Alabamians for Compassionate Care

Kenny Horn's 'Bake'

2010-04-26T04:17:00.000-07:00

Today we buried my long time friend Kenny Horn who passed away on Thursday, April 22, 2010 after a long, hard, battle with life. If you wonder what I mean by that just click the link above.

The funeral was held at a small country Baptist Church in Goodwater, Alabama.

Let me start with the really, inexplicably, exquisitely, great stuff about a real country funeral in rural, economically depressed Alabama. There is nothing in the world quite like one. The people, who are poor in material items, but very, very, rich in spirit, tenacity and grit showed up in droves. The kind of deep, wonderful, true, country people that are who they are no matter where they are, By God! Real people. Not a bone of pretense in them. Salt of the earth in its purest form.

They are the people who packed out the church in droves, I mean standing room only, many who were dressed in their t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. One pallbearer was a biker, complete with long hair, tattoos and a chain attached to his billfold. Another wore a green t-shirt. I guess he didn't have a white one. And that's ok. Around here what you are wearing couldn't make less of a shit to those who know and love you. We don't necessarily have dress codes. I mean, at my brother John's funeral we dressed him in overalls and an Alabama Crimson Tide cap and all of the pallbearers wore overalls.

In fact, Kenny Horn, who was an HUGE Alabama Crimson Tide fan, was buried in his 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide National Championship t-shirt. And that is just as it should be. I was worried that some do-gooder would try to suit him up....which just wouldn't have gone over well at all. Not only was Kenny buried in his Tide tee, his casket spray and one of the large wreaths had Crimson Tide ribbons all over them. His awesome beard, which he loved so much, was left intact as well.

That's just how we do stuff around here. We are who we are when we are living, and when we leave this life, we go out as who we were. That's the way things ought to be, in my opinion. Come and go as you are.

There was some beautiful solo singing by a gentleman. He first sang Amazing Grace. Despite my being a non-believer those familiar Christian hymns remind me of comforting things from my childhood and I always enjoy them. The next piece of music was something I have never heard before. It was a pre-recorded bluegrass/country/gospel tune and I think the title was "Stroll Across Heaven with You". That'un made me squall almost as bad as 'Precious Memories' does at funerals. Kenny's mom cried out repeatedly during that song, too. While I was sitting up front and couldn't say for absolute certain I'd be willing to bet there wasn't a dry eye in the house after that tune. I'd actually like a copy of that for my mp3 player. If anyone knows the artist or has a copy please let me know.

During the service I sat next to Kenny's elderly first cousin. We talked and introduced ourselves. As soon as I said my name a gentleman sitting behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was Loretta Nall. I told him I was and he and his wife said they had read my tribute to Kenny and thought it spot on. They thanked me for it. I was glad that the family had liked it. I told them after the service and after the funeral home people had filled in the grave that those of us who were closest to Kenny were going to meet at the graveside and have our own sendoff ceremony.

The Christian church funeral was for one group of attendees....like his mom and elderly relatives who believe in a Christian burial. The ceremony that I planned was for another group of attendees, the flip-flop, t-shirt and short wearers and well let's just say it was a 'different' sort of ceremony. Close cousins, nieces and nephews, and the many, many personal friends who could be found over at Kenny's on any given day of the week. Those of us who helped him ingest his medicine, scratched his nose, rolled his joints, lit and held them for him, helped him get from his bed, to his chair, to outside under the apple tree, held the phone for him, opened the window and turned on the fan, gave him drinks of water, got stray itchy hairs out of his eyes, and those that drove him around, when he was in better health, to wherever he wanted to go and did whatever he wanted to do...etc....I think there is a nickname that Kenny gave to everyone at our private ceremony and we will get to those later on in this story. They good'uns.

Now, for a tad of the things I could have done without at the funeral.

The only times I have been in church, since I turned 13 and refused continue attending because I thought it was a complete bunch of horseshit (no offense), have been for funerals. Every time I go back I am reminded of why I stopped going. This won't be a long post bitching about religion as I see it, but, I do have one gripe about the way some funerals are conducted by the preachers and Kenny's funeral was one of those funerals.

Kenny wasn't what I could call a big Christian. He believed in God and had made peace long ago...but he lived his life and never harmed a soul. The preachers who gave his eulogy didn't know him as a person. They had never gone by and spent a day with him just helping him with the simple things that the able bodied among us take entirely for granted. I'm pretty sure they never held a joint for him and probably few if any of the other things I already mentioned. I am not judging them for that. Just sayin...

Trying to give a eulogy for someone you do not really know is trying to like...well... give a eulogy for someone you don't know. A good and proper one just can't be done. So, there was no eulogy other than the preacher saying Kenny was an angry man who he had been blessed out by and who he had blessed out back.

I wholeheartedly disagree with that statement. The Kenny Horn I knew was not angry. He could get angry and I'm sure there were times in his life, before I knew him, that he probably was very angry and frustrated and felt hopeless before he grew to accept his paralyzed, completely dependent state. But, for the last 15 years that I knew him he was not an angry man.

The Kenny Horn I knew enjoyed life to the fullest extent possible. Yes, at one point in his life he drank moonshine, beer, whiskey, and wine and maybe smoked some shit other than weed once or twice. But don't you dare judge him on that. What in the hell would you do if the only part of your body that you had any control over was your mind and you had to live the life that Kenny Horn lived?

Day in and day out in the same room, in a fucking bed with a special air mattress, a wheel chair, with a special cushion, to move you from place to place when you could gather enough strength in your mostly-paralyzed arm to move the damn button yourself,a hydraulic lift to move you from bed to chair to bed, to chair to bed. Having to lose all your dignity and shit and piss in bags that everyone could see, not being able to scratch your own fucking nose when it itches and having to lay there and depend on anyone....anyone for help....and hope somebody in the house hears you when you call. No wife, no sex, no children. Wouldn't you want to explore any other reality than you own, cruel, unchanging one? I would. Kenny did. And bless the folks who helped him do so.

I, personally, thank whatever beings there may or may not be for drugs, both licit and illicit, that help alter the human mind and take it to an elevated place...most especially for people like Kenny Horn, for his mind was all he had. To only have been able to experience pain and suffering and the same four bedroom or hospital walls with no natural, herbal, alcohol or stimulant relief would have been a horror more terrible than any I have ever contemplated in my 35 years of life.

To say he was bitter and angry was shitty. How can one who has not lived in Kenny's state for 30 years ever bring themselves to say any such thing? Especially at a funeral?

After that brief statement the non-eulogy became a sermon about how we would all meet Kenny's fate someday and so forth and so on. Obscure bible verses...even one about a shepherd, possibly Jesus, breaking the leg of a sheep and carrying it on his shoulders to prevent it from straying from the flock. I don't recall that particular bible story from my recollections of church. The preacher was neat though. At one point he even said "sheep are the dumbest animals on earth", which struck me as quite humorous. He also claimed that he was once a drunken outlaw in Stone Mountain, Georgia and that God saved him and here he was today, a living testament to all the drankin, dope smoking, outlaws in attendance at Kenny's funeral that they could be just like him....SAVED...or at least that was how I interpreted. At one point, because this preacher went on and on and on, I swear I heard Kenny say, "I wish'd he shut up so we could go smoke a joint." I told my husband about it later and he said he had a similar experience. It was very real.

No offense on the accepting Christianity offer...but I'll pass. I think eulogies should be given by friends and family members who knew the deceased best. When I die, and if I die before you, my friends and family, please get up and tell a funny story about something we did together. Share personal moments about the real me. Don't let someone who doesn't know diddly squat about me get up there and talk about dumb sheep and all that other stuff that had nothing to do with me.

Having said that, I really and truly did enjoy the whole church funeral experience. Those are traditions that I was brought up to believe in, but don't. I respect them and those who do believe them and their right to believe them. It's a very personal thing and I mean no disrespect with my description.

Now...on to the personal send off of Kenny Horn by his friends and close family. I'm an organizer by nature so, when I first got to the church, I sought out one of the regular Kenny Crew members and told them to find all the folks who were regular features at Kenny's house and ask them to come out to the graveside after the funeral home staff had left so that we could send Kenny off in the way that he had told us he wanted to go.

C rounded up Butt Bone, Peanut, Bubba, Head, Fruitsy Fly, Pee Wee, Tootsie, Nigger Charles (a white guy who loved the rebel flag so much that Kenny sarcastically nicknamed him that)....(if that offends you I'm sorry...but it is what it is and I just can't leave it out) and about ten others I only know the real names of and won't use here, and told them of the plan. Back at the graveside about four or five other carloads of folks pulled up to join in the alternate celebration of Kenny's life. It got back to me that some industrious soul had thought to bury Kenny with a fat joint and had hidden one in his left hand so that no one could see. It also got back to me that it was probably a good thing no one could see it, otherwise Kenny might not have been buried with his favorite thing. While some of you might find that shocking I, personally, find it hysterical! Long live wild, country, poor people!

Instead of a 'WAKE', a common tradition in some cultures where the family and friends of the deceased eat, drink, and party for days on end and remember all of the wonderful moments they shared with the recently departed, we had a 'BAKE' for Kenny Horn. All of those mentioned above gathered round his grave, I said a few words, others shared funny stories, shock at his death, anger at the preacher who said Kenny was angry (I'm not the only one that preacher pissed off) and Kenny's kind of sacrament was passed around. Lot's of sacrament. Kenny was there with us. I could hear him saying, "Now at's wut I'm talkin bout y'all". Then his soul rose through the atmosphere on the smoke that enabled him to have enjoyment in life.

It was a fitting tribute to a man who taught me about real bravery and courage in the face of adversity. I will forever remember him and always miss his presence.

So long buddy!

I'll miss you terribly Kenny Horn

2010-04-23T07:23:00.001-07:00

My long time friend and medical marijuana patient Kenny Horn has just passed away.

When Kenny was 16 he did what a lot of country kids do and that was to jump off a bridge into a creek. And it turned out very badly. He broke his neck and was paralyzed from the chest down with only a small amount of movement in his arms. Kenny was 46 and had lived the last 30 years of his life as basically a talking head, completely dependent on others for his most basic needs. When it first happened his doctors didn't expect he would make it through the night....but he did. They now call him the miracle man because he has lived so long and through so many medical procedures, blood clots, infections, bed sores etc...

In all the years I knew Kenny he was, for the most part, a very cheerful, funny man. Very kind, would help anyone out, give you the shirt off his back, kind of person. Not that he didn't get frustrated sometimes. But, if I were a talking head, dependent on everyone else for just basic needs like getting a drink of water, scratching my nose, or being fed, I'd probably be a real bitter, mean, miserable, asshole who would have no friends. Kenny, though, was surrounded by many friends and a loving family.

Last week I took him to two doctor appointments. One to his regular doctor to look at his bed sores and another to a urologist in Anniston. I had recently told him I would come over on my days out of school and sit with him, help him medicate, and drive him to his appointments when I could, so that I could help take some of the strain off him and his mom.

His mom is 74 and does most of his care by herself, including getting him into and out of a lift so that he can move from his bed to his wheel chair, into and out of the lift chair in the van, all the driving to appointments all over the state..etc. Kenny weights probably 260. His mom is a little, old lady. However, the one thing his mom couldn't do was roll him a joint and help him smoke it.

She believed with all her heart that it was medicine, she'd seen it work over the years where nothing else had, and believed what the doctor said about it, but she just wasn't able to help him with that. He'd often call me on the mornings, when he had been unable to get a friend or family member to come by to help him get his medicine, and ask me to come help him do it. "Come on by girl...I'm bout to die" he'd say. He'd be in awful pain when I got there and the difference after he smoked his medicine was just an amazing thing to witness.

I stayed with him for a few hours after those two days last week. We sat out under the apple tree, medicating him, talking about everything under the sun, and just enjoying spending time with him. I've known for a while they he couldn't possibly survive much longer and cherished the time I got to go and see him for a little while. He wanted me to help him wash his hair that day, but some folks pulled up just as I was about to start and then my ride pulled up a few minutes later and I didn't get to help him do that. I feel really shitty about that now. It's funny the moments you think of when someone you love has died. The little things you didn't do that you could have...you know?

I was supposed to take Kenny back to Anniston today for his urology appointment. I called this morning to see if they still needed me to come over and take him, but no one answered. When no one answers at Kenny's that means only one thing. He's in the hospital.

I called the hospital and they told me he was in CCU, in a coma and that his organs had pretty much quit functioning. For the last three years or so he has really gone down hill. The first major episode was when his pain medication was switched from Lortab to Oxycontin. He took three doses of Oxycontin, just like he was supposed to, and after the third dose they found him blue and unresponsive in his bed and rushed him to Birmingham. More recently he's had a lot of blood clots hit his brain which caused seizures and strokes and that really had an awful impact on his mind.

He's told me many times in the last few years that he is ready to go, that he is tired of suffering and being a burden on his mom. His doctor, an old, wise, country one, knew that Kenny smoked copious amounts of marijuana and had for years. He said that is what kept him alive and in relative good health this long. After the pain medicine episode, Kenny told the doctor not to write him any more prescription pain medicine, that marijuana worked better for him than anything else and wouldn't kill him. His doctor agreed and told him to stop smoking cigarettes but to smoke as much marijuana as he wanted.

