University threatens federal med. marijuana patient--Take Action!

George McMahon is one of only five patients who
receive medical marijuana from the United States
Government through a little-known FDA program called
Investigational New Drug. He can legally smoke his
medicine in every state of the union. He smokes ten
government joints each day to treat pain, spasms, and
nausea associated with Nail Patella Syndrome, a rare
genetic condition that can cause bone deformities,
immune system dysfunction, and renal failure. George
is a recipient of a National Certificate of Heroism
for his participation in the President's Drug
Awareness Program, and he has traveled the world
educating people about the medical benefits of
marijuana. He is the co-author of Prescription Pot:
One Man's Mission to Legalize Medical Marijuana, due
this fall through Penguin/Putnam distribution.

George is scheduled to appear at the University of
Kansas on Monday, April 21 at 7pm. University police
have threatened to arrest George if he possesses or
uses his federally-authorized cannabis. The State of
Kansas Attorney General's office asserts that George
will be in violation of state and federal law if he
brings his medical marijuana to Kansas. They are
disregarding the concept that federal policy pre-empts
state law. George's legal right to access and use his
marijuana (along with his right to travel, and
subsequently, his freedom of speech) are being
threatened by bureaucrats, state attorneys, and law
enforcement officials. If George is arrested, he
could linger in jail for days before the federal
government authorizes his release. By the time George
is released, he could be extremely ill.

Please contact the following departments and urge them
to respect George McMahon's legal rights.

State of Kansas Attorney General's Office (785)
296-2215
University of Kansas Public Safety Office (785)
864-5900


I encourage you to proliferate this information via
your e-mailing lists, newsletters, media contacts,
etc.

You want us to contact the Kansas Attorney General's Office and the University of Kansas Public Safety Office to talk them into letting George smoke a joint?

[InvisiblesaL]

i'll do it.. but if we get a bill just for me.

posted by Warlord:

I wonder what possible pull a resident of the state of Texas could possibly have with civil servants dedicated to enforcing Kansas state law.

Waste of time as we have no standing and are not citizens of that state.

You are a citizen of the United States (and much more a citizen of the world) and this is a federal medical marijuana law. If many concerned citizens in Kansas and across the country flood the phone lines on monday (such as, people telling the university they will not consider their school in the future for themselves or their children if it continues to be administrated in such a callous and overly bureaucratic manner), I believe it will have some impact. You can tell them they don't have to make a scene by arresting this sick and elderly man, and ask them why they don't at least provide him with a room to smoke in private. You don't have to stay on the phone and debate the issue for an hour, unless you want to (I don't they will want to). Just call and let them know how you feel about what they doing, and give them possible alternatives to arresting this sick man and creating a stir in the media. Just a couple minutes of your time please.

[xryptic]

As much as I dislike the State of Kansas's stance on this issue, I refuse to try and change their mind. Personally I think more states should actively disregard federal authority ad if Kansas succeeds in this they'll unwittingly aid other states' battles in the attempt to legalize marijuana. Governing a nation and populace as large and diverse as ours cannot be effectively done from a central position. Local government is always better.

[zymote]

Honestly, I think compassion should always come before the law, but especially in this case. I've met George a couple of times, and he's not some sort of hippie fake that's making all this up to get free weed. Cannabis has saved his life, and is literally the only thing keeping him going, so much so that the government even agrees and gives him the special right to use it. He's taking a huge risk - literally putting his life on the line - by speaking out the way he does, because it's the right thing to do. Talk about true bravery and putting it all on the line for what you know to be right, that man has balls of steel.

For the police up there to disregard George's health, and his well-established legal rights just to try and prove a petty little point is really disgusting, and I think speaks volumes about the medical cannabis debate in this country. If you try to stifle discussion then you must be afraid of what the other side has to say.

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n583/a07.html?397
------------------------------------------------------------
George McMahon has a constant supplier of marijuana for as long as he
lives -- and he gets it for free.
The supplier? The federal government.
McMahon is one of five U.S. citizens granted access to medicinal
marijuana by the government. He receives a tin of 300 marijuana cigarettes
each month to deal with Nail Patella Syndrome, a rare disease that causes
muscle spasms and joint degeneration.
"It's good marijuana," he said. "I know it's making me better."
McMahon spoke to about 75 people Monday evening at Kansas University's
Strong Hall. He was invited to campus by Students for Sensible Drug
Policy.
McMahon has smoked about 10 marijuana cigarettes a day legally since
1990, when he was approved for a federal trial testing the use of pot for
medical purposes. Fifteen people received doses of marijuana through
the program, which stopped accepting new participants in the early 1990s,
though only five are still alive.
Five years earlier, McMahon said, he was within days of dying when he
smoked an illegal marijuana cigarette. His health began improving
immediately, he said.
Now, he tours the country advocating the legalization of medicinal
marijuana.
"I still have brothers and sisters ( with Nail Patella Syndrome ) who
are using prescription drugs and dying," he said. "But look at me."
McMahon said he had never had problems with law enforcement agents
while smoking marijuana, though he said he avoided smoking in public.
McMahon's appearance Monday was without incident. Officials with the KU
Public Safety Office on Friday had threatened to arrest McMahon if he
was found smoking pot on campus.
But Lt. Schuyler Bailey said he spoke with McMahon later that day and
received assurance his smoking would be legal under federal law. The
Public Safety Office didn't send officers to Monday night's lecture.
During his speech, McMahon also sounded off on the conviction of Ed
Rosenthal, a California marijuana advocate who was convicted for growing
medicinal marijuana plants. Rosenthal is represented by Topeka attorney
Bob Eye, who lives in Lawrence.
"I'm pretty angry," McMahon said of the conviction. "That's a pretty
nasty thing to do to someone who's trying to be compassionate."

fucking stoner... he gets 10 joints a DAY... DAYUM.