Oregon Needs Your Help Getting Medical Marijuana Initiative on Ballot

In another affirmation of cannabis law reformâ??s political momentum in America, the organizers at VoterPower of Oregon have very likely qualified for the ballot what will be â??Initiative-28â?? this November.

Enough signatures have been gathered, but, in an effort to make sure that enough signatures legally qualify the measure for the ballot it is necessary and politically prudent to turn in the maximum number of signatures to survive scrutiny from the Secretary of Stateâ??s office or opponents of cannabis law reform.

Oregon, by all measurement, is one of the best states in the country on cannabis!

The state was the first to decriminalize possession in 1973, the state has had numerous voter initiatives to reform cannabis lawsâ??including the 1998 initiative votes to keep cannabis possession decriminalized (blessedly, an eye-popping 68% of Oregon voters rejected an effort to re-criminalize the possession of cannabis) and Oregon became the 4th state to pass a voter initiative that allows for the medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients who possess a physicianâ??s recommendation.

Now, in 2010, Initiative-28 seeks to create a state-sanctioned medical cannabis dispensary system where patients can have retail access to cannabis products.

Below is a recent alert from VoterPower director (and former NORML board member) John Sajo letting all concerned cannabis consumersâ??from Oregon and beyondâ??know about the politically important opportunity to help get another pro-cannabis law voter state initiative on this fallâ??s ballot.

If we can all help Oregon get over the top to qualify for the ballot, the state will join Arizona and South Dakota on medical cannabis-related initiatives, as well as California regarding an outright legalization initiative.**

Please contact VoterPower and lend them your help and financial support to make sure that the citizens of Oregon once again have the chance to lead the way on substantive cannabis law reform measures.

Thanks and kind regards,

Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director
NORML / NORML Foundation, Washington, DC, norml.org

**BTW, Washington State may also qualify a legalization ballot initiative for this year as well. They too are up against tight deadlines and financial restrictions, but might become the fifth state this election cycle to have a major pro-cannabis law reform measure placed directly in front of the voters. To help the effort in Washington State click here.

Friends,

We need your help to push Initiative 28 over the top. This initiative will create a dispensary system where qualified patients can obtain high quality medical marijuana. Patients will have more choices and much better access.

We have already collected over 110,000 signatures, but this isnâ??t quite enough. We are waiting to hear from the Secretary of State, who checks to see how many of the signatures are valid registered voters. We may need another 10,000 signatures.

We have street crews out petitioning who we expect to collect about half of what we need.

We need volunteers like you to help by getting a petition and filling up a sheet or two: One sheet is just ten signatures!

You can collect signatures from your Oregon friends and family or just by asking a few people out in public.

I-28 is going to be an important improvement to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act and it will help make better marijuana laws more likely in the future. Qualifying for and winning this election are within our grasp. Please help at this critical time.

If you need a petition we will mail you one, just email me at [email protected] or stop by our offices in Portland, Medford, or Eugene.

Or, call us at 503-224-3051 or 541-245-6634.

Thank you for helping!!

John Sajo Director, Voter Power

P.S. Contact me to find out other ways you can help the campaign!

Opposing Views: Oregon Needs Your Help Getting Medical Marijuana Initiative on Ballot