This Is The Page For People Who Live Near Omaha, Nebraska

As of June, 2011, I, Melanie Marshall, the owner of this site, have been taking a serious mental break from the pain that prohibition causes.

Soon, this page will include more information on Florida, where I now reside, and where I am still doing small-time, individual work to keep people aware of the cost and harm bad laws create.

Thank you, all who come to this page. May you find courage and peace enough to keep on truckin' out the TRUTH.

A Letter Floridians Can Send to Local Lawmakers

The Facebook page for Florida's MMJ Discussion

Now, back to Nebraska.

Suggested Plan for Nebraska:

There are a few hard truths we must learn, as I have just recently. One being, "This set of state lawkeepers won't budge on this until Federal Law changes, period." So we can slow down on contacting them and put every ounce of energy into:

A) educating Nebraskans as nicely, accurately, and quickly as possible.

B) learning all about our current laws, consequences and rights, and learning how to exercise our rights politely.

C) helping your favorite Nebraskan pro-cannabis group(s) get an initiative on the 2012 ballot.

D) helping Colorado with their 2012 Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol - it give much experience/knowledge to be used in Nebraska.

Getting Involved in the Omaha, Nebraska Area

Here's An Easy Way To Contact Your State Senator AND Governor

Nebraska Cannabis Coalition

H.E.M.P. Nebraska .com

Nebraska Cannabis Coalition on Facebook

Iowa Medical Marijuana - Working Hard on Rescheduling

Nebraskans: Find Your State Senator Here

Use the link above to find your State Senator's E-mail address. Then politely explain your concerns and suggestions using the format shown on the sample letter below, or simply copy and paste the sample letter and use that once a week until you get a response. Share your responses on the networking links above, then either debate your State Senator while sending accurate information, or simply continue to send in your standard, weekly/bi-weekly/monthly email to remind him/her that you (and many others) are watching and waiting for this important change.

Sample Letter:

Honorable [First Name, Last Name],

I am writing to you today to tell you that I approve of moving away from cannabis prohibition and will support you for doing the same. Our cannabis policies are outdated and expensive, they are not based on science, and they do more harm than good. Cannabis is a very valuable plant and must be given fair consideration immediately. Thank you for your kind attention.

Respectfully,
[Your First and Last Name]
[Your address]

PAST HAPPENINGS

Before we go too far into the past, get current: In between the events that surface on the Facebook links above, please...
share the peaceful truth about cannabis, get used to making regular contact with your lawmakers, and have positive conversations about our future. When you see a pot-related article, put in an educational comment and/or send your thoughts directly to the editor - they are looking for more on this subject, I can tell you that! Cheers, and Never Give Up - We WILL Win!

February, 2011: Regular meetings have been forming, so that's been keeping many of us very busy. There is also so much good news to share these days, it's hard to take a lot of time to work on change, ha ha! Watch out for distractions of all kinds, fellow worker bees!
Everything is being done on Facebook, and soon this site won't be needed ANYMORE - YEAY!!!!!

November, 2010: Crushed again by fear and apathy in CA.

Monday, July 12: Nebraska Pharmacy Board Hearing on Cannabis Therapy. I'm so sorry - I did not find out about this until the night before, so I failed to get more people there. Still, it was a MOST Beautiful Time, You Guys! The Omaha World Herald wrote a very kind piece, there were 50 people for cannabis and 0 against, and, the pharm board members and other top people - about 14 in all - listened with open minds and hearts. I testified with over a dozen others and they listened to us respectfully for over an hour. I can't tell you all how amazing this is. Please be sure to write a nice letter to the editor: pulse@owh. Say thanks for the nice article and ask them to keep it up. They want and love the encouragement, so thanks to those who do this.
**********UPDATE:
Nebraska adopted the Uniform Controlled Substances Act in 1971 and simply failed to instantiate the reclassification process required by the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. The Uniform Controlled Substances Act requires Nebraska to designate an agency to handle rescheduling and an administrative process for handling the rescheduling. Nebraska is in violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act for failure to implement all of its provisions.
I wrote to my State Senator, Abbie Cornett, about this on Sept. 15 and have not heard back.

