Pubdate: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW) Section: Feature Article Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm TAKE ACTION DURING MEDICAL MARIJUANA WEEK FEB. 12-18 By Americans For Safe Access To celebrate ten years of safe access to medical cannabis in California and growing access throughout the country, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has organized Medical Marijuana Week 2007. This will be the fifth annual Medical Marijuana Week, held during the week of 2/15 to commemorate the passage of Proposition 215, California's medical cannabis law. This year, we are calling on advocates nationwide to take action every day during this week. Please read on for daily opportunities to advance safe access to medical cannabis. Celebrate Medical Marijuana Week with us by educating your community, urging Congress to protect medical cannabis patients, writing letters to the editor, and more! Monday: Join the Movement In just four years, ASA has become the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. Join ASA by becoming a member and/or filling out ASA's online activist survey. Tuesday: Make Your Voice Heard Write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper calling on Congress to protect safe access to medical cannabis. You never know who you might be influencing - a judge, policeman, or city council representative! Visit ASA's LTE action site on Tuesday for an easy way to submit your LTE online, using talking points provided by our communications staff. Wednesday: Call for Congressional Action Call on Congress to hold hearings on medical cannabis. Take action online and call your Congressional representatives at (202) 224-3121 using a script provided by ASA. When your elected officials hear from you - and often - they are more likely to support our calls for safe and legal access to cannabis! Thursday: Mobilize Your Community for Congressional Action On Thursday, download and print out a petition calling on Congress to hold hearings on medical cannabis. Gather signatures on this petition at your work, school, home, church, and in your community. Please send completed petitions back to ASA via fax: (510) 251-2036; or mail: 1322 Webster Street, Suite 402, Oakland, CA 94612 Friday: Support Medical Cannabis Inmates Several patients and providers are in jail awaiting trial or in prison serving out their sentences. Although the actions of many of these prisoners were legal under state law, defendants cannot bring up a medical defense in federal court. Please show your support to these inmates by writing them letters. Read their stories and find their contact information on ASA's website. Saturday: Spread the News About Safe Access We need more people educated and activated on this issue. Find a local community board in a coffee shop, Laundromat, or on a college campus to post information about medical cannabis and Americans for Safe Access. Please print out our one-page information sheet to spread the word about safe access. Sunday: Expand the Choir On Sunday, think about your connections outside of the medical cannabis community and reach out to these groups. Are you a member of a condition-based organization? Political group? Social club? If not, find one to join. Educate your community about the efficacy of medical cannabis and the need for change in federal law. For more information about Americans for Safe Access, see http://www.safeaccessnow.org/ - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake