call the resolution to a vote and by contacting their Council members.

But our work is not done: If you have not yet made your views known to your state legislators, it's certainly not too late. Please take a few moments to visit Take Action. After you choose your favorite pre-written letter and type in your address, our site will automatically e-mail your letter to your legislators … all with the click of a few buttons. The whole process takes less than two minutes, but it makes a world of difference. Also, you can print the letters and send them to your legislators through regular mail.

Please pass this alert on to friends and family and invite them to join MPP in fighting for New York's medical marijuana patients.