New York medical marijuana bill sails through Assembly Health Committee

Yesterday, the New York Assembly Health Committee stood up for the sick and dying. The committee’s members voted 18-6 to pass Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried’s (D-Manhattan) medical marijuana bill — A. 8265.

While this win is heartening, the bill has a long way to travel and only about a month is left in the legislative session! If you haven’t done so already, please ask your senator and Assembly member to support this compassionate bill that would allow the critically ill to follow their doctors’ advice without risking arrest. Our automated system and pre-written letters make it quick and easy for you to raise your voice.

In this election year, it’s crucial that legislators know that voters care about this issue. Many legislators are timid on the issue of medical marijuana and don’t realize how widespread support is. Only constituents like you can change that perception. According to former U.S. Congressman Billy Evans (D-GA), “Legislators estimate that 10 letters from constituents represent the concerns of 10,000 citizens. Anybody who will take the time to write is voicing the fears and desires of thousands more.”

A. 8265 would remove statewide penalties from the doctor-advised, medical use of marijuana by patients with life threatening illnesses. Patients and their caregivers could also cultivate a limited amount of marijuana. Thanks to caring people like you, the bill already has 44 Assembly cosponsors. Its next stop is Assembly Codes, which passed a similar medical marijuana bill by 15-1 in 2004.

Please take action now! And if you have an extra minute, please personalize your letter. Adding even an extra sentence or two will give your letter much greater impact. You may want to tell your representative a story about a close friend or family member who has needed medical marijuana; that you sympathize with medical marijuana patients because a loved one has suffered from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, or another debilitating illness; or your own, personal reason that he or she should support the bill.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this alert on to your neighbors, friends, and family, and together we can protect New York’s seriously ill from arrest.