Illinois Legislature to Hold Hearing on Medical Marijuana

From NORML.ORG:

Illinois Legislature to Hold Hearing on Medical Marijuana

NORML is pleased to announce that the Illinois Senate Public Health Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, March 5, regarding Senate Bill 2865. Now is the time to contact your state representatives and urge him or her to support this important legislation.

Senate Bill 2865, along with its companion bill, House Bill 5499, will help to ensure that medical marijuana patients in Illinois will no longer have to fear arrest or prosecution from state law enforcement. However, these bills will only receive serious consideration if your elected officials hear an unmistakable message of support from their constituents.

Despite receiving endorsements from the Illinois Nurses Association and the Chicago AIDS Foundation, a similar measure was narrowly defeated in the Illinois Senate last year. Let's turn last year's narrow defeat into a victory this year.

Currently, twelve states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington - have enacted laws protecting medical marijuana patients from state prosecution. Patients in these twelve states enjoy legal protections to use medicinal marijuana under a doctor's supervision; seriously ill Illinois citizens deserve this same protection.

http://blog.norml.org/2008/03/03/illinois-committee-to-debate-medi-pot-plan/