Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010
Subject: #429 South Dakota Medical Marijuana On Ballot
SOUTH DAKOTA MEDICAL MARIJUANA ON BALLOT
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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #429 – Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Last week, South Dakotans were able to get twice the 16,776 signatures
required to put a medical marijuana question on the state’s ballot
next November. In an effort led by the South Dakota Coalition for
Compassion, http://www.sdcompassion.org/ over 30,000 South Dakotans
signed a petition to allow the question to be put before voters.
The report, below, describes and outlines the status of the medical
marijuana initiative ballot question in South Dakota. Now, South
Dakotan voters need to be educated about the harms of arrest, jail,
and prison for medical marijuana patients. A similar ballot question
was only narrowly defeated by voters in 2006.
By using MAP’s newsbot http://drugnewsbot.org?q=South+Dakota you can
follow South Dakota’s medical marijuana news, as it breaks. In MAP’s
unique archive of drug news spanning a decade and a half, you can
research marijuana and drug policy news from South Dakota at
http://mapinc.org/area/South+Dakota
Writing letters to the editor to newspapers in South Dakota and the
surrounding area about medical marijuana can help to get people
thinking about this issue. Contacts for many newspapers may be found
at http://mapinc.org/media.htm
Updated facts on medical marijuana you may wish to use are at
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/54
Archived articles and opinion items about medical marijuana are posted
daily at http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 and breaking news about
medical marijuana may be found at http://drugnewsbot.org/topic/medical_cannabis.htm
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Pubdate: Fri, 22 Jan 2010
Source: Lawrence County Government Examiner (Web)
Author: Traci Wangen
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/wVXPUdl7
SOUTH DAKOTA TO VOTE ON SAFE ACCESS ACT
In 2010, South Dakota residents will once again vote on the
legalization of medical marijuana. The South Dakota Coalition for
Compassion, a non-profit group compromised of physicians, patients,
law enforcement officials and private citizens, submitted 30,000
signatures to the South Dakota Secretary of State this week, 16, 776
more signatures than required to get the initiative on the ballot.
The South Dakota Secretary of State will now examine the signatures,
validate each, and certify the initiative so that it can be put on the
November ballot.
Last time South Dakotans voted on the legalization of medical
marijuana in 2006, the state initiative was defeated 53% to 48%. This
time South Dakota Coalition for Compassion is hoping for the passage
of the Safe Access Act. The initiative was sponsored by Patrick K.
Lynch, former chairman of the board for the North Central States
Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and drafted with the help of
the Marijuana Policy Project. http://www.mpp.org/about
The initiative, if passed into law, would allow medical marijuana card
holders to possess one ounce of marijuana if they have been diagnosed
or treated for certain cancers, glaucoma, amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, seizures or multiple sclerosis, along
with other specifically diagnosable ailments. The initiative outlines
specific disabilities that qualify patients for use, rules regarding
registration cards, distribution, and rules for establishing a
registry for medical marijuana users. The entire initiative can be
read at http://www.sdcompassion.org/sdsaa.htm
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Prepared by: Doug Snead * MAP Editor www.mapinc.org * International
Drug Policy Analyst * www.drugnewsbot.org
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