Call Your Congressional Representative! 202-224-3121

[Jimbo]

You want to get marijuana legalized? Then you have to do something about it. The first and easiest thing you can do is get politically active. Don’t give me that “I don’t want to be on a list” garbage, either; if you’ve clicked this far, you’re on a list (I’m kidding… kinda. Under the PATRIOT ACT and new FISA Amendments, who knows?)

And don’t get fooled into believing your voice doesn’t matter “blah blah they’re all the same, they’re all bought out, we have no hope yada yada.” First of all, you’re harshing my mellow, dude. Second, that’s what prohibitionists are counting on - an uninformed and unmotivated public.

Your calls matter. When a congressional office gets a direct, well-spoken call on an issue, they notice. A hand-written letter is even better. They know that few people take the time to actually call, so those that do must represent dozens of people who don’t have the time but agree with the caller.

It’s also really easy. You call 202-224-3121 (save it in your cell phone). They ask you for your zip code. They ask whether you want your Representative (we all have one) or one of your Senators (we all have two). If you’re calling about a House Bill (or an “HB”), ask for the Representative. If you’re calling about a Senate Bill (or an “SB”), ask for one senator then call back and ask for the other.

Have a pen and paper handy. Write down the names of your representative and senators, and be ready to write down the names of the staff members who answer. When you start referring to their staff by name, they really know you’re serious about the issue. (Sounds silly, but it’s a tiny little touch that pays huge dividends.)

Then just read up on the issues below and next thing you know, you’re a political activist! Don’t forget to Smoke the Vote - get yourself and five friends registered to vote and make a difference! Here’s how I start my calls:

“Hi, my name is Russ Belville, and I am a registered voter and constituent of Representative Blumenauer’s from Portland, Oregon. I’m calling to urge my representative to support/oppose some legislation that is very important to me.”
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I pause so the person on the end of line recognizes what kind of call it is and mentally figures out who needs to take it… they might ask for my name and address… eventually asks me “which legislation?”

HR5843 - Act to Remove Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no penalty may be imposed under an Act of Congress for the possession of marijuana for personal use, or for the not-for-profit transfer between adults of marijuana for personal use.

For the purposes of this section, possession of 100 grams or less of marijuana shall be presumed to be for personal use, as shall the not-for-profit transfer of one ounce or less of marijuana, except that the civil penalty provided in section 405 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844a) may be imposed for the public use of marijuana if the amount of the penalty does not exceed $100.
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You say: “I would like Representative So-and-So to sign on as a cosponsor to Barney Frank’s HR5843, the Act to Remove Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults.

It’s time we stop treating marijuana use as literally a federal crime! Personal marijuana use is a health issue and we can’t keep wasting our police resources on it when we have to worry about terrorism and crime.”

HR5842 - Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act

Marijuana is moved from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to schedule II of such Act. No provision of the Controlled Substances Act [or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act] shall prohibit or otherwise restrict in a State in which marijuana may be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical use under applicable State law–

• (A) the prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a physician for medical use;

• (B) an individual from obtaining, possessing, or transporting within their State, manufacturing or using marijuana in accordance with a prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a physician for medical use by such individual hereinafter in this section referred to as `an authorized patient’;

• (C) an individual authorized under State law to obtain, possess, transport within their State, or manufacture marijuana from obtaining, possessing, transporting within their State, or manufacturing marijuana on an authorized patient’s behalf; or

• (D) a pharmacy or other entity authorized under local or State law to distribute medical marijuana to authorized patients from obtaining, possessing or distributing marijuana to such authorized patients.

You say: “I would like Representative So-and-So to sign on as a cosponsor to Ron Paul’s HR5842, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act. If the states have decided to allow sick and disabled people use marijuana, then the federal government should keep their hands off.”
SB1211 - Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2007

Adds the new sentencing enhancement of “marketing to minors” to the mandatory minimum sentences definition, as follows:

…who manufactures, creates, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute a controlled substance that is flavored, colored, packaged, or otherwise altered in a way that is designed to make that controlled substance more appealing to a person under twenty-one years of age, or who attempts or conspires to do so,
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The intent here is to go after “chronic candy” sold in California dispensaries that looks like popular candy bars but is cannabis medicine in edible candy form. But conceivably, pot brownies - popular with many patients, could be considered more “appealing” to youngsters than smoking.

You say: “I would urge Senator So-and-So to oppose Dianne Feinstein’s SB1211. She’s calling it the Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act, but what this bill really does is limit the already limited choices for suffering medical marijuana patients in twelve states, and it is so loosely worded that many legitimate patients would suffer.”

Call Your Congressional Representative! 202-224-3121 | NORML's Daily Audio Stash