Guest guest Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 To take action on legalizing marijuana for medical purposes see below. Priscilla A. Savary Executive Director Colorectal Cancer Network PO Box 182, Kensington MD 20895 psavary@... www.colorectal-cancer.net _________ Screening for All. Colon Cancer for None. ProjectMARCH -- rarely in life do you get a chance to make major change or save thousands of lives. March 6, 2006 you can. http://www.colorectal-cancer.net/projectmarch.htm [asa] CORRECTED ASA ACTION ALERT: CALL OR EMAIL YOUR REGIONAL HHS DIRECTOR ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005. URGE RESPONSE TO THE DQA APPEAL! PLEASE DISREGARD THE LAST ACTION ALERT this alert includes the correct contact information for your regional director -- -distribute widely- HHS ACTION ALERT: CALL OR EMAIL YOUR REGIONAL HHS DIRECTOR ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005. URGE RESPONSE TO THE DQA APPEAL! In 2002, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) submitted a formal petition to the federal department of Health and Human Services (HHS) demanding marijuana be reclassified from a Schedule I drug. Following the submission of the rescheduling petition, ASA filed a Data Quality Act Petition (DQA), in October 2004, requesting that HHS correct information disseminated by the agency regarding the medical value of marijuana. After many delays, HHS denied ASA's petition under the DQA, and in May 2005, an appeal was filed with the agency. Although HHS was supposed to answer our appeal within 60 days, the agency is stalling and continues to send delay after delay. Meanwhile, patients across the country continue to wait in pain while the Bush administration plays politics with their medicine. On September 26, 2005, patients and advocates nationwide called their Regional HHS Directors to ask that they demand Secretary Leavitt answer ASA's Data Quality Act petition. These calls made a real impact and were heard all the way to Washington DC. Following these calls, ASA sent each Regional Director a sign-on letter to send to Secretary Leavitt. Time is up! The Regional Directors need to hear from their constituents. Call or email your Regional HHS Director on Wednesday, October 26, 2005. Urge your Director to sign on to a letter demanding Secretary Leavitt answer ASA's Data Quality Act petition now! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT ACTION SHOULD YOU TAKE: 1. CALL WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005: Call on your Regional HHS Director to sign on to a letter demanding Secretary Leavitt to answer ASA's Data Quality Act appeal and rescheduling petition. Find out " Who to call or email " and " What to say " below. 2. ATTEND A REGIONAL ACTION: Patients, doctors and advocates are invited to join us at local actions on October 26, 2005. For more information about the local actions, click here or email rebecca@... (You can also scroll down to the end of this message for details on local actions in DC, Philadelphia, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco & Seattle.) 3. SIGN AND CIRCULATE THE PETITION FOR RESCHEDULING: Sign the petition on line or download the petition to circulate in your community. 4. SPREAD THE WORD: Forward this email to your friends, family and colleagues. Urge them to duplicate your efforts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHO SHOULD YOU CALL OR EMAIL: IF YOU LIVE IN: CT, ME, MA, NH, RI or VT PLEASE CALL: Cresta, HHS Regional Health Administrator, Region I Office: Email: brian.cresta@... NJ, NY, PR or VI PLEASE CALL: Deborah Konopko HHS Regional Health Administrator, Region II Office: Email: deborah.konopko@... DE, DC, MD, PA, VA or WV PLEASE CALL: S. Zimmerman HHS Regional Health Administrator, Region III Office: Email: robert.zimmerman@... AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, or TN PLEASE CALL: Downing Acting Regional Health Administrator, Region IV Office: Email: chris.downing@... IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, or WI PLEASE CALL: O'Brien Regional Health Administrator, Region V Office: Email: .Obrien@... AR, LA, NM, OK or TX PLEASE CALL: Penn Acting Regional Health Administrator, Region VI Office: Email: linda.penn@... IA, KS, MO or NE PLEASE CALL: Fred Schuster Regional Health Administrator, Region VII Office: Email: Fred.Schuster@... CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, or WY PLEASE CALL: Joe Nunez Acting Regional Health Administrator, Region VIII Office: Email: Joe.Nunez@... AZ, CA, HI, or NV PLEASE CALL: Calise Munoz Regional Health Administrator, Region IX Office: Email: Calise.Munoz@... AK, ID, OR or WA PLEASE CALL: Whitfield Regional Health Administrator, Region X Office: Email: .Whitfield@... