Michigan medical marijuana initiative certified for the November ballot

I am excited to announce that yesterday the Michigan government officially certified
that MPP's Michigan campaign committee -- the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate
Care (MCCC) -- collected enough signatures to qualify a medical marijuana initiative
for the statewide November ballot. Visit
http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=VgBjaR3r-ly6g7xWa6IfJw.. to read more about this
milestone.

The roughly half a million signatures counted by the state had a whopping 80.2%
validity rate, far exceeding what was needed to qualify for the ballot. I hope
you'll consider making a donation to MCCC today at
http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=32voPXWvVnY4Tkp8T3UONg.. so that we can run a robust
campaign the rest of the year and ensure that the measure passes in November.

The official word that we gathered enough signatures to send the initiative to the
voters in November culminates a monumental effort in the state. Thanks to the hard
work of MPP and MCCC staffers, local activists, volunteers, and supporters for the
past nine months, Michigan is close to becoming the 13th medical marijuana state --
and the first in the Midwest.

The initiative will now be transmitted to the Michigan Legislature, which has 40
days either to pass it into law or to send it to voters in November. Because the
legislature has considered multiple medical marijuana bills in recent years and none
has ever gained traction, Michiganders -- who support protecting patients from
arrest by a nearly 2 to 1 margin -- are all but certain to vote on the issue at the
polls later this year.

Most importantly, Michigan patients are now one enormous step closer to being able
to use medical marijuana without the fear of arrest and jail. If passed by a
majority of voters on Election Day, the initiative will allow Michigan patients to
use, possess, and grow their own marijuana for medical purposes with their doctors'
approval.

The most recent polling shows that 61% of Michigan voters support medical marijuana
access, and we've hired a top-notch consulting firm and a full-time campaign manager
to translate that public sentiment into a new law that protects patients. But we
need your financial support to succeed, so please make a donation to the campaign at
http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=vOnS9vV9zBqo1hONR_j2_w.. today.

I'm grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to
match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2008.
This means that your monthly pledge at
http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=HEPkIYi_4shi_ibOOtlkJg.. to MPP will be doubled.

P.P.S. You can opt out of receiving fundraising mentions in the e-mail alerts I send
you in 2008 by visiting http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=Zp-nuck_v224JLEvoWIF-w.. at
your convenience.

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The Marijuana Policy Project hopes that each of the 180,000 subscribers on our
national e-mail list will make at least one financial donation to MPP's work in
2008. Please visit http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=4ONPD7fzvGHRdYDAdFFQJw.. to
donate now.

MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in its 2008 strategic plan --
http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=oFG8XdFa072JNZv_HqYvUw.. -- if you and other allies
are generous enough to fund our work.

Raised in 2008: $478,533
Goal in 2008: $3,000,000

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Our mailing address is MPP, P.O. Box 77492, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20013.
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