christo: last night i lobbied barbara lee about medical cannabis

chers---

i like christo’s first-person first-timer narrative here. i like the tone of it.

christo will be publishing more at CannabisPatientVoice when he returns to oakland, ca from a visit with his dad in tucson,az. we’ll get to see then if he wants to let us know his last name. for now, pix of the gates in central park.

namasté

---lyr

Last night I lobbied my Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Here is the story:

I made it to the town hall meeting in Piedmont (Oakland) last night and spoke with Barbara Lee, my Congressional Representative, about adding her name and her support to the letter that Reps. Dana Rohrbacher and Tim Oliver are sending to DEA administrator Karen Tandy about the opinion and ruling by a DEA Administrative law judge regarding research on the medical use of cannabis. I spoke with Congresswoman Lee about this directly after the meeting. I put the letter requesting her support into her hands. She promised to take a look at it. I explained to her that it was not fair for the Feds to try to have it both ways - by claiming that medicinal cannabis has no medical value, and by also disallowing any research materials to be produced so that the needed research can be done to prove the facts. (Good language Sonnet, thx, I used it.)

I also spoke with her Director of Constituent Services/Scheduler - Saundra Andrews. I also spoke at length with Daniela Quintanilla, a staffer based here in Oakland, who has agreed to take a meeting on this subject.

I must say that Barbara Lee is terrific. She was open and available after the town hall meeting. I had to jostle a bit for position, but I definitely had the opportunity to say my piece directly to her and to hand her the paperwork to review later.

I first thanked her for her vote on the Hinchey-Rohrbacher amendment. She gave me a big smile and said, "Yes, wasn't that a good one?" After I thanked her, and it was clear that she was receptive to me, and it was also apparent that I knew what I was talking about, then the half dozen staffers who were moving around with her closely in a tight phalanx of security gave me some breathing room to speak to her for a minute. I quickly explained that the federal government was attempting to have it both ways on the issue of the medical benefits of cannabis. They are claiming that cannabis has no medicinal value while at the same time blocking respected institutions from producing the research materials necessary to do the research to prove the facts. I then asked her to please review the letter from Reps. Dana Rohrbacher and Tim Oliver, and to consider adding her signature to the letter. She stated that she would look at it.

I then followed up with her staff. Saundra Andrews and Daniela Quintanilla were both very receptive and warm. All of Barbara Lee's staffers are amazing. I got their cards and promised to follow up to set up a meeting, which I am eager to do. I feel like I should seek some guidance and direction from the ASA office next to see how to proceed. I would like to call and/or email today or tomorrow to set up a meeting with Daniela, and I would like to recruit peeps from the ASA office to come to the meeting with me.

All in all, it was a very powerful town hall meeting. Many of the people were there about Iraq and impeachment. Barbara Lee was the ONLY member of Congress to vote against the war when it first came up for a vote. She is superb on this issue, and there were already many constituents there to lobby her to remain strong on this, and to get impeachment on the table, too. The hall was completely filled with people. There wasn't any room for more chairs. There were well over 150 people there - standing room only.

I was going to ask a question about impeachment, but that issue seemed very well represented by the crowd. So, I decided to lobby exclusively on MMJ rights. I wrote out three MMJ questions, but none of them were read and answered by her during the town hall. Two of them were considerably lacking in brevity, however, so I understand why that may be. Anyway, her staff saw how interested and involved I was as an activist and all of the questions I wrote and gave to them. And it seemed like they allowed me some space to speak with her afterward. Also, I expect that all of the unanswered written questions will receive a response via email or snail mail eventually.

The event was very empowering for me. I was a little nervous, but I won't be as nervous next time. I look forward to following up with a meeting with her staffers, or maybe even with her.

I really enjoyed doing this! I encourage all of you to become activists and to take direct action to make your representatives and local public officials understand how important this issue is to you. It does work. They do want to hear from you!!

