Medical marijuana lobby day on October 23

Published: October 13, 2006

The Ohio Patient Network (OPN) — an MPP grant recipient — will hold a lobby day for S.B. 74, the Ohio Medical Marijuana Act, on Monday, October 23, at the Statehouse in Columbus. Please contact zane@mpp.org if you are interested in joining medical marijuana patients and health care advocates to urge your state senator to support this compassionate and sensible bill.

S.B. 74 is sponsored by Senator Bob Hagan (D - Youngstown) and would permit the medical use of marijuana by patients with qualified medical conditions under a doctor’s supervision. This legislation would protect patients, their caregivers, and their doctors from the threat of arrest and prosecution for using or possessing medical marijuana.

Unfortunately, S.B. 74 is currently stalled in the Criminal Justice Committee, which is chaired by Senator Jim Jordan (R - Urbana). This bill cannot move forward until there is a committee hearing, which would include patients’ testimony. We need your help to get this hearing. Legislators really do care about what their constituents think about important issues like this, especially if you take the time to see them in person.

Simultaneously, OPN member Tonya Davis — medical marijuana patient and activist — will conclude her five-day “Roll with Tonya” journey from Cincinnati to Columbus with a press conference and multiple

speakers from 11:00 a.m. — 2:00 p.m. on the High Street lawn of the Ohio Statehouse.

If you are interested in participating in this vital lobbying effort, please contact Zane Hurst by e-mailing zane@mpp.org for details. If you or someone you know is suffering from a debilitating condition or is a medical professional, member of law enforcement, or public official, your presence during the lobby day could be tremendously influential. Please remember to dress and act professionally; we want to engage legislators, not alienate them.

If you are unable to attend the event on October 23, you can still take action by urging the Criminal Justice Committee to give Sen. Hagan’s compassionate bill a hearing, or by writing a letter-to-the-editor in support of S.B. 74. Please visit www.OhioPatient.net for more information on S.B. 74.

It is time for our elected officials to enact sane and compassionate legislation that puts an end to the prohibition of a substance that offers healing and hope to so many who have severe medical conditions that may have no other successful treatment. We hope that you will be able to attend the lobby day on October 23.

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.