So You Want To Be An MMJ Patient Advocate?
Looking back at the beginning of my advocacy; I was pretty naive. Thankfully I moved to San Francisco when I did. It was right after 9/11; the war on terror was just beginning and we were ramping up to invade Iraq. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest. I had never witnessed such acts of civil disobedience. At the same time the federal government had begun raiding medical marijuana dispensaries and prosecuting people like Ed Rosenthal in the medical marijuana community; while our country was supposed to be focused on catching terrorists. Rosenthal was denied a medical defense during his prosecution and was found guilty. After the February 2003 trial, several jurors discovered that evidence was withheld, and subsequently denounced their verdict.
Three months after moving to San Francisco I became embroiled in a lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the worst violators of the state medical marijuana law. I had contacted Americans for Safe Access (ASA) after seeing them take action and organizing court support during the trial of Ed Rosenthal. I learned fast how to become an medical cannabis patient advocate. The Bay Area made the perfect activist boot camp. I attended every activist training I could find. Devouring the lessons and becoming a leader in the community.
We won our case against the CHP, and I helped to establish San Francisco's premier medical cannabis dispensary regulations, before moving to the DC Metro area to help establish safe access there. I spent five years on the east coast organizing the community; providing trainings, building up a base of grassroots activists and advocating for safe access to medical cannabis for patients in need. I'm now back in the Bay Area fighting back against the federal governments latest attacks on state sanctioned medical cannabis programs, which have led to the closure of some of San Francisco's oldest and most well regulated dispensaries.
If you'd like to join us in our fight to ensure patients have access to the medicine they need, you don't have to go down the same rabbit hole as I did. ASA provides The Medical Cannabis Advocates Training Center, providing advocates the tools they need to participate in the processes in a meaningful way. I'm also super excited to be able to join medical cannabis activists across the nation who are spending their summer making history at Camp Wakeupobama! This is no ordinary camp. Sign up is free; you don't have to leave home; and each activity you complete builds toward important national actions this fall! Win merit badges and prizes from t-shirts to a full scholarship (travel and lodging) to ASA's national conference in DC February 22-25, 2013! All while fighting for patients’ rights.
There are so many fun and easy activities, there is something for everyone to do! Sign up today at CampWakeUpObama.com
Three months after moving to San Francisco I became embroiled in a lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the worst violators of the state medical marijuana law. I had contacted Americans for Safe Access (ASA) after seeing them take action and organizing court support during the trial of Ed Rosenthal. I learned fast how to become an medical cannabis patient advocate. The Bay Area made the perfect activist boot camp. I attended every activist training I could find. Devouring the lessons and becoming a leader in the community.
We won our case against the CHP, and I helped to establish San Francisco's premier medical cannabis dispensary regulations, before moving to the DC Metro area to help establish safe access there. I spent five years on the east coast organizing the community; providing trainings, building up a base of grassroots activists and advocating for safe access to medical cannabis for patients in need. I'm now back in the Bay Area fighting back against the federal governments latest attacks on state sanctioned medical cannabis programs, which have led to the closure of some of San Francisco's oldest and most well regulated dispensaries.
If you'd like to join us in our fight to ensure patients have access to the medicine they need, you don't have to go down the same rabbit hole as I did. ASA provides The Medical Cannabis Advocates Training Center, providing advocates the tools they need to participate in the processes in a meaningful way. I'm also super excited to be able to join medical cannabis activists across the nation who are spending their summer making history at Camp Wakeupobama! This is no ordinary camp. Sign up is free; you don't have to leave home; and each activity you complete builds toward important national actions this fall! Win merit badges and prizes from t-shirts to a full scholarship (travel and lodging) to ASA's national conference in DC February 22-25, 2013! All while fighting for patients’ rights.
There are so many fun and easy activities, there is something for everyone to do! Sign up today at CampWakeUpObama.com
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