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| EarthWorm |
 Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:01 pm |
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Joined: 23 Jan 2007
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Please do your part by passing this on everywhere!!! This is Texas' 4th attempt. Not enough people knew about the others to get behind it and get it passed.
This can be found at:
http://www.mpp.org/states/texas/
Last update: January 6, 2009
Medical marijuana bill introduced
A bill has been introduced that would allow seriously ill patients to raise a medical necessity defense to charges of possessing marijuana for medical use. This legislation was introduced during the 2007 legislative session, however, despite the fact that a 2004 poll showed 75% of Texans support medical marijuana, the bill died in committee.
Please send your state legislators an e-mail today letting them know that you hope to see more of an effort made during the 2009 session to provide medical marijuana patients with the protection they need.
You can also help support HB 164 by submitting a letter to the editor.
HB 164 would permit physicians to make written or oral recommendations that, in the physician's medical opinion, the potential benefits of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks for a particular patient. If arrested for possession of marijuana, a patient with a recommendation from his or her physician would be able to assert an affirmative defense to charges arising from his or her medical use of marijuana. If a court accepts the affirmative defense, it would mean that a patient could avoid jail time and fines. The bill would not, however, protect patients from the initial arrest.
New citation law for marijuana possession
During the 2007 legislative session, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed HB 2391, which allows law enforcement officers to issue citations instead of arresting adults who possess less than four ounces of marijuana.
While it still remains a crime to possess any amount of marijuana for any purpose in Texas, this new citation law is definitely a step in the right direction. Although citizens are still subject to the same penalties as before, police officers now have the option of issuing a citation to offenders rather than taking them into custody.
If used appropriately by police officers, the marijuana possession citation law can help alleviate jail overcrowding and free up valuable law enforcement resources. This could save taxpayers millions of dollars in fees associated with arresting, booking, jailing, transporting, and prosecuting those who simply possess marijuana. Substantial savings of tax dollars, however, will only happen if law enforcement utilizes the citation option now available to them.
MPP is monitoring the effect of the citation law. If you know of cases where law enforcement has arrested citizens for simple possession instead of issuing a citation, please contact Nathan Miller at Nathan@mpp.org — we want to know how the new law is working. For information on what locals are doing to encourage law enforcement to use the new law, click here. |
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| EarthWorm |
| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:02 pm |
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81(R) HB 164 - Introduced version - Bill Text
Author: Naishtat
81R1585 GCB-D By: Naishtat H.B. No. 164 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the medical use of marihuana. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 481.121, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows: (c)It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that the person possessed the marihuana as a patient of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state pursuant to the recommendation of that physician for the amelioration of the symptoms or effects of a bona fide medical condition. (d)An agency, including a law enforcement agency, of this state or a political subdivision of this state may not initiate an administrative, civil, or criminal investigation into a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state on the ground that the physician discussed marihuana as a treatment option with a patient of the physician or made a written or oral statement that, in the physician's opinion, the potential benefits of marihuana would likely outweigh the health risks for a particular patient. SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 164, Occupations Code, is amended by adding Section 164.0525 to read as follows: Sec.164.0525.MEDICAL USE OF MARIHUANA. A physician may not be denied any right or privilege or be subject to any disciplinary action solely for making a written or oral statement that, in the physician's professional opinion, the potential benefits of marihuana would likely outweigh the health risks for a particular patient. SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that date. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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| EarthWorm |
| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:04 pm |
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Joined: 23 Jan 2007
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Join Operation Contact Hi!
Attention all compassionate citizens of Texas! Please join me in an informal gathering of people who care, as I contact my state representatives and Texas newspapers to just say hello, explain marijuana to them, and ask them to support the current medi-pot bill.
This week (Feb. 4 thru Feb. 10th)
Write, fax, call, or send an e-mail the following House Members that Co-sponsored the same bill in the last session (2007) and ask for them to sign onto this years bill:
Jackson, Jim(R) in Carolton/Dallas
1120 Metrocrest Drive #107
Carrollton, TX 75011
(972) 416-7698
(972) 418-1304 Fax
E-Mail URL: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members...ep=jim.jackson
Coleman, Garnet F.(D) in Houston
5445 Alameda, Suite 501
Houston, TX 77004
(713) 520-5355
(713) 520-1860 Fax
E-Mail URL: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members...garnet.coleman
To submit your Letter to the Editor of the Austin-American Statesman:
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/con...tersubmit.html
The Austin-American Statesman is the main, major newspaper in our stat's capitol city.
The Houston Chronicle
****This is the school district where all the hoopla is over drug testing the teachers. See if you can speak their language. Try to tie in what you say with that controversy. Just an idea.****
Send letters to the editor, 250 words or less, as part of e-mail text to viewpoints@chron.com. Include name, address, and day and evening phone numbers for verification purposes only. Letters subject to editing.
Reader essays policy
E-mail essays, up to 600 words long, to outlook@chron.com. No attachments, please. Include name, day and evening phone, and byline identification with affiliation or expertise related to essay.
About Letters to the Editor:
Letters to the editor REACH millions of registered voters in one fell swoop. So powerful is the Letter to the Editor, that whenever you mention the name of a political representative in one (that gets published), a copy of your letter is faxed to the desk of the politician/s you mentioned (by name) and they ACTUALLY READ IT. |
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| EarthWorm |
| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:06 pm |
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Joined: 23 Jan 2007
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Texans! Here are places where you can go to get more information:
Texas Coalition for Compassionate Care
(texascompassion.com)
Formerly named Texans for Medical Marijuana, you might be familiar with some of their accomplishments, as outlined on their website. Some of the contact information in my last post came from their site.
Because of the lack of an easily-accessed central location for all related Texas legalization news, I've created an e-mail group. I don't know how long I can keep visiting all these forums myself. Like everyone else, I have busy times in my life and not so busy times. Hopefully, someone else in the e-group will use the alerts posted there and post them around the Internet. Because, that's what this is all about- communication. I've seen two previous bills in Texas die in committee because they didn't even have enough support to make it to the floor for a vote. I don't want that to happen this time, or ever again. But, I can't do it without YOU, my fellow compassionate Texans.
So, to this end, you may choose to subscribe to the e-group by sending an e-mail to:
legalize_texas-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
At Texas Legislature Online (http://www.legis.state.tx.us/) you can sign up to be notified of any movement of this bill, find your representative, and take advantage of the tons of other b.s. they have on their website, which you may be interested in. This is the site I use to get contact information for "Operation Contact Hi!"
Project Vote Smart
Here, you can find out where Texas politicians stand by reviewing their voting records, that being what bills they voted on, which way they voted, and whether or not the bill was passed. There is another function here where each representative is given a questionnaire, asking what issues they support. Just for an example, I pulled up Elliot Naishtat's, because he is the author of our beloved bill, HB 164. The "X" are what he supports. No "X" means he doesn't support it.
Crime Issues
(Back to top) Related: Key Votes Ratings Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.X a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
b) Support the death penalty in Texas.X c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.X d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.X e) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
f) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
g) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.X h) Support hate crime legislation.
i) Other or expanded principles
I like reviewing Project Vote Smart's data before contacting my representative, so I don't waste an entire letter educating someone whose been voting my way for the past five years.
Project Vote Smart's website is located at: http://www.votesmart.org/index.htm
And, finally, I'd like to recommend this fun video over at You Tube, about how a bill becomes a law. This cartoon video uses the federal system as a setting, but everything is the same, except the President/White House would be the Governor/the State Capitol Building in Austin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ |
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