When Kenny would have to be in the hospital his doctor would prescribe Marinol for him, but it didn't work. However, when no one was looking some of the nurses, who have worked with him as their patient for years, would sneak him out of the hospital and give him the real stuff. Bless them for being such kind, considerate and wonderful souls to risk their careers and their very freedom to help one of their patients.

Just the other day Kenny and I were talking about the medical marijuana bill and he told me that if he made it another year that he would go to Montgomery during the next legislative session and testify before the committee. He always wanted to go, but, due to bed sores or lack of proper transportation, or some other issue, we were never able to get him down there. That's too bad. Kenny , who was as deep country as they come and said just exactly what was on his mind, would have told it like it was. The judiciary committee and everyone else in the House and Senate should have had to look at him in the eyes and hear what he had to say. He was 'the least among us' and he should have had his day before those in power who seek to put poor souls like him in jail for trying to ease their pain.

This afternoon I went up to the hospital where Kenny is and spent about 2 hours with him and his mom. He was in the death rattles then. I kissed his sweet head, continuously replaced the cool rag on his forehead, rubbed his hair, held his hand, and told him how much I loved him and would miss him, but that I knew he was ready to go on and not have to suffer anymore. He had refused to be placed on a ventilator again. Yesterday he coded and they brought him back, but only gave him an oxygen mask per his request. All fluids except morphine had been discontinued.

He died 15 minutes after I left.

His poor little mama is tore all to pieces. This is the third child she has buried, and Kenny was the baby. For all of his life he has depended on her for literally everything. She and I cried together and she said she don't know what she will do with herself now that he is gone. We laughed over the things we will miss hearing him say like, "Come on by girl," "Scratch my nose," "Push on my stomach," (when he needed to cough) " "Light me up at joint right yonder", "Get this hair off my eye," "Gimme a drank uh at water," and "Give me a puff off at cigarette."

I know that wherever Kenny's essence is floating free tonight that there are no wheelchairs, no special air mattresses, no needles or ventilators, no colostomy bags, no bed sores, no super pubic catheters and no pain and misery. I know his death means the end of his long suffering, but, somehow that doesn't make it suck much less.

I love you dearly Kenny Horn and your loss is being felt very deeply tonight at my house. I promise to bury you with your favorite thing and to keep the other big promise I made to you last week. I hope that when you get to wherever we go after this life that you have the finest, most athletically fit body ever waiting on you and a completely unbreakable spine. I bet that there will be a beautiful red-headed woman waiting to love you and bare you many beautiful children, which you so desperately wanted in this life, but were physically unable to obtain.

You are already missed.

Update on Alabama Medical Marijuana Bill

2010-04-21T06:32:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to just take a moment and give everyone an update about ACC and what our plans are for the coming months.

I've taken a short sabbatical since HB642 passed out of committee on April 7. I had put off a lot of my college course work in order to work on the bill and unfortunately fell way behind. If you have had a hard time getting hold of me its because I had to block out everything and focus on my work or risk losing my 3.7 GPA which I have no intention of doing. Besides, we all need a small breather and a little time to reflect on our monumental feat of getting out medical marijuana bill out of committee in an election year. We made history. Give yourselves a big pat on the back. You deserve it.

Now, a large number of people have inquired about if we were having/could we please have a 420 celebration. We didn't. Never do. While I am a big fan of our International marijuana celebration day I do not feel the time is right for me to organize one in Alabama. There are a number of reasons for that. The most important one is that at this time we are all working hard to get this medical marijuana legislation passed and on the Governor's desk. The closer we get to that goal the more our opponents will monitor every single move we make, take harmless things like a 420 celebration, and use the worst images they can find from it against us in committee meetings and on the house floor. It may sound crazy, but one picture of a young person smoking a joint or someone in a tie-dye t-shirt can undo years of work that I and others have done to get us to the point where we got this legislative session. It wouldn't even have to be one of our own. Take the following incident as an example;

ACC held a medical marijuana rally in Birmingham a few months ago, which included a march to the fountain at 5 Points. As soon as the media pulled up, what appeared to be a couple of 16 year old kids came over to the fountain and lit up a blunt. These kids were not part of the ACC demonstration. We did not know them. They came out of nowhere. I approached them and told them they had to leave and that they should not be smoking pot in public. They told me that it wasn't pot but that fake crap being sold all over now known as K2/Spice. I told them I didn't care what it was, that this was a medical marijuana rally and was focused patients and not a general legalization rally and that them standing there would be the first thing they showed on the nightly news. They still wouldn't leave. Finally, one of the older men with ACC came over and told them it was illegal to smoke anything in public and to leave right now. They finally did. I had to explain to the media that they were not with us, that we had never seen them before and to please not put them on the news as they had nothing to do with the medical marijuana rally we were holding. Thankfully, the News complied. I happen to think it possible that someone paid those kids to come over as soon as the media arrived to try and derail our issue by making it look to the public like we were encouraging teenagers to smoke pot (even if it wasn't actual pot) in public. Politics is dirty and the opposition will try and undercut us and make us look bad at every turn. When they can't find us doing anything wrong they will insert their own people doing something wrong and then claim it was one of ours. Some may think I am paranoid....but there is no such thing as paranoia in politics.

So, that's the reason I do not organize public celebrations on 420 in Alabama. When we get to the point that the environment has changed enough that such a thing would not cause us major public relations damage then we will do one. Now, however, is not that time. Another reason that I don't do them is that I find them pretty useless. It's fun to socialize with like minds and celebrate the wonderful cannabis plant....but it's choir preaching. I know you support it. You know I support it. We don't need a day to stand around and tell each other how much we support it. I feel our energies/resources would be much better spent by preaching to those in power about the laws which need to be changed and how THEY need to support it. That's just my personal view.

Now, what's next for ACC and the Compassionate Care bill? We will begin working on our strategy for the remainder of this year (an election year) after the legislative session ends and I am finished with my classes. Sometime in early June we will have another ACC meeting where we will discuss strategy and give everyone marching orders about all of the things that need to be done between now and next session.

One of the main things we need to do between now and November is start showing up at campaign rallies of everyone running for public office....from Governor down to legislator. We need to make our presence known and let those seeking office know that we are a force to be reckoned with and that we are not going anywhere and that if they want our support then we need to know here they stand on this issue. Showing up at nearly every campaign rally will let them know that we are serious. It will let the media know that we are serious. And it will let the public know that we are serious and that this issue isn't going away until we get what we want. Today I want all of you reading this to find out who will be campaigning in or near your town between now and November and make plans to be at the campaign event. Send me a list of all political events and we will work out what you need to say and do when you attend. This is critical.

Another CRITICAL thing that everyone who supports medical marijuana in Alabama needs to do is MAKE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS to the following legislators.

Rep. Patricia Todd (bill sponsor)
Rep. John Robinson
Rep. Cam Ward (will be senator Cam Ward after the election)
Rep. Chris England
Rep. Laura Hall

All of the information you need to send a campaign contribution is listed at this link
http://nallforgovernor.blogspot.com/2010/04/reflections-on-alabama-medical.html

It doesn't matter if it is only $5. What matters is that these legislators hear from YOU and that you let them know you appreciate their support on medical marijuana and want to help them get back in office in 2011. Those small contributions sometimes mean more than the huge ones that well funded businesses and well off individuals make. They can afford huge chunks of money and a $1,000 contribution to them is nothing. But, a $5 contribution from someone on a fixed income who is suffering from cancer or multiple sclerosis etc...means a great deal more because they can least afford it, but did it anyway. Please send a note along with your contribution thanking them for their support of HB642 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act. It can and will make a world of difference.

Finally, and this is REALLY critical, ACC needs monetary contributions to continue our work between now and September. We had a lot of action this year and that action depleted our finances. We also had a lot of success. I cannot stress how amazing the committee meeting was, nor how astounding some of the things we heard from representatives were, nor can I over-emphasize the miraculous outcome of getting our medical marijuana bill out of the hardest committee in the entire house IN AN ELECTION YEAR. Please help us continue our incredible and amazing work in Alabama, the hardest state of all in which to bring about change. We need to be able to help members attend campaign rallies, visit with their legislator and senator over the break between sessions, and we need to keep the lights on and the bills paid at ACC. Currently contributions are not tax deductible. We have registered with the state but are still in the process of being granted 501c3 status from the IRS.

If you would like to make a contribution please send a check or money order made payable to:

ACU
4633 Pearson Chapel Rd
Alexander City, AL 35010

Currently there is no way to make an online contribution. Due to PayPal's long history of seizing the accounts of drug policy reform groups, stealing the money contained in those accounts, and sharing information with the Feds we at ACC refuse to use them. When we are granted 501c3 status we will make a way to contribute online available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

House Judiciary Committee Passes Medical Marijuana Bill

2010-04-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Folks,

Alabama made HISTORY today when, for the first time ever, our Cadillac of a
medical marijuana bill HB642 passed out of the house judiciary committee. About 40
patients and supporters showed up at the state house this morning for a
press conference and to pack out the committee room.

There was some opposition to the bill, but, for the first time those who opposed it actually stated their opposition and agreed to work with us between now and the next
session to find common ground. I will be preparing a much longer write up and posting it later along with a video of the entire committee session.

Many, many thanks to the wonderful people at Drug Policy Alliance who have been our allies for 6 years, Rep. Patricia Todd our magnificent bill sponsor who is a true champion for the medical marijuana cause and a very special thank you to Mrs. Jacki Phillips, the mother of Michael Phillips, who the bill is named in honor of. You can't talk to Mrs. Jacki and be opposed to medical marijuana afterward. She's an angel.

And of course much love and respect to all of the patients, family members, and supporters who have called, emailed, and visited members of the House Judiciary Committee, attended meetings, written letters to the editor, and donated time and money to this noble cause. None of this would be possible without all of you out there every day putting your freedom on the line. I can never thank you enough for standing up with me in Alabama.

This is the fist step of many, but we are closer today to Alabama becoming
the first medical marijuana state in the South than ever before. Rep. Todd
has already agreed to sponsor our bill again next year and we plan to get an
early start. I feel like 2011 or 2012 will be the year that patients and
physicians in Alabama will finally have the protection they deserve.

Onward,
Loretta Nall

Here are two news stories that have already hit the media. Please leave comments on both.

Committee Approves Medical Marijuana Bill

Alabama House panel votes to allow medical marijuana use

News Release

2010-04-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

Alabamians for Compassionate Care

For Immediate Release: Loretta Nall: 256-625-9599
Gabriel Sayegh 646-335-2264

April6
2010

Wednesday: Alabama House of Representatives Committee to Consider Medical Marijuana Legislation

Statehouse Press Conference with Medical Marijuana Patient, Family Advocates and Legislative Sponsors of the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act

Alabama could become 15th State, and First in the South to Allow Access to Medical Marijuana for Select Patients

MONTGOMERY, AL -- On Wednesday, the Alabama House of Representatives Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on HB 642, the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act. Prior to the hearings, members of Alabamians for Compassionate Care will hold a press conference at the Capitol.

WHAT: Press Conference in Support of HB 642, The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act

WHERE: Legislative Office Building, 11 South Union St., Montgomery, AL

WHEN: Wednesday, April 7, 8:15 a.m.

WHO: Patients, Families, Community Members, Advocates, and bill sponsor Rep. Patricia Todd

The legislation, introduced by Rep. Patricia Todd, would allow patients suffering from certain debilitating and life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis to use and possess medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. The bill would also allow for the licensing of centers where qualifying patients could safely access medical marijuana. The program would be administered by the Alabama Department of Health.

"I have known dozens of people with HIV who have benefited from using marijuana, and I believe this should be a medical option,” said bill sponsor Rep. Patricia Todd, (D-54, Birmingham). “I have seen many people I love experience severe pain and I know I would have done anything in my power to relieve it".

Patients, doctors, and advocates were ecstatic that the legislation, which they have been supporting for over nearly five years, is finally being taken up by Alabama legislators.

Currently, fourteen states, and the District of Columbia, have passed similar medical marijuana legislation allowing patients with certain debilitating conditions to use and possess medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation.

"As an adult with chronic pain, why is perfectly fine to take the prescriptions my doctor gives me to the point of addiction, but it illegal for me to use a substance the US government has been giving out medicinally to certain patients since the 70's?,” asked patient Christopher Butts of Cullman, AL. “Shouldn’t my doctor be able to recommend the best treatments for me? Doesn’t my family have the right to live without the fear of police arresting me for using medicine that helps?”

A 2004 poll administered by the Mobile Register/University of South Alabama found that 76% of Alabamians support allowing access to medical marijuana as recommended by a physician. And 2010 ABC News/Washington Post national poll found that 81% of those polled, including 68% of Conservatives and 72% of Republicans, think that doctors should be able to prescribe marijuana to their patients.

Hundreds of local and national organizations support allowing physicians to recommend, and patients to access, medical marijuana for certain debilitating conditions, including The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Bar Association, and American Public Health Association.

“Alabama patients suffering from cancer and other illnesses today are criminals for using medical marijuana, while patients in New Jersey and thirteen other states are not,” said Loretta Nall, executive director of Alabamians for Compassionate Care, a group of patients, family members and community members calling for changes to the law. “If marijuana is good medicine for patients in 14 states and the District of Colombia, then it is good medicine for patients in Alabama and they should have safe access to it under their doctor’s care. It's time to pass comprehensive medical marijuana legislation in Alabama. This is a states rights issue and the patients and physicians in Alabama need protection.”