I hope this sending may inspire some of you to action in terms of lobbying your local and national representatives on MMJ issues. Things seem to be heating up right now. With all the raids in LA, the letters from the DEA threatening dispensaries’ landlords with asset forfeiture and the seizure of the Berkeley Patients Group’s bank account, now is the time for action! It is time to stand up and make our voices heard. If we don’t fight back now, we may not have dispensaries left to defend soon. The DEA does seem intent on shutting them down by all means available to them.

---christo

richard mitchell, the underground grammarian: hunger in america

chers---

this is a tough article, and i still find new stuff in it every time i read it. it's not perfect, either.

i will help you out: mitchell talks about ideology versus science, the same conflict in which we find ourselves caught up today. mitchell would make the case that drug czar walters is illiterate.

have fun. write home often and regularly. the picture above is of mitchell composing the underground grammarian on a movable-lead-type printing press he inherited and installed in his basement. he believed the internet was a greater printing press and mainstay of a free press for informed, literate readers who could understand metaphor.

namasté

---lyr

Hunger in America, published 1984

Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. § Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. § For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries; and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood... § Go up into Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt; in vain shalt thou use many medicines, for thou shalt not be cured. § The nations have heard of thy shame...

THE EPIGRAPH is, to be sure, unusual, and a bit long. Please read it anyway. Twice. Read it not with the reading of the schools, not as 'a receiver of a communication,' but as a thoughtful inquirer into the meaning of what is said, as one who intends to say something about what is said.

Read it slowly, as you would read a gnarled sonnet of Donne, moving your lips the while. Listen. Discover its voice and its tone. Judge the effects of diction, its rhythms, its curt images and its metaphors. Pronounce it, at last, not right or wrong, which is useful only with regard to 'a communication,' but good or bad, either well-wrought or ill. Consider how, if there were going to be a test, you could justify your verdict. Do all of that now, and do it well, for there is going to be a test -- every day of your life, and what follows is the dreadful tale of a man who failed it. So take your time. We can wait.

Good. All of that has made you an understander, not just a receiver.

What understanding have you of the word 'medicines'? What sorts of 'medicines' does he have in mind, who speaks those words? Is he thinking of such things as antibiotics and decongestants, or even some imaginable ancient equivalents?

In what tone and with what intent does he say those words? Are they a taunting rebuke to that 'daughter of Egypt,' assuring her that she has no hope at all of evading the just consequences of her deeds: or are they a bit of helpful advice on health-care?

Or can it be that the bloody aggressions of Egypt have nothing to do with the case? Did the speaker, all in the midst of his imprecations against the trouble-makers of a turbulent time, take a little time off to issue a commandment to us? When he says, 'In vain shalt though use many medicines, for thou shalt not be cured,' is he ordering us, or anyone at all, to refrain utterly from all medical knowledge and practice?

If that is what you have concluded from your reading of the cited passage, then you are utterly illiterate. You cannot read. It matters not at all that you know the letters and the words.

Consider now the plight of a man who knows the letters and the words, but who can not read at all. Because he can not read at all, and because he imagines that he can, he was found guilty of certain criminal acts related to the death of his son.

Bill Barnhart's child died of hunger at the age of two and a half. For five months, what nourishment the boy had been able to swallow was gobbled up by the tumor that was growing in his belly. The child shriveled and the tumor prospered, until its greed undid them both. After a meager last supper, a few dry Cheerios and a sip of grape juice, host and guest died quietly together.

Barnhart, along with his wife, was eventually convicted of endangering the life of a child, and involuntary manslaughter. He can not, for the life of him, understand why.

He is as much aggrieved as grieved. He understands the passage that you have so carefully read, along with a few carefully selected other passages that he can not read, as God's commandment to him to keep sick children away from doctors.

'I did nothing wrong,' he said. 'My conscience doesn't bother me.'

That, we do believe. Conscience is a high wall of scrawled graffiti where the world can write what it pleases, a random anthology of pet notions, unexamined sentiments, and popular slogans remarkable chiefly for their vagueness. Conscience stands always in need of editing, a job that can't be done except through thoughtful reading of the scrawls.

