Pa hearing on september 2nd YOU MUST BE THERE

[freepa]

UPDATE:
Chuck was over to Harrisburg today and learned that the budget has verbally passed, but the mechanics of it will be another 10 days to 2 weeks. He'll go back over then because they STILL won't make appointments.

UPCOMING EVENT:
On Monday September 21, I will be going over to the Capital to check out the situation since the budget has now been settled. My objective is to begin scheduling appointments to go lobby and need assistance from anyone who would like to learn how to lobby. I am planning to be there 3 - 4 days a week through next March until I have personally met with every Legislator. If you are interested in joining me please feel free to call or email.

41 DOWN...213 TO GO!

Watch for Chuck's Top 20 Worst Legislators List
(Who is next that lacks Compassion and too Blind to see the TRUTH?)

Top 20 List
(Legislators that must go in 2010)
1. Katie True
District 41, Lancaster County
2 . Seth Grove
District 196, York County
3. Brian Cutler
District 100, Lancaster County
4. Kathryn Watson
District 144 , Bucks County
5. Vanessa Brown
District 190, Philadelphia County

NEXT HAPPY VALLEY
EDUCATIONAL PROTEST

Saturday, October 17th
Keep checking back for location and time.
Game time is 3:30 pm instead of 12:00 pm
We will need to be up there at approximately 10:30 am at a new location to be determined. You will be kept informed via, website, email or feel free to contact Chuck Homan at
cahomanco@aol.com.
Phone #'s are: 717 235-2840 or 717 873-3254 (cell).

[Bajadan236]

bump..

[frostbitten09]

I live in lancaster county and last month i emailed my rep, and of course he emailed me back saying how he worked to hard for health care to vote for it....... So when did MMJ go against Health Care??


I am spreading the word around my college what is going on with everything though??

[underdaice]

soo whats going on with all of this?

[jakehazex21]

im going. im from allentown

[underdaice]

actually, i didnt even see the info about October 17th. hopefully i can get to this.. its going to be in Philly right?

[Frozenn]

I hope this gets passed so bad.

[underdaice]

you and me both.

[HAZEx420]

PA MMJ! bump!!

[fallforlife]

makes me wanna weep. I wish I knew what was going on, no one does, I haven't heard any news from anywhere about this for a while.

[freepa]

hey guys hang in there and get ready

the budget has passed and this issue should be up soon

so please prepare to come to Harrisburg and we need written testimony

[fallforlife]

Originally Posted by freepa

hey guys hang in there and get ready

the budget has passed and this issue should be up soon

so please prepare to come to Harrisburg and we need written testimony

word! everyone get your pencils, or type writers and start click clackin away.

Got this email today from The Medical Movement talking about some Penn State Event, so anyone in that area should go!:


Dear Folks,
Due to the weather, we will be postponing tomorrow's event until Saturday, November 7th. That will still be pending weather and game time. Game time is not posted yet. Too many of our supporters are ill now and we don't want to make matters worse. By then, we should be used to the colder temperatures and hopefully it won't be raining. Keep checking the web site for further info.
Thank you so much for what each of you are doing individually in your own areas. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,
Rayna

[freepa]

UPDATE:
The PA House is in recess until at least after the election. They are currently in their own districts for you to visit personally with your own legislators.

The Fall schedule isn't set yet, so they might not be back in Harrisburg for us to lobby them there for a while after the election.

If you are interested in learning how to lobby, please contact Chuck.

Current lobbyists are: Nick, J. R., Jesse, Dave, Rollie, and of course, Chuck. Teams of 2 are VERY effective!

PARTICIPATE IN YOUR GOVERNMENT!
Chuck's Statistics and Findings:
Out of every 10 eligible voters in America only 6 actually register to vote.
Out of those 6 only 5 make it to the poles to vote on election night.
Out of those 5 only 1.5 voters acutally know the integrity or anything else about the local legislator that they are voting for.
This shows that 3 out of 10 voters are making the laws for everyone to follow.
After researching this issue, I have found a way to influence atleast 5 of the 7 voters who are uneducated about who they are voting for. This brings any legislators job to a 50/50 vote at the polls on the night of the election. Stay tuned for my grand plan!!!

