RELIEF FOR POSSESSION OF CANNABIS ACT COLORADO 2014

Hello All Circulators and Supporters of Initiative #40.  

We must keep on track NOW to achieve our goal of more than 89,000 signatures by July 18.  If you believe in freedom and that the simple solution, to just stop the courts from fines and sentences for possession of cannabis is the best solution to a felony conviction,  make a final effort to finish your petition,  even order up another? If your up to it,  find a stoner event where your sure to get signatures. Then, please get your own signature notarized on the last page(s) and send to the P.O. on the first page of the petition.  Even if you have one signature, please send it in! ML

From interview with DOLORES HUERTA: "When we started organizing the farm workers, people would say, how are you going to organize the workers? They don't speak English. They're not citizens. They don't have any money.

But we would say to the workers, you have power. And they would say, what kind of power do we have? It's in your person. And it is in your person. And you, together with other people, other workers, you can make the difference. But you have to remember that nobody is going to do it for you. If you don't get out there and try to solve your own problems, it's never going to change.

And that same message applies to everyone. Every one of our segments of society that are trying to make positive change or fighting for social justice, this is what we have to do, come together, organize, push back, take that direct action, and then we can make the world a better place. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/jan-june12/doloreshuerta_05-30.html  

Dear Members of Relief for Possession Web site:

Whether you live in Colorado or not, you are obviously very interested in tracking and helping in your own special way to see initiative #40, not only get on the ballot, but WIN in November by a majority of Coloradoans' support to end this war on our own.

On the new "Where to Sign" page, you'll see I have the petition for activists to check out and available to sign all over the state. People, when I contact them are overwhelmingly positive and commit to do what they can...since I have no money, YET, to pay professionals (whom I don't really trust to get valid signatures i.e. Initiative #30 bought 160,000 of which less than half were valid voters) we have to rely on the passion of volunteers, like the majority of the other Colorado voter initiatives. In this case, time is worth so much more than money...though we do need a little!

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado state constitution directing the judiciary branch of all governing bodies in the state of Colorado to prohibit their courts from imposing any fine or sentence for the possession of cannabis? Yes, Yes, Yes!

Send anonymous donations (for now) for distribution of the petition, beginning Jan 18 through July 18 to:

Michelle LaMay, author

http/www.relief4possession.webs.com/

1370 Columbine St, #3

Denver, CO  80206

303-886-7998

relief4possession@gmail.com

Dear Mr. Jingold,  Denver Post 2/17/2012:

      CORRECTION: There is no other proposed initiative concerning cannabis but Initiative #40 to have the title set.

http/www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Initiatives/titleBoardResults.html

    The Denver Post is failing to investigate and report on the history and relevance of the Colorado Relief for Possession of Cannabis Act of 2012. We are collecting signatures around the state now.  

    We have received the endorsement and support of Judge Leonard Frieling, Boulder, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, LEAP, and Art Goodtimes, San Miguel county commissioner and poet laureate.

    Initiative #40 is for all Coloradoans. We are paying special attention to our rural communities. The petition is being made available at "signing stations" in each corner of the state and on our college campuses where voters, who are sympathetic to stopping the damage and the costs of prosecuting their citizens for possession of cannabis, are ignored.

Michelle LaMay, Proponent #1

303-886-7998

http/www.relief4possession.webs.com/

relief4possession@groups.facebook.com

Re: Colorado Relief for Possession of Cannabis Act of 2012

PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS & FAMILY

Dear Friends:

    Yesterday I appeared in front of the Title Board http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/info_center/audioArchives.html and in a mere 13 minutes the question on the November ballot in Colorado will be:

    Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado state constitution directing the judiciary branch of all governing bodies in the state of Colorado to prohibit their courts from imposing any fine or sentence for the possession of cannabis?

    The costs and the damage to Colorado families and society and to small governments’ budgets far exceed the the public’s perception of danger. Times have changed. Initiative #40 constitutional amendment is similar to mandatory sentencing, a judicial directive, a new law.

    The real "problem" for 1 million cannabis users in Colorado is having a criminal record, for themselves or a beloved family member because of possession. The elegant solution is to stop fines and sentences for possession of the genus cannabis, alive, being "cultivated" or dead, ending enforcement in the state of Colorado.

    Please, Colorado professionals: if you must stay in the closet for your career, I'll take care of the "problem," you take care of me. The proponents have no obligation at this time to report the sources of donations.

Send anonymous donations for distribution of the petition, beginning Feb 1 through Aug 1 to:

Michelle LaMay

1370 Columbine St, #3

Denver, CO  80206

303-886-7998

AUTHOR:http://www.relief4possession.webs.com/

Movement Starts To End Abuses Against Formerly Incarcerated Comments (6) By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ in Culture, News Friday, October 28, 2011 at 12:57 pm Share 0diggsdigg Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted Peoples Movement​The damage of the War On Drugs continues long after the original arrest and incarceration. Discrimination against formerly incarcerated people lasts a lifetime, in the form of reduced employment opportunities, removal of the right to vote, and economic hardship.

"The War on Drugs is the biggest cause of disenfranchisement," said Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted Peoples Movement co-organizer Pastor Kenny Glasgow. In 2008 Glasgow won a groundbreaking lawsuit restoring the voting rights of the currently incarcerated and those convicted of drug crimes in Alabama.

San Francisco Bay ViewRev. Kenny Glasgow of The Ordinary People's Society helped win voting rights not only for formerly incarcerated people in Alabama -- but for currently incarcerated people, as well, a first in the nation.​​"As formerly incarcerated people we are hindered from becoming the productive people in society we actually want to be," Glasgow said. "With this network we are serving our country after serving our time. We want to create harm reduction and public safety for all."

Formerly incarcerated people from around the country will meet in Los Angeles on November 2 to ratify the National Platform of the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted Peoples Movement (FICPM) and discuss an agenda for action.

Participants will discuss plans to register and mobilize one million formerly incarcerated people to vote in the 2012 selections and strategies to expand the "Ban the Box" employment rights campaign that has yielded legislation in six states, easing discrimination against job seekers with a conviction history. "Ban the Box" would remove the box on employment forms which asks about felony conviction history.

The new movement emerges at a time when the United States has the largest incarceration rate in the world. About two million American children under the age of 18 have at least one parent behind bars. An estimated 600,000 will be released from prison per year over the next five years.

More than four million people are on parole and 800,000 are on probation, according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Justice.

LiberationDorsey Nunn, Legal Services for Prisoners With Children: "The abuse of my rights as a formerly incarcerated person is not just an individual issue"​"The abuse of my rights as a formerly incarcerated person is not just an individual issue," said convening co-organizer, Dorsey Nunn, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners With Children. "Sure, my right to work is important to me, but discrimination against our voting and employment rights has a huge impact on civic engagement and the economic well being of black and brown communities in general."

According to Nunn, the convening is open to the public but only participants who identify themselves as formerly incarcerated or convicted people will be allowed to vote to ratify the National Platform.

"Where else has anyone asked us what we wanted?" Nunn asked. "Everyone else has always prescribed what we needed. We're more than somebody else's client-base, more than somebody else's patient. The process to develop a national platform represents the first time we've asked ourselves, what do we want?"

United Church of Christ NewsSusan Burton, executive director, New Way of Life Reentry Project: "There are 60 million people who are struggling with the quality of their lives as the result of mass incarceration in this country"​"There are 60 million people who are struggling with the quality of their lives as the result of mass incarceration in this country," said co-organizer and Los Angeles host, Susan Burton, executive director of the New Way of Life Reentry Project. "This meeting will allow us to come together as formerly incarcerated people in a way that's never been done before.

"It will connect us and strengthen us so that we can push forward with a common agenda and a common goal," Burton said. "Our goal is to end the discrimination against us."

The gathering will include workshops for youth and family members and trainings on how to overcome barriers to voter registration and "Get Out The Vote" and "Ban the Box" that appears on employment forms asking for felony conviction history.

The FICPM gathering is scheduled to coincide with the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in L.A., November 2-5. The conference hosts, Drug Policy Alliance, will honor Dorsey Nunn, key organizer for the FICPM gathering, with the Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action at an awards reception on Saturday, November 5, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.

Event Details Date:               Wednesday, November 2, 8:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m.Address:         Watts Labor Community Action Center                       10950 South Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90059

National Platform of the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted Peoples Movement

Thank you Paul S., owner of Colorado Medical Marijuana Associates, a database that matches Colorado Patients with Colorado Caregivers, for the generous donation of an ad buy in the Colorado Springs market. People like yourself are quick to see the benefits of Initiative #40 and a marketing campaign prior to the petiton being available to sign March 6, 2012. I am so grateful!

Here's the ad that ran in Fort Collins the 1st week of the month. If you can help pay for this (average $125.00) to run the 1st weeks of the upcoming months in other markets like Durango, Grand Junction, Fort Collins and Pueblo PLEASE CALL ME @ 303-886-7998.

DONATE $120.00 FOR A WEEK'S 4X6 BLK/WHT  IN DURANGO, PUEBLO, GRAND JUNCTION, FT COLLINS, CO SPGS

Have you heard I have written Initiative #40, Relief for the Possession of Cannabis Act 2012 for the November 2012 Ballot?

I need your help to get on the ballot, and I can not offer you a tax exemption either, but what I can offer is a stress-free life when the people of Colorado vote yes in the privacy of the voting booth November 6, 2012 TO STOP COLORADO COURTS FROM FINING OR SENTENCING FOR POSSESSION AND CULTIVATION OF CANNABIS.

The whole budget for Initiative #40, advertising, printing and buying enough signatures, 30k, as I describe on the http://relief4possession.webs.com/, is the price of a used SUV, $51,000.00! If I had one, I would sell it for this, I feel so strongly about its rightousness at this moment in time.

Please consider a donation, put a check in the mail and I'll do the work!

greenfaith ministry is taking credit card donations for the Initiative at their PayPal account. Please make a "note" 4 Init 40 and thank you, thank you, thank you…

Sincerely,

Michelle LaMay

1265 Downing St., Apt 408

Denver, CO  80218

303-886-7998

Why Support The Colorado Relief for Possession of Cannabis Act of 2012

1. It is NOT legalization.

2. It does NOT change any other laws concerning marijuana or cost any money.

3. Similar to laws enacted by the legislature like mandatory sentencing or “three strikes, you’re out,” (“You’re in” actually, for a long time!)  The Relief for Possession of Cannabis Act of 2012 is a directive to the Judicial Branches of Colorado governments, protecting this law from the Executive (enforcement) Branches’ or Legislative (regulations) Branches’ constant manipulation of the existing laws.

4. It is an opportunity to free up community resources and tax dollars. It is an opportunity for new businesses in Colorado like the production of cannabis-hemp for biofuel, paper and plastics, or cannabis sativa and indica for life-giving herbal remedies. The least likely to vote for legalization, from analysis of Prop 19, baby boomers and women (the access to children issue) will sympathize with the idea of no punishment for their family members’ or friends’ possession of cannabis without signing on to legalizing pot in an already decriminalized state (since 1976). 

5. It is substantially different from any legalization or regulation or taxation ballot initiative proposed as of now. Other proponents and their organizations’  initiatives on the 2012 ballot will not be effected, but the existing "cannabis industry"may agree to support The Relief for Cannabis Protection Act of 2012 because Colorado business owners are not protected under Federal Law from prosecution and punishment and may never be, no matter how many long, complex laws and regulations are passed, either by the People or the legislature concerning cannabis.

MLL