[Sativa]

The owner of radio station WKXL today refused to air an ad encouraging New Hampshire citizens to voice their support for a popular bill being considered by the state legislature that would protect from arrest seriously ill patients who use doctor-recommended medical marijuana.

The move was apparently an ideologically motivated effort by station owner and conservative former U.S. Senator Gordon J. Humphrey to suppress open discussion about the medical marijuana bill, said Stuart Cooper of the New Hampshire Marijuana Policy Initiative.

"Clearly Mr. Humphrey is using his position as a media gatekeeper to manipulate the will of New Hampshire voters," Cooper said. "Whether or not he personally believes that the government is better qualified than physicians and patients to make medical decisions is his own business. But the rest of us should be free to decide for ourselves whether we want to lock up sick people for using a medicine that's proven safe and effective."

The ad, "Trying to Stay Alive Shouldn't Be a Crime," is scheduled to begin airing Friday, several times a day, in Portsmouth and Manchester.

"I am appalled that the owner of WKXL would impose his own narrow ideology to censor people like me who are in serious, debilitating pain and who need this medicine just to function," said Frank Fayette, a Vietnam veteran from Pittsfield with severe and chronic pain who is currently prescribed morphine. "My doctor tells me medical marijuana can help me. The scientific research tells me it can help. The majority of New Hampshire's citizens support seriously ill people like me who are fighting for their lives. Just who is Mr. Humphrey to make me a criminal and deny me the right to battle my condition with dignity?"

To listen to the spot online, visit New Hampshire Marijuana Policy Initiative radio spot

Newshawk: CoZmO - 420Magazine.com
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
Contact: web@mpp.org
Copyright: 2007 Marijuana Policy Project
Website: Marijuana Policy Project