[Mtnorml-list] ACTION ALERT: Hearing TODAY Friday - 3/20 - Urge legislators to support SB 326

[Montana NORML]

Friends,

We urgently need your help! TODAY, the House Human Services Committee
hearing on SB 326 begins promptly at 3 pm in room 152 of the capitol
building.

Just a few weeks ago, the Senate passed SB 326 –  a medical marijuana
program-improvement bill – with only a few amendments.  Now, it is vital
that members of the House Human Services Committee understand how this
legislation will greatly contribute to the future security and
well-being of the state’s medical marijuana patients.

Here's what you can do:
** Attend the hearing in person.
** Call: 406-444-4800
** Fax: 406-444-4825

Ask to leave a message for all members of the HOUSE HUMAN SERVICES
COMMITTEE.  Your message can be simply "Please support SB 326" or,
something longer like "Medical marijuana is invaluable to patients -
please support SB 326".

House Human Services Committee
Arlene Becker, chairperson (D-Billings)
Mary Caffero, vice-chair (D-Helena)
Pat Ingraham, vice-chair (R-Thompson Falls)
Bill Beck (R-Whitefish)
Julie French (D-Scobey)
Tim Furey (D-Milltown)
David Howard (R-Park City)
Chuck Hunter (D-Helena)
Dave McAlpin (D-Missoula)
Michael More (R-Gallatin Gateway)
Pat Noonan (D-Ramsay)
Ken Peterson (R-Billings)
Diane Sands (D-Missoula)
Cary Smith (R-Billings)
Ron Stoker (R-Darby)
Jeff Wellborn (R-Dillon)

In politely urging each member to support SB 326, here's some
information prepared by our friends at Patients & Families United
(mtpfu.org) you may wish to share:

* Medical marijuana is invaluable to patients – and Montana voters
overwhelmingly want patients with physician recommendations to have
access to the medicine they need.  SB 326 is designed to make it much
easier for patients to be assured of success.

* SB 326 will make it easier for patients and their caregivers to grow
steady supplies of medical marijuana.  It also will allow patients (and
caregivers) to turn for help from other caregivers when their own
gardens aren’t ready yet.

* The current law is far too restrictive.  For patients who need to
ingest (rather than vaporize or smoke) their medicine, it is virtually
impossible to function legally under the current law.  Even with the
improvements of SB 326, patients and their caregivers combined would
only be allowed to possess at any time the equivalent of 3-weeks of
medicine under the regime the federal government uses for its medical
marijuana program (the feds distribute 8 ounces per month to patients;
SB 326 allows a total of 6 ounces for patient/caregiver combined).

* SB 326 embraces the spirit of the decision Montana voters made –
which, in turn, was summarized by President George W. Bush in his 2007
State of the Union address:  “In all we do, we must remember that the
best health care decisions are made not by government and insurance
companies, but by patients and their doctors.”

You can email legislators here (use back-spacing to make it easy to send
the same message to multiple legislators quickly):
http://leg.mt.gov/css/sessions/61st/legwebmessage.asp

You can read the current version of SB 326 here:
http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2009/billpdf/SB0326.pdf

Please, take action now!

Heather Masterson
Montana NORML
http://www.montananorml.org/