[freepa]

It looks like it's going to be great weather for Saturday if you can attend this event:

Saturday, November 7th
Game time is 3:30 p.m., so we want to be at the site at 11:30 a.m. (takes 1 1/2 hours from Harrisburg)
The meeting place is a pull-off area on PA 322 West (2 miles past Seven Mountains Rest Stop where we were in September) on the road to Penn State vs. Ohio.
If you need a ride, want to carpool, or confirm your attendance, please call 717 235-2840 or 717 873-3254.

You can go to Welcome to Medical Movement to view pictures from September's event. LOTS of traffic to be able to send a message to!

[freepa]

Punishment for drug sales within 1,000 feet of schools has unintended consequences
By Holly Herman
Reading Eagle

A Berks County judge called for immediate action from legislators to repeal a law allowing prosecutors to seek mandatory sentences for drug dealers selling within 1,000 feet of a school.

"We cannot continue to fill up the prisons with nonviolent people who sell marijuana," Judge Linda K.M. Ludgate said. "We are in a state budget crisis. This law no longer makes sense."

Ludgate, head of criminal court, was on a Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing advisory committee that concluded the law must be repealed.

The panel's report was presented to the House Judiciary Committee.

"We cannot wait any longer for this law to be repealed," said Ludgate, also a member of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. "It's no longer practical. The legislators must decide whether they want to fill up prisons with murderers and rapists or people selling marijuana."

The numbers show Berks County prosecutors imposed mandatory sentences for 186 cases, or 63 percent, of the 294 mandatory-sentence cases in 2008.

The law requires judges to impose mandatory sentences when requested by prosecutors.

Prosecutors statewide obtained mandatory sentences in 314 drug-zone cases, or 18 percent of the 1,732 mandatory sentences handed down in 2008.

The report concluded the 1997 drug-free school zone is clogging up prisons, not shielding children from drugs.

"There is no relationship between the school zone and selling drugs to kids," said Mark Bergstrom, executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission.

"If you are selling drugs to another person at 2 in the morning, and there are no kids out, you still face a mandatory sentence," he said. "This is not the intention of the law."

The law allows prosecutors to require a sentence of two to four years in state prison for anyone selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school - including day care centers, colleges, playgrounds and religious schools.

About 20 percent of the 49,307 state prison inmates are there for drug offenses.

District Attorney John T. Adams said prosecutors use the mandatory sentence as a negotiating tool.

"We are continuing to evaluate the cases on a case-by-case basis," Adams said. "I do expect we will scrutinize cases even closer."

Adams said prosecutors are using treatment programs as an alternative in appropriate cases.

First Assistant District Attorney M. Theresa Johnson reviews cases to determine if mandatory sentences can be lifted.

"We don't want our children walking through dangerous drug areas in the city," Johnson said. "The mandatory sentences give us the ability to use our discretion."

Ludgate said such efforts by the DA's office are helping.

"There would be even more cases if they used the mandatory in every case," she said.

Ludgate said another law allows mandatory sentences when drugs are sold to minors, but that law is rarely used.

Judge James M. Bucci said mandatory sentencing can be dangerous for counties with overzealous prosecutors.

Bucci said Adams is fair and does not abuse the privilege.

"The mandatory sentences tie the hands of the judge," he said. "The judge is in the best position to make a decision on a case-by-case basis."

Reading defense attorney Lawrence Hracho said the drug-free school zone measure is used inappropriately.

"At Penn State, the entire university is in a school zone," he said. "A student could get a mandatory sentence of two years for selling two joints. The law is being used too broadly."

William C. Bispels Jr., a Reading defense attorney, said the mandatory sentence is used all over Reading because the entire city falls within various school zones.

"There is an endless supply of people selling drugs, and we can't lock them all up," Bispels said.

Contact Holly Herman: 610-478-6291 or hherman@readingeagle.com.