First and foremost, let your State Senator know that you are on the side for change - they need to lose their wrongheaded "It's political suicide" attitude. Tell them we are ready.
THANKS!

Monday, July 5th: Plan to stop by the base of the Capitol in Lincoln, on "K" Street, between 14th and 16th Streets, between 12 and 3 - there'll be a PARADE!
(The Report: IT WAS AWESOME! The 25 of us made so many people happy, got virtually NO opposition, and we had a SUPERIOR time marching around to the Federal Building and everything - THANKS, BILL HAWKINS of HEMP NEBRASKA!!!)


June 13th, 2010: HEMP Hoe-Down/Hoo-Ha at Pioneer Park, Lincoln, 2:00 - ?. Location: So. Coddington Ave. & West Van Dorn Street.
Come on down for great food and conversation!
(The Report: It was a beautiful day and a great time! We all just had nice chats and got better used to the ideas of legalization.)

May 31, 2010: Cannabis once again made Front-Page news in the Lincoln Journal Star!!! This is more than beautiful, so please keep the info flowing to our media community. Thanks to all who do!
Also, a sweet opinion piece was printed in the Omaha World Herald about how pot helps vets with PTSD - Not one negative comment - GO OWH!!!

May 11th, 2010: MMJ made the Front-Page news!! The Omaha World Herald has pushed this topic to the top and lawmakers care what the paper says! Please help the OWH by sending in your thoughts - they are hungry for this talk! I sent in my Letter to The Editor and put in an encouraging comment on the on-line version.

May 8th, 2010: Omaha's Cannabis Awareness and Liberation March was held at the Gene Leahy Mall and it was GREAT! We were completely unbothered in any way! Around 80 Peaceful People came from many parts of the state, and the mood was "no fear" and POSITIVE. And the highlight of the day was that one of the few police cars that drove by honked and waved - WOW! GO OMAHA!!!!!
THANKS to everyone who helped make it a day of triumph and encouragement! Enjoy the memories of being a real part of history!!

March, 2010:
There have been numerous local grow house raids. When sending your opinion to the Editor of the Lincoln Star Journal (oped@journalstar.com) and the Omaha World Herald (pulse@owh.com), be sure to mention how wasteful it was to use Haz-Mat suits on a nontoxic substance. Mention the wasted money and hours spent detecting the grow houses and how those resources could have been spent stopping people who actually do harm to others, not people who work hard to get safe, effective medicine to people who honestly do suffer without it.
These raids are acts of robbery. Everything that was taken was another person's property. Unfortunately, thousands of these types of robberies are allowed each day because our current laws say that our property can be taken from us when used in ways not approved of by people who pretend to know more about life and health than we do. This is what we're currently paying for, but you DO have a say in how our public money is spent. Lawmaker contact is vital - Please be sure yours have heard from you in the past 30 days about all subjects important to you.
Last but not least, mention how this has not slowed cannabis consumption one bit or even had an affect on the price. It has merely destroyed a few crops that were MADE IN THE USA and diverted those would-be home-grown profits to Mexican cartels. The violent cartels are now thanking our law enforcers for protecting their business. Remember: Drug Prohibition helps thugs.
We Americans are not allowed to make money without a cut going to the government - that is what these raids are about, in my opinion (Sales Tax would be enough to cover the duties of government as outlined in our Constitution). We Americans are not allowed to be prosperous without government approval. That's too much like how the former Soviet Union was and this type of behavior must not be tolerated.
Making our opinions known and sharing the truth about cannabis to our lawmakers, the general public, and to the media are great actions we can take at this moment. Thank you, and use this to the best of our advantage for a quick victory in this slow-but-sure state.

