Marijuana Bills in the House of Representatives

Okay guys, here is our chance to effect change. Barney Frank and Ron Paul have introduced bills in the House of Representatives. One bill, H.R. 5842, is a "Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act" which seeks to enact legal protections for authorized medical marijuana patients. The other bill, H.R. 5843 is to remove federal penalties for personal use of marijuan by reponsible adults. I have not researched these bills fully but anything which brings legalization closer to reality is okay in my book. Please contact your congressperson and tell them you support these bills. I, for one, have a very hard time standing up in support of these bills because I don't want to be identified but the time has come. I'm a tail end baby boomer and I can't believe after all we have been through (civil rights, summer of love) we haven't changed the laws concerning the legalization of marijuana. Weren't we the ones who were going to change the world? NORML has a form which you can sign your name and they will email it to your congressperson if you can't think of what to say. Do it for the team!

Granny Toker is putting the challenge on everybody. Changing a law is going to take is a steady stream of contact to each Congressperson, each Senator, and the President. I'm cross posting the info below to a number of forums; political reality changes when people contact their elected officials. Lots of people. Lots of contact, and in a friendly, supportive approach. (It's not really rallies and overgrow and news-worthy stuff; just a steady stream of personal contact, so the official understands the next election will depend on an appropriate response and action on his/her part.) Come across as a concerned citizen, taxpayer, and voter (and if you're not registered to vote, go get registered. Today. Sounds obvious, but a lot of people aren't registered. Change happens at the polls!)
To see how it works, check out this School House Rock short film called I'm Just a Bill ----- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ

Then grab a pen and paper and write your Congressperson!
Here’s a template for a friendly, supportive letter to a Congressperson, Senator, State Representative, etc. This is the kind of letter that will get their attention, because it comes across as the friendly, tax-paying citizens that most people are. Letters that are rude or too stoney aren’t going to have nearly the impact that a friendly, supportive approach will get (So it's a good idea to steer clear of the “Dear Dude, we all have, like, the inalienable right to, you know, do whatever…” approach). Something like the following is a good start:
1) Go to https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml to get the name and address of your Congressperson. This will take less than a minute. Do it now and you’ll have it out of the way.
2) Write the letter. You can make it look like the one below or any way you like; this is just a sample. Spend at least two or three minutes on it, check the spelling, and read it out loud to yourself to see if it makes sense. (Do this while your in a sensible frame of mind,). You don’t have to be a great writer; just stick to the point and keep it short, i.e, not more than one page.
3) Find friend to write a letter, too. Share this material with him or her at your next get together.
4) Repeat the process at least once a week. Make it your personal mission to do two things: Get a letter like this into the hands of your Congressperson, each Senator, and the President, every month (that’s four letters a month), and get some friends to do the same. SERIOUS NOTE from the world of politics: It only takes a dozen letters to create the impression of significant public interest; an elected official getting a dozen letters a week will really feel the public presence.

Here’s a sample letter.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City State and ZIP

January 99, 2008

The Honorable Name of Congressperson / Senator / etc.
Address x_https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Dear Congressman/Congresswoman/Senator LastName:

I am writing to ask you to <whatever it is you want him or her to do>.

Thanks for your time, and keep up the great work!

Sincerely,


Your Name


The Prohibitionists say marijuana leads to lack of motivation. Is it true, or will a few interested folks take this on and actually get this process moving?***




School house rock, “I’m just a bill.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ


“Make Room for Serious Criminals” act (Barney Frank’s bills, spring 200

Here are some “talking points” that if you can work into the conversation in your own words, all the better:

• 830,000 people were arrested for marijuana in 2006
• 89% of those arrests were for possession only
• Adults who use marijuana responsibly are not part of the crime problem
• A marijuana arrest can needlessly cause the loss of a career, housing, student aid, and more.
• Twelve states already have decriminalized personal possession of marijuana
• Federal resources would be better spent on meaningful crime
• Current federal penalties call for up to a $1,000 fine and one year in prison for as little as a joint.
• One third of the US population live in states that have decriminalized marijuana

Most of all, be sure to let them know this issue is important to you and it will help determine how you vote in future elections.
*You only have one Congressperson. You also have two Senators. After you write your Congressperson, contact your two Senators and ask them to sponsor companion legislation to Barney Frank’s HR5843 to end federal penalties for personal marijuana possession.

They were introduced a month or two ago but are they actually going to debate the bill? cause from this its still just sitting somewhere there. hxxp://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-5843 (change hxxp to http)

It will either die in committee or get debated and voted on. If enough citizens contact their congressperson, it will get debated and move forward. It's up to each person to contact his or her congressperson. The more contact, the more likely there will be progress.