RIPAC E-News
March 2009 Edition
RI Patient Advocacy Coalition
March 2009 Edition
RI Patient Advocacy Coalition
Welcome to the monthly newsletter of the RI Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC), the medical marijuana community of Rhode Island! Visit our website, www.RIpatients.org.
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In this issue:
1. HEARINGS ON COMPASSION CENTER BILL THIS WEEK!
2. OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ENDS DISPENSARY RAIDS
3. OCEAN STATE ACTION ENDORSES MEDICAL MARIJUANA
4. TIP FROM PATIENTS: LABEL YOUR PLANTS
5. RIPAC OFFERS PATIENT AND CAREGIVER ORIENTATIONS
6. MARCH MEETINGS: COMMUNITY, PATIENT, REGIONALS
1. HEARINGS ON COMPASSION CENTER BILL THIS WEEK!
- This week at the State House, committees of the Senate and House of Representatives will hold hearings on the Compassion Center bill! You can read our summary of the bill.
- The Senate's Health and Human Services committee and the House's Health Education and Welfare committee will both hear the bill on Wednesday, March 4 starting at 4pm. If you'd like to attend to support the patients who will testify, check our website RIpatients.org on Wednesday morning for the hearing room numbers.
- Senator Rhoda Perry introduced S0185 on February 4. Representative Tom Slater introduced H5359 on February 10 - with 50 of Rhode Island's 75 representatives as co-sponsors!
- On February 26, at a Justice Department press conference, Attorney General Eric Holder said that ending raids on medical marijuana dispensaries "is now American policy." You can watch the video on YouTube!
- This is GREAT timely news for us here in Rhode Island! Now we have every indication that the DEA will not raid a lawfully operated, state-licensed, non-profit, independent Compassion Center in our state.
- Ocean State Action, a coalition of organizations working for progressive political change in the areas of economic, social, and environmental justice, has endorsed medical marijuana and RIPAC's mission.
- You can see the list of organizations who have endorsed medical marijuana at RIpatients.org/about. Ocean State Action's website is OceanStateAction.org.
- The best way to protect yourself under the Medical Marijuana Act is to label your grow-site with a copy of your license card. Prepare for the unexpected: in case law enforcement visited your garden when you weren't home, they would have no other way to determine your patient status.
- Some patients provide contact information (like a cell phone number) near your plants so that, in this event, police can communicate with you directly.
- Are you a newly licensed medical marijuana patient or caregiver? Are you looking for information about becoming a licensed patient or caregiver? We'd like to offer you a RIPAC Orientation.
- A RIPAC Orientation is a one-on-one meeting with a RIPAC staff member or volunteer for the purpose of explaining the details of the Medical Marijuana Act and answering any specific questions. To set up an appointment, contact RIPAC and request either a Patient Orientation or a Caregiver Orientation.
- Community Meeting: 6:30-8:00pm Tuesday, March 10 will be our open Community Meeting for patients, caregivers, advocates, and anyone else interested in learning more about medical marijuana. Please come to the conference room of Family Service RI (55 Hope Street, Providence 02906). Contact RIPAC for more information.
- Patient Meeting: 7:00-8:30pm Tuesday, March 31 will be our Patient Meeting for licensed patients and their caregivers. Caregivers are welcome at the invitation of their patients; patients should call to inform us if their caregivers are invited. Call us at 861-1601 or contact RIPAC here.
- Regional Meetings: 6:30-8:00pm Tuesday, March 17 will be the first-ever East Bay Regional Meeting! Write to us for the location. Also, stay tuned for a new South County Regional Meeting, starting soon.
Have a healthy day,
RIPAC
www.RIpatients.org