Medical cannabis activists found lobbyists had taken their spot as a missing permit app canceled a peaceful two decade old medical cannabis vigil.

MADISON -- Cannabis activists found themselves shut out of their traditional spot outside the Governor's State of the State speeches Wednesday night after Capitol Police claimed they had never received an application for a permit from the Madison chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Since the early 1990s, medical cannabis activists have stood vigil outside each annual "State of the State" (SOTS) address. The late Madison activist Ben Masel, a frequent Capitol visitor, began the tradition many years ago.

Continue reading "Lost" permit apps scratch medical cannabis vigil at Walker's State of the State.

Unfortunately, Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, the Wisconsin State Senate Republican Majority Leader, has chosen to assign the Senate version SB371, of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, to the Senate Health Committee chaired by an arch-opponent of protecting patients using their medicine. The action speaks volumes about Sen. Fitzgerald's concerns for state seniors, veterans, sick, disabled and dying.

MADISON: Wisconsin Senate Bill 371 - The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA) - has been referred to the Senate Health committee. Senate Health is chaired by Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa), a longtime opponent who famously refused to hold a hearing when a 2007-2008 session bill was assigned to the committee she chaired as an Assembly representative. The JRMMA was rolled out at a Nov. 30 Capitol press conference.

Continue reading "Wisconsin medical marijuana bill assigned to opponent's Senate committee."

An update on the Jacki Rickert MMJ Act.

MADISON: Rep. Mark Pocan's office has confirmed a final total of 15 cosponsors for the newly reintroduced Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA).

As with last session and the 2007-2008 session there were no Republican cosponsors. The last bill with Republican support, AB-740, was introduced in 2005 by then Rep. Gregg Underheim, a moderate Republican from Oshkosh who chaired the Assembly Public Health committee. Rep. Underheim gave AB-740 a public hearing in Nov. 2005. Underheim, a one-time opponent of medical cannabis opened up to the medical potential of cannabis after suffering a bout with cancer. He left the legislature in 2006.

13 of 15 cosponsors are from the 99-member Wisconsin State Assembly: Continue reading "Wisconsin medical marijuana bill to get bill numbers, committee assignments."

Here is an update on the Jacki Rickert MMJ Act from Madison NORML Examiner.

MADISON: Rep. Barbara Toles (D-Milwaukee) has returned as a cosponsor of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA). With Rep. Toles, the total number of cosponsors currently sits at 15 with a couple days left to add more before the Dec. 22 deadline. The JRMMA is sponsored by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) and Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Waunakee).

Continue reading Madison NORML Examiner: Medical marijuana bill gains more support in Wisconsin legislature

Halfway to a Dec. 22 deadline for cosponsors to sign on to the new Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act and progress is being made. Here's an update on who is a cosponsor as of this writing.

MADISON: The State Capitol's ornate Assembly Parlor was packed with media, medical cannabis patients and others for the Nov. 30 press conference for the introduction of LRB 2466 & 3544, the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA).

During the press conference, the JRMMA's lead sponsor in the State Assembly, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), announced a 3 week window ending Dec. 22 for cosponsors to sign on to the bills. Today his office gave us an update on how things are going.

Continue reading full article...

Here is my OPED in the Capital Times on the new JRMMA and the Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald, who has long had his spokespeople issue statements in denial about medical cannabis on his behalf.

Source: Capital Times
Pubdate: 10 Dec, 2011

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, sees no problem in using veterans and active duty military as props in the Capitol holiday tree lighting ceremony, but when it comes to helping them deal with service-related disabilities, he apparently couldn't care less.

That's the message sent loud and clear by Fitzgerald in turning the annual nonpartisan Capitol holiday tree lighting into a partisan event then attacking protesters who showed up because of the politics.

Fitzgerald's true concern for veterans became evident in comments from his spokesperson Andrew Welhouse opposing the new medical cannabis bill, the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act. The JRMMA was introduced by Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, and includes post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition.

PTSD is a frequent complaint of Iraq and Afghanistan vets and suicide has overtaken combat fatalities as the major cause of death for U.S. service people. Welhouse claimed the bill does not have the support necessary to become law.

Fitzgerald knows that means support in the current Legislature, not among the populace. Indeed, he was himself outpolled by medical cannabis in the November 2010 elections. Portions of Fitzgerald's district are in Dane County, which held an advisory referendum in November asking if state lawmakers should pass a medical cannabis bill. The referendum carried countywide by a 75 percent margin. In the six Dane County wards of Fitzgerald's district, the senator was easily outpolled by yes votes in each. An open records request to Fitzgerald's office covering last session's bill actually found unanimous support among the hundreds of constituents who took the time to contact him.

