CONTACT: Matt Simon, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, (603) 391-7450
CONCORD, N.H. — Patients and advocates announced a new TV ad urging Gov. John Lynch to allow passage of a bill to protect seriously ill New Hampshire patients from arrest for using medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation at a press conference today.
The ad began airing Wednesday after the state Senate voted 14-10 to pass the bill, which the House had already voted in favor of 234-138 last month. Supporters say the ad, which features Sandra Drew, a retired nurse who uses medical marijuana to relieve the symptoms caused by multiple sclerosis, will air for about a week on WMUR and Comcast during several timeslots.
"I'm not a criminal," the Allenstown resident says in the ad. "It shouldn't be a crime to treat my pain."
Matt Simon, executive director for the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, said the ad is intended to remind the governor of the overwhelming support for medical marijuana both in the Legislature and among the public. A 2008 Mason-Dixon poll showed 71 percent of state voters in favor of such legislation.
More importantly, he said it should remind Lynch that suffering Granite Staters desperately need this law.
"The House and Senate spent a lot of time studying this issue, and they were clearly convinced," Simon said. "If Governor Lynch studies the issue and considers the plight of seriously ill New Hampshire patients, we are confident he will also be convinced they should be protected from arrest if their doctors recommend marijuana."
Also at the press conference was Scott Turner, a Nashua resident and medical marijuana patient with degenerative disc and joint disease.
"I came to Concord today because this bill is going to be something that has a major effect on people's lives," Turner said. "My heart literally drops when I think of the possibility that Governor Lynch might veto this."
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