T
The420Guy
Guest
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The District of Columbia Board of Elections and
Ethics (BOEE) today notified proponents of Initiative 63, the medical
marijuana initiative, that the initiative would appear on the November
general election ballot. The written notice from BOEE wraps up an
arduous, 14-month battle that included several lawsuits and hundreds
of wrongfully invalidated signatures.
Initiative 63 would protect from arrest seriously ill people who
use marijuana under the advice of their physicians. In July 2001, the
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), a D.C.-based non-profit advocacy
group, filed with the BOEE a request to circulate petitions for the
initiative. The BOEE denied that request in December 2001, because the
so-called "Barr Amendment," a rider to the D.C. Appropriations bill
named after its sponsor, U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), prevented the city
from spending any money to process the initiative.
MPP then filed suit against the federal and District governments in
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, on the grounds
that the Barr Amendment was an unconstitutional abridgment of
political speech. On March 28, 2002, federal judge Emmet G. Sullivan
ruled in favor of MPP.
In May, a group of local, former medical marijuana activists filed
a frivolous lawsuit to prevent MPP from gathering signatures in
support of the initiative. Though MPP won with a quick, decisive
ruling in D.C. Superior Court in June, the setback left MPP only
25 days to gather the over 17,000 signatures necessary to place the
initiative on the November ballot.
Despite having turned in more than 38,000 signatures -- more than
twice the required number -- the BOEE claimed that MPP came up short
in one of the city's wards. An extensive recount by MPP showed that
the BOEE had failed to count literally hundreds of valid signatures.
Today's ruling is the result of a Motion to Reconsider filed with the
BOEE on August 16, based on MPP's recount. It allows MPP to move
forward with posting campaign posters and educating voters.
"We faced incredible odds to put this initiative on the November
ballot," said Robert Kampia, MPP's executive director. "Because a vast
majority of voters approved a similar initiative in 1998, we never
imagined that this campaign would turn into a journey reminiscent of
Homer's Odyssey. The real winners, though, are the seriously ill
people who will now have legal access to medical marijuana."
The Marijuana Policy Project works to minimize the harm associated
with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that
are intended to prohibit such use. In association with Students for
Sensible Drug Policy, MPP will hold its first national conference --
featuring a special appearance by comedian Bill Maher -- on Nov. 8-10
in Anaheim, California. For more information, see Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws .
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2002 13
14 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>
Subject: D.C. Medical Marijuana Initiative Accepted for November Election]
Ethics (BOEE) today notified proponents of Initiative 63, the medical
marijuana initiative, that the initiative would appear on the November
general election ballot. The written notice from BOEE wraps up an
arduous, 14-month battle that included several lawsuits and hundreds
of wrongfully invalidated signatures.
Initiative 63 would protect from arrest seriously ill people who
use marijuana under the advice of their physicians. In July 2001, the
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), a D.C.-based non-profit advocacy
group, filed with the BOEE a request to circulate petitions for the
initiative. The BOEE denied that request in December 2001, because the
so-called "Barr Amendment," a rider to the D.C. Appropriations bill
named after its sponsor, U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), prevented the city
from spending any money to process the initiative.
MPP then filed suit against the federal and District governments in
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, on the grounds
that the Barr Amendment was an unconstitutional abridgment of
political speech. On March 28, 2002, federal judge Emmet G. Sullivan
ruled in favor of MPP.
In May, a group of local, former medical marijuana activists filed
a frivolous lawsuit to prevent MPP from gathering signatures in
support of the initiative. Though MPP won with a quick, decisive
ruling in D.C. Superior Court in June, the setback left MPP only
25 days to gather the over 17,000 signatures necessary to place the
initiative on the November ballot.
Despite having turned in more than 38,000 signatures -- more than
twice the required number -- the BOEE claimed that MPP came up short
in one of the city's wards. An extensive recount by MPP showed that
the BOEE had failed to count literally hundreds of valid signatures.
Today's ruling is the result of a Motion to Reconsider filed with the
BOEE on August 16, based on MPP's recount. It allows MPP to move
forward with posting campaign posters and educating voters.
"We faced incredible odds to put this initiative on the November
ballot," said Robert Kampia, MPP's executive director. "Because a vast
majority of voters approved a similar initiative in 1998, we never
imagined that this campaign would turn into a journey reminiscent of
Homer's Odyssey. The real winners, though, are the seriously ill
people who will now have legal access to medical marijuana."
The Marijuana Policy Project works to minimize the harm associated
with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that
are intended to prohibit such use. In association with Students for
Sensible Drug Policy, MPP will hold its first national conference --
featuring a special appearance by comedian Bill Maher -- on Nov. 8-10
in Anaheim, California. For more information, see Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws .
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2002 13
14 -0700From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>
Subject: D.C. Medical Marijuana Initiative Accepted for November Election]
