Texas House Bill 658

rev.Sean · Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:56 am Post subject: Texas House Bill 658

Texas House Bill 658 was filed on January 28, 2005 by Rep Naishtat (D)
regarding Medical Marijuana. Read the PDF file here http://www.geocities.com/fragrantcaneministry/sacrament/HB658.pdf

In the 2001 legislative session, that time Austin State Representative and former Sheriff Terry Keel (R) sponsored the bill.

For more info about our ministry in Texas go to our website
http://www.geocities.com/fragrantcaneministry

Please TEXAS register to vote and VOTE

**Mystic Power** · Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:27 am Post subject:

Thank you, Rev. Sean.

Brightest Blessings.

Follow Your Bliss,
Ben
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rev.Sean · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:43 pm Post subject: Texas HB658 Update

I just wanted to follow up and let you know that a Senate version of House Bill 658 was not filed in the Senate last week. If you called or emailed your Senator asking them to file the bill, thank you. I visited with many Senate offices and the main response I received was that the Senator wanted to see how the bill did in the House before making a decision about the bill. Please don't be discouraged by this because it is common practice for a Senator to pick up a bill once it has passed the House of Representatives.

I also wanted to let you know that HB 658 in not on the list of bills that will be heard in the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday March 22nd. I will let you know if the bill is scheduled to be heard during the Committee's next scheduled meeting on March 29th.

Thank you for your continued support for TMM and for your efforts on behalf of HB 658!

Sincerely,

Noelle Davis
Executive Director

www.TexansforMedicalMarijuana.org

**Ferre** · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:57 pm Post subject:

Thanks brother. Keep us updated.
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rev.Sean · Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 11:12 pm Post subject: update

If you are interested in Texas Legislature, watch this. Roger, Noelle mentioned a number of "national" churches that are proponents of the bill, yet we were not one of them. Maybe we should be.

Yesterday, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee heard HB 658, which, if passed, would give medical marijuana patients an affirmative defense to prosecution. The hearing went very well with no one present testifying against the bill. Witnesses who testified in favor included myself, a retired physician, three patients, the Texas Nurses Association and a minister.

To watch the hearing visit http://www.house.state.tx.us/fx/av/committee79/50405p09.ram. Once the broadcast is up and playing you can skip ahead 46 minutes to the beginning of the hearing for HB 658 which lasts about an hour.

The chairman left the bill pending in the committee. Please call or e-mail the members below and politely ask them to vote H.B 658 out of committee. Please visit
http://texansformedicalmarijuana.org/docs/HB658FactSheet.pdf
for additional information on H.B 658.

Rep. Debbie Riddle, (R-Houston)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0572
District Phone: 281-537-5252
Email: debbie.riddle@house.state.tx.us

Rep. Aaron Pena, (D-Edinburg)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0426
District Phone: 956-383-7444
Email: aaron.pena@house.state.tx.us

Rep. Mary Denny, (R-Flower Mound)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0688
District Phone: 972-724-8477
Email: mary.denny@house.state.tx.us

Rep. Juan M Escobar, (D-Kingsville)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0666
District Phone: 361-592-6120
Email: juan.escobar@house.state.tx.us

Rep. Terri Hodge, (D-Dallas)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0586
District Phone: 214-824-1996
Email: terri.hodge@house.state.tx.us

Rep. Paul Moreno, (D-El Paso)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0638
District Phone: 915-544-0789
Email: paul.moreno@house.state.tx.us

Rep. Richard Raymond, (D-Laredo)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0558
District Phone: 956-753-7722
Email: richard.raymond@house.state.tx.us

Rep. Elvira Reyna, (R-Mesquite)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0464
District Phone: 972-279-7030
Email: elvira.reyna@house.state.tx.us

When you call Rep. Terry Keel (R-Austin) -- see below -- be sure to thank him for holding the hearing and being a jpint

author of the bill.

Rep. Terry Keel, Chair, (R-Austin)
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0652
District Phone: 512-463-0652
Email: terry.keel@house.state.tx.us

Thank you for supporting Texans for Medical Marijuana. Please be sure to pass along this message to friends and family, so that their voices can be heard as well.

Noelle Davis
Executive Director

www.texansformedicalmarijuana.org

rev.Sean · Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 5:02 pm Post subject: Recent developments

We have three things to report on this week - HB 658, an action alert on HB 2193 and SB 1266 -bills that will strengthen probation and divert non-violent offenders from incarceration, and a benefit party for Texans for Medical Marijuana.

HB 658
Unfortunately, HB 658, the affirmative defense medical marijuana bill, is officially dead for this session. Though we worked hard to persuade those members who were on the fence in the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee to vote for it, we lacked one vote and the deadline has now passed.

Many people volunteered their time and energy towards making HB 658 a reality and we are deeply grateful for their help. Even if you only signed the petition calling on the legislators to enact a medical marijuana bill, we couldn't have gotten as far without you and sincerely thank you.

We are especially inspired and awed by the courage of all the patients who came forward to tell their stories anonymously and publicly. Despite the risk of arrest and in some cases loss of public housing and medical coverage, several patients openly told the press and state legislators that they routinely use marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of their diseases. These patients are the heroes and heroines of this campaign!

Though HB 658 is dead, Texans for Medical Marijuana is not. We will continue on and re-double our efforts to pass a more comprehensive bill in 2007. If we could take it to the voters we would win overwhelmingly as we know 75% of Texans support medical marijuana legislation.

However, we are prevented from doing so because of two things. Texas does not have a statewide initiative and referendum law, and does have a law that prevents municipalities from voting on any proposal that goes against the Federal drug laws. Therefore, we must persuade the legislators in the future that a medical marijuana law for Texas is in the best interest of all. ONWARD TOWARDS 2007 !!!

Action Alert -Please Urge Your Legislators to Support Bills that Strengthen Probation - HB 2193 and SB 1266 TODAY!
If passed these bills could keep TX from building about 30,000 new prison beds over the next five years. They're designed specifically to divert non-violent offenders from prison and could positively impact medical marijuana users if passed. They are scheduled for House and Senate votes on May 11 and 12 so your call today is very important. Follow this link to find out more information about the bills http://www.solutionsfortexas.info/id357.html

TAKE ACTION at the following link: Texas Residents: Urge the State Legislature to Support Bills that Strengthen Probation

Benefit Party for Texans for Medical Marijuana
On Monday May 23rd Ruta Maya is hosting a benefit for TMM as part of their monthly full moon series to benefit local non-profits. Doors open at 7pm and the cover is $5. Ruta Maya is located at 3601 South Congress Avenue, in Austin. Please visit http://rutamaya.net/hours-location.html for directions.

The band Crucial Prophet starts things off at 7:30, followed by Family Sauce at 9pm, Mau Mau Chaplains at 10:30pm and Tribal Nation at midnight.

We are very grateful to Ruta Maya and these wonderful musicians for their support!

While the battle for HB 658 has come to an end, the war on patients is far from over. We will be in touch as new opportunities to educate legislators and the general public arise. Thanks again for your continued support and participation.

Noelle Davis & Karen Heikkala

www.TexansforMedicalMarijuana.org

Gillphish · Cannabis Sacrament Minister Joined: 17 Apr 2005 Posts: 2

Hey rev. Sean,

This is revrend Lyle, I love what i see here keep it up man. sorry I've hadn't stoped by in a while im going to try to make it by soon.
Thanks
Rev. Lyle

rev.Sean · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 10:35 am Post subject:

hey lyle, havnt heard from you in a while. im so glad to see you here. stop by friend, we should talk. im off at noon today so call if you get this msg, or come by. peace