###

Medical Marijuana in the BHAM News

2010-04-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

ACC member and medical marijuana patient Christopher Butts had an excellent letter published in today's Birmingham News.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Bill up for debate on Wednesday

The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act is making its way through the Alabama Legislature and will be heard by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The bill would protect doctors for recommending marijuana to their patients, as well as protect patients for both possessing and using marijuana to treat debilitating conditions.

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have passed similar medical marijuana legislation giving residents with debilitating conditions the freedom to use a safer, natural alternative to their prescribed medications. Marijuana has been in the pharmacopeia of almost every culture on this planet for thousands of years without a single death; the same cannot be said for the drugs in your medicine cabinet.

Let's get this bill passed and provide Alabama's sick and suffering those same liberties provided by a growing number of states.

Christopher Butts

Cullman

Loretta Nall on Matt Murphy Tuesday 7:45 a.m.

2010-04-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone,

I will be on the Matt Murphy show in the morning (Tuesday,April 6) at 7:45 am to discuss HB642 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act coming up in committee on Wednesday. You can listen live online at Matt Murphy Show

You may also call in at 1-877-569-1005

Make Marijuana Legal for Patients

2010-04-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

ACC member and South Alabama ACC coordinator Samuel Barksdale had a letter published in today's Montgomery Advertiser.

Make Marijuana Legal for Patients

Please drop by the Montgomery Advertiser Website and leave a comment.

Prepare a Written Testimony in Support of HB642

2010-03-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

On April 7, 2010 at 9 a.m. HB642 the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act will come before the Alabama House Judiciary Committee. HB642 would protect doctors who recommend and patients who use marijuana as medicine from arrest and prosecution under state law. This will be a public hearing where some of the patients who make up Alabamians for Compassionate Care will address the committee about their use of medical marijuana.

Due to a limited amount of time only 5 patients will be giving live testimony. However, since there are literally thousands of patients who use medical marijuana in Alabama and tens of thousands more who would benefit from medical marijuana, ACC is soliciting written testimonies from other medical marijuana patients, which will be presented to the members of the House Judiciary Committee.

If you would like to provide a written testimony about your use of medical marijuana please do so as soon as possible. All you need to do is tell your story in your own words. Please be sure to include your medical condition, how long you have had the medical condition, what medications you have been prescribed, whether or not those medications worked, any side effects you experienced, how much the medications cost, why you decided to try medical marijuana, how marijuana has worked for you, what dangers you face in trying to acquire it and why you think it should be legal for medical use.

Please email all written testimonies to me at lorettanall@gmail.com . Please include your contact information.

HB642 in committee Wed. April 7

2010-03-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

HB642 in committee Wed. April 7

I just got word from Rep. Todd that HB642 the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act will come before the House judiciary committee on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. If you are planning to attend the committee hearing then be at the State House, located at 11 South Union Street in Montgomery, at 7:45 a.m. for the 8 a.m. press conference. At 9 a.m. we will proceed to room 123 (in the basement) for the committee hearing.

If you are one of the patients that's been asked to give testimony before the committee then I would prefer that you be in Montgomery on Tuesday evening to avoid any possible delays. ACC will cover your room, food, and travel expenses. If you can pitch in that would be great, too. Please send a personal email to lorettanall@gmail.com to find out where we will be staying. Due to budget constraints there will be multiple people per hotel room. Bring a sleeping bag in case you need it.

Please dress appropriately. ACC recommends that you don your Sunday best or business casual (slacks/skirt) attire. We will have t-shirts available, which can be worn over your clothes, if you so choose, for the press conference and committee meeting.
We will also have some signs available for the press conference.

If you have not already done so please contact the members of the Judiciary Committee and ask them to support this bill.

HB642 NOT in Committee March 31

2010-03-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

Dear ACC Members,

I'm afraid I have some very discouraging news to share with all of you.

I mentioned at our meeting on Saturday that our bill HB642 was not listed on this week's judiciary calendar. I noted that one bill was listed twice and that our bill not being listed was possibly a mistake. Last night Rep. Todd told me that we didn't make the cut for this week's calendar. There is only one more committee meeting day left after Wednesday.

It is possible that the bill listed twice will be corrected and ours could be added. However, since I will not know for sure until Tuesday, I have canceled the hotel reservations I made for Tuesday so that I would not lose $600 or so I had spent to reserve rooms for everyone planning to make the trip on Tuesday.

DO NOT COME TO MONTGOMERY ON TUESDAY.

If anything changes and we get placed on this week's calendar we will post that information on our website, Facebook, Yahoo, and send it out to the email list. Please check the website, Facebook, Yahoo, or your email frequently between now and Tuesday evening.

Contact House Judiciary Committee on Medical Marijuana Today!

2010-03-24T05:20:00.000-07:00

Next Wednesday, March 31, HB642 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act will come before the Alabama House Judiciary Committee. Today we need to start flooding the phone lines and inboxes of the judiciary committee members asking them to support this bill.

When you call you may or may not get the member on the phone. If you get the member on the phone introduce yourself. If you are a patient then tell them what your condition is, what medications you have taken, how they affected your quality of life, how marijuana helps your condition and the dangerous things you have to go through to get it. Tell them you shouldn't have to risk your family, property and freedom in order to treat your medical condition. Tell them that 14 other states and DC have medical marijuana laws, but, because you live in Alabama, you are treated as a criminal as opposed to a patient. Tell them that geographic location should never determine criminality and that patients in Alabama deserve the same level of protection as patients in the 14 states where medical marijuana has been passed. Ask them to please vote YES on HB642. Please write down what they say and send it to me.

If you get the main desk at the State House leave a message asking for the judiciary committee member to support HB642 and to please return your call.

Also, take a moment and send an email to the members listed below.

"Camjulward@aol.com" , (334) 242-7750

steve.mcmillan@alhouse.org, (334) 242-7723

spencer.collier@alhouse.org, (334) 242-7719

paul.demarco@alhouse.org, (334) 242-7740

charles.newton@alhouse.org, (334) 242-4460

marcel.black@alhouse.org, (334) 242-7667

Tammy.Irons@alhouse.org, (334) 353-9032

jamie.ison@alhouse.org, (334) 242-7711

laura.hall@alhouse.org, (334) 242-7688

chris.england@alhouse.org , (334) 242-7703

john.robinson@alhouse.org, (334) 242-7728

howard.sanderford@alhouse.org (334) 242-4368

HB642 in Committee March 31

2010-03-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

HB642 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act will come before the Alabama House Judiciary Committee on March 31, 2010 at 9 a.m.

Members of Alabamians for Compassionate Care will hold a press conference on the steps of the Alabama State House that morning at 8 a.m. where we will be joined by our bill sponsor Rep. Patricia Todd to discuss the bill and hear from some of the patients whose lives are adversely affected by the lack of a medical marijuana law in Alabama.

Beginning on March 23rd we will begin calling and visiting with members of the House Judiciary committee to ask for their support of this bill. House Judiciary Committee contact information is HERE. Simply click the name and you will be taken to that member's page. I will be providing a sample script as time draws closer.

If you support medical marijuana in Alabama then BE THERE on March 31!!!!! We hope to pack out the committee room and have an overflow crowd. The more people who show up the more legislators realize this is a serious issue with a lot of support from all segments of Alabama society. If you need gas money to get there let us know. If you need a ride from your area of the state let us know so that we can try to arrange one for you. ACC members will be out front and easily identifiable by our ACC t-shirts.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us either by email or phone. Our contact information is HERE.

It's True: Marijuana Helps

2010-03-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

ACC member and patient Sam Barksdale from Mobile had an excellent editorial published in today's Mobile Press Register.

It's True: Marijuana Helps

Go read it at the link and leave a comment on the Press Register site. Then, write a letter of your own in response to Sam's.

Many thanks to the Mobile Press Register for running Sam's letter on a Sunday, for giving it such a great title and, most importantly, for treating it as an OpEd as opposed to a general LTE.

Way to go Sam Barksdale!!!

HIGH TIMES EDITOR STEVE HAGER VS DEA AGENT IN MOBILE THURSDAY!!!

2010-03-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

HIGH TIMES EDITOR STEVE HAGER VS DEA AGENT IN MOBILE THURSDAY!!!

This Thursday March 4, 2010 at 7:30 pm The University of South Alabama is sponsoring the annual face off between High Times Editor Steve Hager and DEA agent Robert Stutman. Mr. Hager and Mr. Stutman will debate the pros and cos of marijuana.

This event is called Heads vs. Feds.

Members of Alabamians for Compassionate Care, including yours truly, will be attending and disseminating information on the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act which is set to come before the Judiciary Committee the week of March 22.

More information about the event can be found HERE.

If you plan to attend and would like to help ACC hand out info or if you are in the central part of Alabama and need a ride down please contact me at lorettanall@gmail.com or Christie O'Brien at reederchristie@yahoo.com

--
Loretta Nall
Executive Director
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
251-650-2271
lorettanall@gmail.com

WE NEED PATIENTS' PICTURES

2010-03-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

ATTENTION ACC PATIENTS: ACC is looking for patient pictures(ACC MEMBERS ONLY PLZ) to be used for a website banner and other marketing material associated with ACC. These pictures need to be serious..no smiles, no side poses, etc. FACE only PLZ. All pictures submitted should be in jpg format and no smaller than 640x480. All submissions should be given to us no later than Wednesday March 3rd. PLEASE EMAIL ALL SUBMISSIONS TO Penny Vaughan at luvlavndr@yahoo.com.

THANK YOU!

ACC Staff

Podcast of Loretta Nall on the Uncle Henry Show

2010-02-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

If you missed the show you can listen to the podcast of it HERE

Many, many thanks to Uncle Henry for having me on for the entire hour this morning and for being such a great host. I look forward to the next time.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

2010-02-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

Many people have contacted me asking how they could get involved and help make a difference in our legalization effort. Loretta and I have put together an easy to follow guide that I hope EVERYONE will take advantage of using. They can't hear you if you remain silent!!!

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

1) Contact Executive Director Loretta Nall (me) at lorettanall@gmail.com or by calling 256-625-9599, or Outreach Coordinator Christie O'Brien at alabamacompcare@yahoo.com or by calling 205-907-6131.

2) Visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/alacompcare?ref=mf

3) Join our discussion group at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/compassionate-care/join

4) Call/write/visit your member of the Alabama House or Representatives and ask for their support of the medical marijuana bill. If you are unsure of who your representative is in Montgomery please go to this link http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/house.html, scroll down and on the left side of the page you will see a place to enter your zip code. That will bring up the name, address and contact number for your member of the Alabama House of Representatives.

5) Talk to friends family and co-workers about this issue

6) Write letters to the editors of Alabama newspapers. The media in Alabama is very supportive of medical marijuana.

7) Help us recruit more medical professionals and clergy for the medical marijuana cause in Alabama.

THANK YOU

Christie O'Brien
Outreach Coordinator

RALLY COVERAGE!

2010-02-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

Here are several links to rally coverage from Saturday Feb 13th:

PICTURES - CLICK HERE

CBS 42 NEWS - STORY

CBS 42 NEWS - VIDEO

AL.COM/B'HAM NEWS

ACC Intl. Medical Marijuana Celebration time change

2010-02-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Due to inclement weather conditions the time of this event has been pushed back by one hour. We will meet at 2330 Highland Avenue at 2 pm and begin our march to the Fountain at 5 Points South between 2:30 and 3:00 pm. The Birmingham News has confirmed that they will be coming out to report on our event. If road conditions are still problematic in your area at noon then do not attempt to attend. However, if you can safely make it to this event please come and bring as many people as you can.

Dear Friends and Supporters of Medical Marijuana in Alabama,

On Feb. 13, 2010 beginning at 1 p.m. members of Alabamians for Compassionate Care will kick off International Medical Marijuana Week with a celebration in Birmingham, Alabama with a pot luck dinner, fellowship, speakers and a short demonstration. If you plan to attend please bring a covered dish to share with other attendees. Later on we plan to have individual patients tell their stories about why they use medical marijuana, what they have to endure to get their medicine and how such obstacles have negatively impacted their lives. We will conclude our event by marching from 2330 Highland Ave. down to the fountain at 5 Points South and the back to the Hwy 280 overpass. Please make and bring signs about medical marijuana. Possible slogans include

I am a PATIENT not a criminal

My other medicine is addictive

STOP ARRESTING PATIENTS

MAKE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGAL

Please feel free to make up your own sign slogans so long as they have to do with medical marijuana.

The address of our celebration is

2330 Highland Ave. South (on Southside)

This location is right next to Caldwell Park. Should our group become too large for the location we have selected we can and will spill over into the park, weather permitting.

Load your cars and trucks up with as many people as you can find and we look forward to seeing you there.

If you have questions or need further information please feel free to email me at lorettanall@gmail.com. You can also contact our Outreach coordinator Christie O'Brien at 205-907-6131 reederchristie@yahoo.com or by contacting our Web Coordinator Penny Vaughan at luvlavender@yahoo.com

Note to Rally Attendees

2010-02-11T12:28:00.001-08:00

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you plan to attend the Alabamians for Compassionate Care rally on Feb. 13 in Birmingham here are a few (strong) suggestions.

