Who is lobbying on medical marijuana?

Posted May 16, 2012 By Pei Shan Hoe

New York State legislators on both sides of the aisle had a conference on Wednesday pushing for the legalization of medical marijuana with a bill that is being considered by the state Assembly.

This comes right as the latest Sienna poll shows 57 percent of New York voters support legalizing medical marijuana, with 33 percent opposed. Sure, New Yorkers have made what they want clear, but we all know money speaks even more loudly.

So the New York World would like to know: Who is lobbying on medical marijuana?

If you have information or insight to share, write us, tweet @thenyworld or comment below.

What we found

In the last two years, 10 organizations have reported lobbying in relation to the marijuana bill (or its State Senate equivalent). IThe state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics does not provide a breakdown of each lobbying client’s contribution to a particular bill, nor does it indicate the client’s position, pro or con.

But we’re pretty sure that some, like the Drug Policy Alliance — whose homepage screams “End the Federal Assault On Medical Marijuana” — and Marijuana Policy Project are pro-legalization. MPP, which lobbied only on this one issue in 2011, put down $21,885 to support New York’s legalization of medical marijuana in 2011 alone.

Also worthy of note is the presence of two big unions on the lobbying list: AFSCME and District Council 37. The New York World sent out inquiries to both to find out more about their stands on medicinal weed; we’ll let you know what they say once they get back to us.

Here is the full list of clients lobbying on the bills since 2011, when they were first introduced :

– Academy of Family Physicians (New York State)

– Association of the Bar of the City of New York

– Drug Policy Alliance

– Marijuana Policy Project

– Medical Society of the State of New York

– AFSCME International

– Health Facilities Association (New York State)

– Multistate Associates Inc.

– Nurses Association-New York State

– District Council 37

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<h1>Who is lobbying on medical marijuana?</h1><a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dailyQ2-01.jpg');" href="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dailyQ2-01.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2600" title="dailyQ2-01" src="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dailyQ2-01.jpg" alt="" width="105" height="105" /></a>New York State legislators on both sides of the aisle had a conference on Wednesday pushing for the legalization of medical marijuana with a <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A07347&term=2011&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Votes=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y');" href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A07347&term=2011&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Votes=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y">bill</a> that is being considered by the state Assembly.
This comes right as the latest Sienna poll shows <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2012/05/16/siena-poll-big-support-for-medical-marijuana-split-on-fracking/');" href="http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2012/05/16/siena-poll-big-support-for-medical-marijuana-split-on-fracking/">57 percent</a> of New York voters support legalizing medical marijuana, with 33 percent opposed. Sure, New Yorkers have made what they want clear, but we all know money speaks even more loudly.
So the New York World would like to know: Who is lobbying on medical marijuana?
If you have information or insight to share, <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/mailto/nyworld@thenewyorkworld.com');" href="mailto:nyworld@thenewyorkworld.com">write us</a>, tweet @thenyworld or comment below.
<h3>What we found</h3>
In the last two years, 10 organizations have reported lobbying in relation to the marijuana bill (or its State <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S2774-2011');" href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S2774-2011">Senate equivalent</a>). IThe state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics does not provide a breakdown of each lobbying client’s contribution to a particular bill, nor does it indicate the client’s position, pro or con.
But we’re pretty sure that some, like the <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.drugpolicy.org/');" href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/">Drug Policy Alliance</a> — whose homepage screams “End the Federal Assault On Medical Marijuana” — and <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.drugpolicy.org/');" href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/">Marijuana Policy Project</a> are pro-legalization. MPP, which lobbied only on this one issue in 2011, put down $21,885 to support New York’s legalization of medical marijuana in 2011 alone.
Also worthy of note is the presence of two big unions on the lobbying list: AFSCME and District Council 37. The New York World sent out inquiries to both to find out more about their stands on medicinal weed; we’ll let you know what they say once they get back to us.
Here is the full list of clients lobbying on the bills since 2011, when they were first introduced :
– Academy of Family Physicians (New York State)
– Association of the Bar of the City of New York
– Drug Policy Alliance
– Marijuana Policy Project
– Medical Society of the State of New York
– AFSCME International
– Health Facilities Association (New York State)
– Multistate Associates Inc.
– Nurses Association-New York State
– District Council 37

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