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Allow Health Care Patients Access to Therapy - Not Time Behind Bars

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Marijuana Policy Project

For thousands of years, marijuana has reduced symptoms for the seriously ill effectively, and has helped improve their quality of life. Dozens of medical and health organizations endorse or allow patients access to medical marijuana with their physicians’ approval. Marijuana has been used therapeutically to control pain, alleviate nausea and vomiting in cancer patients due to chemotherapy, treat wasting due to HIV/AIDS, combat muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and more.

To date, 12 states have passed medical marijuana laws. While the laws differ from state to state, they all work to protect patients and caregivers from criminal charges associated with their medicine.

The bipartisan Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill would stop the U.S. Department of Justice from spending taxpayer money to arrest or prosecute legitimate patients -- and their caregivers -- in states where medical marijuana is legal.

Seriously ill patients have the right to effective therapies. To deny patients access to such a therapy is to deny them dignity and respect as persons.

Urge Congress to pass the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment and allow health care patients the medicine they need!

deadline: 6-25-2008
goal: 20,000

17,467
signatures!

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Dear Representative [Last Name],

Please vote for the Hinchey medical marijuana amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill when it comes to the House floor for a vote.

The Hinchey amendment would prohibit the Justice Department -- including the DEA -- from spending funds to interfere with state medical marijuana laws.

Your support for this amendment would be consistent with the views of most Americans. Seventy eight percent of Americans support "making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering." (Gallup poll, 2005)

Since 1996, 12 states have enacted laws to protect patients afflicted with HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other serious diseases from arrest and prison. In fact, just last month the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), America’s second largest cancer charity and the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services, endorsed medical marijuana access. In their June 2007 statement, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society “strongly urge[s] that in a state where patients are permitted to use marijuana medicinally for serious and/or chronic illnesses and a patient's physician has recommended its use in accordance with that state's law and that state’s medical practice standards, the patient should not be subject to federal criminal penalties for such medical use.”

The American Nurses Association has consistently supported protections for patients who use marijuana for medical purposes under their physicians’ supervision. They are joined by many other health care organizations, as well as thousands of doctors and health care professionals who are on record as supporting medical marijuana and opposing the arrest of patients who use medical marijuana.

[Your Comments Here]

I urge you to support the Hinchey amendment. Your vote of support will benefit tens of thousands of patients, and I will be immensely grateful. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]

We signed the “Allow Health Care Patients Access to Therapy - Not Time Behind Bars” petition!

# 250:

4:28 pm PDT, Jul 11, Ernest Canning, California

# 249:

4:27 pm PDT, Jul 11, Michael Eisenberg, Illinois
Don't deny them!

# 248:

4:27 pm PDT, Jul 11, Melissa Mays, Pennsylvania

# 247:

4:27 pm PDT, Jul 11, Name not displayed, Arizona

# 246:

4:27 pm PDT, Jul 11, G Walko, New York

# 245:

4:27 pm PDT, Jul 11, Kathy Reid, Washington

# 244:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Name not displayed, Virginia

# 243:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Charles Chiusano, Florida
These are patients we are talking about, not criminals. It seems no matter how many states legalize usage, it is the Federal government that needs to change the laws governing medical marijuana.

# 242:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Ladye Jane Stuart, California

# 241:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Diane Verrochi, Connecticut

# 240:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Tom Harju, Florida
It is important that a drug that is approved by the medical community for relief of pain and suffering be made available to those who need it.

# 239:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Linda L. Holasek, Wisconsin
The medical use of marijuana should not be a crime.

# 238:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Charles Stiffler, Arizona

# 237:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Name not displayed, Illinois

# 236:

4:26 pm PDT, Jul 11, Donegal Higgins, Missouri

# 235:

4:25 pm PDT, Jul 11, Dana Stripling, Texas

# 234:

4:25 pm PDT, Jul 11, Doug Sedon, Maryland

# 233:

4:25 pm PDT, Jul 11, John Graf, Washington

# 232:

4:25 pm PDT, Jul 11, Rick Bliton Sr, Ohio
If we let the government regulate all the medicine that is needed, then whats next. We are losing our rights now, its almost like a police state.

