I got a call last week about this absolutely tragic story in Florida, which is as good an example of the senseless nature of our nation’s marijuana laws as any I have ever seen.

John Haring, 45, is a quadriplegic who suffers daily from chronic pain, arthritis, spasm attacks, and depression. He uses marijuana to treat his condition, and after two marijuana arrests in two years, he’s now heading to jail for 90 days, after which he’ll be forced to undergo three years of probation and drug testing. If he tests positive for marijuana in just one of those tests, he could face up to five years in jail.

Haring and his relatives say legal prescription painkillers left him “drugged, depressed and in an angry stupor.” Using marijuana, on the other hand, “allowed him to live his life,” according to the St. Petersburg Times. “He could drive his pickup and earn extra money hauling boats and classic cars. He had relationships again. Five years ago, he had children of his own.”

As this compelling article goes on to point out, “Prescription drugs kill six Floridians a day … and the number of deaths is increasing at five times the rate of illegal drugs.”

I’d try to boil down the idiocy of laws that punish Haring for using marijuana, a safe drug with proven medical efficacy, and instead push him toward more harmful prescription drugs, but Haring’s lawyer has already done a pretty good job: “They take away from him the one thing that has worked and force him to take something more toxic,” John Trevena told the Times. “There's no logic to it.”

A Bay Area CBS affiliate recently released a poll showing that 56% of California adults believe that the state should legalize marijuana. This finding is consistent with last year’s Field Poll showing the same support for including marijuana reform as part of California’s budget solution.

Age appears to be significantly correlated to support for marijuana legalization. An overwhelming 74% of respondents age 18 to 34 said marijuana should be legal, but only 46% in the 35 to 49 range thought so. Support is at 49% for baby boomers and only 39% for those over 65.

The survey, conducted on April 20, found majority support in every geographic region in California and across all ethnic groups except for Hispanics.

This data underscores the need for a high voter turnout – especially among younger people – for California’s Control & Tax Cannabis initiative on November 2. Young people are disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition; let’s hope they turn out in high numbers to end that injustice.

California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton seems to think that the marijuana issue might just be the key to reaching these young voters who are also more likely to vote Democratic during this mid-term election.

A PDF of the Survey USA poll can be downloaded from our website.

For anyone who hasn’t yet read “Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?” tomorrow is your chance.

In recognition of 4/20, Chelsea Green Publishing will be offering free downloads of this important book, which examines the relative harms of marijuana and alcohol and asks why our nation’s laws seek to punish people who make the sensible choice to use the less harmful substance: marijuana. April also happens to be National Alcohol Awareness Month.

“Marijuana is Safer” is co-authored by MPP’s Steve Fox, Paul Armentano of NORML, and Mason Tvert of SAFER. The book will be available for free download on www.scribd.com April 20 from 12 a.m. to April 21, 12 a.m. EST.

Yesterday, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project submitted more than 250,000 signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office, all but guaranteeing that medical marijuana will appear on Arizona’s ballot this November. The initiative needs 153,365 to qualify for the ballot.

“Right now, Arizona patients battling cancer, AIDS, and other life-threatening diseases face prison for trying to find relief for debilitating conditions,” said Andrew Myers, campaign manager for the MPP-backed AMMPP, who spoke at a news conference in Phoenix yesterday. “By passing the ‘Vote Yes on the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act,’ we can stop this cruel and unnecessary policy.”

Once the initiative qualifies, Arizona will join South Dakota in having medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot this November. Upon its passage, qualified patients who have a doctor’s recommendation in Arizona will be given safe access to their medicine through dispensaries, as well as protection from arrest and prosecution.

Read more about the campaign at www.StopArrestingPatients.org.

Lisa Kirkman has spent the last two years trying to regain custody of her 12-year-old son, Noah, and have him returned to their home in Calgary, Canada. Her dilemma, according to the Calgary Sun, is “on the verge of becoming an international incident.”

