E-Actions for Freedom

Action Works: Senators to Question DEA Nominee on medical Marijuana

This is a success story, not an action...though I wholeheartedly support the Marijuana Policy Project, and encourage you to assist them in their efforts in any way possible. They provide a link to donate to this campaign at the end of the letter.

I sent a fax to Senator Feinstein on this issue, and it's very nice to see that she's finally going to take a step to help defend the many medical marijuana patients and providers who are being abused, harassed, and incarcerated by the federal government.
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It appears that between three and five U.S. senators, including
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), will be submitting written questions
about medical marijuana to Karen Tandy, President Bush's nominee for
DEA administrator. This is a major achievement for MPP's "Don't
Confirm the Raids" campaign, a grassroots and direct lobbying effort
aimed at making medical marijuana the focus of the DEA confirmation
hearings. (Please see http://DontConfirm.org .)

As an added bonus, MPP, with the help of Suzanne Pfeil, a medical
marijuana patient with post-polio syndrome, has revealed Karen Tandy
to be nothing more than a coward. After Tandy's hearing before the
Senate Judiciary Committee, Pfeil waited patiently to hand her a
letter. Instead of approaching Pfeil, Tandy tried to sneak away
through a back door. Undeterred, Pfeil actually chased Tandy down the
halls of Congress -- in her wheelchair -- to hand-deliver her letter.
(To read about -- and see pictures of -- Pfeil's adventure, please see
http://DontConfirm.org/confront.html .)

Without the work of the campaign, Karen Tandy could have been
confirmed as DEA administrator without ever revealing her position on
medical marijuana. Now, her position will likely be made public. If
she doesn't signal an intention to stop Asa Hutchinson's policy of
raiding the homes and cooperatives of patients and providers acting in
accordance with California's medical marijuana laws, MPP will call for
senators to oppose Karen Tandy's confirmation.

Sen. Feinstein's decision to submit questions represents a milestone
for medical marijuana activism. This is her first official action to
reform the DEA's policy of aggressively targeting patients. Her past
silence had only emboldened the DEA.

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Sen. Feinstein's small step toward developing a medical marijuana
policy consistent with the laws of her state and the views of her
constituents came only after stories of the DEA raids were personally
delivered to her office by the people who have had their hands cuffed,
their medicine confiscated, guns pointed at their heads, and their
loved ones imprisoned -- all at the hands of the DEA.

In April, MPP brought Valerie Corral and Ashley Epis to Washington --
accompanied by Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe
Access (ASA) -- to share their experiences with Sen. Feinstein's
staff. Corral, who uses marijuana to treat her epilepsy, is the
director of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM), a
Santa Cruz cooperative that was raided by the DEA last September.
Ashley Epis is the eight-year-old daughter of Bryan Epis, a medical
marijuana patient and caregiver currently serving a 10-year federal
prison sentence for conspiring to grow marijuana for the Chico Medical
Marijuana Caregivers and to treat his own pain and disabilities
sustained in a near-fatal car accident.

Within the last week, a number of additional actions increased the
pressure on Sen. Feinstein:

* On Tuesday, ASA held a press conference in front of
Sen. Feinstein's San Francisco office featuring California-
approved patients, providers, and families who have suffered
from DEA raids on their homes and cooperatives. Twenty-three
of the people most directly affected signed and delivered a
letter to the senator requesting that she take action on
Wednesday to protect them from further DEA attacks. (See
http://DontConfirm.org/feinstein_letter.html .)

* In Washington, D.C., MPP sponsored the visit of the above-
mentioned Suzanne Pfeil, an active member of the WAMM
cooperative. Suzanne, who uses marijuana to treat muscle
spasticity and the pain of nerve degeneration, traveled
3,000 miles to educate the D.C. media about Sen. Feinstein's
refusal to support California patients.

* Valerie Corral followed up her April visit with an open
letter to Sen. Feinstein that she delivered on Monday.
(An Oakland Tribune article describing this letter is posted
at http://www.mpp.org/CA/news_4468.html .)

The day before Tandy's hearing -- in the midst of all this activity --
Sen. Feinstein's office called MPP and ASA to say that the senator
would submit written questions about medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana supporters should be encouraged by these events.
They demonstrate that even our most ardent opponents can be swayed by
personal stories and public pressure. If you have ever considered
lobbying your member of Congress, you should know that one or two
people can make a difference.

MPP is indebted to Valerie Corral, Ashley Epis, Suzanne Pfeil, and
Steph Sherer for traveling to D.C. to share their stories with
policymakers.

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To show your support for this campaign with a financial contribution,
please visit http://DontConfirm/support .