*ATTENTION Texas Cannabis Patient Warriors!! I have news about testifying at the capital! I attended the PACT meeting at the capital and I'm so glad I attended! I have so much to share with you!
We sat in a room similar to a room where patients testified during last session. It was a small room with 12 chairs in a half circle at the top of the dais similar to a small city council chamber. There is a podium at the front where patients testify.
Here's what I learned!
1. Wear business attire so that the politicians will notice the cause and not your bad ass Jay Z shirt with the underwear sticking out of the back of your pants. Okay, so some of this is my commentary, mkay?? ;p
2. The 2015 session begins in JANUARY 2015 (the powers that be are pushing for early session), so you must be prepared to testify last minute. This means that you need to be on standby and be in constant contact by phone, email or fb. You should also have a WRITTEN TESTIMONY PREPARED by January 1, 2015. Consider it a New Year's resolution to Legalize Texas!!
3. Go to the capital for one of the lobby days to get acclimated with the landscape of the gigantic capital. That place can be intimidating. Catch one of the lobby days coming up. We'll be posting about it here. I got some maps that I'm going to have a few of at the next meeting.
4. Call, write and visit your Texas reps. Tracy Ansley, DFW's Patient Coordinator, said his, "100 phone calls is worth one letter, while 100 letters equals one visit to a politician. Let your voice be heard. This is very important work that can be done ESPECIALLY if you feel like you absolutely can't testify. This helps immensely.
5. "Look up the State Representatives and State Senators for your area using http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx. Find supportive candidates on social media and follow them. Encourage your members to volunteer for their campaigns. Build relationships and plan on staying in touch throughout the legislative process." -Jax Finkle, TX NORML's Deputy Dir.
6. Are you registered to vote? Great! (I'm assuming all CENTEX NORML Alliance friends are enlightened!) Have your gotten your likeminded friends registered? You can do it all online and you can do it now and it will be mailed to you. Do it now or by the deadline of Oct. 6th. Www.voter411.org
7. On November 4th, V O T E !!!!!!!!!!!
8. If something angers you during the testifying, do not testify at all. Only testify in love. We do not want to inadvertently get too passionate and mess up legalization for everyone.
9. Don't be afraid to share your story. We all have stories to share for different ailments. I've found friends all over the states in cannabis groups on fb. We need to network with each other. When you share it puts a non-criminal face on marijuana--YOUR FACE.
10. Have faith and courage! Don't be afraid to testify either. We are doing this for our future in Texas. Please stand proud. Every proud Texan stands up for his/her rights!!!
NOTE: Please click 'Get Notifications' to be sure to be notified of all important announcements. I would also advise all patients to like the following pages for announcements: Texas NORML, DFW NORML, and Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.
Stay tuned! This is going to be a fun ride! We can do this, y'all!!!
One Love,
CC Castaneda
CC Castaneda
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~CC