Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act: The week ahead and beyond

Tuesday: Day of Prayer for Compassion

MADISON: With now only 33 days remaining to pass the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act as of this writing, efforts to move this critical piece of health care legislation are escalating.

On Monday evening in Madison, March 22, JRMMA supporters will be gathering at the Wil-Mar Center at 7pm for a meeting of the Madison chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Wil-Mar Center is located at 953 Jenifer St. Madison NORML, founded in 2004, has been a center of state medical cannabis activism since its formation, meeting twice monthly on Madison's East Side.

Tuesday March 23 is the date of the long-awaited Statewide Day of Prayer for Compassion. The event runs all day with a ceremony at the State Capitol’s State St. steps landing from 12-1, and informational tabling in the first floor rotunda from 1-3pm. The ceremony will include a moment of silence at 12:30 pm. Representatives of several denominations and faiths have been invited to attend and speak. Ojibwe drummer and carrier of sacred songs Al Baker will sing some traditional Ojibwe songs.

Dr. Miller giving testimony Dec. 15

From 1:30pm-2:30pm on March 23, a group of JRMMA supporters will be staging an informational picket on the public sidewalk in front of the Wisconsin State Medical Society at 330 East Lakeside St. in Madison. The SMS is holding a board meeting, and JRMMA supporters want SMS board members to be aware that the SMS position opposing the JRMMA is the wrong position for a medical society to take and that legislators are hiding behind it as a way to justify voting no on something so important to the state's veterans, seniors, sick, disabled and dying...

They want board members to know that Dr. Michael Miller’s shoddy and inaccurate testimony from the Dec. 15 hearing embarrasses the SMS and makers a mockery of their oaths.

On another front, IMMLY’s new television ad is finally ready for prime time. The ad, filmed in January, includes appearances by a number of Wisconsin patients activists including this writer, Charles Wachtel and Jason Glaspie. IMMLY expects to put this ad on the air in Wisconsin this coming week. As this is a grass roots effort, your donations now can help get this ad out now.

On Saturday, there will be a day of protest against Wal-Mart for their actions in firing a Michigan employee and cancer patient who is a card-carrying member of Michigan's medical cannabis program for testing positive for cannabis. One event is already scheduled in Eau Claire from 12:00pm - 4:20pm. A Facebook page for the event, "Eau Claire Area JRMMA AB/554 Rally", notes, "There will be a peaceful rally/protest on the sidewalk in front of Oakwood Mall. We will meet behind Olive Garden and then walk to the sidewalk on Golf Rd." .

Another Wal-Mart protest in Berlin WI, site of the Feb. 6 T.H.C. Expo, "Berlin Medical Marijuana Awareness Rally and Walmart Protest", is scheduled for 12:00pm - 4:20pm Saturday Mar. 27.

Other Wal-Mart rallies are in the works. There is also a Facebook page for Wisconsin Wal-Mart ralliers, “Support Medical Marijuana / Protest Walmart (Rally And Best Sign Contest)“

Gary Storck at UW-Waukesha 2/22.

The month of March closes with a Medical Cannabis Forum at UW-Whitewater on 3/31 from 5:30-6:30 pm in UC-75 (Old Ballroom). The discussion features myself speaking in favor of the JRMMA and Dr. David Nordstrom - Professor of Counselor Education at UW-Whitewater, speaking in opposition. The Traveling Hemp and Cannabis Tour exhibits will also be in the house.

Looking forward into early April, Milwaukee event promoter Joe Englund is organizing a benefit for IMMLY and WI NORML at the Miramar Theatre in Milwaukee on April 3 beginning at 6:35 pm and running up until 1am April 4. Three of Wisconsin's premier bands, Weapons of Mass DeFunktion, SLM and Recalcitrant will perform and there will be prizes, items for auction, informational tabling and speakers including myself, Jacki Rickert and others.