PUSH BACK THE POLICE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S EXPANDING WAR ON SICK CANADIANS! KEEP MEDICAL MARIJUANA SAFE AND
LEGAL!
WHAT CAN I DO?
ORGANIZE YOUR LISTS: The first step is to make an emergency contact list of all activists who are now committed to defending patients’ access into an emergency response network. Set up a listserve of all the email addresses you have, a phone tree, and a short list of press calls, politicians, and other ally organizations you would want to contact if a raid happens. Make sure the national CSA office has 2 key contact phone numbers in order to alert you, and send to info@safeaccess.ca
GET YOUR MATERIALS: Print out and copy the "Pledge of Resistance " to collect signatures and start a petition
addressing your immediate issue.
BUILD ALLIANCES: Figure out who your natural allies are, and visit them. Ask for their
support and involvement, and find out what they would like your support in doing. We need to
broaden our base, from the patients and the cannabis and drug policy reform movement, to the
medical community, social justice and human rights movements, and so forth.
HAVE A MEETING: Invite all those charming and interesting activists from other
organizations that you’ve always wanted to know to join a medical marijuana organization or
start a local CSA chapter. Plan your Emergency Response action. Decide who will activate the phone
tree, do media calls, etc the day of the raid. Arrange a meeting place and time for the evening you
hear of a police raid in order to do last minute planning.
BE CREATIVE! What scenario do you think would get the most attention? What can you do
even better than the last time to make your action interesting and inspiring? What materials and
props and puppets and street theatre would you like to have prepared? A giant puppet of Anne
McLellan? A circle of people blockading the front doors of Health Canada? Some
‘gardening’ in front of the Parliament buildings? Your imagination’s the limit
for smart, visual, clear actions!
PREPARE FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: For those who plan to do civil disobedience, try to find
a trainer to prepare your group. Arrange in advance for legal support, training, and legal
observers for your action. Bring a video camera if possible to document possible police actions or
abuses.
PREPARE YOUR MEDIA: Make your press lists now, line up your spokespeople, and get a media
working group in place. Print out and adapt the sample press release to your local situation. Be
prepared to make your own media as well.
9. PLAN OTHER ACTIVITIES: Once your emergency response plan is in place, plan other
activities for your medical marijuana campaign. Do tabling, preferably in pairs, at other events.
Collect signatures for petition drives, get supporters to write a letter or call in if you are
working at passing a city or state resolution, collect "Pledge of Resistance" signers, & invite
others to your meetings. Consider setting up an educational forum or debate. Keep active, and your
group will draw in more energy.
10. TAKE ACTION: Through the emergency response lists, we will notify folks of police raids
as soon as they happen. To keep the pressure on, we need to respond to these raids FAST. We
encourage sustained resistance to these events as they unfold through creative non-violent tactics.
From phone calls to sit-ins to spontaneous street theater, we'll work to support your local action
planning with a national network of assistance and support. E-mail access@safeaccess.ca, or call (250) 884-9821 for anything else you may need to make this a
successful action.
