Emmett Reistroffer and Tony Ryan speak in support of initiated measure 13 on KSFY action news!

Click here to view KSFY news story about campaign supporting initiated measure 13!

Associated Press news release: medical marijuana ballot committee forms for 2010 election

Click here to read the article from the Argus Leader

Coalition for Compassion Marches in Sioux Falls 4th of July Parade

The Coalition for Compassion marched in the Sioux Falls 4th of July parade, passed out stickers to hundreds of supporters in the crowd, and shared personal stories about loved ones who are medical marijuana patients. The Coalition showed voters measure 13 is about compassion!

Coalition for Compassion Representatives greet Democrat voters at the 2010 Democratic Convention in Sioux Falls

Coalition for Compassion raises money and awareness second year in a row at the annual Crohn's and Colitis Foundation WALK at Sertoma Park!

Coalition for Compassion representatives Emmett Reistroffer & Brad Reynolds walked for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation annual fundraiser WALK at Sertoma Park. Reistroffer and Reynolds raised a small sum of money for the CCFA and talked with dozens of Crohn’s & Colitis patients who are suffering, and facing legal barriers to medical marijuana in South Dakota.

Reynolds is from Rock Rapids, Iowa but practices law in Sioux Falls for low-income clients in civil disputes. Reynolds’ son suffers from Crohn’s disease and is suffering from painful side effects of his conventional medicine, which forces Brad and his son to have their doctor check his liver monthly to monitor the level of damage the medication is causing. Watch Brad Reynolds speak at our Picnic-for-Patients last week to KSFY Action News.

View KSFY Action News report on the campaign kick-off

TAKE STEPS, BE HEARD!

Coalition for Compassion Representatives Patrick Lynch, Tony Ryan, and Emmett Reistroffer will appear on The Monday Lunch, KCFS 94.5FM on Monday May 24th 10am – 2pm

Campaign Kick Off and Picnic-for-Patients is a huge success!

More than 50 Coalition members, patients, and supporters joined Pat Lynch and Tony Ryan for the campaign kick-off at Sherman Park! Event coordinator Emmett Reistroffer urged the supporters to register friends and family members in a summer long volunteer voter registration drive with a goal of registering more then 15,000 new voters before this fall!

The Safe Access Act appeared on the 2006 ballot as initiated measure 4 and lost by a margin of nearly 15,000 votes or 4%.

The next picnic is planned for the middle of June, the exact date and location will be announced by the end of May.

View KSFY Action News report on the campaign kick-off

ATTENTION VOLUNTEERS – RULES FOR REGISTERING VOTERS!

Remember, any South Dakotan who fills out a voter registration form must be 18 years or older and must turn in the form within ten days of completion. You may submit the form to a local county courthouse or turn it in to the campaign coordinator provided with enough time to file the form before the ten day deadline. If you accept the completed form with intent to file the form or turn in it in to the campaign coordinator you must provide the applicant with your name and contact number (This is so they can be assured the form is being filed and is mandated by state law.) You should also provide the newly registered voter with information about the Coalition for Compassion along with the contact information:

South Dakota Coalition for Compassion (SDCompassion.org)
PO Box 2311
Sioux Falls, SD 57101

Attorney General Marty Jackley releases 2010 South Dakota ballot explanations.

2010 BALLOT EXPLANATION – INITIATED MEASURE 13

Title:

An Initiated Measure to authorize the possession, use and cultivation of marijuana by and for persons with specified debilitating medical conditions registered with the Department of Health.

Explanation:

The proposed initiated measure would change state law to legalize marijuana possession, use, distribution and cultivation by persons registered with the South Dakota Department of Heath. These activities remain illegal under federal law.

Registration to use, possess and cultivate marijuana would require a certification from a physician that the registrant has a debilitating medical condition and that the potential benefits of the marijuana use would likely outweigh the health risks. Minors may be registered with parental consent. The registrant may designate another person to cultivate, possess, and distribute marijuana for the registrant’s use. The designee must register with the Department and may provide only a limited amount of marijuana for a maximum of five registrants.

Schools, employers and landlords may not refuse to enroll, employ, or lease based upon marijuana registration unless required by federal law. The proposed law does not require that a registrant be allowed to use marijuana in a workplace or on property owned by another.

A vote “Yes” is for legalizing marijuana for registrants and designees.

A vote “No” is against the proposed law.

Click here to view the ballot questions on the 2010 ballot on the Secretary of State website

Martha Vanderlinde, State Representative from District 15 speaks as a nurse and elected official in support of Measure 13!

Representative Martha Vanderlinde D(15) co-sponsored the Safe Access Act with Representative Gerald Lange D(8) in the 2008 legislative session. Although the legislation failed in a sub-committee hearing by a 9 – 5 vote, Rep. Vanderlinde is working side-by-side with the Coalition to educate voters about medical marijuana. This is an issue she is quite familiar with after working directly alongside patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses as a nurse in Sioux Falls.

Rep. Vanderlinde published the following letter-to-the-Editor in the Argus Leader on Friday April 30th: Letters: Marijuana can ease suffering

Nurses provide direct care to patients, and above all else we are advocates for their well-being. This is why the American Nurses Association endorsed safe access to medical marijuana in late 2008.

Never in my years as a nurse or as a state representative have I seen the necessity for the criminalization of a sick person using a natural herb to alleviate pain and suffering.

In the 2008 South Dakota legislative session, I proudly co-sponsored the Safe Access Act. This legislation would allow patients whom I’ve met who suffer from glaucoma, cancer and multiple sclerosis to no longer be forced into a dangerous black market for their medicine. They would not face arrest and prosecution for pursuing therapy that is recommended by a licensed physician.

Medical marijuana is backed by two decades of research. Please join me, the nurses and the many other health care professionals who are voting yes on Initiated Measure 13 this November.

Cancer patient from Colman asks for your vote in Argus Leader letter

James M. Tygstad suffers from Multiple Myeloma, a severe form of blood cancer, and has several tumors in his body. Although he has shrunk 5.5 inches and lost more than 100 pounds in 5 years, Tygstad could be arrested and prosecuted for using medical marijuana even when it is absolutely essential to his treatment by stimulating appetite and easing wasting syndrome.

Medical marijuana provides the safest and most effective alleviation from severe nausea, and is commonly recommended by physicians in all 50 states, even where legal barriers still stand in the way. Even the federal government’s own Institute of Medicine released a report in 1999 with a conclusion that “[n]ausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety, are all afflictions of wasting and can be mitigated by marijuana.”

This is namely why, the nation’s three largest medical-professional organizations have began urging the federal government to re-classify marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act.

These patients are in the middle of political crossfire and need our protection. Help us lift legal barriers in South Dakota state law by voting Yes on initiated measure 13 this November 2nd, and patients in our community will no longer live in fear of criminal prosecution!

Letters: Medical Marijuana Safe By James M. Tygstad, Colman

As a sick person fighting cancer for years, I am appalled at the misinformation presented in the essay in the April 19 Argus Leader opposed to medical marijuana and a subsequent letter to the editor. Medical marijuana is a safe and natural medicine that alleviates nausea, which is common with most types of cancer and especially with chemoradiation therapy.

Do people honestly believe our laws are proper? A person such as me who might choose to use a little marijuana, whether vaporized or made in my tea, should not have to worry about the police
knocking on the door.

The Safe Access Act proposed in South Dakota is nothing like the California law, nor does it allow for marijuana dispensaries or stores. This proposal simply allows patients such as me to use our medicine in peace.

I commend the retired police officer who wrote the accompanying essay in the April 19 newspaper in support of the Safe Access Act. He exemplified what true priorities for law enforcement should be.

I am not a criminal, and neither are the many doctors who tell me what effective therapy is. Please protect patients such as me who already are sentenced with a terminal illness.

Please vote yes on Initiated Measure 13.