SB 388 Defeated for this session!

[Stoney Girl]

Great work defeating Senate Bill 388, everybody! I am
extremely proud of Oregon's
medical cannabis community and optimistic about where we are headed. This
legislative session demonstrated how powerful our community is when we are
united and organized, despite the odds being stacked against us.

The Law Enforcement Lobby is very powerful, respected and more experienced than
us. They utilized fear to try and scare us and the legislators into thinking
that something just had to be done this session. The Law
Enforcement Lobby could have been thinking about combating crimes and
preventing deaths, but instead used their valuable time to put together a slick
presentation designed to distort the OMMA and perpetuate fear. But it did
not work.

Patient after patient, activist after activist, organization after organization
just kept going to the Capitol and kept telling the truth. Cannabis saves
lives. The OMMP is a success. 63% of Oregon voters support the OMMA. There is
no need for the Law Enforcement Lobby to reform a successful health care
program supported by a strong majority of Oregonians.

While some gave into fear and negotiated with the Law Enforcement Lobby, a vast
majority of our movement simply said, "No." A vast majority of the
movement realizes that negotiating with law enforcement will only lead to
someone losing their freedom. So sorry, Katie Suver, not this time.
You don't get to outlaw hash, you don't get to count branches as plants and you
aren't gonna force people to sign a document that takes away their
freedom. Not this session. Not this time.

A united medical cannabis community not only defeated the Law Enforcement
Lobby, but also Big Business as well. AOI is the most powerful business lobby
in the state, with more full-time lobbyists in Salem than any other special interest.
AOI also utilized fear, trying to scare politicians into thinking that medical
cannabis patients are a threat to workplaces. Once again, we simply told
the truth. Cannabis should be treated the same as other medicines and
workplace accidents have actually gone down since the OMMA was passed.
The truth eventually prevailed, and it looks like no workplace bill will pass
this session.

Even though we can celebrate a few victories, the war unfortunately continues
and we will have to be united and organized next legislative session. But
I believe that we have learned some valuable lessons. First of all, the
Oregon Legislature is not the place to pass any medical cannabis
legislation. Until the legislators stop giving the Law Enforcement Lobby
a veto pen, there is simply no point. Negotiating with law enforcement
will cause people to lose their freedom and possibly their lives. We have
demonstrated that we do not have to negotiate out of fear. We can stand
strong because the truth and the people are on our side. Second, we must
continue to work together and be organized. I have been told that this
session was the most organized lobbying effort this community has ever put
together. We gotta keep it up, because opponents of the OMMA will be back
again and again and again, just like the villain in horror movies. But we
are the heroes, put here to stop those villains.

Finally, if we want to improve and protect the OMMA, we have to do it ourselves
through the initiative process. Initiative 28 will establish a regulated
medical supply system that will end any so-called abuses simply through
regulation. Initiative 28 will ensure that patients have a supply of
medicine, fund cannabis research and generate the state millions of
dollars. I 28 has already gathered over 34,000 signatures and is
supported by 59% of voters. Once passed, our program will be so
successful and generate so much revenue, that Katie Suver and those other
villains will not be a threat to our program once and for all.

Congratulations, everybody. Today is a good day. Chalk one up for
the good guys and gals.

Anthony Johnson

Voter Power Political Director

503.224.3051 v

503.235.5365 f

[Weed420]

Congrats Oregon.
The leo's are what screwed up our MJ law up here in Washington. They had no business even being in the discussion. They have nothing to do with medicine.