The Little Brown Reader

MPP Pressures Presidential Candidates

I'm a member and long-time supporter of MPP. They are great.

Dear Friend,

The Marijuana Policy Project's work to pressure the presidential
candidates on the medical marijuana issue in New Hampshire is really
starting to pay off. In just the past week, representatives of Granite
Staters for Medical Marijuana (GSMM) -- a campaign of the Marijuana
Policy Project -- have confronted all four U.S. senators running for
the Democratic Party's nomination and have forced them to make public
statements on the issue. Without GSMM, most of these candidates'
positions would be unknown.

Please visit http://www.GraniteStaters.com/donate to donate as much as
you can to this project. (There are no campaign contribution limits.)
Our work in New Hampshire is completely unfunded at this point, so
every dollar you give will help us turn up the heat on the
presidential candidates. Alternatively, if you do not donate to our
presidential campaign work, MPP will be hard-pressed to maintain our
campaign through the January 27, 2004, New Hampshire primary.

GSMM supporters have cornered Senators John Kerry, Bob Graham, Joe
Lieberman, and John Edwards during the past week. The results have
been surprisingly favorable.

* On July 2, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told New Hampshire medical
marijuana advocate Linda Macia that he was "in favor of" medical
marijuana. Ms. Macia said that Sen. Kerry "came right out and
said, 'I'm in favor of it.'" Kerry added that he is "in favor of
its prescription." This is a positive statement from Sen. Kerry,
who is a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

* The next day, Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) told MPP's Aaron Houston that
although as president he would not sign legislation that would
allow seriously ill people to use marijuana, he would respect and
defer to the laws of the individual states. "If a state, like
Oregon, has said that this, their judgment, is appropriate, I
would, although I would disagree with it, I would defer to the
state judgment." While it is clear that Sen. Graham personally
opposes medical marijuana, his statement that he would support the
rights of states that have decided to protect patients is an
encouraging development.

* On July 6, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) told GSMM that he would
"probably" sign legislation to allow seriously ill people to use
medical marijuana with their doctors' approval and that he is
"sympathetic" on the issue. This statement represents a possible
change of heart for Sen. Lieberman. In 1998, he endorsed a
resolution in Congress that supported the arrest and imprisonment
of medical marijuana patients.

* Not all developments were positive, however. Last night, before a
national C-SPAN audience, Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), in response to
a question from Ms. Macia, said that as president he would "put
together a group of people" to study whether medical marijuana is
"important to provide pain relief." Such a study would offer no
relief in the short term to patients who are living with the
threat of DEA raids hanging over their heads. Interestingly, when
confronted by GSMM representatives after the televised portion of
the town hall meeting, Sen. Edwards claimed that the fact that
Californians are being raided is "all new information" to him. He
offered to look at the information and provide GSMM with a
response.

* Meanwhile, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean continues to struggle
to nail down his own position on medical marijuana. Earlier last
week, on June 30, Dean retreated from a previous promise to ask
the Food and Drug Administration to report on the evidence
regarding marijuana's medical safety and efficacy within 60 days
of taking office. Dean stated on his Web site that marijuana
should not be treated any differently than other drugs up for FDA
approval. As governor, Dean blocked legislation that would have
protected patients in Vermont.

* In another remarkable development likely attributable to the
efforts of GSMM, an article about Dean in The Economist described
his positions on various issues. Medical marijuana was one of only
eight issues discussed. Although we cannot read every article ever
printed, we are almost certain that this is a first for coverage
of a leading presidential contender.

The pressure on the presidential candidates will continue. Already,
nearly 100 New Hampshire residents have volunteered to assist Granite
Staters' efforts. With this level of grassroots support and,
hopefully, a similar outpouring of financial support, the medical
marijuana issue will be prominent throughout the campaign.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. Again, please visit http://www.GraniteStaters.com/donate to
donate to our effort to inject the marijuana issue into
presidential politics. Thank you in advance for your support.

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