# 231:

4:25 pm PDT, Jul 11, George Hahn, New York

# 230:

4:25 pm PDT, Jul 11, Robin Terry, Arizona

# 229:

4:25 pm PDT, Jul 11, Jennifer Driver, Arizona

# 228:

4:25 pm PDT, Jul 11, Michael Lawes, Virginia

# 227:

4:24 pm PDT, Jul 11, Robin Griego, Nebraska

# 226:

4:24 pm PDT, Jul 11, Cheri Shumate, Oklahoma
Surely our lawmakers can see the folly of criminalizing a substance that offers rare relief to suffering people who are truly ill. As someone who has watched a family member die from lymphoma, I can assure you these people should not be lumped in with those being prosecuted for illicit drug use. Hopefully, our lawmakers have the intellectual capacity to realize how beneficial the practical use of medical marijuana can be, and not disallow it with a knee-jerk reaction to the war on drugs.

# 225:

4:24 pm PDT, Jul 11, James Brewster, New Jersey

# 224:

4:24 pm PDT, Jul 11, Name not displayed, Minnesota

# 223:

4:24 pm PDT, Jul 11, David Teague, North Carolina

# 222:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Jeannette Lenard, California
I fully support the legalization of medical marijuana. It is non addictive unlike other legal and prescribed medications with no negative side effects.

# 221:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Peggy Murray, Florida

# 220:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Elliot Lubar, Wisconsin

# 219:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Name not displayed, Colorado
The disinformation campaigns coming out of Washington STARTED with "reefer madness," the inability to distinguish between life-threatening synthetic drugs and pot. It's far past time to stop this particular madness!

# 218:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Name not displayed, California
We know that the lumber, clothing, alcohol and medical lobbies are all schmoozing you to keep any form of hemp illegal, no matter how much farmland (less cotton) or how many thousands of acres of rain forests can be saved , or how much greater life styles people might enjoy if they had more than one choice of recreational "drug", not to mention, of course, medical uses that big pharma won't be able to control.... Have you looked at lately the statistics on how many deaths are related to alcohol consumption and alcoholism? If you're not going to decriminalize marijuana for the planet saving, life enhancing benefits that it offers, then why not let's go back to full prohibition of alcohol as well. You are OUR EMPLOYEES; NEVER FORGET THAT. Just because you take money from special interests that does not relieve you of your job responsiblities, your oaths of office. Start putting people first for a change; a novelty that could save the planet. Peace

# 217:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Brian Kie Weissbuch, California

# 216:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Julia C. Benedetti, California

# 215:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Onita J., Arizona
As someone who may need to utilize medical marijuana in the future, I do not want to penalized for wanting treatment to ease my discomfort/pain. Would you want your loved one in pain?

# 214:

4:23 pm PDT, Jul 11, Name not displayed, Oregon

# 213:

4:22 pm PDT, Jul 11, Terri Reischl, Minnesota

# 212:

4:22 pm PDT, Jul 11, Teri Johnston, Utah

# 210:

4:22 pm PDT, Jul 11, Dave Mount, Missouri
As a faculty member at a pharmacy school, I wholly support the patients' right to access medications that are properly prescribed and used to alleviate a detrimental medical condition to improve the quality of their lives, regardless that this medication has a "bad rap" simply because of its widely recognized abuse! Should we ban drugs like codeine just because some people abuse it or is it more intelligent to control its use and distribution?

# 209:

4:22 pm PDT, Jul 11, Adrienne Ward, Texas

# 208:

4:22 pm PDT, Jul 11, Siamak Vossoughi, California

# 207:

4:21 pm PDT, Jul 11, Sally B Yones, Oklahoma
Give these poor people some relief.

# 206:

4:21 pm PDT, Jul 11, Betty McElhill, California

# 205:

4:21 pm PDT, Jul 11, Cheryl DuFour, Arizona

# 204:

4:21 pm PDT, Jul 11, Mark Lainer, Florida

# 203:

4:21 pm PDT, Jul 11, Gina Gregoire, North Carolina
Sick people are not thugs, don't treat them as such. Marijuana is an herb of the Earth and here for our benefit. It's time to think of the welfare of the many and not just your political career.

# 202:

4:21 pm PDT, Jul 11, Mary Lu Kelley, Hawaii
Please allow health care patients access to this proven therapy. It should not be a crime to provide help and relief to those suffering.

# 201:

4:20 pm PDT, Jul 11, Cassandra Gardner, Michigan

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Allow Health Care Patients Access to Therapy - Not Time Behind Bars

This petition has been closed.