N.Y. Senate returning; ask Sen. Skelos to protect medical marijuana patients

The state Senate will be returning for special sessions on Friday, August 8 and Tuesday, August 19. Please e-mail or call Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to urge him to protect suffering patients by bringing an effective medical marijuana bill to a vote.

The Assembly overwhelmingly passed medical marijuana legislation, A. 4867-B, in June 2007 and again in June 2008. However, the Senate's Republican majority has failed to call a vote on allowing medical marijuana.

A. 4867-B, sponsored by Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), would apply only to patients with debilitating or life-threatening conditions whose doctors believe marijuana would be the best treatment option. It is modeled after laws that are working well without creating problems, laws like Rhode Island's and Vermont's.

The bill would initially allow patients to grow a limited supply of their own medicine, but that method of access would be replaced by state-regulated distribution once the federal government grants permission. This change was made to the bill in response to the Senate's concerns last year.

There is no excuse for the state to continue to label the seriously ill as criminals for relieving suffering. Please let Sen. Skelos know that patients have suffered far too long and that the medical marijuana bill should be brought to a vote.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this alert on to friends, family members, listservs, and discussion boards, so together we can make sure that New York's patients do not have to fear arrest for relieving their suffering.