Keep Building the Momentum for Ohio Medical Marijuana Bill

Published: November 17, 2006

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice heard sponsor testimony from Sen. Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown) on S.B. 74, which will protect seriously ill Ohio patients from the threat of arrest and imprisonment for using marijuana to treat their conditions.

Thank you to everyone who attended the hearing and took action over the last several days. But we don’t have time to let up! The Criminal Justice Committee needs to hear just how important S.B. 74 is to the well-being of the critically ill. Here’s what you can do right now to help us get a hearing with patient testimony:

1) Call the members of the Criminal Justice Committee. Legislators regularly tell us that a phone call from their constituents is very influential on their decisions regarding legislation.

The message can simple: "I strongly support S.B. 74, Sen. Hagan’s compassionate medical marijuana bill. People suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses should not go to jail if they use medical marijuana on their doctors’ advice. Please schedule S.B. 74 for a hearing with patient testimony."

You can click here for other talking points. Remember to be very polite and courteous when speaking to the senators or their staff. Here are the office phone numbers for each of the committee members:

Jim Jordan (chairman) – (614) 466-7584

Patricia Clancy – (614) 466-8068

Steve Austria – (614) 466-3780

Steve Stivers – (614) 466-5981

Timothy Grendell – (614) 644-7718

J. Kirk Schuring – (614) 466-0626

Marc Dann – (614) 466-0626

Eric Kearney – (614) 466-5980

Kimberly Zurz – (614) 466-7041

2) Write a personal letter to the members of the Criminal Justice Committee. Legislators respond much more favorably to letters that are personally crafted, rather than form letters. Please take a few minutes to tell the committee members how you feel. Please click here to find the contact information for each member of the committee.

We need to pull out all of the stops and make sure that committee members get the message loud and clear: Stop treating sick and dying patients as criminals! So, please call and write the committee members today.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this message along to your friends and family in Ohio so that others can stand up for the state’s most vulnerable residents.