The media will be in attendance. PLEASE DO NOT WEAR ANYTHING TYE DYE or anything else that can be associated with what the media likes to portray as dope smoking hippies. Wear normal, everyday clothes. No peace signs. No pot leaves. Sunday best is an option just make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes for the short walk to the fountain at 5 Points South and back to Highland Avenue. Remember, each and every one of you that participates will be the face of this movement. We are normal, everyday, hard working people and that is the image we want the rest of Alabama to become accustomed to when thinking about medical marijuana and the people who use it. So again, no tye dye, no peace signs, no Bob Marley, no pot leaves.

Also: It will be VERY cold on Saturday. Snow is expected on Friday and if it does snow then the event may be postponed until Feb. 20. Same time, same place. If the event isn't postponed please dress warmly. Much of this event will take place outside and 42 degrees is cold. Coats, scarves and gloves are in order. Please dress accordingly.

If you would like to be one of the patients that is interviewed by the media then email me right away at lorettanall@gmail.com so I can coach you on what to say and what not to say.

Loretta Nall
Executive Director
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
251-650-2271

The Right to Choose

2010-02-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

This one in the Anniston Star from a guy in Arizona who saw Penny's letter on mapinc.org

The Right to Choose

by our readers

Feb 11, 2010

Re “The right to smoke” (Speak Out, Feb. 3):

I’m responding to the outstanding letter about the legalization of medical marijuana from writer Penny Vaughn of Lineville. I’d like to add that one of the medications prescribed by my personal physician for my arthritis pain and inflammation has the rare potential side effect of death. In other words, if I take this medication as prescribed, I can die as a result.

For me, marijuana is the more effective medication. Right now, if adult citizens opt for the safer and more effective medication, they are subject to arrest and being sent to jail with violent criminals.

Is something wrong with this situation? I think so. Shouldn’t adults have the freedom to choose what goes into their own bodies in the privacy of their own homes?

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.

http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/5987552/article-The-right-to-choose?instance=opinion_right

2 More Letters Published!!

2010-02-08T17:34:00.000-08:00

Folks,

Christie O'Brien and Don Seibold both had excellent letters published in
Alabama papers today. You can read them at the following links. Please
take a moment and write a response to the letters in the Anniston Star
and Birmingham News as well as leave comments on those websites.

http://nallforgovernor.blogspot.com/2010/02/marijuana-nonsense.html
http://nallforgovernor.blogspot.com/2010/02/medical-marijuana-bill-would-legalize.html

Thanks!

IMPORTANT NOTE RE: RALLY THIS SATURDAY

2010-02-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT NOTE: On Feb. 13 Alabamians for Compassionate Care will hold a celebration in honor of International Medical Marijuana Week. From the looks of things this event has the potential to be very large. We want to remind everyone planning to attend that medical marijuana is not yet legal in Alabama. Therefore we strongly advise against traveling to or from this event with your medication. Alabamians for Compassionate Care WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE for anyone who chooses to ignore this advice. In other words, if you get arrested for possession of marijuana or for consuming marijuana at this event you will be on your own. Additionally, Rep. Patricia Todd may drop in and say hello. We would not want the actions of those in attendance to make her look bad or cause her problems for sponsoring this bill. Please keep that in mind as you make your plans to attend.

Thanks, ACC Staff

ALABAMA MEDICAL MARIJUANA AWARENESS RALLY

2010-02-03T15:38:00.000-08:00

ALABAMA MEDICAL MARIJUANA AWARENESS RALLY

On Feb. 13, 2010 beginning at 1 p.m. members of Alabamians for Compassionate Care/Alabama NORML will kick off International Medical Marijuana Awareness Week with a celebration in Birmingham, Alabama with a pot luck dinner, fellowship, speakers and a short demonstration. If you plan to attend please bring a dish (preferred dishes: Finger Foods/Munchies) to share with other attendees; drinks will be provided. Later on we plan to have individual patients tell their stories about why they use medical marijuana, what they have to endure to get their medicine and how such obstacles have negatively impacted their lives. We will conclude our event by marching from 2330 Highland Ave. down to the fountain at 5 Points South and the back to the Hwy 280 overpass. Please make and bring signs about medical marijuana. Possible slogans include:

I am a PATIENT not a criminal

My other medicine is addictive

STOP ARRESTING PATIENTS

MAKE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGAL

Please feel free to make up your own sign slogans so long as they have to do with medical marijuana.

The address of our celebration is:

2330 Highland Ave. South (on Southside), Birmingham, AL 35205

This location is right next to Caldwell Park. Should our group become too large for the location we have selected we can and will spill over into the park, weather permitting.

Load your cars and trucks up with as many people as you can find and we look forward to seeing you there.

If you have questions or need further information please feel free to email me at lorettanall@gmail.com.
You can also contact our Outreach coordinator Christie O'Brien at 205-907-6131/ alabamacompcare@yahoo.com or by contacting our Web Coordinator Penny Vaughan at luvlavndr@yahoo.com.

The Right to Smoke - editorial

2010-02-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

Another ACC member gets published in the Anniston Star -

The Right to Smoke

Medical Marijuana Valuable Tool -Editorial by Penny Vaughan

2010-01-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

Medical marijuana valuable tool

Medical marijuana is a popular issue. A recent ABC/Washington Post poll shows that 81 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical use, and state medical marijuana initiatives have been repeatedly endorsed by voters.

Studies have shown that marijuana relieves debilitating symptoms including nausea, appetite loss and severe pain. I have been a chronic pain patient since 2002, following a failed back surgery.

In my case the doctors prescribed fentynal and hydrocodone, both of which are very addictive opiates that have serious adverse side effects and may even cause death. Many otherwise illegal substances, such as Oxycontin and morphine, can legally be prescribed by doctors. The same should be true for marijuana, which is less dangerous and addictive than any of these substances.

Medical marijuana would be a wonderful alternative for someone like me. However, since it is not yet legal in my home state of Alabama, I must become a criminal if I choose to use cannabis to alleviate my symptoms.

I strongly believe the decision of what medicine is best for an illness should be left up to the patient and the doctor, not to police and prosecutors. Our state should use tax money to prosecute violent crime, not punish medical marijuana users.

The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act is set to go before the House of Representatives this session. This bill will protect physicians who recommend medical marijuana (cannabis) for their patients, and protect patients who use it.

Penny Vaughan
Lineville

Couple discusses medical marijuana - VIDEO

2010-01-29T09:32:00.000-08:00

Cullman Couple Discusses Medical Marijuana

Chris & D.J. Butts of Cullman, discuss medical marijuana on WAFF news Huntsville!

Safer alternative for pain sufferers - Editorial by Chris Butts

2010-01-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

Safer alternative for pain sufferers

A medical marijuana bill (HB 207) is before the Alabama Legislature. Each year, it seems we have a bill introduced that could drastically transform Alabama patients' lives. It gets moved to a committee, where it sits ignored throughout the legislative session and dies.... See More

Almost 30 percent of the country has adopted medical marijuana legislation giving residents the option of using marijuana as medicine under their doctor's care.

People hear the word "marijuana" and immediately get images in their heads of a group of hippies dancing in a circle smoking pot. That is not what this bill is about.

As a chronic pain sufferer, I am prescribed the legal equivalent of heroin (OxyContin). This product is very addictive and comes with a multitude of possible side effects, including death. Marijuana has proved to be a safe and useful alternative to my prescribed medications.

Wherever you stand on the issue of drugs, it makes no sense to allow Alabamians who could benefit from this medicine to suffer or become addicted to the narcotic pain prescriptions being handed out freely.

Chris Butts

Cullman

National Survey shows drug war failing Alabama teens

2010-01-24T12:23:00.001-08:00

January 24, 2010, 5:33AM

By Loretta Nall

According to a recent Pride Survey, Alabama teens are more likely than teens in the rest of the country to have recently used drugs, especially marijuana. These survey results expose a truth that's becoming harder to hide: Alabama's war on drugs is failing our youths and our communities.

Our current approach to drug policy is a distortion of our priorities: We invest more to incarcerate people for nonviolent drug offenses than we invest to educate our children. Every year, our elected officials spend $132 million just to warehouse drug users in our prison system. That's $15,223 in tax money spent for every drug prisoner. However, we spend only about $9,000 per pupil for education. The disastrous consequences of this policy are evident as Alabama continually ranks near the bottom nationally in education.

But we rank at the top of the class in prison overcrowding and a broken criminal justice system. Alabama has the harshest punishments in the country for minor marijuana offenses, paralyzing our courts with a flood of marijuana offenders. Our prison system is notoriously overcrowded, in large part because of incarcerating people for nonviolent drug offenses. According to the Alabama Sentencing Commission, nearly 30 percent of our prison population is behind bars because of low-level drug offenses.

And yet, none of these disastrous drug policies are keeping drugs out of the hands of young people. In fact, Alabama teens are using more marijuana than teens who live in states where medical marijuana is legal and in states where the penalties for marijuana are much less severe. That's because prohibition makes it easier for any child who wants to experiment with drugs to acquire them.

Some argue that if we legalize marijuana, then kids everywhere will be able to get it. But that is the current reality in the illegal, unregulated market. On the black market, any kid who wants to experiment with drugs can obtain them. There are no well-lit storefronts with clerks to check ID, and drug dealers don't ask for ID. The very policies we enforce are putting our children in greater peril. As a parent, that deeply concerns me.

Even when Alabama's drug policies improve, we, as parents, will always want effective strategies to keep our kids safe. Unfortunately, the "Just say no" approach is not enough -- we've used that approach for nearly 30 years, and even today drug use by teens is on the rise.

One alternative approach, employed by parent-teacher organizations in other parts of the United States, is Safety 1st, a comprehensive, reality-based approach to teen drug use that encourages abstinence while acknowledging the fact that not all kids will listen to or follow the abstinence-based approach.

No parent wants her child to use drugs. We, as parents, want our kids to grow up safe, but they often experiment and do dumb things. When they do, we need them to be honest with us so we can keep them safe. It's OK to tell children to not do drugs, but we should also tell them: If you do, please don't drive home; call me so I can get you, or, if you use drugs, let's talk about it first so you can be as safe as possible.

That may sound crazy until one considers what happens to teens who use drugs in an unsafe manner. They die. That's why Safety 1st and other models that emphasize honesty are so important. (For more information on the Safety 1st model, please visit www.safety1st.org.)

It doesn't matter whether you love drugs, hate drugs or don't care about drugs at all, the drug war is a failure. It's time to take a new approach to drug policy in Alabama. Through educational campaigns, alcohol and tobacco consumption rates have declined among teens in Alabama without resorting to locking up everyone who uses alcohol or tobacco. We need an approach that focuses on health and safety and not on incarceration.

Marijuana needs to be legalized to better keep it out of the hands of children. The $132 million we spend annually to lock up nonviolent drug offenders, even though it does not prevent others from using drugs, could be redirected to education, where it is desperately needed. Some of the tax revenues generated from the sale of marijuana to adults could also be earmarked for education.

Marijuana will never be eradicated, no matter how many people we lock up or how many millions of dollars we waste year after year in pursuit of that unobtainable goal. Staying the course on this clearly failed policy can no longer be justified at the very high cost of our children's education and, sometimes, their lives.

Loretta Nall is an Alabama parent and director of Alabamians for Compassionate Care. E-mail: lorettanall@gmail.com

Loretta Nall
Executive Director
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
lorettanall@gmail.com

Letter from Loretta Nall

2010-01-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

I just spoke with a member of the House Judiciary Committee and I was informed that HB214 the bill that would allow those who have drug convictions to eligible for food stamps and TANF passed overwhelmingly out of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. This is EXCELLENT news and a huge step in the right direction. Many, many thanks to all of you who wrote, called or visited the committee and urged them to pass this bill. GOOD JOB FOLKS!!

Also, Rep. Mac Gipson's bill HB194'>http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/searchableinstruments/2010rs/bills/hb194.htm">HB194 which would allow the county sheriff in any Alabama county to stand down the feds at the county line also passed out of Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Again, thanks to those of you who wrote, called or visited on behalf of this bill.

I have to say that the House Judiciary Committee is off to a great start this session. Here's hoping they keep it up throughout the session.

Loretta Nall
Executive Director
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
lorettanall@gmail.com

Medical marijuana in Alabama

2010-01-22T04:12:00.000-08:00

Jan 22, 2010 - ANNISTON STAR

Again this year, a medical marijuana bill (HB 207) is before the Alabama Legislature. Year in and year out, it seems we have a bill introduced that could drastically transform Alabama patients' lives.

That bill, in turn, usually gets moved to committee, where it sits ignored throughout the session and dies. There are now 14 states, as well as the District of Columbia (near 30 percent of the country), that have adopted medical marijuana legislation and given their residents the option of using marijuana as medicine under their doctor's care.

People hear the word "marijuana" and immediately get images in their head of poorly groomed individuals wearing tie-dyed T-shirts dancing in a circle and smoking pot. Let me assure you that is not what this bill is about.

As a chronic pain sufferer, I am prescribed the legal equivalent of heroin (Oxycontin). This product is evil and very addictive and comes with a multitude of possible side effects, including death. Marijuana has proven to be a safe and useful alternative to my prescribed medications, and the side effects are getting hungry, a dry mouth, feeling well and sometimes getting a little sleepy. Those are side effects I can live with.

No matter where you stand on the issue of "drugs," it makes no sense to allow Alabamians who could benefit from this medicine to suffer. Suffer or become addicted to the narcotic pain prescriptions being handed out freely.

Chris Butts
Cullman

High Support for Medical Marijuana

2010-01-19T05:15:00.000-08:00

ABC News has a new poll out which shows that 81% of those surveyed support medical marijuana and nearly 50% support decrim.

READ IT HERE and then send it to your elected officials in Montgomery.

CONTACT JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ON HB214

2010-01-18T13:03:00.001-08:00

I've just sent the following letter to the members of the House Judiciary Committee regarding HB214, a bill that would allow those convicted of drug felonies to be eligible for food stamps and TANF when they get out of prison. Please take a moment and send one of you own or, copy and paste mine if you like. Email addresses are below the letter. This bill is coming up in the Judiciary Committee tomorrow (Wednesday) so please write TODAY!

Dear Member of the House Judiciary Committee,

I am writing today to ask for your support of HB214, which would allow those convicted of felony drug charges, who have served their time in prison, to be eligible for food stamps and TANF. Currently, under federal law, those convicted of drug offenses are the only persons denied food assistance. Child molesters, murderers and rapists are eligible for food assistance upon release from prison but not someone whose crime involved taking a substance and not harming anyone else in the process.

When the laws keep people starving it raises the chances that they will resort to crime to in order to simply survive. If that happens they will go back to prison where it will cost taxpayers far more to house them for one year than it would have if we had enabled them to eat to begin with. This law also adversely affects children. Children have no control over what their parents might do, but under current law, they too, are denied food if their parents can't get state assistance while they struggle with reentry and readjustment to society after spending time in prison.

Please do the compassionate, humane, Christian thing and pass this bill.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Loretta Nall

camjulward@aol.com
cengland1@hotmail.com,
jamie.ison@alhouse.org,
howard.sanderford@alhouse.

org,
yusuf.salaam@alhouse.org,
spencer.collier@alhouse.org,
marcel.black@alhouse.org,
laura.hall@alhouse.org,
paul.demarco@alhouse.org,
priscilla.dunn@alhouse.org,
Tammy.Irons@alhouse.org,
marc.keahey@alhouse.org,
steve.mcmillan@alhouse.org,
charles.newton@alhouse.org,
john.robinson@alhouse.org

--
Loretta Nall
Executive Director
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
251-650-2271
lorettanall@gmail.com

Please Contact Your Representative

2010-01-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT NOTE: HB207 will have a different bill number when our bill is dropped. In the meantime...you can refer legislators to HB207 because it is virtually identical to the bill that will be dropped in mid-February.

Dear ACC Members,

The 2010 Alabama Legislative Session officially began on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. Now it is time for us to get busy making contact and asking our elected officials to support our legislation that will protect patients and doctors from prosecution under state law for using or recommending medical marijuana. At this time we would like all of you in Alabama to find your state representative and call them, and if possible, set up a face to face meeting with them to ask for their support. If you don't know who your elected member in the House is please go here , look on the left side of the page and enter your zip code. That will bring up the page of your elected official which will contain their phone numbers. Some also have email addresses listed and they all have alhouse.gov email accounts. Emails are too easy to dismiss out of hand without ever reading. My advice to you is to pick up the phone and call, tell your story and make an appointment to site down face to face with your elected official. The more they see your face the more real this issue becomes for them and the harder it gets for them to label you a pot head.

A script you might want to use follows.

Hello Rep. _________ My Name is _________and I am a ______(insert illness or condition here) patient who uses medical marijuana to ease my suffering. This year a medical marijuana bill will be making its way through the Alabama House and I would like your support. Where do you stand on this issue?

Try to engage them in discussion. Ask them if you can send them some information about this issue. Ask for a time to meet them face to face either in Montgomery or in their home district.

Important things to remember:

No matter how angry a Rep's answer might make you ALWAYS REMAIN POLITE
Never lie. If you don't know the answer to a question tell them you aren't sure but will get back to them after you find out.
Always address them as Rep. or Representative (ie Rep. Todd or Representative Todd)
Thank them for their time even if you feel the meeting or phone call was unproductive.

After you talk with or visit your rep in person please do a write up and send it to lorettanall@gmail.com so that I will be able to better track where legislators responses and know where we are in terms of who supports this bill and who doesn't.

Do not call the members of the House Judiciary Committee yet. We will make contact with them as it gets closer to time to drop the bill.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

--
Loretta Nall
Executive Director
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
251-650-2271
lorettanall@gmail.com

Christie O'Brien
Outreach Coordinator
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
205-907-6131
christie.reeder@gmail.com

Compassionate Care Meeting Nov. 7

2009-10-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

On November 7th, 2009 Alabamians for Compassionate Care will hold a meeting in Birmingham to prepare for the upcoming legislative session in 2010. The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act will again be sponsored by Rep. Patricia Todd of Birmingham. Rep. Todd will also be in attendance our meeting to tell everyone what to expect and what things they should be doing to help get this bill passed.

This meeting will take place from 2 - 4 p.m. at the Libertarian Party Headquarters located at 2330 Highland Ave. South (on Southside...not in Irondale). Refreshments will be served. So, load up your car with people who are interested and meet us there!!

If you plan to be there please RSVP to this post or to lorettanall@gmail.com so that we can properly prepare and have enough refreshments for everyone.

What happened to HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act?

2009-05-07T10:11:00.001-07:00

Folks,

I have been getting a number of emails and phone calls inquiring about the status of HB434. It seems that when I pulled the bill back in April I let the folks who were actively involved with ACC know, but forgot to post about it to my larger reading audience. Sorry about that. Here is what I can tell y'all about what happened.

Our bill, HB434, was slated to come up in judiciary committee on April 1. On the day before, our sponsor Rep. Patricia Todd, informed me she was ill and would not be in the legislature all week so she couldn't be in committee to talk about her bill. Rep. Laura Hall, who was the original bill sponsor, was conveniently absent from the committee that day and had indicated to our consultant that she would not be there the day it was voted on....whichever day that might happen to be. HB434 was then carried over til April 8.

Now, before the bill was to come up in committee I and another member of ACC contacted every member of the judiciary committee to determine if we had the votes to get the bill passed out of committee as written. WE DID! But, with Rep. Hall saying she wouldn't be there to vote on it (because she is running for Senate and didn't want that on her record) we didn't have the votes. It would have been a tie.

However, on April 7 Rep. Todd contacted me and said that the committee had sent word to her that they would NOT pass HB434 but would pass the version introduced in 2006. That was UNACCEPTABLE.

The 2006 bill was written by a certain lobby firm, who shall not be named, and not by the patients who actually need the marijuana as medicine. This lobby firm bill stipulated that medical marijuana could only be dispensed through an FDA licensed pharmacy. That pretty much killed the whole bill because marijuana is not an FDA approved drug and therefore cannot be dispensed by a pharmacy. That bill left patients with no safe, legal way to get their medication.

Since I refuse to drag very ill people from all corners of the state to fight for a bill that won't do a damn thing to protect them in acquiring their medication I pulled the bill this year when Rep. Todd told me what had happened. I saw no need to keep spending our meager resources when the outcome would have been far less than desirable.

So, what happens next?

I've spoken to our sponsor Rep. Todd about what comes next. She has voiced her willingness to help us craft a new bill for the next session during the break between sessions and to be the sponsor again next year. I want everyone reading this to know that we could not possibly have a better sponsor than Rep. Todd. Her plate was full this year and she took the medical marijuana bill as a favor. Next year she has indicated that it will be one of her priorities and when she sets her mind to something it has a way of actually happening. Rep. Todd knows all about medical marijuana. She was the executive director of AIDS Alabama for many years and had to resign that position in order to sponsor this bill. That, my friends, is dedication. None of what happened this year was her fault and she is deserving of our praise and thanks for taking the bill to begin with. Please email (reptodd@gmail.com) her and tell her how much you appreciate her help and how much you love her for having the courage to take on this highly controversial and politically charged issue.

Over the break between sessions we will be meeting with Rep. Todd and crafting another bill for the next legislative session. If you are a patient, physician, nurse or member of the clergy who would like to have some say in what goes in the bill then you need to email me at lorettanall@gmail.com so I can let you know when and where we plan to meet.

Additionally, if you would like regular updates then you can join our Yahoo discussion group by clicking this link.

HB434 The Micheal Phillips Compassionate Care Act in Committee April 8

2009-04-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

I just got the following note from Rep. Patricia Todd.

We have another delay with the bill. It seems that the Leg Ref Ser gave me a version of the bill that is NOT the same as the version passed by Judicary in 07. I will have to get LRS to draft a substitute bill that is the same so the committee will be able to pass it.

This means another week delay.....

Representative Patricia Todd
1320 58th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35222
205.599.2856 Home
205.567.9419 Cell
reptodd@gmail.com
www.patriciatodd.com

DO NOT SHOW UP IN MONTGOMERY TOMORROW!

All,

Our bill, HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act
will be in the judiciary committee THIS Wednesday (tomorrow) April 8.
Needless to say I am very excited and I know all of you are too.

I need to know today who all is definitely coming to Montgomery on Wednesday.
Get that information to me as soon as you read this email.

Here is the plan.

We will all meet up in front of the State House located at 11 South Union St. in
Montgomery around 8:15 AM. It is critical that you be there early because the
meeting room is small and we want to get all the seats if we can. Once the room
is full the door is closed and no one is allowed in. If you want a seat then be
there on time. If you are late and we are not standing outside then proceed to
the elevator, go down to the first floor and take a right until you come to room
123. That is where the committee meeting will be held.

There will be no testimony by patients or opponents on Wednesday. Our plan all
year has been to get this bill out of committee on a voice vote so that it
doesn't get hung up or assigned to sub-committee. We still expect it to pass on
a voice vote.

During the committee hearing we will not talk. We will not roll our eyes at each
other over some of the undoubtedly borderline insane things some of the
committee members might say. We will not show anger. I do however give my
blessing to an eruption of applause and cheers when the bill passes on a voice
vote.

Dress appropriately. Dress like you are going to church. Wear comfortable shoes
though because we might pay visits to your individual representatives after the
committee meeting is over. The dress protocol is so very important. If you have
a green ribbon or something similar that you would like to wear that will be
fine. I wish I had some "STOP ARRESTING PATIENTS" buttons but I don't. No pot
leaves anywhere. No anything that confuses this issue with outright
legalization.

You have to go through a metal detector to enter the State House. Please leave
things like pocket knives and such in your cars. If you forget they will take it
at the door and you can get it on the way out.

If any of you need to talk to me via phone please call me at 1-877-528-5647.

My cell phone number is 256-625-9599. You will need it for Wednesday.

I hope to see all of you on Wednesday. If there was ever a day to pack out your
car with supporters and make the trek to Montgomery Wednesday will be the day.
The more people who show up the more legislators will understand that we are
serious and want this bill passed.

Loretta Nall

Sen. Larry Dixon Implies Medical Marijuana Makes You Lesbian

2009-04-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

At least I guess that is the point Senator Larry Dixon and the hosts of Morris/Montiel were trying to make this morning on WACV 107.9 FM in Montgomery.

I got an email from a friend of mine who called in and asked Senator Dixon how come he never responded to repeated requests for his position on HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act. Senator Dixon's response was that he would never support it and that the sponsor of the bill was none other than Lesbian Patricia Todd.

Y'all reckon that pissed me off?

So, I called in and asked the following questions of Senator Dixon.

The first question was "Since you don't support medical marijuana does that mean that you support locking up cancer patients in prison?"

The second question was, "Why did you find it necessary to bring up Rep. Todd's sexuality in reference to this bill as it has absolutely nothing to do with medical marijuana?"

He answered the second question first and said, "Well, she is a lesbian, and she ran her campaign on being a lesbian and she advertises it at the State House you know she does she advertises it at the state house...that she is a lesbian. She is a lesbian and she advertises it and I was just letting people know who she is. I'm older now and more accepting of people that ain't like me you know and I like Rep. Todd just fine...we get along just fine...but she is a lesbian."

One of the hosts pointed out that Rep. Todd is a 'liberal democrat' and that the medical marijuana bill is a liberal bill. I wonder if he thinks that cancer, HIV/AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Alzheimer's, chronic pain, glaucoma, epilepsy and illness of that nature are liberal illnesses that only attack those bad liberal people who just beg to be attacked?

They of course never answered why they thought it was important to discuss Rep. Todd's sexuality in the context of the conversation about HB434. I guess maybe they were trying to imply that smoking medical marijuana for cancer might turn you into a lesbian. I suppose if Ms. Laura Hall had still been sponsoring the bill they would have implied that smoking medical marijuana would turn you black.

How can people be so deliberately ignorant and willfully stupid? Are the listeners of that show equally ignorant and willfully stupid? I hope not. I know at least two that do not fit that description and that would be the friend who emailed me about Senator Larry Dixon being on the show and a gentleman named Andrew who called in after me, identified himself as a conservative and said he supported medical marijuana and the right of people to be gay as long as no one was being hurt. I'd say Andrew is a TRUE CONSERVATIVE.

Back to the first question which was, "Since you don't support medical marijuana does that mean you support locking cancer patients in prison?"

Sen. Dixon, "No, No I don't support locking cancer patients in prison. There are no cancer patients in prison. I have just as much experience with cancer as you do (and how much would that be and how much experience do you reckon he thinks I have with cancer?) and there are oncologists studying this thing and"

At this point one of the hosts jumps in and says "Yeah and there's pain doctors"

Sen. Dixon, "Yes pain doctors and Marinol which is Tetra-Hydra-Cannabinol (boy he sure knows a lot about marijuana if he knows the scientific name for THC and how to say it for someone who does not support the bill) in pill form that can be prescribed. There's just no way to enforce such a law about who can smoke it and who can't."

Unfortunately they control the phones at the station and cut you off as soon as you ask your question so I didn't get a chance to respond. I did record it but messed up the file because I didn't have the audio turned up loud enough so it can barely be heard. If anyone out there knows how to boost the audio on a WMA file please let me know.

If I had gotten the chance to respond I would have pointed out the obvious, which is that Marinol isn't covered by most insurance companies and costs about $700 a month for 30 pills. Plus the fact that cancer patients often have trouble taking pills because they cannot keep anything down due to nausea and vomiting caused by the chemo/radiation. Not to mention that the government has no business interfering in the doctor/patient relationship and as 'conservatives' who oppose 'large government' in general (yuk yuk) and socialized medicine (on the grounds that it will put the government between you and your doctor) they sure aren't acting 'conservative' on this issue.

It's amazing how two radio hosts and one Senator think their uninformed opinions mean more than what a doctor says regarding medical marijuana. I'd wager that none of them have ever been to medical school. I'd also wager that if anyone in their family is ever stricken with a terrible ailment that medical marijuana can help they will go and find some.

This is also not a partisan issue. As I stated earlier disease and terminal illness and chronic pain don't discriminate between liberals, conservatives, libertarians, independents, black, white, straight or gay, so how can medical marijuana be a 'Liberal' issue?

For those of you who would like to tell the show what you think you can do so by signing up on their forum here. Also feel free to let Senator Dixon know what you think.

HB434 Hearing Rescheduled

2009-03-31T15:58:00.001-07:00

All,

I just got word from our sponsor Rep. Patricia Todd that our bill HB434 has been carried over until next Wednesday, April 8 2009. Rep., Todd is sick and cannot make it to Montgomery to handle the bill.

DO NOT SHOW UP IN MONTGOMERY TOMORROW!

Please pass this along to everyone you know who was planning to be there.

Loretta

HB434 in Committee Tomorrow April 1

2009-03-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

URGENT UPDATE:

All,

I just got word from our sponsor Rep. Patricia Todd that our bill HB434 has been carried over until next Wednesday, April 8 2009. Rep., Todd is sick and cannot make it to Montgomery to handle the bill.

DO NOT SHOW UP IN MONTGOMERY TOMORROW!

Please pass this along to everyone you know who was planning to be there.

#################################

Just a reminder that HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act will be heard in judiciary committee tomorrow, April 1 at 9 a.m.

If you plan to attend we will be meeting up on the steps of the State House at 8:15 a.m. The State House is located at 11 South Union St. in Montgomery and the judiciary committee meets in room 123. If there is any way possible that you can be there we would love to have you.

If you can't be there please take a moment today to call the following members of the judiciary committee and ask them to vote yes on HB434 tomorrow. Currently these members plan to vote NO and they really need to hear from a huge number of people today about this bill. 76% of Alabamians support medical marijuana and their NO vote indicates a complete disregard for the will of the people. Please take a moment and give them a call.

Spencer Collier - (334) 242-7719 spencer.collier@alhouse.org

Paul DeMarco -(334) 242-7740 paul.demarco@alhouse.org

Jamie Ison -(334) 242-7711 jamie.ison@alhouse.org

Yusuf Salaam - 334-242-7746

Steve McMillan - 334-242-7723 steve.mcmillan@alhouse.org

Howard Sanderford - 334-242-4368 howard.sanderford@alhouse.org

I hope to see you at the State House tomorrow.

HB434 in Committee April 1, 2009

2009-03-27T13:23:00.001-07:00

Folks,

HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act bill is finally scheduled for next Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 9 am in room 123 at the Alabama State House located at 11 South Union Street in Montgomery.

I WANT YOU TO HELP ME PACK THAT ROOM OUT!

We will not be giving any testimony on that day. We do expect this bill to pass on a voice vote. If you plan to come then here are the rules.

1. Dress like you are going to church. No t-shirts and jeans please. No pot leaf insignias ANYWHERE. No tye dyes. No Bob Marley. You get the idea. Suits and ties for the men or upscale dress casual (polo's khakis). For the ladies wear a dress, skirt or business suit. Sweaters and dress casual pants are fine too.
2. Be polite
3. Don't say a word during the meeting
4. Be prepared to talk to reporters after the meeting is over. We will talk about what to say at tomorrows meeting in Birmingham.

Our last meeting before this bill comes up in Committee will take place from 1-3 pm at 2330 Highland Ave. South (on Southside beside Caldwell Park) TOMORROW (Saturday March 28, 2009). BE THERE!

Medical Marijuana Letters Published on Sunday

2009-03-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Birmingham News

Bill protects medical users

I write today concerning House Bill 434, which would provide protection for physicians who recommend and patients who use medical marijuana in Alabama.

I am a patient who suffers from constant chronic pain resulting from a near-fatal motor vehicle accident nearly 22 years ago. In 2005, I became unable to work and began taking morphine, which was prescribed by a pain-management doctor. This medicine was horribly addictive and completely destroyed my quality of life.

Medical marijuana is a natural alternative to narcotic pain medicine. It is a plant that has many medicinal purposes and very few side effects, none of which is as bad as the stuff constantly advertised on TV.

In 13 other states, medical marijuana is a legal option for people who are suffering from chronic pain and terminal illnesses. In Alabama, however, those of us who choose to use medical marijuana are considered criminals and face dangerous circumstances to acquire it and prison if we are arrested for using it.

I am not a criminal. I am a patient. Does Alabama really want to continue the practice of arresting and prosecuting people with terminal illness and chronic pain? Only barbarians would engage in such a practice.

Please contact your representative in Montgomery and ask him to support HB 434, the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act, when it comes before the House of Representatives for a vote.

Christie O'Brien
Hoover

Improves quality of life

I was Ms. Wheelchair Alabama 1996, and I carried the Olympic torch through Birmingham. I am a wife, mother, grandmother and medical marijuana user. I have suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1982.

Medical marijuana reduces muscle spasms so I can get good, restful sleep instead of being awakened often throughout the night. I can wake up aware of the world and not with a doped-up feeling that legal medications give me. Medical marijuana gives me a quality of life so I can enjoy my grandchildren while they are little.

Acquiring marijuana puts my family at risk. If one of my family members were arrested and jailed for buying my medicine, my whole family would be devastated. What if they were killed trying to get medicine for me? Who would care for me then? My doctors know I use it but cannot recommend it for fear of losing their medical licenses.

A bill in the Alabama House of Representatives would provide protection under the law for physicians who recommend medical marijuana and protect the patients from arrest and prosecution.

Please call the members of the committee and ask them to support the bill when it comes before them for a vote.

Margaret Ann Newman
Homewood

Medical Marijuana Letters Published This Week

2009-03-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Last week Alabamians for Compassionate Care started a letter writing campaign to newspapers across Alabama informing voters about HB434, The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act. So far two letters have been published. One has been published twice.

Author: Don Seibold

Medical Marijuana Bill Should Pass (Montgomery Advertiser)

Please Support Medical Marijuana Bill (Tuscaloosa News)

Author: Gil Joiner

Medical Marijuana (Anniston Star)

Many other letters have been written by the patients and family members who make up the membership of ACC. Mrs. Margaret Ann Newman, who was Miss Wheel Chair Alabama in 1996, carried the Olympic torch through Birmingham that year, is a wife, mother, grandmother, multiple sclerosis patient and medical marijuana user wrote a very moving letter, as did Christie Reeder, who is a chronic pain patient who survived a horrific auto accident 22 years ago. Another letter writer is the son of a woman who was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He had a gun put to his head recently while trying to acquire medical marijuana for his mother. We are hoping that many of the letters that have been written but not yet published will appear in papers across Alabama in tomorrows Sunday editions.

If others have written letters that have been published please send them to me so that I can post them here.

Compassionate Care Meeting Saturday, Action Day Tuesday

2009-02-25T06:34:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone,

We are having our Compassionate Care Meeting this Saturday Feb 28 from 1-4 pm at the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge located at 4th Ave. N and 17th St. in Downtown Birmingham (Second floor...use the elevator). This meeting is CRITICAL because on the following Tuesday March 3 we are all going down to the state house for Action Day in the legislature. I need y'all to find as many people as humanly possible to be at this meeting and to attend on Tuesday.

At Saturday's meeting we will set the agenda for Tuesday. We will divide off into groups, each group will have a leader and a schedule of meetings with six members of the judiciary committee and meetings with each person's elected representative. We will provide breakfast and lunch for the day in Montgomery and of course there will be munchies at Saturday's meeting. I also have the STOP ARRESTING PATIENTS shirts for the patients and maybe a few left over for others.

I need to know as soon as possible if you plan to be at the meeting on Saturday and the action day on tuesday and how many people you are bringing with you. I also need to know if anyone needs a ride on Tuesday. Laura, a family member of a cancer patient who recently passed will be coming from BHAM and has said some can ride with her as long as they don't smoke or wear perfume (bad allergies). Christie O'Brien may also have some room and the Libertarian crew might also have a few seats available in their caravan. We'll discuss all of the logistics at Saturday's meeting.

See you on Saturday. Pass this along to everyone you know. We want a HUGE turnout for Tuesday. Nothing puts the fear of God in a legislator than a large group of people taking the time to show up and discuss the issues they care about.

--
Loretta Nall
Executive Director
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
251-650-2271
lorettanall@gmail.com

Who is Your Rep. and Head Count for March 3 Action Day

2009-02-19T04:29:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Just wanted to give everyone an update on where we are with the Compassionate Care Act HB434. For the last couple of weeks I have been surveying the judiciary committee to get a vote count on this bill. About half of them have gotten back to me. There are still 6 that have not returned my phone calls or emails so it is time to switch strategy. Here are the six members that have not returned calls or emails regarding their stance on the Compassionate Care Act

Tammy Irons (Lauderdale County)
Jamie Ison (Mobile District 101)
Marc Keahey (Choctaw, Clarke & Washington Counties)
Charles Newton (Butler, Conecuh and Crenshaw counties)
John Robinson (Jackson County)
Howard Sanderford (Madison County)

If any of you live in these counties and this is your rep please let me know at once. If you are not sure if any of these people are your reps go here and look them up by zip code.
http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/house.html

Also, if you are in Selma I need you to go and talk to Rep. Yusuf Salaam who is convinced that allowing cancer patients to use marijuana will ensure that they will move on to heroin and home invasions. If you live in Mobile and Steve McMillan is your rep then I need you to go and talk to him. He and Rep. Salaam are currently NO votes on the committee.

If none of the people represent you then think of who you know in their districts who would be supportive of the medical marijuana issue and willing to pay their elected official a visit. We have to have a comprehensive vote count before we drop this bill in committee. We currently have 5 yes votes and we only need three more to know we can get it out of committee.

On March 3 we are having our Action Day at the State House. I need to know ASAP who all plans to be there so we can work out the logistics and for food purposes. Please email me back today and let me know if you plan to attend the action day on March 3 and how many people you are bringing with you (as many as you can fit in your cars I hope). THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!

Loretta Nall

Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

2009-02-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

Many, many thanks Courtney!

By: Courtney Haden Birmingham Weekly

MAKING THE CASE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

As the planning session broke up in elegant old Prince Hall downtown, the former gubernatorial candidate strode over and asked a visitor, "So, do you think we're batshit crazy?"

All Loretta Nall and the Alabamians for Compassionate Care want to do is persuade our monumentally intractable legislature, on the cusp of an election year, to disregard 70 years of social taboos and a federal pharmaceutical jihad to ordain that the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes shall be legal throughout the state.

Of course they're crazy. But folks like Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. used to be called that, too.

For many, the phrase "medical marijuana" conjures up visions of tie-dyed zonkers malingering their way through bales of government ganja. ( In terms of image, Nall says, "Cheech and Chong have not necessarily been our friends." )

The people at Prince Hall Saturday afternoon looked neither hippie nor dippy. For them, medical marijuana is a crucial factor in improving the quality of life for chronically ill people, and they couldn't be more serious about changing the law.

Our modern hysteria over the use of marijuana would have bemused our ancestors. The Chinese employed it 4,000 years ago as an anesthetic, in ancient India, doctors prescribed it to mothers in labor and the Egyptians of long-ago dynasties even used it in suppositories for hemorrhoids. Here in America, many of the Founding Fathers grew hemp on their plantations, and marijuana was widely used as a pain reliever in an age before the invention of aspirin.

READ THE REST

HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act

2009-02-06T03:44:00.001-08:00

HOORAY!!! We have a bill number for the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act.

HB434 is sponsored by Rep. Patricia Todd (she's awesome!) and named in honor of the young man in the picture below. You can read Michael's story here

Right now our next step is to get this bill out of committee. Thank you all so much for all of the calls you have already made. The Judiciary committee hears us loud and clear and for right now we do not need to make any more calls to the committee. We expect this bill to be in committee either this coming Wednesday or the next Wednesday. That could change and of course as soon as I know exactly when I will let all of you know.

Please DO call your own member of the House in Montgomery and ask them to support HB434 when it comes to the house floor for a vote. This is especially important if your member of the house is also on the rules committee as I understand that is where it will go after it passes out of judiciary. It has to go through the rules committee before it can go before the entire house for a vote.

If you don't know who your elected official is in Montgomery go here (for the House) and look them up by zip code.
Go here for Senate

Medical Marijuana Bill Moving Fast

2009-02-04T04:52:00.001-08:00

All,

I got word yesterday that we can expect our bill to be in the que tomorrow (Thursday) and that we may have it in judiciary committee by next Wednesday. This is moving a lot faster than I had anticipated, which is good. What we are trying to do at this point is have it passed out of committee on a voice vote and save patient testimony for when it goes to the house floor for a full debate. However, if this bill comes up in committee next Wednesday I want each and every one of you packing out the committee room at the state house. I will order our STOP ARRESTING PATIENTS shirts today so that we will send our message loud and clear without saying a word.

Today Christie O'Brien and I will be contacting members of the judiciary committee and figuring out if we have the votes to pass this. I would also like for each and every one of you (starting Thursday) to contact them as well and ask them to support the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act when it goes to committee. Phone calls are best and the sooner you make them the better. We do not have a bill number yet but we will hopefully have one by tomorrow. If any of you need a phone skit let me know and I will send you one.

Here are the members of the judiciary committee and their contact info with notations about who needs to be called and who doesn't.

Here are the members of the judiciary committee and their contact info with notations about who needs to be called and who doesn't.

Marcel Black (do not need to call. Marcel doesn't get a vote as chair of the committee)
Room 516-F
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7667

Spencer Collier (Burn his phone up)
Room 540-D
11 South Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7719

Paul DeMarco (Burn his phone up)
Room 537-F
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7740

Priscilla Dunn (supporter no need to call)
Room 540-B
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7702

Chris England (Burn his phone up)
Room 539-B
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7703

Laura Hall (former sponsor and supporter no need to call)
Room 518
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7688

Tammy Irons (Burn her phone up)
Room 526-B
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL. 36130
(334) 353-9032

Jamie Ison (Burn her phone up)
Room 527-B
11 South Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7711

Marc Keahey (Burn his phone up)
Room 630-A
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7748

Steve McMillan (Burn his phone up)
Room 532
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7723

Charles Newton (Burn his phone up)
Room 541-E
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-4460

John Robinson (Burn his phone up)
Room 534-D
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7728

Yusuf Salaam (Burn his phone up)
Room 539-E
11 South Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7746

Howard Sanderford (Burn his phone up)
Room 528-B
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-4368

Cam Ward (No need to call he is a supporter)
Room 625-C
11 S. Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7750

Compassionate Care Meeting Jan. 31

2009-01-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Our next Compassionate Care meeting will take place on Jan. 31 from 1-3 pm at the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge (same place as last time) located at 4th Ave N and 17 st. This will be our last meeting before the legislative session starts so it is important that y'all be there with as many people as you can round up.

Pass this invite along to everyone you know and I hope to see you on Saturday Jan. 31.

If anyone needs further info I can be reached at 256-625-9599 or lorettanall@gmail.com

Best,
Loretta Nall

Compassionate Care Meeting Jan. 10

2009-01-05T03:39:00.001-08:00

Hi All,

Hope everyone had an enjoyable Holiday season with family and friends. We had a great one at my house. Now it is time to get back to work.

We have set the next Compassionate Care meeting for this coming Saturday Jan. 10. It will be from 5 pm to 7 pm at the following address

Prince Hall Masonic Grand Lodge
2nd Floor Auditorium
1630 4th Avenue North

This meeting will be a training session in preparation for the upcoming legislative session which begins on Feb. 5 I believe. Please bring your friends, family and anyone else who might be interested. Food and snack items will be provided.

See you there!

Drug War Double Standard

2008-12-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

Over the course of the last few weeks there have been three letters printed in the Montgomery Advertiser regarding medical marijuana.

State should join marijuana list (my letter)

Medical Purpose Well Justified (Sarah Wires)

Legalization clearly unhealthy (Frank Winkler)

In responses posted to each letter on the Montgomery Advertiser site 'renegade6' a poster there calls for the execution of terminally ill patients, other medical users and recreational users of marijuana.

What makes this fascinating is that renegade6 claims in the posts on the last letter that he is a police officer. I don't believe that to be true, although his attitude fits. If he is a cop then his call for execution of anyone for using marijuana is horrifying.

First, its bullshit that a cop can call for the outright execution of a citizen for ingesting a benign plant. If we ingesters of said plant were to call for the execution of drug cops then we would all be arrested and probably the recipient of a serious beating at the hands of police. But, this guy can call for the execution of peaceful citizens and nothing happens to him. If this is a real war then how come only one side (government aggressor) is allowed to fight and the other side (peaceful pot smokers) is criminalized if they fight back? Nay...criminalized for even thinking (conspiracy) of fighting back?

Second, you can't help but wonder, if this guy is a real cop, then how many people has he shot or brutalized over marijuana in his career? The fact that he has a badge and a gun and has been sanctioned by the government would give him countless opportunities to violate the rights of citizens. You know cops police themselves so any shooting was 'justified' as accidental, or 'suspect was threatening my safety' or the ever present and entirely over-used 'suspect tried to run over me with his car' explanations. All after an 'intense and unbiased investigation', of course. [/sarcasm]

Can it really be a war if only one side is allowed to do the shooting?

EDIT: A Google search reveals that Frank Winkler (letter author) is affiliated with SAYNO Inc. Here is the link. His name appears near the bottom of the page.

http://www.mh.alabama.gov/downloads/SA/SASDPreventionDirectory.pdf

I haven't found a link for the organization SAYNO Inc. In fact, I've never heard of them before today.

Chances are Mr. Winkler gets federal funding from the government and clearly has a vested interest in keeping marijuana illegal. He'd be out of work if we ended prohibition. Interesting that he didn't put his organization affiliation on this letter.

BREAKING NEWS: State Law TRUMPS Fed Law on Medical Marijuana

2008-12-02T05:56:00.000-08:00

US Supreme Court Rules State Medical Marijuana Laws Not Preempted by Federal Law

-------------------------------------------------------------------
*PRESS RELEASE
Americans for Safe Access
For Immediate Release: *December 1, 2008

*U.S. Supreme Court: State Medical Marijuana Laws Not Preempted by Federal
Law */medical marijuana case appealed by the City of Garden Grove was denied
review today/

*Washington, DC* -- The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a landmark
decision today in which California state courts found that its medical
marijuana law was not preempted by federal law. The state appellate court
decision from November 28, 2007, ruled that "it is not the job of the local
police to enforce the federal drug laws." The case, involving Felix Kha, a
medical marijuana patient from Garden Grove, was the result of a wrongful
seizure of medical marijuana by local police in June 2005.
Medical marijuana advocates hailed today's decision as a huge victory in
clarifying law enforcement's obligation to uphold state law. Advocates
assert that better adherence to state medical marijuana laws by local police
will result in fewer needless arrests and seizures. In turn, this will allow
for better implementation of medical marijuana laws not only in California,
but in all states that have adopted such laws.

"It's now settled that state law enforcement officers cannot arrest medical
marijuana patients or seize their medicine simply because they prefer the
contrary federal law," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for
Safe Access (ASA), the medical marijuana advocacy organization that
represented the defendant Felix Kha in a case that the City of Garden Grove
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Perhaps, in the future local government
will think twice about expending significant time and resources to defy a
law that is overwhelmingly supported by the people of our state."

California medical marijuana patient Felix Kha was pulled over by the Garden
Grove Police Department and cited for possession of marijuana, despite Kha
showing the officers proper documentation. The charge against Kha was
subsequently dismissed, with the Superior Court of Orange County issuing an
order to return Kha's wrongfully seized 8 grams of medical marijuana. The
police, backed by the City of Garden Grove, refused to return Kha's medicine
and the city appealed. Before the 41-page decision was issued a year ago by
California's Fourth District Court of Appeal, the California Attorney
General filed a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of Kha's right to
possess his medicine. The California Supreme Court then denied review in
March.

"The source of local law enforcement's resistance to upholding state law is
an outdated, harmful federal policy with regard to medical marijuana," said
ASA spokesperson Kris Hermes. "This should send a message to the federal
government that it's time to establish a compassionate policy more
consistent with the 13 states that have adopted medical marijuana laws."

Further information:
Today's U.S. Supreme Court Order denying review:
http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/Kha_USSC.pdf
Decision by the California Fourth Appellate District Court:
http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/GardenGroveDecision.pdf
Felix Kha's return of property case:
http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/article.php?id=4412

Take Action on Medical Marijuana in Alabama

2008-04-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

Alabama’s medical marijuana bill needs our help. After the bill was introduced last month, it was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. Supporters all over Alabama asked the Committee to hold a hearing, but the Committee has yet to act.

HB 679, the Compassionate Care Act, has been languishing in the Judiciary Committee since March. It’s up to us to step up the pressure and make sure the Committee acts. Please ask the Judiciary Committee to bring this bill up for a vote.

Take action now.

The Compassionate Care Act was introduced by Representative Laura Hall. The bill would allow seriously ill patients to use marijuana when recommended by their physicians.

Legislators on the Judiciary Committee need to hear from you about Compassionate Care. They need to know that Alabamians support Compassionate Care and that they should bring this bill up for a vote in the Committee.

Last year, the Compassionate Care bill was brought up for a hearing in a sub-committee of the Judiciary Committee. Patients, family members and concerned citizens all testified in support of the bill, and press coverage was extremely positive. But the Committee tabled discussion of the bill, and it didn’t move any further.

Let’s not let that happen again. You can do three things right now to make sure this bill is brought up for a hearing in the Judiciary Committee:

1. Send a message to your legislator now, urging him or her to support medical marijuana.

2. Forward this action alert to five of your friends. Every time a legislator hears from someone about HB 679, it increases the likelihood that the bill will pass!

3. Help us get in contact with sympathetic doctors and patients. This is especially important. If you know of a doctor or patients who support Compassionate Care, please contact me at gsayegh@drugpolicy.org or call 212-613-8048.

With your support, we will pass HB 679 and win compassionate medical marijuana access in Alabama!

If you have any questions about medical marijuana in Alabama, contact me at gsayegh@drugpolicy.org.

Thanks for all you do.

Gabriel Sayegh
Director, State Organizing and Policy Project
Drug Policy Alliance

More Information

Alabama’s Compassionate Care Act, HB 679, would provide much-needed protections for patients suffering from debilitating diseases. The legislation allows for patients to use medical marijuana under a physician’s care and directions. For individuals living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and other serious conditions, doctors and patients need to have every option available to alleviate severe pain and suffering.

Marijuana has medicinal purpose

2008-04-07T03:52:00.000-07:00

Birmingham News

Marijuana has medicinal purpose:

There was a wonderful essay in The Birmingham News written by Dr. Steven Rudd ("Weigh pros, cons of pot for medical purposes," Commentary, March 23).

Rudd wrote about Michael Phillips, who suffered from seizures. Rudd said Phillips was arrested twice for using marijuana, which was suggested by his doctor to help control his seizures. Rudd asked us to do research and weigh the pros and cons about medical marijuana.

The research shows there has not been one documented death as a result of marijuana use. How many pharmaceutical drugs can we say that about?

When we create laws that send people like Phillips to jail for using a plant that can ease their suffering, it makes us look ignorant and hypocritical with no sense of compassion. Especially when we have a legal drug (alcohol) that causes some 85,000 deaths a year and is sold for recreational use in every convenience store.

With laws like these, what kind of message are we sending about ourselves as a society - one of ignorance and hypocrisy, or one of compassion?

Dawn Palmer

Tarrant

Medical Marijuana LTE

2008-03-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

Letters, faxes, and e-mail
Monday, March 31, 2008
Birmingham News

While there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy and it helps them feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life issue best left to patients and their doctors.

Federal bureaucrats waging war on noncorporate drugs contend organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. The federal government's prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach suggests drug warriors are not well-suited to dictate health care decisions.

It's long past time Congress showed some leadership on the issue and passed legislation reaffirming the Constitution's 10th Amendment guarantee of states' rights. States that prefer to cage sick patients for daring to feel better can continue to do so. The more enlightened states that have passed compassionate-use legislation should not be stymied by a federal government that really should have better things to do.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.

Puppet Camp 2008

2008-03-31T07:01:00.001-07:00

On March 29 & 30, 2008 two activist groups, Alabamians for Compassionate Care and T.O.P.S. descended on a farm in Clanton, AL for Puppet Camp 2008. During those two days we learned how to assemble giant puppets to be used in political protests that we have planned. The following pictures were taken and show the work from beginning to where we currently are. The Alabamians for Compassionate Care puppet was supposed to look rather generic....but for some reason came out looking like Barak Obama. It will look different when we have added all the accessories and finishing touches.