Fitzgerald should find the courage to explain his position to Erin Silbaugh, a 28-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq war. The former Marine sergeant from Lodi attended the bill's press conference recently at the Capitol.

Silbaugh returned from Iraq with PTSD, and soon found that cannabis helped treat his symptoms much better than the numerous drugs prescribed by the VA, each with its own laundry list of side effects.

"I'm forced to hide within my own country to be able to use medicine that helps me," Silbaugh said at the news conference.

I guess Fitzgerald is just taking a cue from his Assembly colleague Rep. Keith Ripp, R-Lodi. Last session when Silbaugh asked Ripp if it was fair that he should face arrest and jail for using his medicine to treat his service-related disability, Ripp simply shrugged his shoulders.

Gary Storck of Madison is a longtime activist for medical marijuana and communications director for www.immly.org Is My Medicine Legal YET?

The release below was sent out today.

JRMMA.org
MadisonNORML.org
Contact: Gary Storck: 608-241-8922

Asking Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to join RI & WA governors in cannabis rescheduling petition

MADISON: In Sept. 2010, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel published a short post that included then candidate Scott Walker's answer to the question, "Do you support the legalization of medical marijuana?"

Walker's response was "No. Federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic and I believe state law should reflect this as well."

Recently, the governors of Washington and Rhode Island announced they petitioned the federal government to move marijuana off Schedule I so that their states can implement their medical marijuana laws without conflict.

On Nov. 30, Wisconsin lawmakers announced the reintroduction of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA) and the legislation (LRB-2466/1 and LRB-3544/1) is now out for cosponsors.

We ask that Gov. Walker join his colleagues, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire in petitioning federal authorities to reschedule cannabis so he will be able to support efforts to pass a Wisconsin medical cannabis law.

Wisconsinites who support medical cannabis should call or write Gov. Walker and ask that he support the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act as well as join with Govs. Chafee and Gregoire in requesting a federal reclassification of cannabis. Contact info; Office of Governor Scott Walker 115 East Capitol Madison, WI 53702, Email govgeneral@wisconsin.gov, Phone (608) 266-1212.

###

Good news with medical cannabis coming back to the Wisconsin legislature this week!

MADISON: Wisconsin medical cannabis patients and advocates will have something extra to be celebrate this holiday season with news that State Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) has scheduled a press conference to announce a new attempt to pass a state medical cannabis law. The press conference is set for the State Capitol's Assembly Parlor (2nd Floor West) on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 1:00 pm.

Read full entry at: http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/capitol-press-conference-to-launch-new-wisconsin-medical-cannabis-bill

Sad news out of Tomah today as we learn Ed Thompson has passed away.

MADISON: Wisconsin has lost a voice for liberty - Ed Thompson, former Mayor of Tomah, has passed away at the age of 66 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

In 2002, Ed Thompson was the Libertarian Party candidate for Wisconsin governor, receiving 11 percent of the vote. He campaigned in support of legal access to medical cannabis and Wisconsin medical cannabis patient/activist Jacki Rickert was his Buffalo County campaign director.

Continues: http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/ed-thompson-loses-battle-with-cancer

Here is my detailed look at Harvest Fest 41 with a slide show.

By Gary Storck, Madison NORML Examiner

MADISON: Despite the untimely passing of longtime festival organizer Ben Masel earlier this year, the 41st Annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival showed the yearly event is not going away, but instead growing and becoming more polished. Masel organized the festival for all but its first year before losing his battle with cancer April 30. The festival is coordinated by the Madison and Wisconsin chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the Wisconsin medical cannabis advocacy group Is My Medicine Legal YET? (IMMLY).

The festival theme, riffing off the football rivalry between Wisconsin and Nebraska by dubbing it the "A Clash of Two Historically Rich Hemp Producing States," was Ben's idea, a product of early festival planning meetings from last winter.

Harvest Fest 41 also demonstrated that organized resistance to cannabis prohibition is steadily gaining ground both in Wisconsin as well as nationally. While another Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA) will be introduced later this session, politics have all but stalled forward progress statewide cannabis law reform efforts in the legislature.

