degé coutee: PAN update - meeting nancy pelosi's office about medical cannabis

Greetings Friends and Advocates–

Yesterday I met with Nancy Pelosi’s District Aid thanks to the efforts of advocates in San Francisco.

Our discussion included educating their office on the recent history in Southern California, from San Diego, December 2005 to LA, July 2007. They were unaware of the extent to which local law enforcement and officials have been involved with these raids and closures, i.e., cross-deputized officers, joint task forces, unethical public officials. They knew nothing of the landlord threats until the scheduling of this meeting.

We requested immediate action from the Speaker as well as short and long-term commitments. We offered our suggestions and requested feedback as to whether our asks were legislatively possible and could provide the desired outcome. We requested a statement from the Speaker to be read at an upcoming press conference. We inquired about the usefulness of opening congressional hearings on medical cannabis as well as any amendment or resolution that would be feasible during this political climate. We discussed the usefulness of removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

What we learned from the district office – They recognize Nancy as a big supporter of medical cannabis and wanted to make sure we were aware of her reputation for that. They wanted to make sure we knew that the Speaker’s office is not the “one-stop shop to Congress” and we need to be putting pressure on all members of Congress in areas that have been most effected as well as specific committee heads. More pressure on the governor’s office and attorney general was suggested. We were urged to get other groups and organizations to speak out for our cause as well, i.e., civil liberties, health reform, etc. All of our questions and requests were taken down by the aid and we will have some answers by next Monday.

What they learned from us – We recognize that Nancy has said favorable things about medical cannabis in the past but that it is time for her to demonstrate leadership and provide ACTIVE support now – this is a crisis.

The Supreme Court has charged that Congress has to be the body to remedy this problem – we are asking Nancy to be a leader on this. We had actively contacted Congress during Hinchey-Rohrabacher. We now need some direction as to what Congress can actually do for us SOON as to not waste any time asking them to do something they cannot. We have tried to bend the governor and attorney general’s ear on this to no avail but are still trying – still it takes Congress to act. We are committed to this until medical cannabis is legal and the prisoners return home – we will work with the Speaker and any/all Congress members to make this happen.

Overall, it was a positive and energetic meeting. I learned two things that are very important to us and our movement:

1. The grassroots movement has to take leadership roles, locally and nationally. Case in point - National policy orgs that were personally provided with the landlord letter early in July never forwarded it Congress as they stated. Pelosi’s office knew nothing of the crisis in LA until now.
   
2. We have A LOT of work to do. The general feedback I’ve received from elected officials offices is that they are NOT HEARING FROM US in any significant numbers. We are not on their radar at this time. We have to change that.

Currently PAN is conducting positive guerilla education campaigns and street theatre in local communities to raise awareness and gain support from community members. We are conducting letter writing and phone call campaigns targeting specific local and state officials. We will have a clear ask for Congress here soon! We, of course, still offer numerous workshops to patients and caregivers. Do not hesitate to get involved. If you do, it will be too late!!

We will have our North Hollywood Patient Advocacy Center longer than we thought. Please look for more information in the next couple days about our expanded hours and upcoming workshops and events. The Center is located at 10652 Magnolia Blvd. and is currently open Monday – Wednesday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Thursday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. More to come…

Our Riverside Patient Advocacy Center is very active. IE patients should contact Ryan at 909/996-1197 for more information. The Center is at 7201 Arlington Ave., Suite B, Riverside and is open Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. We have activity every Sunday at 4:20 p.m.

Thanks you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Remember, PAN needs your ongoing involvement and financial support to continue winning these battles. Thanks to everyone who helped make the trip to Speaker Pelosi’s office possible.

Truly Yours,

Degé