But something bothers Barnhart. He is baffled and vexed, all unable to account for his suffering. He wonders why not one member of the jury was willing to 'stand up for God's rights,' in which notion he sees neither the absurdity nor the irony. In a speech whose devastating and utterly unintended power makes him sound like a character in a play by Arthur Miller, he points out the very passage cited above, and says to a reporter (Michael E. Ruane, in The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, June 17, 1984):

I want you to read that and see what you expect somebody to take out of that there. I'd like you to tell me what your interpretation is. I'd like you to study the whole thing out.

How long would it take to sit down with Bill Barnhart to study the whole thing out? That is exactly what he needs: the whole thing, the whole art and power of language and thought.

Literacy is not a knack. It is a moral condition. The ability to read attentively, reflectively, and judiciously is also the ability to be attentive, reflective, and judicious. It is not an optional adornment for just and sane living. It is a necessity. It is the necessity. It is not a variety or portion of education. It is education. It is the whole thing, the wholesome nourishment of the mind, by which the mind may grow strong enough to be the master of the will and not its slave, the judge of desire and not its procurer, the censor of sentiment and not its tool, and the inquisitor of belief, not its flack. It [literacy] is our only path to whatever wisdom we can have, which is our only path to whatever goodness we can know, which is our only path to whatever happiness we can enjoy.

Bill Barnhart is not a happy man. His 'faith,' which is every bit as involuntary as his manslaughter, has not made him whole. He taketh no balm in Gilead. In vain shall he use many medicines, for he shall not be cured. Hunger is eating him up. All that might nourish him is straightway devoured by the tumor that lives in his belly.

The Barnharts of our time, by the millions, live by the law of the belly. The belly was once believed to be the origin and dwelling place of impulse and appetite, the nettles and whips of our nature least susceptible to the governance of Reason. Orwell saluted the appropriateness of that metaphor in 'bellyfeel,' the mindless and ardent loyalty of the 'true believer,' and we acknowledge it when we have 'gut feelings.'

As to the presence of gut feelings, there is not disputation. We can not doubt Barnhart's word when he says, 'We feel that God wrote this Bible.' Although a thoughtful person would have said 'I feel,' recognizing that as to the feelings of others all evidence is hearsay, and ackowledging the possibility that Justin probably had no feelings one way or the other in this crucial matter, we nevertheless do believe that Barnhart does believe that he feels what he says he feels. And so do we all.

When he justifies his acts by his feelings, Barnhart stands where we all stand, often, every day. It is the Occasion of Education. All he needs is a true teacher to stay him a while.

In this case, a true teacher would probably start out by quoting from Isaiah: 'Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.' And he will leave aside until later, much later, the rest of that verse. He will not quarrel as to the author of the Bible, for it truly doesn't matter. He would urge only that if God had written a book, it would turn out to be a very fine book indeed. Better than anything ever done by Homer, or Dante, or Milton. Better than Shakespeare, far better. Whatever excellencies of language and thought we find in the countless books by the legions of the lesser, shall we not find in ultimate perfection in the one perfect book of the greater? Where the many plumb deepness beyond deepness, shall the one not leave us glimpses of the abyss? If the simple song of a poet can dwell forever in the mind, arising and living again and again, shining each time with new, undreamed of light, shall we knock off a line of Jeremiah and say, 'That's that'?

Just now, of course, none of that would mean anything to Barnhart. He has been to school, which is why he can not read. He knows nothing of the excellencies of language and thought, for no one could show them to him. He knows nothing of deepness in great authors, for he hasn't read them. The words of poets do not arise and live in his mind, and even the words by which he lives and requires helpless children to live -- or to die, as luck would have it -- even the words he calls 'God's' are dead slogans, bones that can not live.

