[420 Girl]

Madison: State medical cannabis activists have established a daily presence at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison to push for passage of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act as the 2009-2010 legislative session winds down. There is a real sense of urgency and interest in the bill that extends from rural townships and villages across the state to the largest cities to people watching from around the country. A vast coalition of people across the state are getting involved, enlisting others and doing whatever they can to get the JRMMA passed: "This Bill, This Time!"

"Operation Floodgates" is an organized campaign aimed to highlight the urgency of the issue, to make people aware a bill is being considered and to allow constituents to act now and help legislators find the compassion and logic to allow the use of medical marijuana.

The daily presence on Wisconsin's Capitol Hill will soon be enhanced with the planned opening of a Wisconsin NORML office close to the Capitol. This will also create a place for supporters to help out, pick up literature, learn strategies and skills, etc.

Jay Selthofner, a Wisconsin NORML board member who is spearheading Operation Floodgates, said this, "The floodgates are opening, as the voice for many is now becoming the voice of many". Selthofner has mostly been working areas outside of Madison, and organized a successful T.H.C. "Talking Hemp and Cannabis" Expo in Berlin Feb 6 and a "Talking Hemp and Cannabis Tour event in Wisconsin Rapids on Feb 27. Both events were held in local public libraries and brought a lot of locals out to learn more about the issues of medical cannabis and industrial hemp.

Both the Berlin event and Wisconsin Rapid events received favorable media coverage from both print media and area television affiliates. A number of letters to the editor have recently been published as part of the operation, including in the La Crosse Tribune and the state's largest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

"A Grass Roots Evening" on Feb 22 at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, brought a medical cannabis forum to the campus for the first time ever. The event featured not only Senate JRMMA sponsor Jon Erpenbach, but also IMMLY's Gary Storck and Rick "Legal Medicine Blues" Harris together as well as Jacki Rickert, appearing via the internet and video chat on two giant screens.

A Statewide "Day of Prayer for Compassion" has been scheduled for Tuesday March 23 and is being coordinated by IMMLY. Additional events are in the works including a benefit in Milwaukee for Wisconsin NORML and IMMLY on Sat. April 3, 2010.

Some ways to help Operation Floodgates:

* Send pre-written, editable letter to Legislators:
Contact Officials - NORML or
Contact Officials - NORML
* Find out Who Represents you and their contact information: Who Are My Legislators?
* Call your Legislators: Toll-free Legislative Hotline: 1-800-362-9472
* Send a Letter to the Editor of a local or state paper:
MAP: How to Write a Letter to the Editor

For more info: Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative List of qualifying medical conditions included in the JRMMA. Jacki Rickert MMJ Act Hearing Recap & Action Alert. Report on Jan. 20, 2010 Mary Powers Memorial and JRMMA Lobby Day. For additional details on the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, info on the Dec. 15, 2010 combined Health committee hearing, bill text and status, how to donate, all the latest news and how you can help, visit JRMMA.org, IMMLY.org or MadisonNORML.org. Visit my Madison NORML Examiner articles archive. Photos courtesy IMMLY/WI NORML and friends. All rights reserved.

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