Grandmas For Marijuana

On June 17 an unusual group of citizen lobbyists descended on the House of Representatives. Officially known as the "The Silver Tour (Teaching Seniors the Benefits of Medical Marijuana)", the event also was referred to as "Grandmas for Marijuana". The seniors were joined by the DC-based Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), so the actual group consisted of old, young, and some in-between. Many participants came from the DC area, while others traveled from a number of states, including chartered buses from Baltimore and Philadelphia. Quite a few were patients, or friends of patients, who use medical marijuana for diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, Crohn's Disease, MS, glaucoma, and PTSD.

The Silver Tour was organized by Robert Platshorn, who has the distinction of serving the longest prison sentence ever for a non-violent marijuana crime--29 years (reduced from an original sentence of 64 years) for smuggling pot into Florida in the 1970s. Robert recognizes that he committed a crime but believes the punishment was excessive for providing a drug that is much safer than alcohol or tobacco. Now 70 years old, he is out on parole and had to get permission to leave south Florida to come to DC.

After meeting in the Longworth Building to get their credentials, the "lobbyists" dispersed to spend several hours meeting with members of Congress or their staffs. In particular they were seeking support for HB499, the Ending Federal Prohibition of Marijuana Act,  which would treat marijuana like alcohol by handing its regulation over to the states, who could then prohibit it, legalize it, legalize it for medical use only, or turn the issue over to localities to decide.

At 4:00 the participants reconvened for a reception in the Rayburn Building, where the featured speaker was Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO), the sponsor of HB499, and one of only four openly gay members of Congress. Other speakers included Robert Platshorn; Aaron Houston, the head of SSDP; Neil Franklin, a former Baltimore cop who now heads Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP); and Eric Sterling, who founded the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation--as a Congressional staff attorney, Eric helped draft the draconian drug laws passed in the 1980s, and now is working to undo the damage they have caused. The most surprising speaker, however, was Grover Norquist, the anti-tax crusader who got most Republicans in Congress to sign a pledge to never raise taxes. Grover believes in limiting federal power by giving states the right to set marijuana policy. And notable in the audience, because of his cowboy hat, was Howard Wooldridge, another retired police officer, who founded COP (Citizens Opposing Prohibition) and is known on Capitol Hill as the Cannabis Cop.

An important participant in the event was Irv Rosenfeld, who still receives 300 marijuana cigarettes a month, direct from the Federal government, under a medical program that was discontinued during the George H. W. Bush administration. Later in the day Irv unfortunately was arrested by Capitol police, who did not understand that he possessed the marijuana legally.