March 11, 2005: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Politics: Congress: Marijuana: Medical Marijuana: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Congressman Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Colombia: Special Report: Sam Farr: Sam Farr: Archived Stories: February 27, 2005: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Politics: Congress: Marijuana: Medical Marijuana: Santa Cruz Sentinel: The Marijuana Policy Project, a marijuana advocacy group, will honor Rep. Sam Farr, for leading efforts in Congress to protect medical marijuana patients from federal prosecution : March 11, 2005: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Politics: Congress: Marijuana: Medical Marijuana: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Congressman Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-123-27.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.123.27) on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 12:52 am: Edit Post

Congressman Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group

Congressman Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group

Congressman Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group

Congressman Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group
By BRIAN SEALS
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

Well, Farr out.

U.S. Rep. Sam Farr’s efforts in the nation’s Capitol on medical marijuana policy has garnered the Central Coast congressman an honor from a national advocacy group.

Farr, D-Carmel, is set to be honored by the Marijuana Policy Project when it celebrates its 10th anniversary May 4 in Washington, D.C.

"He has stood up and taken the lead," said Bruce Mirken, the organization’s spokesman. "When someone has taken the lead, we think they deserve some recognition."

While California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996 to allow medical marijuana, the federal government continues to categorize pot as illegal under any situation.

That conflict has been the basis of Farr’s work on the issue.

"We do an awful lot of denying people a chance at hope based on political mores," Farr said Thursday, noting the honor has been the source of some ribbing from congressional colleagues. "It is a states’ rights battle. What we’re trying to say is if states pass these laws, the federal government ought to recognize them."

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Farr, along with U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, introduced a resolution in 2003 that would have allowed for a medical-necessity defense in federal marijuana cases.

The measure failed to make it to a floor vote. Farr said he is mulling whether to resubmit the bill, but he knows that may be an uphill battle with a conservative Republican-controlled Congress and a GOP president.

"It’s sort of an exercise in futility with this administration," he said.

Farr also condemned the September 2002 Drug Enforcement Administration raid of the Davenport garden operated by the Santa Cruz area cooperative Wo/Man’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

"He’s reflecting what is going on in his district," Mirken said.

Also to be honored at the May 4 gala will be talk show host Montel Williams, who uses marijuana to treats multiple sclerosis symptoms.

Another honoree will be Angel Raich, a California medical marijuana user who now has a case before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging whether the federal government has authority to regulate medically used pot where money is not exchanged and therefore not an interstate commerce issue under the Constitution.

A West Coast version of the gala is planned in Los Angeles for May 9.

The Marijuana Policy Project works to remove criminal penalties for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of their doctors.





When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

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RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

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March 1: National Day of Action Date: February 28 2005 No: 471 March 1: National Day of Action
Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.
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Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory.
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PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.
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The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

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Story Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Colombia; Politics; Congress; Marijuana; Medical Marijuana

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