Here's a suggested 2010 plan for Omaha/Nebraska:

1) Send a postcard, letter, email or fax to Governor Dave Heineman (He responds quickly):
Lincoln Office/State Capitol:
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 94848
Lincoln, NE 68509-4848
Email form: (Please copy and paste) www.governor.nebraska.gov/mail/govmail.html

You can ask him to approve any pro-cannabis bill that makes it to his desk. Begin getting him used to the idea now, because he will veto any pro-cannabis bill in his present state of mind, which CAN and should be altered by our growing persistance.
You see, if we do a good job educating our state senators and the public, there's a good chance that a state senator could introduce a semi-pro-hemp bill. If we continue to do a good job and our bill passes the senate (It will only take a YES vote from 26 people), it would still have to be approved by the Governor before becoming state law.
Ask for what you WANT, not what you think you can get.
Here is what I started with:
"Dear Governor Heineman,
Because cannabis prohibition contributes to violence and poor health, please approve any pro-cannabis bill that makes it to your desk.
Thank you." You can see samples of what I have sent to my local lawmakers at the bottom of this page. (I use the links on the home page to make regular contact with my federal lawmakers.)

2) Get the word out about cannabis in any way you feel like doing, just GET IT OUT THERE. Use the page on this site called, "All kinds of action you can take" for ideas (And I'd love to add your ideas, too). My favorite way is to leave info sheets near people's front doors. I've covered literally over 6,000 houses in the area during the past 4 years I've been here. It's good exercise no matter who you're putting out fliers for, and it's always so rewarding knowing that most people will read at least part of the flier - a few might take further action, too!!
Send information to the media (They are truly on our side already and are just waiting on us to do cool things so they can report on them. I'm waiting on people who can get with me in front of a camera without fear) and to medical groups (The Senate really needs to hear from medical groups before budging), churches (Christians ought to be against the blind hate that's needed to support unjust laws), even judges and law enforcement (Send them Law Enforcement Against Prohibition info).
Make a constant, pleasant noise in full force until Winter, when...

3) We begin asking our state legislature to introduce a pro-cannabis bill. Any bill, it does not matter. Bills start getting introduced early January, every year. If a bill is introduced, we can then begin seriously rallying the public for support for that bill. If it dies (Sadly, the first time it most likely will, unless a huge swell of speaking the peaceful truth occurs, hint hint), repeat the plan next year with even more enthusiasm, knowing that people were seriously educated because of all the discussions and research the first bill caused.
Yes, it could take years to undo the lies and bad attitudes about pot (We even need to work on our own case of hopelessness - Get Confident, Fellow Cannabians!), but this law change is INEVITABLE. The only question is, "WHEN?" The answer is, "IT'S UP TO US, THE PEOPLE." Please do your constitutional duty and contact your State Senator today. Yes, it's scary, but it's also as simple as writing a business email. YOU CAN DO IT! Use the "sample letter" below, or use the super-easy link, and/or write to Melanie at: mmelz5 at yahoo.com for any help at all. Thank you, and keep dreamin' of Freedom!

And yes - it will take a LOT of people asking for change before anything happens. This is why it's so vitally important that everyone gets into the habit of sending regular messages while encouraging others to do the same. Imagine our messages taking up more and more of their inbox space - only then will they even BEGIN to think about breaking ranks. This is my opinion.

The only other real way is the Ballot Initiative procedure, which is impossible without a solid group and steady funding. Unless anyone can get about $150,000 to throw at it, forget about it, period. Tell me if I'm wrong: mmelz5 at yahoo.com. If you think you can do it, GO FOR IT and I'll help out all I can as long as you're nice about it.

