MedicalNeed
New Member
On Monday September 13th, 20 students and community members rallied together for a measure to legalize medicinal marijuana in South Dakota, Initiative Measure 13 (Safe Access Act). The amount of support has been amazing considering the location that we live in.
People rarely rally for any cause here in Brookings, SD. When locals see people holding up signs they tend to roll up their windows and shake their heads. One woman told us to "put away the crack pipe", and a man shook his finger at us, saying, “ You have it all wrong, you are a bunch of pot heads.” But as we stood on the busiest intersection in our town of 29,000, sharing the corners with two gas stations, and the nation’s largest grossing Taco Johns, we were surprised to see the great amount of support and compassion that we found. The repetitive horns blaring kept us standing on the corner yelling that it is time to stop arresting patients in South Dakota, that we want Safe Access, not the black market, it was a cry to have compassion for the sick and dying. The response was unexpectedly positive.
We are optimistic that the measure will pass because in 2006 a similar, less restrictive measure failed by only four percent, around 15,400 votes. This year we have three SSDP chapters in South Dakota working towards legalization of medicinal marijuana for patients in need, to see Measure 13 pass, we are working with other campus organizations to get students registered to vote. We will be phone banking, lit dropping, as we are working as the only campaign in Brookings, under the direction of Emmett Reistroffer of the Coalition for Compassion.
We are very excited to see the beginning of a movement here in one of the most conservative parts of the country, Rural South Dakota, which also still has some of the most outrageous drug policies. This is the beginning of a movement towards a student body, a community, and a state that understands the harms that the drug war has waged on our society.
South Dakotans are ready for change. We may just surprise you.
Melissa Beadle
SDSU SSDP Chapter President
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:The Seminal
Author: sdstatessdp
Contact: Send Us Your Tips | The Seminal
Copyright: 2010 seminal.firedoglake.com
Website:Rally for Compassion: South Dakota SSDP Students Show Support for Measure 13, Medical Marijuana | The Seminal
People rarely rally for any cause here in Brookings, SD. When locals see people holding up signs they tend to roll up their windows and shake their heads. One woman told us to "put away the crack pipe", and a man shook his finger at us, saying, “ You have it all wrong, you are a bunch of pot heads.” But as we stood on the busiest intersection in our town of 29,000, sharing the corners with two gas stations, and the nation’s largest grossing Taco Johns, we were surprised to see the great amount of support and compassion that we found. The repetitive horns blaring kept us standing on the corner yelling that it is time to stop arresting patients in South Dakota, that we want Safe Access, not the black market, it was a cry to have compassion for the sick and dying. The response was unexpectedly positive.
We are optimistic that the measure will pass because in 2006 a similar, less restrictive measure failed by only four percent, around 15,400 votes. This year we have three SSDP chapters in South Dakota working towards legalization of medicinal marijuana for patients in need, to see Measure 13 pass, we are working with other campus organizations to get students registered to vote. We will be phone banking, lit dropping, as we are working as the only campaign in Brookings, under the direction of Emmett Reistroffer of the Coalition for Compassion.
We are very excited to see the beginning of a movement here in one of the most conservative parts of the country, Rural South Dakota, which also still has some of the most outrageous drug policies. This is the beginning of a movement towards a student body, a community, and a state that understands the harms that the drug war has waged on our society.
South Dakotans are ready for change. We may just surprise you.
Melissa Beadle
SDSU SSDP Chapter President
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:The Seminal
Author: sdstatessdp
Contact: Send Us Your Tips | The Seminal
Copyright: 2010 seminal.firedoglake.com
Website:Rally for Compassion: South Dakota SSDP Students Show Support for Measure 13, Medical Marijuana | The Seminal