Harvest Fest 41 paired nicely with the highly anticipated college football game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Nebraska Huskers. The nationally televised game brought tens of thousands of Nebraska fans to Madison and the 7pm start time brought a constant flow of football fans navigating to Camp Randall or downtown.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Harvest Fest 41 gains more ground on Cannabis Prohibition - Madison norml | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/harvest-fest-41-gains-more-ground-on-cannabis-prohibition#ixzz1a2y7hBIV

Here is an update on this weekend's Harvest Fest Celebration in Madison!

By Gary Storck, Madison NORML Examiner

MADISON: Bucky or Buddy? The convergence of the Big Ten football game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Nebraska Cornhuskers with the 41st Annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival in downtown Madison this Saturday should make for an interesting weekend. 20,000 to 40,000 Huskers fans are expected for Nebraska's nationally televised Big Ten debut at Camp Randall at 7pm Saturday evening.

Both Wisconsin and Nebraska were once centers of industrial hemp production when America's hemp industry was thriving a century ago, and this historical fact is noted on the event poster and other promotional items. The last commercial hemp fields were planted in Wisconsin in 1957, and thousands of acres of feral hemp plants descended from their cultivated ancestors flourish year after year in both states today. Feral Hemp even plays a role in supporting gamebird populations in Missouri and Nebraska

The festival kicks off at Library Mall adjacent to the UW Campus at State and Lake Streets just before noon Saturday. Library Mall lies along the route many football fans will take as they navigate from State St. over to Camp Randall Stadium as the 7pm game time approaches. ESPN is setting up their GameDay set on Bascom Hill, site of a number of prior Harvest Fests as well as recent April 20 "4/20" smoke-ins in 2009 and 2010.

Harvest Fest attendees can expect live music on Library Mall from before noon Saturday to up until about 6:30 pm, punctuated with speeches from cannabis activists from as close as Madison and as far away as California, New York City, New Jersey, Michigan and of course, Nebraska.

The 41st Annual includes several new features. A first-ever 12-page glossy festival program debuts this year with information and articles about the festival and ads from supporters. A hemp clothing fashion show will provide more distractions for the passing throngs. And as usual, the festival will feature plenty of live music, vendors, information on the cannabis plant and thousands of cannabis legalization supporters over Saturday and Sunday.

On Sunday, while football fans recover from Saturday's revelry, Harvest Fest swings into its second day with more live music at Library Mall beginning at noon. Around 3:15, attendees will begin to line up for the highlight of this annual celebration, the parade from Library Mall to the State St. Steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol for a rally and concert with the great Madison reggae band Nama Rupa.

The weekend really kicks off Friday night from 5-8pm at the Frequency Nightclub at 121 W. Main just off Capitol Square for the 9th Annual Is My Medicine Legal YET? (IMMLY) medical cannabis benefit. The event will be emceed by California cannabis comedian Ngaio Bealum, and will feature music, medical cannabis discussions, vending from Madison NORML, and live music. Headlining is Utopian Rag who, under various names have played at all previous 8 editions of this event going back to its days at Madison's historic Cardinal Bar. Also on the bill is Brok'n Arrow, and there will be a short bonus set from Cher and Brian McCullough, two longtime activists.

Folks who appreciate the cannabis plant will know that the 41st Annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival is the place to be this weekend, but for thousands of other who came to Madison for the football game or the World Dairy Expo, Harvest Fest may just be that pleasant pause that refreshes as they go about their day this weekend.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Saturday’s Wisconsin-Nebraska Football showdown adds to Marijuana Fest Hoopla - Madison norml | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/saturday-s-wisconsin-nebraska-football-showdown-adds-to-marijuana-fest-hoopla#ixzz1ZHVKBYNw

Today is the sentencing hearing for Cures Not War Founder Dana Beal in Dodgeville, WI, on cannabis charges.

41 years later Beal is again in a Wisconsin jail preparing to plead guilty to cannabis charges Tuesday Sept. 20. Beal, now white haired and in his mid-60s, says he was bringing medical cannabis from California to patients in Michigan and New York City.

Beal's lifetime of activism fighting laws that criminalize the sick and dying from using a plant an overwhelming majority of Americans say should be legal for those is pain is testimony that his motives were based on compassion.

Generations of Americans have gone gray and gone to jail for a plant even the police were saying would be legal a few years after the first Harvest Fest in the 1970s. The best jobs program for America right now is cannabis legalization, not to mention the uplift it would bring to the battered national psyche.

