cannabisnews.com: Advocates Push for Legislative Action on MMJ Advocates Push for Legislative Action on MMJ Posted by CN Staff on March 07, 2004 at 16:13:33 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press Burlington, Vt. -- Some advocates of medical marijuana want last week's overwhelming vote in Burlington to send a message to lawmakers that they want legislative action and they hope one lawmaker can make the difference. Supporters of medicinal marijuana consider Rep. Bill Keogh, D-Burlington, critical in the vote to pass a bill legalizing the substance this year. Keogh, also a Burlington city councilor representing the South End, said he supports the bill, but its status is not up to him. A bill's status is up to the committee chair, Keogh said. The bill is sitting in a House committee in Montpelier awaiting action. Committee Chairman Tom Koch, R-Barre, said it's unlikely the bill will get much further this session."It's all pressure that group is going to put on me," Keogh said of the Vermont chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which sent out a news release identifying him as the committee's swing vote. Keogh said he received numerous post cards urging him to support the bill and, on Town Meeting Day, his district was peppered with signs supporting the measure.Tuesday, 82 percent of Burlington voters said they favored legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. The vote is advisory and is not binding. Those who support the measure hope the Burlington vote will give the bill a chance to pass this legislative session."It is to send a message," said Hardy Machia, president of Vermont NORML. "It's really straight from the voters."A majority vote in the House Health and Welfare Committee could free the legislation from limbo, but the vote is split, Machia said. In the middle is Keogh, Machia said.The bill's sponsor, Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, agreed."It's certainly a signal to Burlington legislators that voters support this," Zuckerman said of the citywide vote. "I think it encourages Rep. Keogh to put more effort in to pass it out of committee."In 2002, the House passed a bill that would have legalized medical marijuana, but it never made it out of the Senate. Keogh supported that bill.This session, the Senate passed the bill with a vote of 22-7. The issue awaits action in the House.The bill under consideration would exempt patients with certain chronic conditions or illnesses -- cancer, HIV and glaucoma, for example -- from arrest and prosecution for possession of limited amounts of marijuana.The committee is split pretty evenly on the issue, Koch said. A majority of the 11 committee members would have to vote to bring the bill up for discussion, "but I think that would throw a monkey wrench into the committee schedule," Koch said.Complete Title: Advocates Push for Legislative Action on Medical MarijuanaSource: Associated Press Published: March 07, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Vermont NORMLhttp://www.vtnorml.org/TV Commercial Supports Burlington's Question 9 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18394.shtmlMarijuana Group Targets Vt. Legislatorshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17535.shtmlMedical Pot Law Opposed by Douglas http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15583.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by afterburner on March 08, 2004 at 07:32:51 PT: Just a Reminder - Wed. - Chat w/ Ethan Nadelmann What Would God Smoke? The Spiritual Roots of Drug ReformLive Audio Chat - Wednesday March 10 - 3 PM Eastern/Noon Pacific - Please join me and renowned thinker, writer and spiritual pioneer Ram Dass for a very special online discussion about spirituality and the 'war on drugs.' Bookmark this page so that you can join the chat: http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/dass_chat.cfm . We will be answering questions from listeners during the discussion. If you would like to submit one, please send a message to questions drugpolicy.org . [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 07, 2004 at 20:04:22 PT Comments By Johnny Depp in USA Today Article Excerpt from Article:March 7, 2004Depp's comments to GQ about drugs and children provoked some outrage. Depp sets the record straight: "The journalist asked me, 'What about when your kids get to the age where they want to experiment with drugs?' All I was saying was I pray that they don't. Who wants their kids on drugs? All I was trying to say was that if it gets to that point, if they're going to do it, I don't want them going out on the street and getting something illegally that could put them in trouble and could kill them, because it could be laced with something. "And all I was talking about specifically was marijuana. Rather than have them go out on the street and get some nasty, potentially fatal stuff, I would rather say, 'Look, this is marijuana. I know where it came from. And if you really need to try it, try it here in the house and be safe.' They immediately misconstrued it, like I was prepared to go out and score all kinds of drugs for my kids. It was just ludicrous."http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-03-07-depp_x.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by John Tyler on March 07, 2004 at 18:59:45 PT Overwhelming support Funny, even with overwhelming public support the politicians are still afraid to support cannabis. I wonder if they get pressure from the Feds?A recent poll in Canada.com showed over 92% approval for legal cannabis. I don't think the Parliment will follow the public's wishes though. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment