What happened to HB434 The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act?

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 in Committee April 1, 2009

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!

Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

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

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

Compassionate Care Meeting Jan. 10

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!