Term Paper on "Letter to Senator Bill Nelson on HR 2835 Medical Marijuana"

Quoted Instructions for "Letter to Senator Bill Nelson on HR 2835 Medical Marijuana" Assignment:

The Talking Points/Letter is an assignment that has two parts - the development of a *****"talking points*****" document ) and a letter to your Legislator .

Be sure to note that if you are writing your Senator Bill Nelson from Fla R. in Washington, DC, you must address a bill for the 111th Congress H.R. 2835 Medical marijuana protection Act.

Be sure to check the sponsors and co-sponsors of the bill to see if there is bipartisan support. Note what bills Democrats and/or Republicans support and which ones they co-sponsor. Check tose senator in inline or obpossed.

Guidelines For Legislative Letter

The purpose of this letter is to actively involve you in the legislative process as it relates to health policy. For this assignment, you will be asked to select a bill that impacts nursing or the patients that nurses care for, or a health related issue.

You should address the letter to Senator Bill Nelson In addition the letter should include the short title and number H.R. 2835 Medical marijuani Protection Act.

If the legislator you are writing to is a co-sponsor of the bill you should thank them for supporting this bill if you are in favor of it. If the legislator is not a sponsor, you should ask them to consider supporting the bill. (Do a similar statement if you or your legislator opposes the bill.) See link to writing tips for legislative letters at:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/basics/?style=comm

http://home.earthlink.net/~dawwn/lobbying.htm

Sample Legislative Letter for a Community Park

Next, you should identify yourself as a nurse in their district. You may also state that you are a graduate nursing student and should indicate any other meaningful liaisons to organizations that are related to the bill and tie in those memberships to show your interest and expertise in the area of the bill. I am a member of the Hospice and palliative Nurses Association daling with end of life cancer paients that would benefit fro marijuana

You must make a statement of support and a give few general statements or reasons supporting your view.

You should also give a short *****down home***** story related to the problem that the bill is addressing. In other words, relate a short case study of a patient that you have taken care of that would have benefited from this bill, as a patient with uncontrol nausea and pain from pancreatic cancer

You should refer them to the statistics in your *****Talking Points***** page that will accompany the letter.

Be sure to give your contact information at the top of the letter (use standard business letter format including the date). The letter should be no more than 2 pages in length and should close with your name and title. You should also indicate that the legislator may contact you for any questions or information needed related to the bill

Guidelines for Talking Points

The purpose of this assignment is for you to become familiar with a particular health care policy issue that will enable you to *****speak as an expert***** as it relates to a specific health problem or concern.

Your Talking Points page should accompany the Legislative Letter. You can see an example of talking points by going to:

ALA | Talking Points

Vaccine Talking Points - Keep Kids Healthy (these need to be shorter and more to the point)

Talking Points for writing to elected officials.

Your talking points will have at least 5 points or bullets but no more than 8. The page should be titled to include the title of the bill, so it is clear as to what issue you are addressing. Your *****Talking Points***** should be no more that one page and includes specific bulleted items. You must provide a reference for each one of the talking points ��*****" and each talking point must have a different reference.

Your talking points should zero in on the concern or problem addressed in the bill and should include at least 2 bullets (one each) on national/regional and state statistics concerning the number of patients/nurses that the issue affects. All politics are local, so you must be able to point out why your particular legislator should sponsor the bill to help his/her own constituents.

Your talking points should include at least two bullets/points about the impact of the problem as it relates to monetary cost, or days lost in work, or pain and suffering for those affected.

The talking points page should include at least one bullet on the estimated impact of the bill or an alternative solution to the problem if you are opposed to the bill.

The final bullet, to make up the minimum number of items, can be an extra point concerning one of the above categories or you can add any point you believe is significant.

You must include on a separate page ) an APA reference list that cites where you obtained the information you cited in your talking points. Remember you must have a different reference for each of the talking points.

AND I MUST BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE SITE WITH CONTROL CLICK

***** if possible

Grading Guideline for Talking Points

1/1 At least 5 points or bullets but no more than 8 are included. The page is titled with the name of the bill, and is no more than one page in length.

2/2 At least 2 bullets/points (one each) on national/regional and state statistics concerning the number of patients/nurses that the issue affects are included.

2/2 At least 2 bullets/points on the impact of the problem as it relates to monetary cost, or days lost in work, or pain and suffering for those affected are included.

1/1 At least one bullet/point addresses the estimated impact of the bill or an alternative solution to the problem if you are opposed to the bill.

1/1 A final bullet/point includes either an extra point concerning one of the cited categories above or addressed another point which was significant to the issue.

3/3 Correct APA Reference List is included as a separate page. A different citation was included for each bulleted point. Correct spelling and grammar throughout

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