************************************************

Remember that our lawmakers believe that silence equals satisfaction. If you are not satisfied with our cannabis laws, you may send polite, weekly emails to your U.S. & State Senators, and your U.S. & State Representatives (Unless you're in unicameral Nebraska - we have no State Representatives and that saves us tons of money, although it doesn't show.) asking them to change our laws after seeing for themselves that cannabis is safer than alcohol, aspirin, even sugar; and to examine the integrity of the inaccurate Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which keeps the entire Cannabis sativa plant under the strictest of controls by claiming it is very dangerous and addictive with no medical value (There is a Federal version of the CSA, plus every state has its own version as well, which means we need to ask for changes to both versions. And yes, states CAN and SHOULD influence Federal law. More on this further down the page. Having cannabis in Schedule I is our biggest obstacle, from what I can see.
No one will EVER bother you for sending peaceful messages to your lawmakers. Show happiness for being one of the few humans in history who truly have this gorgeous freedom by using it all the time. :)
It's SAFE, EASY AND EFFECTIVE. Use your freedom and contact your lawmakers TODAY!

Thanks to you and others, our messages WILL add up and cause a stir in discussion, which WILL lead to these unfair laws being removed from our books in a more timely manner. This is because, simply put, the truth is and will always be on our side. All we have to do is work to dig it out from under a thin, but sticky, layer of disgusting crap.
No snowflake thinks itself responsible for the avalanche. Be a snowflake, send those messages to your lawmakers on every level, and CAUSE that avalanche!
The federal contact links are on the Front Page of this site. Thanks - WE CAN FINISH THIS!

***************************************

Here's the Report of the 2009 MO State Drug Policy Reform Conference:

Overall, we had a super time. The main things to do are:

1) Regularly contact all policy makers from your city councilpeople to the prez.
2) Public Education: Tell people how pot helps you/doesn't harm you
3) Write Letters to the Editors
4) Don't talk about cannabis all "hush hush" like
5) Phase out the derogatory term, "marijuana," and begin using its botanical name, cannabis.

We were told to send information on hemp to construction and environmental organizations. Google the company Thermo Hemp. We learned that the reason hemp was not simply adopted by paper and cotton companies as an alternative fiber is because there is no "manipulative power" in hemp - it grows too easily without the need for pesticide and herbicide sales. Google "Isochanvre" for more info on hemp as a building material.

When it comes to cannabis law reform, ask yourself, "What do we WANT?" I, for instance, want NO harassment for using the Cannabis sativa plant. Other people may want cannabis penalties to be no greater than alcohol penalties.

Google "SAFER" to learn more and get involved. Please email mmelz5@yahoo.com if you get a chapter started near Omaha - I'll add your link to this page (visited by 40 people a day on average) and also help pass out your literature!

Try to make people CARE. This is tough but can be done through personal stories, you betcha! Share, share, share.

"It's the Perception of Harm that's killing us," says Mason Tvert of Safer Alternative For Recreational Enjoyment. "Make sure everyone knows that cannabis is safer than alcohol." That is a good hurdle to get over, no doubt, so tell someone today! :)

We learned that there are 1100 Partnership for a Drug-Free America ads. 94% of them are aimed at pot, and all of them are overpriced.

Sign-Holdings

Get a sign and hold it up proudly for slow and heavy traffic to see as often as you can - 30 minutes is enough to give yourself and many others a real boost! Visit the "Materials" page for more info on making signs, or contact me for a professionally-printed one, for Free! This really is a fun activity - you don't have to say anything or you can shout out the facts - just try to keep it positive and attractive. Don't be afraid to show your face - doing so WILL help us gain ground faster.

HOW TO HOLD A SIGN

1) Dress nicely.
2) Be Positive - anger is a big turn-off.
3) Hold sign PROUDLY at ALL times.
4) Be friendly to the few negatives comments/gestures you will receive.
5) Have info to give out but do NOT go out into the street or let cars stop in traffic. If you can, be somewhere where people can pull in behind you to get more info.

