We are pleased to announce that A.5796, a bill to legally protect medical marijuana patients, has been introduced in the New York Legislature. (See story below) Now is the time to contact your state legislators and urge them to support this important piece of legislation. This bill will help to ensure that medical marijuana patients in New York will no longer have to fear arrest or prosecution from state law enforcement. However, it will only receive serious consideration if the elected officials in New York hear an unmistakable message of support from their constituents. Please take two minutes of your time to write your state legislators and tell them how important it is that they support medical marijuana. National NORML has created pre-written letters that you can send to your legislators by visiting: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=1597611&type=ST Thanks - Please forward this to everyone you know in NY - Peoples lives depend on it. Send an e-mail and print out the letter and send it. It is not that much time or effort. It is time we stand up for the sick. Thanks and will keep you posted. Let doctors decide, not politicians. New Paltz NORML / SSDP www.newpaltz.edu/norml The Albany "Times-Union": Albany-- Measure that would grant seriously ill patients right to smoke pot lacks sponsor in Senate By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Capitol bureau First published: Thursday, March 6, 2003 The legislation, introduced Friday by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, would require doctors to certify that patients have a serious condition and could benefit from the use of marijuana, which would allow them to receive a month's supply of pot from organizations authorized by the state Health Department to grow and distribute it . "This ought to be a medical issue betweeen a patient and a patient's health care professional," said Gottfried, who chairs the Assembly Health Committee, where the bill is pending. "It should not be the business of the Legislature or the police department." Dierdre Scozzafava, a St. Lawrence County Republican, said she is supporting Gottfried's bill because "when you see first-hand people who suffer .... I think it's incumbent upon us to do what we can for them in a controlled environment." Asked whether she was referring to a personal experience, Scozzafava would not elaborate. While 28 Assembly members have signed onto the bill, it lacks a sponsor in the Republican-controlled Senate. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said he did not believe the chamber would take up the issue soon. Republican Gov. George Pataki has shown no enthusiasm for legalizing medical marijuana, and spokesman Joseph Conway on Wednesday reiterated the governor's position that the state Department of Health believes other alternatives provide similar benefits. In a poll conducted Jan. 23-26 by Zogby International for New Yorkers for Compassionate Care, a pro-medical marijuana group, 66 percent of respondents favored changing state law to allow seriously ill people to smoke pot. The poll included 834 likely voters statewide and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.