We Need Your Help to Protect Patients from Jeff Sessions
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November 14, 2017
During a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions admitted his Department of Justice would be required to abide by budget amendments that restrict their use of funding to go after state-legal medical marijuana programs.Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) grilled Sessions on a number of his Reefer Madness talking points including his comments stating marijuana consumers are not “good people” and if he believed that he would be bound by budget amendments, like Rohrabacher-Blumenauer and McClintock-Polis, that ban him from using DOJ funds to target state marijuana laws. Sessions agreed.
This explains why he was vigorously lobbying Republican members of the House to oppose these amendments earlier this year. We know full well that Jeff Sessions despises marijuana and is a die-hard drug warrior from the Just Say No era. While these restrictions remain in place, he cannot pursue his lifelong dream of returning us to old, failed drug war policies.
Unfortunately, these budget amendments need to be renewed on an annual basis, and so far they have not been for 2018. If these protections go away, there is no guarantee that the Department of Justice won’t begin to implement federal prohibition laws in states that have moved in a more common sense direction on marijuana policy.
The good news is: YOU CAN HELP STOP SESSIONS IN HIS TRACKS.
The best defense is a good offense and we need to make our voices heard loudly and clearly now, before it is too late. Take a minute today to stand up for respecting state marijuana laws and tell Sessions we won’t accept any attempts to crack down on these important programs. Send a message NOW.
50 responses to “We Need Your Help to Protect Patients from Jeff Sessions”
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Just sent the letter to my two Senators and Rep. I really need to call their offices and tell them that they need to include MJ legalization or Drug Reform on their list of topics. I ended up using the topic “Crime and Punishment” on one letter and “Civil Liberties” on the other two. It’s ridiculous.
omg….NORML…I had started watching the Sessions testimony later in the hearing…and please excuse the outburst, but WOOOOOOOWWW!! Just WOW! This I did NOT see.
WAY TO GO SEN. COHEN! This FINALLY brings more light into why Sessions has not cracked down. Norml, you are so right, we MUST keep those amendments alive! FOLKS, WRITE YOUR REPS! It is urgent! Sessions still has YEARS if he chooses to decide on a crack down after his so called “rigerous review.” It also shows he is not done with marijuana yet, so we MUST keep renewing those admendments, amongst our other work (i.e. getting more and more states onboard, and descheduling, etc.)
Omg…this is probably the GREATEST article I have ever seen here, other than 2012 and Col, Wash. This is awesoome, and FINALLY we know more. Sessions knows he is trapped if he can’t get funding, and he even seems a tad defeated here. He knows he is widely opposed. HATS OFF to Mr. Cohen, a GREAT video! Thank you NORML, back later on this one, that is a PROMISE this time.
M
*Rep. Cohen, HONORABLE, Rep. Cohen, lol. Awesome job, sir, telling Sessions how it IS! 😀
Oh, and one more thing for now, as I am DEF. coming back to this article….when I said tad defeated, it DOES bring marginal comfort that Sessions said “see how it plays out.” and agreeing, finally, that it is less dangerous than other drugs, i.e. heroin. I just wish the old man would WAKE UP.
Later, wow, the emotion 🙂
I agree, it felt a bit like karmic justice watching the Elf squirm and backtrack on his Reefer Madness rhetoric. That proves to me that even Sessions realizes (in this day and age) that pure hardcore prohibitionist rhetoric has its risks.
Thank you for the link (done) and the focus on the main issue at hand in marijuana reform today; making Congress maintain the Rohrabacher Blumenauer amendment.
While we can fantasize Sessions will take his old job back as Senator and lose to Doug Jones in the horrific election in Alabama, the reality is thats not likely to happen. We need to call our Congressman:
202-224-3121
And respectfully let them know we are voting constituents and demand the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment gets renewed.
Erik, Justin, why dont we have a link directly to Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston who sits on the committee that decides whether the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment gets renewed?
While I’m loath to use a link from MPP being that they are more business than consumer representative, on this one their link is on the ball;
http://action.mpp.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=23557
We can also contact Rep. Pete Sessions, R-TX with this link who tricked the amendment out of the House Appropriations Bill in the first place.
We can’t hope that AG Jeff Sessions’ ridiculous floundering to Congress or Mueller will distract him from cracking down on everything from mmj patients to the CBD oil in our supermarkets. “I forgot to remember that I pushed back to remember I forgot.” Gotta put the fishing waders on when asking Sessions for the truth. Bull$#!+ gets DEEP! the evidence of lying under oath is clear. Indict Sessions for high treason. (And I mean the highest treason that can make us high and truly forget!)
Meanwhile the focus needs to be on Pete Sessions and Culberson. Call today!
202-224-3121
We don’t do links for folks to contact a lawmaker that is not their own as they tend to get marked spam and destroy the overall deliverability of everyone else’s messages.
Right… so Houston NORML and DFW NORML need the link and have to get into those districts door to door, email to email. Time to get on the offense.
We already got it! Same as it ever was: http://norml.org/action-center/item/federal-protect-lawful-medical-marijuana-programs
NORML has driven over 30k messages to Congress on this topic in just the last couple days.
Appreciate ya Julian!
Thanks Justin; I know you’ve got the link to Congress. What I should have said was DFW and Houston NORML need to bring the link from their phones and i pads door to door to encourage people in Pete Sessions and Culberson’s district to contact their Congressman.
Americans need to get over the stigma of contacting Congress and I find that easier to do face to face. It’s not like giving our personal information by contacting the DA or the County Sherrif! Now THATS where our language and personal information gets real sensitive! I’ll talk to the DA but the only thing I want to ask a cop in Texas is “am I being arrested” and “can I leave now?”
