New York Senate doesn't vote on medical marijuana; patients needed

Thank you to the more than 400 people who took the time to ask your state senators to put medical marijuana on the agenda for the October 22 special session. You let the senators know their constituents care about this issue. But, unfortunately, they have not yet voted on giving the sick and dying the protection they deserve.

We can't give up now ... New York is still on the brink of becoming the 13th state to stop prosecuting the seriously ill.

If you have battled a serious illness, or have a loved one who did, and your state senator is a Republican, we need your help. Please contact Karen O'Keefe at Karen@mpp.org or 202-462-5747, ext. 121 if you fit that criteria and are interested in meeting with your state senator. (If you are not sure who that is, you can write Karen@mpp.org and include your address, or you can look up your state senator at Congress.org.) The meetings would be in the senators' district offices, which should be fairly close to your residence. And you wouldn't be alone … Vince Marrone, a seasoned former legislative staffer who is MPP's lobbyist in New York, would join you.

Additionally, if you have not yet e-mailed or called your state senator, please do so. Legislators often think that medical marijuana is a controversial issue. They seldom realize that the vast majority of their constituents — 76% of New Yorkers — support medical marijuana legislation. Let your state senator know that protecting the seriously ill is not only the compassionate thing to do … it's also what his or her constituents want.

A phone call will have even more impact than an e-mail. You can look up your state senator's name and contact information at Congress.org. Before making the call, you can look over this background information.

The state's medical community and the majority of Republican, Democrat, independent and Conservative Party voters support allowing medical marijuana. The Assembly already passed Assemblyman Richard Gottfried's (D-Manhattan) compassionate bill in June, and the governor indicated his support for the issue. But the Senate has not yet voted on medical marijuana, even though it has come back for three special sessions.

Thank you for your support. Please pass this on to other compassionate New Yorkers, so together we can make sure no seriously ill patient faces arrest for relieving their suffering.