The saga stems from a 2008 trip Noah made to his visit his stepfather in Oregon. Noah, who reportedly suffers from several mental health issues, was stopped by police for riding a bike without a helmet, and through a still unclear chain of events and red tape, ended up being placed in a series of American foster homes.

Here’s the kicker: The reason authorities have been hesitant to give Noah back to his mother is because of her history with marijuana activism and a 2003 conviction for growing medical marijuana without a permit.

“As a result,” the Calgary Sun reports, “the court has forced her to undergo psychiatric evaluations, and parenting tests. Most telling of all, the court says she must swear off drugs before Noah can come home.”

This Friday, a judge in Oregon will decide if Noah can go back to his mother. Canadian MP Rob Anders has said he is ready to travel down to the States and bring Noah home, depending on the ruling.

Oregon, which passed medical marijuana through a ballot measure in 1998, recognizes the rights of patients to use medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. From all reports, Lisa Kirkman is a legal patient in Canada—her conviction is for growing her medicine without a permit. So why would they make her “swear off” a medicine recognized by both her native country and the state in which her son is being held? Furthermore, how can a judge deprive a mother custody of her son for being politically active on any issue? It wasn’t like she was exploiting her son by making him wear protest gear, which the last time I checked isn’t illegal in the U.S. either.

Lisa Kirkman is being interviewed on CNN later this afternoon. Hopefully they can bring her back Friday when she gets to experience a long overdue reunion with her son.

The New Jersey man who was sentenced to five years in prison last month for growing marijuana plants to treat his multiple sclerosis will now remain jailed while he appeals his conviction.

John Wilson has maintained that he grew marijuana for personal use only to treat his illness. Throughout most of his trial, a judge prevented Wilson from mentioning his condition, even after New Jersey became the 14^th state in the nation to pass a medical marijuana law. On Friday, that same judge—State Superior Court Judge Robert Reed—ruled that Wilson cannot go free on bail until his appeal is decided.

Two state senators are asking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to pardon Wilson, calling the decision to bring charges against the 37-year-old “cruel, unusual and unnecessary.”

The campaign to end marijuana prohibition received a noteworthy endorsement last week, when the head of the second-largest teachers union in the country said that she supports this year’s ballot initiative in California to regulate marijuana.

Randi Weingarten, president of the 856,000-member American Federation of Teachers, told HBO’s “Real Time” host, Bill Maher, that “everything in moderation is pretty much fine.”

“When something becomes a forbidden fruit,” the 52-year-old told Maher, “you have to spend a whole lot of time making sure that, when you say no, people don’t think you mean yes.”

In another encouraging sign of the growing support for improving our nation’s marijuana laws, last week more than 90 percent of readers at the progressive political blog FireDogLake said they wanted to see that site “get involved” in marijuana policy reform.

Writes FDL editor Jane Hamsher:

“Our audience overwhelmingly believes that the [m]arijuana legalization initiatives are very important, and I think FDL can play a role in helping people to understand what’s at stake, and push back against the false arguments being advanced to perpetuate a [dysfunctional] status quo.”

For those of you who missed it last night, or haven’t seen it yet on MPP TV or MPP’s YouTube channel, here’s the clip of MPP director of campaigns Steve Fox that aired on Fox News last night. Enjoy!

Legislative analyst Dan Riffle joins Insider host Mike Meno to discuss medical marijuana legislation in D.C., Maryland, and New York. Also, get updates on Wal-Mart, California's TaxCannibas 2010 initiative, and news on the Veteran's Administration refusal to allow medical marijuana treatments.

MPP director of state campaigns Steve Fox appears on the O'Reilly Factor with host Laura Ingraham to discuss the benefits of taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol. This came just after Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws offered Sarah Palin $25000 to speak at a pro-marijuana reform event and admit that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol. Palin spoke at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers convention on Tuesday. 04/08/10