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT YOU CAN SAY: Suggested Phone Script: My name is __________. I live in ( City, State ). I am calling the office of my Regional Health Administrator to ask for help on behalf of countless cancer, AIDS, MS and other patients in our region who might benefit from medical marijuana. HHS Director, Secretary Leavitt, has delayed response to a Data Quality Act appeal filed by Americans for Safe Access over a year ago. This is not the first time Secretary Leavitt has delayed response to requests to reclassify marijuana and to correct information disseminated by the agency regarding the medical use of marijuana. The bottom line is marijuana is medicine. More than 6,500 reports and journal articles from around the world support the medical efficacy of marijuana. Even the Institute of Medicine, in the most comprehensive study of medical marijuana's efficacy, concluded that, " nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety.all can be mitigated by marijuana. " The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world continuing to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug like heroine, PCP and GHB. Last week, Americans for Safe Access sent you a sign on letter. As my Regional Health Administrator, I am calling to urge you to sign this letter asking Secretary Leavitt to answer ASA's Data Quality Act and Rescheduling petitions now! Thanks for listening to me. Have a great day. (Download a copy of the sign on letter sent to the regional directors here: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/HHS_sign_on_letter.pdf) Suggested Email Script: Dear ________________, My name is __________. I live in ( City, State ). I am writing to ask for help on behalf of countless cancer, AIDS, MS and other patients in our region who might benefit from medical marijuana. HHS Director, Secretary Leavitt, has delayed response to a Data Quality Act appeal filed by Americans for Safe Access over a year ago. This is not the first time Secretary Leavitt has delayed response to requests to reclassify marijuana and to correct information disseminated by the agency regarding the medical use of marijuana. The bottom line is marijuana is medicine. More than 6,500 reports and journal articles from around the world support the medical efficacy of marijuana. Even the Institute of Medicine, in the most comprehensive study of medical marijuana's efficacy, concluded that, " nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety.all can be mitigated by marijuana. " The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world continuing to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug like heroine, PCP and GHB. Last week, Americans for Safe Access sent you a sign on letter. You can download a copy of this letter here: <http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/HHS_sign_on_letter.pdf> As my Regional Health Administrator, I am writing to urge you to sign this letter asking Secretary Leavitt to answer ASA's Data Quality Act and Rescheduling petitions now! Thanks for considering this issue. Have a great day. Sincerely, ________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background/More Information: In 2002, Americans for Safe Access, as part of a larger coalition known as the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, submitted a petition to the federal government demanding marijuana be rescheduled from a Schedule I drug. Schedule I is reserved for the most dangerous drugs, typically those with no accepted medical value and high abuse potential. Other Schedule I drugs include heroine, PCP and GHB. As evidenced by the more than 6,500 studies and journal articles from around the world marijuana does have accepted medical value, marijuana is not highly abusive, and it has been wrongly classified as a Schedule I drug. Last October, ASA activists gathered at the Health and Human Services (HHS) building in Washington DC to launch a Data Quality Act Petition (DQA), requesting that HHS correct information disseminated by the agency regarding the medical use of marijuana. The DQA requires federal agencies, like HHS, to ensure that the information it distributes is fair, objective and meets certain quality guidelines. HHS declined our requests under the DQA petition, refusing to recognize the mountain of evidence demonstrating marijuana's medical value. In May, ASA filed an appeal. Although HHS was supposed to answer our appeal within 60 days, the agency continues to delay. On October 26, 2005, ASA activists will take action at seven regional HHS offices around the country. Call or email your Regional HHS Director to demand Secretary Leavitt answer ASA's Data Quality Act petition now! Another year is too long for patients to wait for safe and legal access to medical marijuana. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Local Action Details: Time's Up: Demand HHS Reclassify Marijuana Now! Wednesday, October 26th 12 Noon Actions Confirmed in DC, Philadelphia, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco & Seattle: National Headquarters - Washington D.C. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 Contact Blair Brogan: blair@..., blairbrogan@... PHS - Region III - Philadelphia, PA The Public Ledger Building 150 South Independence Mall West, Suite 436 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 Contact Barry Busch: barry@... or PHS - Region VI - Dallas, TX 1301 Young Street, Suite 1124 Dallas, TX 75202 Contact Noelle & : karen@... or PHS-Region VII - Kansas City, MO 601 East 12th Street, Room S-1801 Kansas City, Missouri 64106 Contact : medicalmaryjane@... or PHS-Region VIII - Denver, CO 1961 Stout Street, Room 498 Denver, Colorado 80294 Contact Larissa & : or llawrenceccc@... PHS-Region IX - San Francisco, CA 50 United Nations Plaza, Room 327 San Francisco, California 94102 Contact Tony Bowles: tonebowles@... or PHS-Region X - Seattle, WA 2201 Sixth Avenue, M/S RX-20 Seattle, Washington 98121 Contact Jim Greig: jimgreigads@... or - end of alert - -- SaltzmanField CoordinatorAmericans for Safe Accessp f www.safeaccessnow.org -------------------------------- -------------------------------- Caren Woodson Campaign Director Americans For Safe Access 1322 Webster St., Ste 208 Oakland, CA 94612 www.SafeAccessNow.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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