cannabisnews.com: Active Advocacy: Make a Call for Cheryl Active Advocacy: Make a Call for Cheryl Posted by CN Staff on September 23, 2003 at 14:56:33 PT By Tom Angell Source: Good 5 Cent Cigar My friend Cheryl Miller passed away on June 7. Cheryl, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, spent the last uncomfortable decade of her life fighting for legal access to marijuana, the medicine she used to alleviate the symptoms of her debilitating disease. Even though many scientific studies have shown that marijuana has many therapeutic uses, the federal government has refused to sanction its use for patients with doctor recommendations. Nonetheless, 10 states now have laws that offer differing degrees of legal protection to medical marijuana users. This discrepancy between state and federal laws has caused much confusion, and the Bush Administration has declared war on medical marijuana patients and providers. Attorney General John Ashcroft has instructed the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to strictly enforce federal laws barring the medical use of marijuana. Consequently, patients in California and other states have been forced to obtain their medicine from the streets, instead of from legitimate cannabis dispensaries that are sanctioned by state and local officials.A recent Time/CNN opinion poll showed that over 80 percent of Americans support safe and legal access to medical marijuana for the terminally ill and seriously disabled. The federal government's handling of the medical marijuana issue is yet another example of President George W. Bush's disdain for democracy. Because federal law doesn't recognize the medical use of marijuana, defendants in federal trials aren't even allowed to mention that they use or grow the drug for medical reasons. This was what happened in the widely publicized trial of Ed Rosenthal, who was deputized by the city of Oakland, Calif. to grow medical marijuana. After a trial where his defense was ordered by the judge not to mention the words 'medical' and 'marijuana' in the same sentence, jurors convicted him. When they found out what they had done, a majority of the jurors immediately called for a retrial. This, along with a huge media buzz, pressured the judge into sentencing Rosenthal to only one day in prison and releasing him on time served.There is something very wrong in America when defendants in criminal trials aren't even allowed to present all the pertinent facts of a case.Fortunately, there are two bills in the U.S. House of Representatives that would end the federal government's harassment of the sick and dying. H.R. 2233, the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act, would reschedule marijuana under federal law and allow states to decide the issue for themselves. H.R. 1717, the Truth in Trials Act, would establish an affirmative defense for medical marijuana trials, allowing the accused to introduce evidence showing that they were acting in accordance with state laws.Today, medical marijuana patients and supporters are visiting congressional offices on Capitol Hill to lobby for H.R. 2233 and H.R. 1717 as part of the Cheryl Miller Memorial Project. While these individuals are physically visiting offices in Washington, supporters from around the country will be participating in a National Phone Slam. Organizers hope that this tag-team effort can influence some on-the-fence legislators to take a positive stance on the medical marijuana issue.Just three months before Cheryl Miller's death, she and her husband Jim made the arduous trip to the University of Rhode Island from their home in New Jersey to speak at the 2003 Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Northeast Regional Conference. Over the course of one weekend, Cheryl impacted the lives of dozens of young people by sharing her story. Meeting Cheryl was a life-changing experience for me. Never before have I been so inspired to fight for a single cause. For many people in attendance, Cheryl's presence was an affirmation that what we are doing is very right (and that what the federal government is doing is very wrong). Please find the time today to make a single toll-free call to your representative in congress and urge him or her to support H.R. 2233 and H.R. 1717. Visit -- http://www.cheryldcmemorial.org -- for more details or stop by URI SSDP's booth in the memorial union today from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. If you haven't made up your mind on the issue of medical marijuana, ask yourself: should Cheryl Miller have been arrested for using the one medicine that made the last years of her life liveable?Source: Good 5 Cent Cigar (RI Edu)Author: Tom AngellPublished: September 23, 2003Copyright: 2003 Good 5 Cent CigarContact: cigar etal.uri.eduWebsite: http://www.ramcigar.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:SSDPhttp://www.ssdp.org/Is My Medicine Legal YET?http://immly.org/Cheryl Miller Memorial Projecthttp://www.cheryldcmemorial.org/The Death of Cheryl Miller - Richard Cowanhttp://marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=695Outside View: Arrest MS, Not Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17382.shtmlWisconsin Marijuana Activists To Travel To D.C.http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17106.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by SylverGryphon3 on September 25, 2003 at 13:19:39 PT: Medical marijuana I really think that the government should really rethink their policy on Medical Marijuana. I know that's a lot to ask but this is ridiculous. There are so many people out there with real pain that normal pain killers just won't do. My father has a really bad back and sometimes a puff or two on a joint helps him do everyday tasks. And it really stinks that when something like this comes up in a trial your not allowed to say those two little words that the whole trial is about. I'm not sure if a petition would help and I know that there has been quite a few but maybe we should just keep trying until finally they see that there can be some good to come out of this plant. That's another thing. Marijuana is a plant just like tobacco, why is tobacco legal and Marijuana not when it clearly has some "healing" proporties? It comes from God's earth. Just my opinion. Thanks for listening. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by ekim on September 23, 2003 at 20:37:01 PT 80 percent where are our electedones There is something very wrong in America when defendants in criminal trials aren't even allowed to present all the pertinent facts of a case.where are the screen play writers. or just play writers, or just writers. where are the storys of real live people let alone the dearly departed. this story should be running on broadway as we speak. the people are compassionate when told the truth. Howard last night kept sayen that it should be states rights. he said 80 percent for med too. he said it should be in 7/11 like beer and smokes he said that his group has 400 members in a year.he said that the AG is trying to shut down all the med states, and trying to get doctors in truble by haveing narks going and asking for pain meds and then busting the doc which has chilled the mds, he spoke highly of the swiss needle project saying that 60 percent of street crime was down and less aids. he covered the gamit. i am not ever satisfied as i did not have his Leap web site under his picture and do to my not cking the computer cnews web site was under Howard. FoM can you put up Leap in the group corner sometime. Howard i am sorry. minorml.org listing Leap site with write up of show. it will be shown in Grand Rapids as i copyed and took it to the access station today.Have asked about cds and its possiable but still over my head now. the jpee debate could be with Dennis Kucinich and being held at U.Mississippi and it would center on to keep the cannabis program or not, and let the best man be left standing. as a outcome of the debate so should the lawmakers have to vote on the med bills. Gov. Johnson should be the broker like the peoples lobbyest for cannabis.I hope we can get more people to know and remember people like Mrs. Miller. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment