Operation Contact Hi! is an organized campaign By The People and For The People. We are Texas! We are parents, teachers, students, elected officials; we are members of NORML, LEAP, TCCC, MPP, and many other organizations. We are citizens of Texas and we want to see House Bill 164, a bill toward getting medical marijuana legalized in Texas, get passed into law. The text of this bill and the two previous Operation Contact Hi! lists are located elsewhere here on Hip Forums, under the headers, "Hip Forums>Activism>Acticvist Group Messages>TX Medi-Pot bill now pending". EVERYONE is strongly encouraged to participate in Operation Contact Hi!, even if they are not a citizen of Texas or the United States! The actual list, starting at week 3, begins in my next post following this one. EVERYONE'S voice can be heard through the freedom of the press. Each week, a new list of 4 is released- 2 state legislators/representatives, and 2 newspapers for Letters to the Editor. While representatives in Texas don't care what someone in Timbuktu thinks (unless they are registered to vote in Texas), newspapers often find it remarkable that someone so far away actually cares to read their Texas newspaper. Thus, Letters of distance to the Editor can empower anyone, anywhere, to help further our cause, which is to get the word out to all Texans, everywhere, that we have a medical marijuana bill pending that needs their support in order to survive/get passed into law. And, please do your part by passing this list on everywhere you can, including: your My Space Facebook Twitter Your e-mail contacts Your friends and family E-mail groups, such as those on Yahoo!Groups Other message board forums Thanks for caring!
Operation Contact Hi! For the week of February 18th thru February 24th: (List: West, Kolkhorst, Ft.Worth, Amarillo) The Honorable Royce West P.O. Box 12068 Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711 (512) 463-0123 (512) 463-0299 fax Texas Coalition for Compassionate Care ( TexasCompassion.com ) is currently the most active organization in Texas when it comes to supporting HR 164. They are currently asking the following: We had a great meeting with Graham Keever of Senator Royce West office. His response, like the other responses we have received from West's office was favorable, even stating at one time that he did not need to be convinced. Senator West as of the meeting had still not decided whether or not to put forth a companion bill to house bill 164 in the Texas Senate. To me, this sounds like politics plain and simple and we need to let Royce West know that this is a safe issue for him to stand up on. Call Senator West's office. Let him know that President Obama is taking a stand on medical marijuana and is not paying a political cost for it, because 80% of Americans (and 75% of Texans) agree with medical marijuana. Let him know that Representative Naishtat is the Vice Chair of the Public Health Committee in the House, meaning our chances for a hearing in that committee are very good, and a senate bill would be needed. Let him know your story and the stories of our patients we love. I believe he knows that this is the right thing to do. Call him, write him. Let him know. TCCC has also asked that we each, “call, not just write” to each of the members of the Public Health Committee. They have published the following list of contact information for each one of them. But, just in case you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of them, they will each be on the weekly contact list until all of them have rotated through at least twice. Chair- Representative Lois W. Kolkhorst Room E2.318, Capitol Extension Austin, TX 78701 (512) 463-0600 (512) 463-5240 Fax Letters to the Editor: Fort Worth Star Telegram http://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/ Letters should be sent as e-mails with a full name, address and daytime phone number. They should be concise, to the point and original - no form letters, please. Writers are limited to one a month. Length is subject to editorial judgment, and letters will be edited to comply with Star-Telegram style and standards. » Write a letter to the editor » http://www.star-telegram.com/245/story/918445.html Amarillo Daily News ( amarillo.com) Letters should be no longer than 200 words. Please include your full name, street address and daytime telephone number. Please mail your submissions to Amarillo Globe-News, Letters Editor, P.O. Box 2091, Amarillo TX 79166; send them by FAX at 806-345-3400; e-mail them to letters@amarillo.com; or deliver them in person at the public entrance on 900 S. Harrison St. in downtown Amarillo.
Operation Contact Hi! for the week of Wednesday, March 4 through Tuesday, March 10. <Burnam, Coleman, El Paso Times, Galveston County> Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth Co-author of HR 164 Capitol Office Room CAP GW.8 P.O. Box 2910 Austin, TX 78768 (512) 463-0740 (512) 463-1075 Fax District Office 1067 W. Magnolia Fort Worth, TX 76104 (817) 924-1997 (817) 924-6788 Fax e-mail form: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=90&rep=lon.burnam Representative Garnet Coleman (parts of Harris County) Capitol Address Room GW.17, Capitol Building Austin, TX 78701 (512) 463-0524 (512) 463-1260 Fax District Address 5445 Alameda, Suite 501 Houston, TX 77004 (713) 520-5355 (713) 520-1860 Fax http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=147&rep=garnet.coleman (My Letter to Rep. Coleman at the end of this post) The El Paso Times **because currently, the Juarez drug cartel has threatened to reach across the border and assassinate the Governor of Juarez, who lives in El Paso, Texas! Your letter may get printed now! Submit your Letter to the Editor online at: http://www.elpasotimes.com/formnewsroom Galveston County Daily News http://galvestondailynews.com/letter.lasso PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO FORWARD THIS LIST TO EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE!!!! (My letter to Rep. Coleman, as an example) Dear Representative Coleman, I am in favor of HB 164, which is currently in the Public Health committee. This bill would make having a physicians recommendation for medicinal use marijuana a legal defense in a court of law. This would result in a decrease in prosecution for sick and dying Texas residents, and it would save Texas taxpayers tons of money. I'm sure you agree, since that is an obvious conclusion. Please sign on as a sponsor of HB 164 today, and show your constituents you hear their voices! Thank you, and I look forward to meeting you when this bill gets a hearing. Sincerely, My real name City, State
Operation Contact Hi! For the week of Wednesday, March 18 through Tuesday, March 24. This week’s Representatives are both members of the Public Health Committee, the Committee in which HB 164 is currently dying in, due to our own neglect. Committee members must listen to all voters, so no matter whose district you live in, please write to these two committee members. Representative John Zerwas, Austin District Office P.O. Box 434 Simonton, TX 77476 (281) 533-9042 (281) 533-9049 Fax Capitol Office Room EXT E2.316 P.O. Box 2910 Austin, TX 78768 (512) 463-0657 (512) 236-0713 Fax (888) 827-1560 Toll Free Send an e-mail: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=28&rep=john.zerwas Representative Vicki Truitt, Southlake District Office 1256 Main Street, #248 Southlake, TX 76092 (817) 488-4098 (817) 488-4099 Fax Capitol Office Room CAP GW.18 P.O. Box 2910 Austin, TX 78768 (512) 463-0690 (512) 477-5770 Fax Send an e-mail: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=98&rep=vicki.truitt Corpus Christi Caller Times http://web.caller.com/commcentral/email_ed.html Spring Break is in full swing in Corpus. Our published letters will be read by tourists from all over Texas, as well as Corpus’ permanent residents! If we swamp them with letters, we won’t be so easy to ignore. Please write today! New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung Send your letter via e-mail: http://herald-zeitung.com/letter.lasso Or: You can also mail or fax letters to: The Herald-Zeitung Letters to the Editor P.O. Box 420397 New Braunfels, Texas 78841 Fax: (830) 625-1224 Let's Do It! :cheers2:
Submitted by Beauford, via the DPFT e-mail list: [FONT="]I've been following the press on the pending medical marijuana bill in[/FONT] [FONT="]Alabama. Almost every day there are two or more LTEs from medical[/FONT] [FONT="]marijuana users.[/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT] [FONT="]These all follow the same format:[/FONT] [FONT="]I am a [mother of three, grandmother, retired executive, etc.][/FONT] [FONT="]I suffer from _____________[/FONT] [FONT="]which means that ___________[/FONT] [FONT="]I can't use regular medications because they do __________to me[/FONT] [FONT="]My doctor is afraid to help me get mj even though he says it helps me[/FONT] [FONT="]My family is afraid because we are forced to break the law[/FONT] [FONT="]Write your representative about bill #_____[/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT] [FONT="]The problem is getting editors to publish your letters. But if the[/FONT] [FONT="]editors of the Dallas, Houston, Austin, Ft. Worth, San Antonio papers[/FONT] [FONT="](and even those in the smaller towns) were receiving four or five[/FONT] [FONT="]letters like these every day, their opposition would wear down pretty[/FONT] [FONT="]quickly.[/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT] [FONT="]The rest of us can do our best, but this really calls for med mj[/FONT] [FONT="]patients to speak up in public and plead their own case. Your voice[/FONT] [FONT="]means much, much more than mine does in this instance.[/FONT]
From Yahoo News RE; the White House Town Hall Forum.... "In this moment of national economic crisis, the top four questions under the heading of “Financial security” concerned marijuana; on the budget, people voted up questions about marijuana to positions 1-4; marijuana was in the first and third positions under “jobs”; people boosted a plug for legalizing marijuana to No. 2 under “health care reform.” And questions about decriminalizing pot occupied spots 1 and 2 under “green jobs and energy.” The article,,,http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090326/pl_politico/20526 The Forum...<http://www.whitehouse.gov/OpenForQuestions/>
Yes, Fox News was talking about that this morning, saying that out of 70,000 questions, legalizing marijuana was the most dominant one of ALL of them. Even so, Obama managed to laugh us off and basically say that one must be stoned out of one's mind to suggest such a thing. Here is a clip from ABC News http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=12675029&ch=4226716&src=news
Operation Contact Hi![FONT="][/FONT] For the week of Wednesday, April 9, through Tuesday, April 13, 2009. This week’s members of the Texas House of Representatives are both members of the Public Health Committee. This means all Texans may voice their opinion, no matter what jurisdiction they live in. Representative Susan King Capitol Office Room E2.416, Capitol Extension Austin, TX 78701 (512) 463-0718 (512) 463-0994 Fax District Office P. O. Box 2376 Abilene, TX 79604 (325) 670-0384 Send an e-mail: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=71&rep=susan.king Representative Jodie Laudenberg Capitol Office Room EXT E2.504 P.O. Box 2910 Austin, TX 78768 (512) 463-0186 (512) 463-5896 Fax District OfficesRockwall County Office: 603 N. Goliad Rockwall, Texas 75087 (972) 772-8525 (972) 722-3377 Fax Send an e-mail: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=89&rep=jodie.laubenberg Letters to the Editor (LTE): This week’s LTE’s both correspond to newspapers serving the home districts of each of the Representatives we’re contacting this week. It will be helpful if you’ll mention the appropriate Rep’s name in your LTE. The Abilene Reporter-News Submit on this page: http://publish.reporternews.com/ The Waco Herald Tribune http://www.dallasobserver.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee/?department=letters Thanks for participating!!! Operation Contact Hi! is published on the following websites: MAP, INC., MAP Media Activism Center (http://www.mapinc.org/resource/maf.htm) TCCC(texascompassion.com)