One of the problems, potentially, with our movement, Julian. We ought to be working WITH groups like MPP, and not dwelling on differences. We are all in this together. MPP is a fine organization, and we ought to put aside any quarrels and work with them even more closely. Just a suggestion.
Here in Texas, MPP and Texas NORML work closely together. Rob Kampia’s announcement to focus on Texas will increase that activity leading into our 2019 legislative session.
Executive Director Heather Fazio of MPP’s Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy had a good conversation with me years back where I said “While my radar is up against industry dominated policy, consumer advocacy is good for business. I don’t want to see “Im right, your wrong” and petty “either or” arguments tear us down when we should be working together.”
We had a high five over that one. Someone has to represent consumers. Someone has to represent mj industries. We meet with our state and federal legislators and coevolve.
In the above video, Jefferson Peckerwood Sessions doesn’t bother to hide his contempt for marijuana use, nor his contempt for advocates for more rational policies. There was a moment where I thought he was about to spit!
For the love of Jah, people, please: hit the links and send the letter!
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/the-haymaker-sending-sessions-back-to-the-senate-could-boost-legalization?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B2C%20NEWSLETTER%202017-11-15
The article linked above from Leafly entertains the logical pressure from all directions to make Sessions take his old Senate seat back and let Rosenstein, (who has not recused himself from the Russia investigations by special councel Mueller), take the position of Attorney General.
While I agree this would be a net plus, allow me to explain why we STILL have to CALL our Congressman and click on the links and leverage our votes to save the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment:
In short,
Marijuana is not bad nor the people who consume it:
Its war-laws that we had and the people who resume it
While Rosenstein may follow the Cole memos, any AG is still obligated to use tax payer dollars (as they are made available through Congressional law) to deny the medical efficacy of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. If the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment expires Dec 8th… (and if WE dont call our Congressman it will) …our money WILL be used to crack down on dispensaries, its just a matter of some AG’s would crack down more than others. Call now!
202-244-3121
He deserved all the questioning he got. Time’s are a chaingin’, and he needs to get with the program. Leave an industry that is creating jobs and generating revenue for people and governments alone!
Thank you for your work. I will do the best I can in spreading it.
He needs to be fired and oklahoma needs to legalize med.marijuana and stop the opieds here
Thank you Steve Cohen for continued leadership on this issue. Mad dogging Jeff Sessions and forcing him to concede that marijuana is safer than heroin, and that he is bound by Hinchey Rohrabacher, and to crawfish away from his comments about good people smoking marijuana – these were huge wins overshadowed by the Russia business, and by the stupid impeachment bill as well. Russia/ impeachment are losers for America. Stick to the marijuana issue, Steve, it is what you will be remembered for and it is a bipartisan winner for the country.
Mueller indictments suggest otherwise.
The President was shaking hands with mass murderer and drug warrior President Duterte of the Phillipines just the other day, PRAISING him for his “drug” control efforts (i.e., killing innocent people accused of drug consumption at random and deputizing the public into murdering for the government)…
…and you have the nerve to say “don’t focus on impeachment, focus on marijuana reform?” As if the two are not related? Where were you when Sessions became the first Senator to endorse Trump’s campaign back in Feb. of 2016? Or when Drumph began his campaign blaming “Mexicans bringing the rapists” and “drugs” on our failed drug policies just like Anslinger did when prohibition started 85 years ago? And you think youre “SaferinNewOrleans”?
You know what? I agree with you. Impeachment is too far sighted. We should focus on indicting and deposing the Pumpkin-Headed-Drug-Warrior in Chief. I’m sure that supressing investigative journalism in violation of the 1st amendment will get Justice Kennedy’s attention. There, is that better focus for you?
“Rigorous analysis”. Watch out. Previous Justice Dept.work re. mj. has been a joke.
So let me get this straight. 61% of Americans live in states with legal medical marijuana is available to choose as a treatment option. Obvious majority has the freedom of this option. Will of the people, and all that.
What percentage of Americans live in States, which have legalized medical cannabis?
Well the population of the US is about 324,912,000. Medical marijuana is legal in:
Alaska – 738,432
Arizona – 6,828,065
Arkansas – 2,978,204
California – 39,144,818
Colorado – 5,456,574
Connecticut – 3,590,886
Delaware – 945,934
Florida – 20,271,272
Hawaii – 1,431,603
Illinois – 12,859,995
Maine – 1,329,328
Maryland – 6,006,401
Massachusetts – 6,794,422
Michigan – 9,922,576
Minnesota – 5,489,594
Montana – 1,032,949
Nevada – 2,890,845
New Hampshire – 1,330,608
New Jersey – 8,958,013
New Mexico – 2,085,109
New York – 19,795,791
North Dakota – 756,927
Ohio – 11,613,423
Oregon – 4,028,977
Pennsylvania – 12,802,503
Rhode Island – 1,056,298
Vermont – 626,042
Washington – 7,170,351
Washington DC – 672,228
Total population living in a Medicinal Legal or higher state – 198,608,168
198,608,168/324,912,000 = 61% of the US population lives in a medicinal legal state.
https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-Americans-live-in-States-which-have-legalized-medical-cannabis
Yep. It sure makes following the Washington v Sessions case pure homegrown entertainment;
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/22047318/Washington_et_al_v_Sessions_et_al
Thanks for the stats! I have to believe that even the prohibitionists are realizing that stopping legalization will not be especially easy.