Title:
Now is the critical time: Urge Democratic Conference Leader Sampson to give us a vote on S. 4041-B
Message:
On day three of the Legislature Watch, the clock keeps ticking towards the end of the session and patients are still waiting for their legislature to exercise some compassion. Since it appears the governor’s obstructionism has kept medical marijuana from its rightful place in the budget, we will have to pass our law as a standalone bill. While support for budget inclusion by Gov. Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wavered, Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) stood strong with seriously ill New Yorkers. Now, we must ask him again to stand with us and let S. 4041-B come up for a vote as soon as possible.
Please call Senator Sampson TODAY to thank him for his support, and urge him to give medical marijuana a vote in the Senate as soon as possible.
You’ve done a great job building momentum and spreading the word so far. Hundreds have called Gov. Paterson to ask him to stand up for patients. And yesterday more than a dozen patients, nurses, legislators, and health professionals turned out for a press conference to call on Gov. Paterson and the legislature to protect patients.
The Senate passed a resolution in March calling for medical marijuana to be included in the budget, and the Assembly has long been supportive of our issue — passing medical marijuana bills in 2007 and 2008. Now is the time for the Senate to step up and have the courage to pass the bill, with some Republican support if necessary. Please also ask your own senator to support the bill.
Make sure this compassionate bill does not slip away. Let Sen. Sampson know that the time to act is now and that we must get a vote. Please also urge other New Yorkers to follow suit. Forward this message to at least ten New Yorkers, post the link to your social networking sites, and otherwise spread the word. We must not let another year go by with patients criminalized for treating their illnesses.
Thank you for your support and compassion.