SIGN SLOGAN IDEAS

Marijuana IS Medicine
Re-legalize Cannabis NOW
Pot Should NOT Be Illegal
Pot Is NOT Dangerous
Pot Is Nontoxic
Just Say NO To Unfair Laws
DARE To Tell The TRUTH About POT
DARE To Tell The TRUTH About HEMP
I Smoke Weed And I'm Not a Bad Seed (This was the best sign at the 2009 March)
Legalize It
Don't Fear The Reefer
Legalize, Not Legal Lies
Jail Is Worse Than Joints
Stop Clogging Our Legal System With Pot
Cannabis Was Never Tested Before It Was Banned

Submit your slogan: mmelz5@yahoo.com

Remember, these sign-holdings are for "Us" more than "Them" because as like-minded people see us, they get VERY happy that we are out there touting the truth! They will become uplifted, maybe get energized to get active, and might actually write an elected official or two, which will help chip away at unjust laws. And we get to see and hear just how many people agree with us and wish us well - that is VERY reaffirming!
Plus, when people cheer at our signs, folks in the cars around them get curious and might actually look into these mysterious laws. That's just what we want, so keep at it, everyone! Make this injustice more visible!

We deliver HOPE. That's what sign-holdings are all about. Go out and Feel the Hope.

Samples of Lawmaker Contact

Please feel free to copy and paste - just get your message in so our numbers can create an unavoidable presence.

**********STATE SENATOR CONTACT**********

Sept - Dec, 2009: Began asking for pro-cannabis legislation in little, different ways and got no response.

Dec, 2009:
Honorable Abbie Cornett,
Please introduce legislation that would remove the nontoxic and beneficial cannabis plant from Schedule I of our state's Controlled Substances Act.
Thank you.

**It was here that State Senator Cornett sent a reply stating she would not introduce any pro-cannabis bill. Sad for her - we won't give up, will we?**

Jan, 2010:
Here is some information I would like to share with you. However, please know that I do not favor the dispensary method nor the medical-only type laws as they are unnecessarily complicated. Cannabis can safely be sold alongside liquor or cigarettes.
A pot dealer once told me, "I don't want pot to be legal." By keeping this common plant out of regulation and normalcy, we are paying to keep the dealers in business.

Jan, 2010:
Please stop allowing drug gangs to have all the control. Minors are selling drugs. Our laws have created this trouble. Please end it by ending Prohibition II.

Feb, 2010:
Would you please provide your reasons for supporting Cannabis Prohibition?
(She never did. Jan 2011 - still never did.)

Feb, 2010:
Please oppose LB 940, the bill that seeks to impose mandatory drug tests on welfare recipients. This expensive bill would only benefit drug test manufacturers. Additionally, welfare should be handled by private organizations such as churches.
(This bill's current status is "Indefinitely postponed." You can find this out by going to nebraskalegislature.gov)

For Earth Day:
In honor of having a cleaner world and enjoying our God-given freedom, would you please study the Cannabis/Hemp plant and then introduce legislation next year that will again allow our farmers to grow this beneficial crop? The organization votehemp.com is an interesting place to begin your research.

I have mostly been forwarding articles to her, and there has been no further response, so my next step is to set up a meeting, which I will happily report on.

And here's the report:

June 1, 2010:
Senator Cornett called me to say she could not meet until July and wished to save my time by stating she will not introduce pro-cannabis legislation. I said, "I'll be happy to take your first available date." She said her staffer will get back to me.

June 2:
I emailed, "Honorable Abbie Cornett,
Thank you for your call yesterday.
I have two requests, please:
1) Once we have a date set, may I invite reporters from the Omaha World Herald, the Bellevue Leader, and the Lincoln Journal Star to our meeting?
2) Could you bring the pre-1937 test results on the cannabis plant which show it to be dangerous enough to justify the money used on the home invasion, terrorizing, kidnapping, robbery, and vandalism of cannabis owners and their loved ones? I have been looking for this information for years.
Respectfully,
Melanie Marshall
402-415-7373"
(This was probably over-doing it, I admit. I didn't mean to put her on the spot - I only meant to nail down an answer.)

