Wrote a letter to a State House Member.

Here in NC, HB 577:THe Medical Cannabis Act, was opened over a year ago, and has kinda stalled out. I am not familiar with all processes of a bill going through legislation but it hasn't been touched in 2012.

I wrote a letter to my local representative in the NC House.

Greetings House Member Hamilton,

I am Michael Williams, a new resident to New Hanover county and a resident of NC for nearly all my life. I am writing to voice concern, and support for my fellow residents of North Carolina, and support for a Bill that could radically change things for our area socio-politically and economically! I am but a humble college student, living on meager income and relying on my local representatives to take care of all the residents; Not just the ones who can make ample donations to campaigns.

I am here to voice support, and hope to persuade you to support House Bill 577: The Medical Cannabis Act for North Carolina and House Bill 324: Amend Possession of Marijuana Act.
Coming from Brunswick County, I saw a lot of law enforcement entrap many teenagers into confessing to possession of marijuana, and their patrol for drugs(Particularly the non-harmful marijuana) are nearly predatory. Law enforcement officers will always ask if you have drugs, whether or not there is an indication that there may be narcotics in the vehicle.
I have been pulled over for many simple things: License plate covers, traffic violations, and other problems. The LEO's will ALWAYS make an attempt to pin a drug charge on you, and will try to persuade you to let them search your car.


I digress, I am not here to belittle law enforcement, I am here to voice my support for HB 577 and HB 324.

H 577 – introduced by a bipartisan group of North Carolina representatives lead by Rep. Kelly Alexander, Jr. (D – Mecklenburg) – would protect qualifying patients and their caregivers from arrest for possessing and growing marijuana, if the patient registers with the health department and has a doctor’s recommendation. It would also allow state-regulated medical marijuana centers so patients would have safe, reliable, and immediate access to medical marijuana.

H 324 - In addition to medical marijuana, legislators introduced a bill that would downgrade simple possession of marijuana to an infraction, instead of a misdemeanor. The bill, HB 324, would also reduce penalties for possessing up to an ounce of marijuana from either a suspended sentence (for persons with no priors who possess under half an ounce of marijuana) or possible jail time to a civil fine of up to $100. State Reps. Kelly Alexander, Jr. (D – Mecklenburg) and Larry Hall (D – Durham) are the sponsors of HB 324.


I have signed petitions for both bills online, hoping we can get more citizens to sign and get this bill back on track in NC Legislation. Not only would creating medical marijuana dispensaries and allowing patients to grow and medicate freely without fear of persecution create a line of patient care that prevents costly healthcare premiums, and take money out of the big Pharmaceutical companies pockets but amending marijuana possession laws would decrease costs of court, and open up lots of space in the court system that is currently occupied by minor drug "offenders"

I ask you, is it feasible to say that a person caught with a small amount of marijuana be put in jail along with violent offenders? I hope you do not think that way.

Medical cannabis has nearly endless beneficial properties, and few health risks.
Smoking cannabis is not the only way to reap the benefits, it can be made into oils and edibles as well for people with respiratory problems. I will not take it upon myself to educate you about the benefits of cannabis because they can be easily found in texts and online.

I will end this email with a bit of hope.

I do believe that we the citizens can make changes in legislation.

The power the upper class has over the middle class is imaginary. Their power is an illusion; The greatest power they have is that they make us think we have no power.


I hope this reaches you.


Regards,

Michael A. Williams.


I realize I was a bit short with my information and explanations but it's late and I wanted to do something. I can always follow-up.

Has anyone else ever wrote their reps?

Good luck man, I have wrote the ones for my side of Washington. All I got back was a generic letter that they sent to every other person regarding MMJ, with false claims and old stories... It was so lame. I sent them another one after that and I never got a responce back.. So hopefully you have better luck than I did.

I had a feeling that if I sent the email I would just get a generic autoreply.

I really hope the rep takes the time to read it... But I doubt it.

To share what I wrote though, along with all our other members' support, may promote others to do the same.

I bet you get the same form letter response I got...and a few others...each from different states...

The assholes that filter the letters/emails just toss it into a pile that gets the same tired and dis-proven rhetoric response form letter...

Thank you for contacting me regarding the medicinal use of marijuana. I appreciate hearing your opinions on this important issue. There has been much debate over whether marijuana should be legalized for use as a therapeutic option for those suffering from severely debilitating conditions. This matter has been debated since the 1970's and does not show any signs of being resolved in the near future. Public concern over treating AIDS and other life-threatening diseases such as cancer, has rejuvenated this debate in Congress.
Marijuana use, even in small amounts, presents serious behavioral and physiological risks that are neither trivial nor acceptable from a health standpoint. The claims for marijuana's medicinal qualities remain unsupported by well-controlled clinical investigations. The National Institutes of Health Expert Group, the Institute of Medicine, and others have stated that there is little clinical evidence to support many of the medicinal claims for smoking marijuana. These groups have also concluded that smoking marijuana does not appear to offer significant advantages over currently available prescription medications and could impose additional health risks for some patients.
In light of these studies, I will continue to support the existing process for determining the safety and efficacy of drugs, and oppose efforts to circumvent this process by legalizing marijuana for medicinal use without scientific evidence and the Food and Drug Administration's formal approval.
Again, thank you for your comments on this controversial issue. If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

when the dipshits running this country fall back on lies like this out of being to fucking lazy to research/read some facts, or it gets in the way of their pay offs, then it seems clear they need to be replaced/fired/removed from their jobs!!!!!!

I bet you get the same form letter response I got...and a few others...each from different states...

The assholes that filter the letters/emails just toss it into a pile that gets the same tired and dis-proven rhetoric response form letter...





when the dipshits running this country fall back on lies like this out of being to fucking lazy to research/read some facts, or it gets in the way of their pay offs, then it seems clear they need to be replaced/fired/removed from their jobs!!!!!!

There is so much bullshit in that quote.

"Marijuana use, even in small amounts, presents serious behavioral and physiological risks that are neither trivial nor acceptable from a health standpoint."


WTF? How about the pharmaceutical drug Cisplatin?

Cisplatin, one of the most powerful chemo- therapeutic agents used on humans - may cause deafness; may lead to life-threatening kidney difficulties and kidney failure; adversely affects the body's immune system, suppressing the patient's ability to fight a host of common infections.

Found this within a previous Administrative Law Judge's petition to removal MJ from Schedule I to Schedule II. This was from 1988.

Francis L. Young


I'd love to send one of my representatives a letter, but unless I send him an essay on the facts of MMJ use, there's nothing that will change an idiots way of thinking.

Serious behavioral and physiological risk? Has this asshole ever seen an opiate addict or a bad alcoholic?