On the Wisconsin highway to compassion: UW-Waukesha and Capitol Lobby Day reports

Ojibwe staff frames Capitol dome

MADISON: Wisconsin medical cannabis activists made two more stops on the road to medical freedom in Wisconsin.  "A Grass Roots Evening", at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, on Monday Feb. 22, was well received, filling a 200-seat lecture hall. "A Grass Roots Evening" was sponsored by the campus Students for Democratic Society as well as the creators of the popular Facebook group, "Wisconsin Residents for Assembly Bill 554", Daryl Heil and Hans Schnelker.

Kyle Ray of SDS and Heil started things off with introductions. This writer then gave a lecture that covered not only my personal story as a medical cannabis user most of my life, as well as the history of medical cannabis in Wisconsin, the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act and its namesake.

I then introduced Jacki Rickert, who spoke from home via Video chat, due to her health situation. She was folowed by Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), the Senate sponsor of the JRMMA, who took questions after he spoke.

Rickert on the big screen in Waukesha

One of the questions came from a local Iraq vet who said that he used cannabis to treat severe PTSD. He said he had been featured on the front page of the Waukesha Freeman one day as a "hometown hero". Not long after, when his house was raided and 5 plants seized, the Freeman reported he was running "a drug house".

In response to the veteran's comment, State Sen. Jon Erpenbach had told the audience. “We are very compassionate in this state. If someone’s house can be raided because they are using marijuana for medical purposes, that’s absolutely, positively wrong. That’s not a compassionate thing.”

With the event's of Monday night still reverberating through the JRMMA team, Wednesday's Second Lobby Day at the State Capitol was a bit more poignant. JRMMA suppoerters gathered in Room 300-NE at the Capitol from 11am-1pm for a meeting and heard from myself, Ojibwe singer-drummer Al Baker, and medical cannabis patient-activist (Berlin T.H.C. Expo) Jay Selthofner. Baker touched on the spiritual side of activism before singing some Native American songs, accompanied by his drum. After the meeting, with myself leading a procession carrying Baker's beautiful staff, pictured above, we held a Native American pipe ceremony to pray for compassion from state legislators on the State St. landing outside the Capitol;.This deeply moving ceremony, des[pite cold temps, provided the inspiration for lobbying efforts that followed.

The next event planned by JRMMA supporters comes this Saturday, Feb. 27, in Wisconsin Rapids. The aforementioned Selthofner is taking his "Talking Hemp and Cannabis" Tour to Rapids' McMillan Memorial Library Feb 27 from 12-3pm.