June 7:
The response: "After speaking with Senator Cornett, the Senator does not plan to introduce any legislation in regards to the cannabis plant as she stated in your recent phone conversation. After your recent request for media to also attend the meeting, Senator Cornett would like to extend her thanks for your input, but will be unable to meet."

My response minutes later:
"Thank you, Brennen.
Could the Senator please state her reasons for such strong opposition towards cannabis law reform? Please also let her know that it is my duty to continue to push unjust laws from our books by educating the public, media, and lawmakers of every level.
Thanks again and have a great week."

Jan. 2011 update:
I've been sending in weekly messages in the form of articles from established media, while encouraging others to join in.

**********GOVERNOR CONTACT**********

I've been sending messages to Governor Heineman's office, and he insists that "marijuana is a dangerous drug."

May, 2010:
After receiving his third letter, I called his office and left this message with his very nice receptionist:
"Cannabis is not a dangerous drug; it is a non-toxic, benficial plant. Nebraskans would benefit by its legalization because Cannabis Prohibition contributes to violence and poor health."
Then I sent a message asking him to research the origin of our drug laws.

June, 2010: He said I should do the research and that the CSA is there for our safety.

June 21:
I sent this:
Thank you for your quick and personalized responses; it is very nice to see such diligence.

The reason I asked you to research the origin of our incorrect drug laws is so that you could experience the same "Ah-ha!" moment I did when I discovered them. Our drug laws are based mostly on racism, Governor. Hate and ignorance. Millions of families have been crushed in the name of these laws as illegal drug supplies grow and grow, but we have the ability to correct this mistake today.

A Floridian friend of mine was arrested in 1996 for pot. I knew that what happened to him wrong and began my research. I already knew that cannabis was mild and should be legal, but I needed to know all about our drug laws. It was a horribly depressing find. Over the past 10 years, I took what I learned and shared it with everyone I could via door-to-door distribution, the website http://makepotlegal555.org, and I had the two Law Enforcement Against Prohibition billboards in Omaha put up.

Please look at the true history of Drug Prohibition. The CSA of 1970 is not where our drug laws began, and it is honestly not based on science. What was shameful then can be corrected now. Don't ever give your support to programs that depend on hate and ignorance to exist. Please don't support greed and terrorism in this way any longer.

For added interest, I've included part of the announcement from GW Pharmaceuticals, proving that cannabis is a safe and effective medicine:


"Dr Geoffrey Guy, GW’s Chairman, said: “The approval and launch of Sativex® in the UK is the world’s first full approval of a cannabis-derived prescription medicine and the product of eleven year’s research by GW into the cannabinoid system. GW was founded with the primary goal of developing a medicine to address the unmet needs of people with MS and today’s launch of Sativex® represents a welcome advance in MS symptom treatment. This is also an historic moment for GW and marks the beginning of the company’s transition from a late stage development company to a commercial pharmaceutical business. Today’s news validates our cannabinoid technology platform and enables us to progress the development of our pipeline across a range of therapeutic areas with increased confidence.
"Under the terms of the agreement with Bayer, GW will receive a £10m milestone payment in respect of the UK approval of Sativex®."

http://www.gwpharm.com/release-sativex-launch.aspx


Being free means having a choice, and even though raw cannabis is messier than a spray, it is still harmless enough to be included as a viable choice. Cannabis works for my medical problems, Governor, and I know countless others are helped by it, too. Not one person I know was hurt by cannabis - just cannabis prohibition. Please help. Begin to right this wrong today. Thank you.

With Respect,
Mrs. Melanie Marshall


July 2010: Although I have been steadily sending in solid articles, both Governor Heinemen and State Senator have stopped writing back. So I will just keep at it so that they will be well-informed when the time comes to discuss this subject. That time WILL come, so I have also been as busy as I can be passing out info on our cause to the general public, too. Never give up - we will witness VICTORY!

January 2011: I sent in an article from The Quad-City Times today, but I haven't sent anything to him in a while, I admit. Been working on home life and on general population education.

Thanks for all you do everyone,
Melanie Marshall