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Welcome to the home of New Yorkers for Compassionate Care (NYCC)
We are here to advocate for the bills currently in the NY State Assembly and Senate which would allow seriously ill patients in NY access to cannabis as medicine.

Only public support will help New York Medical Marijauna become legal!

May 26, 2009

For the first time, the medical marijuana bill passed the NY Senate Health Committee! Continued support for them moving forward is needed, even if you wrote before you can send an additional letter urging them to move forward before this session ends. It's their job to listen to you!!!

Please follow this link to help you send a letter to your NY State Senator NOW!

April 22, 2009

For the first time, "same as" (or identical) medical marijuana bills are being introduced by members of the majority party in both the Assembly, by Health Committee chair and longtime sponsor Asm. Richard Gottfried (D), and the Senate, by Health Committee chair Sen. Tom Duane (D). While the New York Assembly has passed medical marijuana legislation twice in the last two years, the bills died in the Senate. With new Senate leadership, this could finally be the year New York protects medical marijuana patients. Help us make sure this opportunity doesn't slip away.

Please call to urge your state senator to co-sponsor Sen. Duane's bill. Then, ask your friends and family to do the same.

Also, please take a minute to call Duane and Gottfried's offices to thank them for their efforts.

Please write your state senator and urge him or her to support the swift enactment of medical marijuana legislation. You can see how (and if) your state senator responded to MPP's candidate questionnaire on medical marijuana issues.

Please also urge other compassionate New Yorkers both to write candidates and to sign up for MPP's free legislative alerts.

Please contact Governor Paterson and ask him to ask the state legislature to act promptly to pass medical marijuana legislation.

Please also contact the new NY State Senate Majority Leader, Malcolm A. Smith and tell him the same. He is new to the position and needs to hear from a lot of us so he knows how we want him to lead.

Please remember to be polite and to leave your updated voting address with whomever you speak to, or on whatever correspondence you have with their offices. Personally-written letters are always very effective.

Letters to the editor are also necessary to get a good public dialogue going. Ever get sick of not seeing enough articles in the media on this topic? Published letters are articles in their own way, counting as column space gained for our message which did not cost us a dime! Make sure to give an accurate phone number so that they can verify you wrote the letter. Here is another link to write a letter to the editor in a NY paper. Here are some tips for writing an effective letter.

Patients' voices needed to pass medical marijuana legislation  

But the Senate has not yet acted on the issue and thousands of patients in New York still go to bed every night, afraid that their doors will be kicked in for using their medicine.

The legislature just reconvened, and it's time for you to let your senator know that this injustice must end: The seriously ill shouldn't have to risk arrest to use the medicine their doctors say will work best.

Here's how you can help:

1) Send an e-mail to your state senator today.

You can use the pre-written letters there or — better yet — write your own. After you're happy with the letter, simply type in your name and address, and our automated system will send it to your state senator.

2) Call your state senator.

Click here to find out who your state senate representative is by zip code. This will show you who it is, and provides a link to a page with all of their info. Call their office and ask to make a comment. Before making the call, you might want to take a look over our background sheet about the bill; we've provided talking points and answers to some common questions.

3) Spread the word!

Please pass this on to your friends, family, and e-mail lists to urge others to contact their state senators. We've seen constituent pressure convince legislators to stand up for patients in Vermont and Rhode Island. Now, we need your help to bring compassion to the Statehouse in New York.

Thank you for supporting NYCC. Please tell your friends and family about this page, so that even more voices for reform can be heard.

Recent poll shows Conservative Party members support medical marijuana

Ask your state senator to protect New York's seriously ill from arrest

A newly released poll shows that the majority of New York state's Conservative Party members support allowing medical marijuana! That's right: A July poll found that 55% of Conservative Party members support allowing patients to grow and use marijuana with their doctors' approval, and only 35% oppose doing so.

So what is the state Senate waiting for? The state's medical community, 76% of New Yorkers, and the majority of voters from every significant political party support allowing medical marijuana. The Assembly already passed compassionate legislation in June, and the governor indicated his support for the issue.

Please take a moment to write your state senator to ask him or her to ensure that patients finally get the relief that they deserve. You can choose from one of our pre-written letters or draft your own. Please let your senator know that New York's seriously ill patients shouldn't have to risk arrest any longer: The Senate should enact medical marijuana legislation during a special session.

The state Senate has come back to session two times since it adjourned in late June. But both times it failed to take up legislation to stop the arrest of sick and dying medical marijuana patients. Now it's clear that, in addition to being the humane thing to do, supporting medical marijuana is popular even among the state's most conservative voters.