On June 6, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that the federal government can continue arresting patients who use medical marijuana legally under their state laws. However, the court did not overturn state medical marijuana laws or in any way interfere with their continued operation. Now the ball is in Congress' court.
In the next few weeks, the U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on an amendment that would end the federal government's barbaric attacks on seriously ill patients in states with medical marijuana laws. We are in striking distance of passing the amendment, but we need your help to do it.
The Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment would bar the U.S. Department of Justice -- including the Drug Enforcement Administration -- from spending any money to raid or arrest bona fide medical marijuana patients.
Citizens in nine states and the District of Columbia have voted to protect patients afflicted with HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other horrible diseases from arrest and prison, and three states have enacted medical marijuana laws though their state legislatures. National polls consistently show that around 70% of Americans support medical marijuana access for seriously ill patients. Yet, sadly, the federal government continues to raid and arrest these patients.
We need your help. It is time to end the federal interference in state medical marijuana laws once and for all -- so your member of Congress needs to hear from you.
Taking action is easy. Simply visit our take action page. By entering your ZIP code, the system will automatically prompt you to send an e-mail to your representative, tailored to how he or she voted on the amendment last year (you can find out how your representative voted here).
We appreciate your assistance and look forward to continuing to fight for you and with you in the future.
