The U.S. Supreme Court announced today

Dear Friend:

The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will hear the Bush
administration's appeal of a lower court decision protecting medical
marijuana patients from arrest and jail. The case, "Ashcroft v.
Raich," stems from litigation funded by the Marijuana Policy Project's
grants program.

While we wait for the court to hear and rule on this case, Congress
will be voting (in about two weeks) on whether to end the DEA's
attacks on medical marijuana patients. Congressmen Maurice Hinchey
(D-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) will be offering an amendment on
the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives that would prevent the
U.S. Department of Justice (which includes the DEA) from spending any
money to raid medical marijuana patients in states where it's legal.

Please visit http://www.mpp.org/DD/action.html to fax or e-mail a
pre-written letter to your U.S. representative today. It's crucial
for you and other subscribers on this e-mail list to send tens of
thousands of letters in support of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment,
which is MPP's top legislative priority in Congress.

Back to the Supreme Court: The upcoming "Raich" hearing is only the
second time in history that the Supreme Court will hear a medical
marijuana case. The Supreme Court decides to hear and rule on only 1%
of the cases that are appealed to it.

The case is an appeal of a precedent-setting victory on December 16,
2003, when the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal
laws against marijuana do not apply to sick people who have the
approval of their physicians to use medical marijuana in states where
it's legal, as long as the patients' use is intrastate and
noncommercial in nature.

As a result of that ruling, Angel Raich and Diane Monson -- the two
named plaintiffs in the case -- are now legally allowed to use,
possess, and grow their own marijuana under both California state law
and federal law. Additionally, other patients in the six Ninth Circuit
states with laws allowing for the medical use of marijuana -- Alaska,
California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington -- no longer face
prosecution under state or federal law if their circumstances are
substantially similar to Raich's and Monson's circumstances.

In short, because of the "Raich" victory at the Ninth Circuit level,
the DEA and John Ashcroft's thugs have been prohibited since December
from arresting or harassing thousands of patients in six western
states. The Supreme Court will decide whether to affirm or overturn
this policy. While a ruling overturning "Raich" would not invalidate
the protections that patients currently enjoy under state law, it
would allow the Justice Department to resume the federal government's
war on patients.

At issue in the case is whether the U.S. Constitution gives Congress
the authority to criminalize activities that barely -- if at all --
involve interstate commerce. In its appeal, the Justice Department is
claiming that the two patients and their caregivers -- who are growing
and using medical marijuana within California, using California seeds,
California soil, California water, and California equipment - are
somehow engaged in "interstate commerce."

Oral arguments before the Court will take place this fall, with a
ruling expected shortly thereafter.

According to MPP's records, you have not yet made a financial donation
to MPP (or the tax-deductible MPP Foundation) in 2004. Would you
please consider visiting http://www.mpp.org/donate1001 to donate $10
or more today? Our lobbying campaign in support of the
Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment is costly and time-consuming.

And, again, if you haven't already, please visit
http://www.mpp.org/DD/action.html to fax or e-mail your U.S.
representative in support of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment. MPP's
online system is quick and easy and will take only two minutes of your
time. The more letters each congressional office receives, the more
likely it is that the amendment will pass on the House floor next
month.

The Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment received a major boost a few days
ago when several major religious denominations -- including the United
Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, and
others -- spoke out in favor of medical marijuana access. Please visit
http://www.mpp.org/states/site/quicknews.cgi?key=7552 to read the
Washington Post article from Saturday, which featured the Interfaith
Drug Policy Initiative and a quote from MPP.

If you agree that sick and suffering patients should not have to live
in fear of armed federal agents breaking down their doors to take away
their medicine, please consider visiting http://www.mpp.org/donate1001
to donate to MPP's work today.

Thank you,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.



please show your support in any way you can
emial you congressmen they will at least know what you want
by way of the numbers
its all in the numbers
peace

email sent! as well as emails to friends :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by teresaj2k

email sent! as well as emails to friends :)

---

thank you very much
if nobody tells you
you just helped millions of people try to get the right
to smoke weed
thank you alot,THEY do help
one of my congressmen used to email me back
spouting off rectoric about a fucking
GATEWAY drug
now he is no longer appossed thanks to him getting Educated about it
they not For it,but no longer stand Against it
so that progress is great news ,Few more elections
we be legal
i say as one of them millions
thanks agian for caring,

peace

ha i got a reply email saying thank you for taking interest in the government and he'll try to find the time to read my email.