Free Dana Beal and all the cannabis prisoners and let's put Americans back to work by re-legalizing a plant cultivated by humans for more 12,000 years for food, fuel, fiber and medicine.

Continue reading on Examiner.com OPED: Free Dana Beal - Madison norml | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/oped-free-dana-beal#ixzz1YVLIHgPh

It's hard to not only believe that another Harvest Fest is nearly upon us as well as the fact cannabis prohibition continues unabated.

By Gary Storck, Madison NORML Examiner

MADISON: For the 41st year, downtown Madison will again be the location of the Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival the first weekend of October. Once again, thousands will gather to learn about cannabis, listen to speakers and music, visit vendors of cannabis themed merchandise and enjoy the company of likeminded people while calling for an end to Cannabis Prohibition.

2011 brings a major change -- the festival will continue into its fifth decade without the leadership of Ben Masel, the lead organizer for the last 39 years, who passed away April 30 from cancer. Over the decades Masel welcomed hundreds of thousands of attendees protesting the unjust prohibition and celebrating and educating about the many benefits of the cannabis plant. Carrying on the annual tradition will be colleagues who have long worked alongside Ben to keep the festival rolling; the Wisconsin and Madison chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the medical cannabis advocacy group Is My Medicine Legal YET? (IMMLY).

Harvest Fest 41 is the same weekend as the highly anticipated football game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the newest addition to the now 12-team Big Ten. Organizers expect that thousands of football fans will pass through festival events on Saturday.

In early brainstorming sessions for this year's festival, Ben came up with an idea for a festival theme, dubbing it the "Industrial Hemp Bowl". The name refers to the fact that both Wisconsin and Nebraska were once centers of industrial hemp production with many acres in both states still hosting thousands and thousands of feral hemp plants through today. The design features longtime Harvest Fest mascot Buddy Badger and his new friend Herby Husker. The Industrial Hemp Bowl theme can be found on Harvest Fest posters, fliers, an upcoming short video, event program, and official festival merchandise.

Festival events include the Friday night Sept. 30 IMMLY Medical Cannabis Benefit at the Frequency nightclub downtown from 5-8pm. Returning to provide music are Utopian Rag and Brok'n Arrow. On Saturday October 1, Harvest Fest will be at Library Mall from 12-6 pm featuring live music, speakers, vendors and more. Artists for Saturday include Nama Rupa, Groovulous Glove, the Taki All-Stars and T.U.G.G.

Sunday October 2 is the traditional parade up State St. to the State Capitol steps, something that cannot really be described but is best experienced in person. There will be live music at Library Mall starting at 1pm and the parade departs State & Lake Streets at 3:30pm to Capitol Square's for a rally and concert on the State St. steps.

Continue reading 41 and still smoking: Madison's Harvest Fest continues annual tradition this Oct - Madison norml | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/41-and-still-smoking-madison-s-harvest-fest-continues-annual-tradition-this-oct#ixzz1Vv1io5Yz

Great news for Wisconsin patients! Despite political uncertainties, it appears medical cannabis legislation is coming back to the State Capitol.

By Gary Storck, Madison NORML Examiner

MADISON: The office of State Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) has confirmed that the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA) is now in drafting. They also report that State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Waunakee) is again prepared to be the lead Senate sponsor, with Rep. Pocan again the Assembly lead sponsor. It is unknown when the bill will be ready and there is not yet any timeline on when it would be introduced.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Medical cannabis legislation coming back to Wisconsin legislature - Madison norml | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/medical-cannabis-legislation-coming-back-to-wisconsin-legislature-later-this-yea#ixzz1T53ggxDu

Today, in Kendall Wisconsin, at "A Cannabis Fair", Wisconsin NORML/Madison NORML presented Ed Thompson with the first-ever Ben Masel "Defender of Liberty" Award.

By Gary Storck, Madison NORML Examiner

MADISON: Ed Thompson was awarded the first-ever Ben Masel 'Defender of Liberty' award by the Wisconsin and Madison chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) at 'A Cannabis Fair' in Kendall Wisconsin on Saturday. Dozens of attendees watched as the award was presented by Wisconsin NORML vice president Gary Storck, and Ed spoke for several minutes after accepting it. Jacki Rickert also spoke about her friendship with Ed.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Wisconsin NORML’s ‘Defender of Liberty’ award to Ed Thompson - Madison norml | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/wisconsin-norml-s-defender-of-liberty-award-to-ed-thompson#ixzz1T4K9XSTG