For those of you who would like to see medical marijuana use legalized I've attached some text.
This was taken off of their website, mpp.org. In addition, you can sign up for the e-newsletter which keeps you up to date on this issue.
July 9,2002
Dear Friend,
Yesterday, amidst a mob of reporters, microphones, and TV cameras, the Marijuana Policy Project delivered 39,000 petition signatures to the D.C. government, virtually ensuring the placement of our medical marijuana initiative on the November 5 ballot in our nation's capital.
Please see http://www.mpp.org/dcinitiative/news.html for a catalogue of the print media coverage so far. In addition, four out of five local TV networks and three talk radio stations covered our news conference.
And there is sniping already between MPP and Congressman Bob Barr (R-Georgia), who has sponsored all of the bad medical marijuana amendments on the federal spending bill for D.C. since 1998. I was quoted in The Washington Times today as saying that we submitted far more signatures than were required because "We did not want some bad guys in Congress to challenge us on this." Bob Barr responded by saying, "The D.C. initiative is another attempt by the drug- legalization movement to move its agenda forward, to legalize marijuana under the pretext of 'medicinal' use."
After MPP successfully sued the federal government in March and defended itself against a lawsuit by a squad of mean-spirited local activists last month, we finally began our signature drive on June 13 to collect 17,500 valid signatures from D.C. registered voters. In only 25 days, we collected 39,000 total signatures, which will translate into roughly 20,000 valid signatures -- far more than are needed to qualify the medical marijuana measure for the ballot. The success of this drive would not have been possible if not for the 18-hour-a-day work of MPP's Kat DeBurgh, who coordinated the signature drive from the MPP office.
This signature drive cost approximately $60,000 -- $50,000 for 39,000 total signatures, plus another $10,000 for hotel and travel costs for professional petitioners. Of this $60,000, approximately $40,000 is coming from the Campaign for New Drug Policies, which is supporting various ballot drives across the country. In addition, MPP received a $4,000 check from an individual philanthropist and another $3,000 from the rest of MPP's nationwide membership.
Hence, the D.C. signature drive is about $13,000 in debt, and we need to raise an additional $5,000 to print 10,000 signs to hang up around D.C. later this month. (The signs will say, "This is OUR District, not Bob Barr's! Vote for medical marijuana AGAIN.") If you are interested in donating some of the $18,000 that we need to finish this campaign in D.C., please visit http://www.mpp.org/dcinitiative/contribute.html at your earliest convenience.
The D.C. government is expected to certify in early August that our initiative will appear on the November 5 ballot, and a super-majority of D.C. voters will surely pass the measure at that time. (A similar ballot measure passed in D.C. in 1998 with 69% of the vote, but that initiative was subsequently blocked by Congress from taking effect.)
MPP is already lobbying Congress not to block or overturn this year's initiative. We have had meetings with 80 congressional offices on Capitol Hill since April, and we are arranging meetings between constituents and 120 key U.S. House members in their local offices between now and Labor Day. If you are interested in meeting with your U.S. House member on this issue in his or her local district office, please respond to this message.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote in September on whether it will (1) allow D.C. voters to pass a medical marijuana law on November 5, or (2) overturn the will of D.C. voters even before we have a chance to vote on the initiative this November. To fax a pre- written letter to your U.S. House member on this issue, please see http://www.mpp.org/DCI/action.html.
Now that the intensive, 39,000-signature drive in D.C. is over, the fight in Congress is beginning. Please donate money now, please contact us about meeting with your U.S. House member personally, or please use our Web site to fax a pre-written letter. By taking action now, we can increase our chances of victory when Congress votes on the medical marijuana rider to the D.C. spending bill this September.
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
P.S. For more information on the D.C. medical marijuana initiative and/or to make a donation, please see http://www.mpp.org/dcinitiative/contribute.html.
This initiative has been largely staffed
and funded by the Marijuana Policy Project.
This was taken off of their website, mpp.org. In addition, you can sign up for the e-newsletter which keeps you up to date on this issue.
July 9,2002
Dear Friend,
Yesterday, amidst a mob of reporters, microphones, and TV cameras, the Marijuana Policy Project delivered 39,000 petition signatures to the D.C. government, virtually ensuring the placement of our medical marijuana initiative on the November 5 ballot in our nation's capital.
Please see http://www.mpp.org/dcinitiative/news.html for a catalogue of the print media coverage so far. In addition, four out of five local TV networks and three talk radio stations covered our news conference.
And there is sniping already between MPP and Congressman Bob Barr (R-Georgia), who has sponsored all of the bad medical marijuana amendments on the federal spending bill for D.C. since 1998. I was quoted in The Washington Times today as saying that we submitted far more signatures than were required because "We did not want some bad guys in Congress to challenge us on this." Bob Barr responded by saying, "The D.C. initiative is another attempt by the drug- legalization movement to move its agenda forward, to legalize marijuana under the pretext of 'medicinal' use."
After MPP successfully sued the federal government in March and defended itself against a lawsuit by a squad of mean-spirited local activists last month, we finally began our signature drive on June 13 to collect 17,500 valid signatures from D.C. registered voters. In only 25 days, we collected 39,000 total signatures, which will translate into roughly 20,000 valid signatures -- far more than are needed to qualify the medical marijuana measure for the ballot. The success of this drive would not have been possible if not for the 18-hour-a-day work of MPP's Kat DeBurgh, who coordinated the signature drive from the MPP office.
This signature drive cost approximately $60,000 -- $50,000 for 39,000 total signatures, plus another $10,000 for hotel and travel costs for professional petitioners. Of this $60,000, approximately $40,000 is coming from the Campaign for New Drug Policies, which is supporting various ballot drives across the country. In addition, MPP received a $4,000 check from an individual philanthropist and another $3,000 from the rest of MPP's nationwide membership.
Hence, the D.C. signature drive is about $13,000 in debt, and we need to raise an additional $5,000 to print 10,000 signs to hang up around D.C. later this month. (The signs will say, "This is OUR District, not Bob Barr's! Vote for medical marijuana AGAIN.") If you are interested in donating some of the $18,000 that we need to finish this campaign in D.C., please visit http://www.mpp.org/dcinitiative/contribute.html at your earliest convenience.
The D.C. government is expected to certify in early August that our initiative will appear on the November 5 ballot, and a super-majority of D.C. voters will surely pass the measure at that time. (A similar ballot measure passed in D.C. in 1998 with 69% of the vote, but that initiative was subsequently blocked by Congress from taking effect.)
MPP is already lobbying Congress not to block or overturn this year's initiative. We have had meetings with 80 congressional offices on Capitol Hill since April, and we are arranging meetings between constituents and 120 key U.S. House members in their local offices between now and Labor Day. If you are interested in meeting with your U.S. House member on this issue in his or her local district office, please respond to this message.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote in September on whether it will (1) allow D.C. voters to pass a medical marijuana law on November 5, or (2) overturn the will of D.C. voters even before we have a chance to vote on the initiative this November. To fax a pre- written letter to your U.S. House member on this issue, please see http://www.mpp.org/DCI/action.html.
Now that the intensive, 39,000-signature drive in D.C. is over, the fight in Congress is beginning. Please donate money now, please contact us about meeting with your U.S. House member personally, or please use our Web site to fax a pre-written letter. By taking action now, we can increase our chances of victory when Congress votes on the medical marijuana rider to the D.C. spending bill this September.
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
P.S. For more information on the D.C. medical marijuana initiative and/or to make a donation, please see http://www.mpp.org/dcinitiative/contribute.html.
This initiative has been largely staffed
and funded by the Marijuana Policy Project.
:devil: 