Fundamental literalism is not only a sickness of religion; it is a sickness of the mind. It is essentially a Basic Minimum Competence writ large and applied indiscriminately to all supposed human 'problems' -- anything from filling out an application for a driving license to distinguishing the worthy from the unworthy. Among its components, two are essential. One is a blindness to metaphor, and the other is the nourishment of the tumor that lives in the belly, the feeling that feeling is knowing. Out of the notion that communication is the purpose of language, the schools provide the first, and out of the feeling that education is the result of 'adjustment' in 'the affective domain,' the schools provide the second. In fact, though they haven't the wit to figure it out, the simpleton religionists have no better friends than the simpleton educationists, who turn out, yearly, millions of empty children, prepared not for life, but only for the unexamined life, and so terribly hungry that they will swallow anything.

They will take no balm. In vain will they gobble up dry Cheerios and guzzle down grape juice, for they will never be nourished.

Richard Mitchell

the underground grammarian

Hunger in America, 1984

brother blogger jaime green — “simplicity and raw honesty”

from aids-write.org:

Thursday, October 19th, 2006

rk---

keeping it simple has always been best in my life and i always urge my friends & associates to operate on very basic levels of trust and to speak up when things bother them: simplicity and raw honesty always earn great respect

…..i remain humbly, jaime.

[aidswriteorg] awo’s brother blogger jaime green — “simplicity and raw honesty” (429)

lauren rothman: wamc prepares for march downtown wed, aug 15

Women Advancing Medical Cannabis met tonight to prepare the finishes touches to our inaugural event, which we have chosen to commemorate by beginning the morning with a rally at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, after which LA City Council Member Janice Hahn (District 15) and several other women (and perhaps a few supportive men) of note will speak on behalf of the utmost importance of a supportive community in which safe access flourishes and medical cannabis patients are treated with the same candor and professionalism afforded to mainstream pharmaceutical patients.

So dainty. So fitting. So true.

If anything, we intend to be more functional and more accountable, which is largely why many of us have come to medical cannabis, in addition to its beneficial qualities in conjunction with prescribed pharmaceutical medication.

We got so much accomplished tonight! Thank you to every single one of you for all that you did tonight, the enthusiasm and excitement for this event seems to grow by the day.

Here's some more of this evening's handiwork, lovingly crafted by my fellow patients and dedicated friends.

I hope we get a stereophonic assault on August 15th:

We would appreciate it if those of you planning to arrive via the proposed WAMC bus would please email wamc.myspace@gmail.com as soon as possible, we want to have room for all of you! Think of it as an RSVP of sorts, and a huge thank you is in order to the collectives thoughtfully providing transportation for our event!

Thanks again to all of you, WAMC wouldn't be a reality without us.

Lauren Rothman
Women Advancing Medical Cannabis

don duncan: update from the front lines 8-09-07

Hello, ASA members and allies.

The last six weeks have been tumultuous, so I want to make sure everyone is up to date on what is happening locally. Please make note of the dates below and forward this message to your friends and loved ones so they can attend the events, too.

ASA is working daily to stop the LAPD and DEA raids at collectives and mitigate the impact of the DEA letters to their landlords. We are also coordinating our local response with organizers statewide for a mass mobilization to Sacramento later this year. In Washington, DC, our lobbyists are working with a professional PR firm to rally our allies and champions in Congress to change federal law. Our budget was already stretched to capacity before the latest crackdown. I need your help right now more than ever. Please visit http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/donate and join today. If you can make a monthly pledge or one time contribution, it will make an immediate difference in our work here and in the Capitol.

Chris and I are settling into our new office in West Hollywood and could use some help moving some boxes to storage and other logistics. Please email me at dondduncan@yahoo.com if you can help out. The address is 7211 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 800, in West Hollywood, CA 90046. The cross street is Formosa, two blocks west of La Brea. (The office is on the second floor and there is no elevator.)