Enjoy!

What things were like before the federalization of local police

2008-03-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

I had a doctor's appointment today with a doctor I have used off and on for many years. I haven't seen him much in recent years because I live in a different county. However, I have been unable to find a general practitioner that I feel comfortable using where I live and decided to go back to the familiar.

During the course of today's visit my line of work came up and we started discussing politics, which eventually led to the discussion of medical marijuana.

I asked, "What do you think about medical marijuana? Do you support it?"

The doctor smiled in an odd sort of way and said, "Back when I first opened my practice here one of my first patients had cancer. Nothing I prescribed for him helped with the nausea from chemo. So, I went up to the Sheriff's office and asked the Sheriff to give me some marijuana from the evidence room for my patient. He did."

I was almost too stunned to say anything!

Me: "So, you support it then?"

Doctor: "Yes. There is a pill form available though."

Me: "Marinol. Yes I know. Two of the patients I work with have had it prescribed for them. Neither of them found it very useful and Medicaid and Medicare won't cover it. Since it costs around $700 a month it is cost prohibitive for most people."

Doctor: "That's right they don't cover it. Tell me about the bill."

So, I discussed the ins and outs of the bill with him and told him if he had any patients that might benefit from the passage of this bill to let them know about the bill. I also asked him to contact his Rep. and ask for their support. I would've asked him to testify at the committee hearing, but I felt it best not to 'pile on' until more information is exchanged between us.

That story he told me about his cancer patient really threw me for a loop....a big one. It was about the last thing I expected. I know who was Sheriff at that time, too.

It is amazing to think of a time, not so long ago (less than 20 years), when the local small-town doctor could not only recommend marijuana to a patient, but could actually go down to the Sheriff's office and ask for some from the evidence locker and have his request granted. That's like total Mayberry stuff!

In less than 20 years we have gone from the compassion and common sense demonstrated in the story above to prosecuting wise and compassionate doctors, revoking their license and arresting and imprisoning people with cancer, HIV/AIDS, MS and a whole long list of other illnesses simply for recommending or using this NATURAL plant.

This is what the drug war has brought us. It will continue to bring us even worse things unless we stand up and say ENOUGH! It will only go as far as We The People allow it to. Please tell the House Judiciary committee YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH!

Audio: Loretta Nall on Matt Murphy

2008-03-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was a guest on the Matt Murphy Show where we talked about HB679 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act. If you missed yesterday's broadcast you can Listen Here.

Take Action on Compassionate Care TODAY!

2008-03-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Last week, a medical marijuana access bill was introduced in the Alabama Legislature. Our bill, HB 679, has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, and now needs to get called for a hearing. Can you take two minutes to ask the Judiciary Committee to bring this bill up for a vote?

HB 679, the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act, was introduced by Representative Laura Hall. The bill would allow seriously ill patients to use marijuana as recommended by their physicians. You can read the legislation here.

Judiciary Committee members need to hear from you. They need to know that Alabamians support Compassionate Care.

Last year, our Compassionate Care bill made it to a Judiciary Committee hearing. Patients, family members and concerned citizens all testified in support of the bill, and the press coverage we got was extremely positive. But the committee tabled discussion of the bill, and it didn’t move any further.

Let’s get this bill all the way through the legislature this year. There are three things you can do right now to help make sure this bill is brought up in the Judiciary Committee for a hearing:

Send a message to your legislator now, urging them to support medical marijuana for the seriously ill.
Forward this action alert to five of your friends. Every time someone contacts his or her legislator about HB 679, it increases the likelihood that the bill will pass!
Help us get in contact with sympathetic doctors and patients. This is especially important. If you know of a doctor or patient who supports Compassionate Care, please contact me at lorettanall@gmail.com or 256-625-9599.

With your support, we will pass HB 679 and win compassionate medical marijuana legislation in Alabama!

Loretta Nall on NORML Podcast

2008-03-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

All,

I did an interview with NORML a little over a week ago and sent out the wrong link to the podcast. In this interview I talk about HB679, our patients Laura Campbell, Christie O'Brien, Don Prockup and Michael Phillips.

Please excuse the delay in getting the correct link out to all of you.
LISTEN HERE!

Loretta Nall on The Matt Murphy Show TODAY!

2008-03-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

Folks,

I will be a guest on the Matt Murphy Show today at 5:30 p.m. where I will discuss HB679 Alabama's Compassionate Care Act and our activities surrounding it for the remainder of the legislative session.

You can tune in live at this link!

Weigh Pros & Cons of Medical Pot

2008-03-23T06:47:00.001-07:00

Our friend and colleague Dr. Steve Rudd of Brookwood Hospital had a piece published about Michael Phillips and medical marijuana in today's BHAM News.

THANKS DR. RUDD YOU ARE A SAINT!!

Sunday, March 23, 2008
STEVE RUDD

I didn't know Michael Phillips, but I've had patients like him. Born with an inoperable brain tumor, he was prone to seizures. There were always doubts he'd live to see the next day. From the start, he never had much of a chance.

Some patients like that turn bitter. They give up hope. Others just make do, much like the rest of us. They go with what they've got, and they don't look back.

Then a few are like the young man everyone called Michael.

He took joy in life. Michael gave it, too. From his earliest days, he loved music. Whether it was singing in church or listening to his favorite bands, he savored a melody and he went with the beat. He liked songs that rocked.

Friends tell how Michael took his pastor's words to heart and went home and trashed his rock'n' roll CDs after he joined the church. He held on to the ones by Kiss, though. To Michael's way of thinking, they couldn't be all bad if they rocked like that.

He wanted to take a bigger part in his community, but his precarious condition held him back. The seizures didn't help, either. Call them grand mal or major-motor: By whatever tag, they hit him like a mugging and left him in a heap.

READ THE REST

We have a bill number

2008-03-14T04:13:00.000-07:00

Alabama's medical marijuana bill, known as the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act has finally been assigned a number for this legislative session.

HB679 has been assigned to the judiciary committee again this year and is currently pending committee action in the house of origin.

The legislature is in recess next week for spring break so this bill won't come up until at least week after next.

In the meantime y'all know what to do and what to get ready to do.

Spread the word!!

Start contacting the members of the House Judiciary Committee listed below and ask them to support this bill.

Marcel Black,Chair; Charles Newton, Vice Chair; Steve McMillan, Ranking Minority Member; Spencer Collier, Paul DeMarco, Priscilla Dunn, Chris England, Laura Hall, Tammy Irons, Jamie Ison, Marc Keahey, John Robinson, Yusuf Salaam, Howard Sanderford, Cam Ward

Compassionate Care Meeting Thursday, Feb. 21

2008-02-19T08:43:00.001-08:00

Alabamians for Compassionate Care will conduct a meeting/training session Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008 at

Two Pesos Mexican Grill
201 Southgate Dr
Pelham, AL 35124
(205) 987-3800

The meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. and last until 7:00 p.m. We will be discussing this years bill, our strategy for getting it passed out of committee, recruiting new patients and medical professionals who are interested in supporting this bill, discuss the documentary film about to be made about our group and talk about who will be giving testimony this year.

Please join us if you are able, pass this invitation along to everyone you know and bring along some friends. Appetizers will be on the house. Any additional food or drinks will be dutch treat.

For more information please email Loretta Nall at lorettanall@gtmail.com or Christie O'Brien at reederchristie@yahoo.com

Hope to see you there!

Loretta Nall
Executive Director
Alabamians for Compassionate Care
http://www.compassionate-care.org (website)
http://compassionate-care.blogspot.com/ (blog)

Doctors Group Calls for End of Pot Ban

2008-02-17T05:18:00.000-08:00

Atlanta Journal Constitution

DOCTORS GROUP CALLS FOR END OF POT BAN

Sacramento, Calif. -- A large and respected association of physicians
is calling on the federal government to ease its strict ban on
marijuana as medicine and hasten research into the drug's therapeutic uses.

The American College of Physicians, a 124,000-member group that is
the nation's largest for doctors of internal medicine, contends that
the long and rancorous debate over marijuana legalization has
obscured good science that has demonstrated the benefits and
medicinal promise of cannabis.

In a 13-page position paper approved by the college's governing board
of regents and posted Thursday on the group's Web site, the ACP calls
on the government to drop marijuana from Schedule I, a classification
it shares with illegal drugs such as heroin and LSD that are
considered to have no medicinal value and a high likelihood of abuse.

The declaration could put new pressure on lawmakers and government
regulators, who for decades have rejected attempts to reclassify
marijuana. Bush administration officials have aggressively rebuffed
all attempts in Congress, the courts and among law enforcement
organizations to legitimize medical marijuana.

Clinical researchers say the federal government has resisted full
study of the potential medical benefits of cannabis, instead pouring
money into looking at its negative effects. A dozen states have
legalized medical marijuana, but the federal prohibition has led to
an enforcement tug-of-war.

The ACP position paper calls for protection of both doctors and
patients from criminal and civil penalties in states that have
adopted medical-marijuana laws.

Medical-marijuana advocates embraced the position paper as a
watershed event that could help turn the battle in their favor.

Bruce Mirken, a San Francisco spokesman for the Marijuana Policy
Project, said the ACP position is "an earthquake that's going to
rattle the whole medical marijuana debate."

The ACP, he said, "pulverized the government's two favorite myths
about medical marijuana -- that it's not supported by the medical
community and that science hasn't shown marijuana to have medical value."

But officials at the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy said calls for legalizing medical marijuana are misguided.

"What this would do is drag us back to 14th-century medicine," said
Bertha Madras, the drug czar's deputy director for demand reduction.
"It's so arcane."

She said guidance on marijuana as medicine ought to come from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is unlikely ever to approve
leafy cannabis as a prescription drug. Two oral derivatives of
marijuana's psychoactive ingredient, THC, have won FDA approval, and
the agency is also in the early stages of considering a marijuana spray.

An FDA spokeswoman referred reporters to a 2006 news advisory noting
that the agency has never approved of smoked marijuana as a medical treatment.

Alabamians for Compassionate Care

Kenny Horn's 'Bake'

I'll miss you terribly Kenny Horn

Update on Alabama Medical Marijuana Bill

House Judiciary Committee Passes Medical Marijuana Bill

News Release

Medical Marijuana in the BHAM News

Loretta Nall on Matt Murphy Tuesday 7:45 a.m.

Make Marijuana Legal for Patients

Prepare a Written Testimony in Support of HB642

HB642 in committee Wed. April 7

HB642 in committee Wed. April 7

HB642 NOT in Committee March 31

Contact House Judiciary Committee on Medical Marijuana Today!

HB642 in Committee March 31

It's True: Marijuana Helps

HIGH TIMES EDITOR STEVE HAGER VS DEA AGENT IN MOBILE THURSDAY!!!

WE NEED PATIENTS' PICTURES

Podcast of Loretta Nall on the Uncle Henry Show

****HOW TO GET INVOLVED****

RALLY COVERAGE!

ACC Intl. Medical Marijuana Celebration time change

Note to Rally Attendees

The Right to Choose

2 More Letters Published!!

IMPORTANT NOTE RE: RALLY THIS SATURDAY

ALABAMA MEDICAL MARIJUANA AWARENESS RALLY

The Right to Smoke - editorial

Medical Marijuana Valuable Tool -Editorial by Penny Vaughan

Medical marijuana valuable tool

Couple discusses medical marijuana - VIDEO

Safer alternative for pain sufferers - Editorial by Chris Butts

National Survey shows drug war failing Alabama teens

January 24, 2010, 5:33AM

Letter from Loretta Nall

Medical marijuana in Alabama

High Support for Medical Marijuana

CONTACT JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ON HB214

Please Contact Your Representative

Compassionate Care Meeting Nov. 7

What happened to HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act?

HB434 The Micheal Phillips Compassionate Care Act in Committee April 8

Sen. Larry Dixon Implies Medical Marijuana Makes You Lesbian

HB434 Hearing Rescheduled

HB434 in Committee Tomorrow April 1

HB434 in Committee April 1, 2009

Medical Marijuana Letters Published on Sunday

Medical Marijuana Letters Published This Week

Compassionate Care Meeting Saturday, Action Day Tuesday

Who is Your Rep. and Head Count for March 3 Action Day

Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act

Medical Marijuana Bill Moving Fast

Compassionate Care Meeting Jan. 31

Compassionate Care Meeting Jan. 10

Drug War Double Standard

BREAKING NEWS: State Law TRUMPS Fed Law on Medical Marijuana

Take Action on Medical Marijuana in Alabama

Marijuana has medicinal purpose

Medical Marijuana LTE

Puppet Camp 2008

What things were like before the federalization of local police

Audio: Loretta Nall on Matt Murphy

Take Action on Compassionate Care TODAY!

Loretta Nall on NORML Podcast

Loretta Nall on The Matt Murphy Show TODAY!

Weigh Pros & Cons of Medical Pot

We have a bill number

Compassionate Care Meeting Thursday, Feb. 21

Doctors Group Calls for End of Pot Ban

HOW TO GET INVOLVED