cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - July 26, 2007





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - July 26, 2007
Posted by CN Staff on July 26, 2007 at 12:08:02 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML
Congress Votes To Continue Prosecution Of State-Authorized Medi-Pot Patients -- 165 House members – the most ever – vote to end federal raids in California, 11 other statesJuly 26, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: State-authorized patients and their caregivers who possess or use medical cannabis will continue to be subject to federal arrest and prosecution, after the House of Representatives rejected a proposed amendment that sought to limit the US Justice Department’s ability to federally prosecute patients and caregivers who are compliant with state medical marijuana laws.
The House voted 262 to 165 against the bi-partisan measure, sponsored by Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY). The 165 House votes in favor of the patient-protection provision was the highest total ever recorded in a Congressional floor vote to liberalize marijuana laws. Of those who voted in support of the Hinchey/Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment, 15 were Republicans (a loss of three votes from 2006) and 150 were Democrats (a gain of six votes vote from last year)."The newly elected Democrat Congress had an opportunity to stop wasting taxpayers' dollars arresting seriously ill patients who possess and use medical cannabis in compliance with state law," NORML Executive Director St Pierre said. "Sadly, 262 members of Congress – including 80 Democrats and 182 Republicans – chose instead to continue prosecuting patients."Representatives Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), along with Reps. Steven Cohen (D-TN) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) spoke in favor of the amendment, while Republican Reps. Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ) and David Weldon (FL) spoke in opposition to the proposed measure. In his testimony before the House, Rep. Frelinghuysen reported that he’d recently received a letter from Drug Czar John Walters urging him and his colleagues to oppose the Hinchey/Rohrabacher amendment.Earlier this month, officials from the US Drug Enforcement Administration issued letters to the landlords of several medical cannabis facilities in Los Angeles warning owners that they risk arrest and the loss of their property if they continue renting to cannabis dispensaries. In addition, the DEA has taken action against more than a dozen dispensaries in southern California in the past week – including ten yesterday. It is estimated that approximately 180 dispensaries are operating in the Los Angeles area."It is immoral and unconscionable that the DEA continues to take these heavy-handed and coercive efforts to deny patients access to their medicine, and it is even more disappointing that they continue to have the blessing of Congress to continue to do so," St. Pierre said.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Dale Gieringer, California NORML Coordinator, at (415) 563-5858. Final vote tallies for the Hinchey/Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment are available online at: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll733.xmlDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7313NORML To Offer First-Ever "Sensible Amsterdam" Tour --Join NORML and CS Travel on a guided tour of Amsterdam and learn what "genuine freedom looks like"July 26, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), in conjunction with CS Travel, welcomes the public to join us this January in the Netherlands to participate in the first-ever "Sensible Amsterdam" freedom tour. This unique weeklong extravaganza, scheduled to take place from January 18th to January 25th in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, will be an extraordinary cultural, educational, and recreational event – enabling the public to experience first-hand what life is like in a city that legally regulates the consumption and sale of cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol.Tour packages include: a private tour of some of Amsterdam’s most renowned coffee-shops; educational seminars with various coffee-shop proprietors, local law enforcement officials, members of the Cannabis Retailers Association, NORML staff, and other guest speakers; a special evening at Boom Chicago (Amsterdam’s funniest improv comedy club); and a tour of Amsterdam’s world famous Cannabis College and garden.Optional events include: an afternoon canal cruise; a guided tour of Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District; and visits to some of the city’s most famous museums, including the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum.Affordable travel packages include: airfare from various cities in the United States to Amsterdam, 5 or 6 night hotel accommodations, and roundtrip train transportation from Schipol Airport to downtown Amsterdam.NORML’s Executive Director Allen St. Pierre invites NORML supporters to join CS Travel and NORML on the organization’s inaugural cannabis tourism adventure and travel package. "There is simply no way to explain to the American public – particularly those among us who suffer under the ill effects of pot prohibition – how valuable and enjoyable it is to experience the Netherlands’ pragmatic and tolerant cannabis policy," he said. "A guided tour with CST and NORML is a great way to experience the inner-workings of a legally regulated cannabis market and to see first-hand what genuine freedom looks like."To reserve your place on NORML’s 2008 "Sensible Amsterdam" freedom tour, please visit: http://www.cstravel.org/dest/destinations.cgiMedia inquiries should be directed to Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7312Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: July 26, 2007Copyright: 2007 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 
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