Here is some of what is happening in LA right now:

• The ordinance establishing a moratorium on new collectives is waiting for the Mayor’s signature right now. It will become effective 30 days after he signs it.
• Councilmember Dennis Zine has sent a letter to the DEA asking them to stop targeting landlords and let the Council regulate collectives without further interference. This letter was read into the Congressional Record during the Hinchey-Rohrabacher debate and is now part of ASA’s lobbying effort in Washington, DC.
• Councilmember Hahn has asked LAPD Chief Bratton to appear before the City Council to explain the department’s involvement in DEA raids. Hahn and her colleagues are especially concerned about Detective Packer’s work with the DEA following his appearance in a DEA uniform inside a Hollywood collective on July 25.
• The City Council is considering a resolution of non-cooperation with the DEA on medical cannabis raids. If adopted, this resolution would be the cornerstone of a statewide effort to rally local support to influence the Governor to stand up for us.
• ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer and I appeared with Councilmember Zine on his monthly cable access show last week to discuss medical cannabis issues in LA.
• ASA lobbyists continue to meet with members of Congress in Washington, DC, to build opposition the the DEA letters and raids. We are circulating a sign-on letter to members of the House and working on a letter for Republicans in national, state, and local office in Southern California. There is so much going on with our federal campaign right now that I could not possibly list it all here. Read more about it at http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?list=type&type=301 Remember that we must solve the federal problem to protect patients’ access. Please note – ASA is still $15,000 short on fundraising for lobbying and PR work in DC this month! You can help right now... http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/donate

Mark you calendars for these dates:

Friday, August 11 -
The “First Occasional Los Angeles Cannabis Comedy Festival”
Benefit comedy show featuring Ngaio Bealum, Greg Proops, Garrett Morris, Jefferey Peterson, Rich Chassler, Joe Bartnick and more! There will be music by the Luchadoors and DJ Ill Media! The show starts at 9:00 PM sharp at Garrett Morris’ Downtown Comedy Club located on the second floor of the historic Hotel Alexandria (the corner of 5th and Spring St.) in the heart of Gallery Row. Tickets are $15.00, and all proceeds go to ASA. Email ngaio@lamedicalmarijuana.com for information.

Wednesday, August 15 –
Women Advancing Medical Cannabis March
9:00 AM at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building located at 255 E. Temple St. in downtown LA. Invited speakers include LA City Council Member Janice Hahn and Maria Shriver (wife of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger). Email march@wamcla.org for information.

Saturday, August 18 –
Los Angeles ASA Meeting
1:00 PM at 470 S. San Vicente Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048-4107. This meeting will have a special focus on Non-violent Civil Disobedience and strategic planning in response to the crisis in LA. Please invite your friends and loved ones. The meeting is not at a collective and the venue is 100% accessible. Visit http://www.ASAaction.org for directions.

See you all at these events!

__________________
Don Duncan
Southern California Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access
www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org <http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/>

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

Join us today….www.AmericansforSafeAccessNow.org

Los Angeles Office
7211 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 800
West Hollywood, CA 90046
P: 323-464-7719 F: 323-464-7355
Cell (323) 326-6347 * AIM - DonDDLA

blank physician’s statement recommending medical cannabis

Physician’s Statement
Regarding Medical Cannabis
as per California Health & Safety Code 11362.5

To Whom It May Concern:

this statement certifies that

___________________________________________
(patient)

is a patient uncer my care and supervision for the treatment of

___________________________________________
(diagnosis)

____ (optional; please check if applicable) I decline to state my patient’s diagnosis to protect his or her confidentiality

I have discussed the benefits and risks of cannabis use with my patient as a treatment for his or her condition. I recommend or approve cannabis use for my patient. If my patient chooses to use cannabis therapeutically, I will continue to monitor his or her condition and provide feedback on his or her progress.

I understand that I will be contacted to verify the content of this letter. My patient authorizes me to discuss this recommendation or approval for verification purposes only.

I am a physician licensed to practice medicine in California.

This statement is valid until

___________________________________________
expiration date

___________________________________________
physician’s signature

___________________________________________
physician’s name (please print)

___________________________________________
physician’s CA license no.

___________________________________________
date of recommendation

___________________________________________
physician’s address 1

___________________________________________
physician’s address 2

___________________________________________
city, state, zip

___________________________________________
physician’s telephone


this letter is a confidential medical statement

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