Texas HB 1534 Shadow Hearing

Please plan to attend the Texans for Medical Marijuana Shadow Hearing next Monday evening. It’s shaping up to be an exciting event. We will hear testimony from medical marijuana patients and advocates, including:

Warden M. Rimel, M.D, a retired psychiatrist with 25 years experience in treating adults and an additional 15 years as a trained child psychiatrist, who will address the vital role marijuana can play in certain illnesses. Aside from his professional knowledge, Dr. Rimel has personal experience. His wife, a retired psychiatric nursing supervisor on the substance abuse unit at Rusk State Hospital, is a 9 1/2 year survivor of advanced metastatic breast cancer. At one point when prescription drugs failed to help the severe nausea and anorexia she experienced secondary to chemotherapy, she turned to smoked marijuana in her search for symptom relief, and

Russ Jones, a Federal and State court recognized expert in the field of narcotics enforcement, who has a 30-year history fighting drugs in various arenas, who will speak to the fact that incarcerating medical marijuana patients is wrong and an inappropriate use of our prison space. Jones devoted over ten years to law enforcement as a DEA Task Force Officer and a narcotics detective.

The room will be set up as if it were a committee hearing room. But instead of actual Public Health Committee members, we will display posters reflecting the postions each of them have on HB 1534.

Don’t forget to bring your written testimony encouraging Chairman Delisi to schedule a hearing for HB 1534, which we will deliver to her the following day. If you prefer, you can sign the pre-written post card instead. And please remember to dress in business causal attire.

For more information contact either Noelle@TexansforMedicalMarijuana.org, 512-659-1108, or Karen@TexansforMedicalMarijuana.org, 512-589-1086.