cannabisnews.com: Pot Users Invade Barr Office Pot Users Invade Barr Office Posted by FoM on October 22, 1999 at 23:05:28 PT By David Pace , The Associated Press Source: AccessAtlanta Georgia Rep. Bob Barr's effort to block medical use of marijuana in the District of Columbia has made him the target of people who contend the drug eases their medical problems. Three medical marijuana users and their supporters blocked the door to the Cobb County Republican's Washington office Thursday to protest his attempts to block implementation of a referendum that would permit seriously ill people in the nation's capital to use marijuana legally if their doctors recommend it. Capitol police arrested Jim Miller of Silverton, N.J., after he lifted his wife, Cheryl Miller, from a wheelchair and placed her on a sleeping bag in the doorway to Barr's office. He was charged with demonstrating within a Capitol building, a misdemeanor. Two other admitted medical marijuana users, Jacki Rickert of Mondovi, Wis., and Gary Storck of Madison, Wis., joined Cheryl Miller on either side of the door. Another half-dozen protesters entered Barr's office and began chanting, "Stop arresting patients," and "Bob Barr you've gone too far." Police broke up the demonstration, arresting Jim Miller and allowing the others to leave the Longworth House Office Building. Cheryl Miller, 52, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1971, said she eats marijuana in salads to relieve her pain and spasms. Police called medical personnel from the Capitol's attending physician's office to place her back in the wheelchair before she was taken out of the building by supporters. Cheryl Miller said she risked arrest by participating in the civil disobedience because "I'm already in prison in my body. It's deteriorating, and I can't do anything. At least the marijuana relieves my pain." Barr's amendment voiding the referendum was included in the District of Columbia spending bill that President Clinton vetoed earlier this month. Clinton said the Barr amendment would have prevented District residents from "making their own decisions about local matters." Barr was not in his office during the protest. He said later that "it is truly sad to see marijuana legalization activists using seriously ill patients as props in their campaigns to make dangerous, mind-altering drugs legally available." Pubdate: October 23, 1999© 1999 Cox Interactive Media Related Articles & Websites:Gary StorckDrug Policy Forum of Wisconsin:http://www.drugsense.org/dpfwi/Marijuana Policy Project:http://www.mpp.org/Cheryl Heart Foundation:http://www.cherylheart.org/MMJ Use Advocates Stage Protest at Barr's Officehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread3365.shtmlJim Busted, Cheryl Put Back in Chair!http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread3364.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on October 23, 1999 at 11:09:38 PT In Their Face...a Great American Tradition! One of the reasons why these politicians are so smug in their certainty of righteousness in being anti-MMJ is that they are able to conveniently sidestep the effects of their legislation by not having to confront them.By being insulated from the effects of their mad-dog policies, they don't have to face pain-wracked, be-turbaned little old ladies barfing their guts out from chemo and tell them, face-to-face, that they must continue to suffer for the sake of not "sending the wrong message to the children" about marijuana. What these two have done is *exactly* what is needed. More of this is needed to show the country what heartless monsters like Barr, in the name of their 'principles', are willing to do to an entire generation of cancer and AIDS victims. (At last word, the American Cancer Society is saying that one out of three people can expect to get cancer in their lifetimes. That's up from 1 in 4, just twenty years ago. One out of three may undergo chemo. One out of three is suffering hooribly right now. And could be helped by MMJ.Which Barr and his ilk will not let them have. If I were them, I'd be very angry at that. Angry... and politically active.) [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: