WE THE PEOPLE need to stand and fight together to stop the number of people dying from heroin overdoses. Heroin is killing people in staggering numbers in Massachusetts. More often than not, it is killing our younger generation, daily. We are losing the youth of our nation. I have been personally affected by this epidemic, as I lost my best friend, Jason Erickson, and many other close friends throughout 2014. I have watched my friends; family members and others within the community lose young kids and adults to this epidemic. We lost count of the funerals that took place in our town of Billerica, MA in 2014, and there have been hundreds more throughout the Commonwealth in the last year. This is on average 3-4 deaths per day within the Commonwealth. One is too many! As a result, I have made it a personal mission to act and make a difference. I submitted the following to the Governor's office, AGO, Senate and House in January 2015: Proposed Bill: Amendment to Senate Bill 2341, otherwise known as MGL Ch. 258 of the ACTS of 2014; an amendment in order to move up the effective date under Section 45 of the Senate Bill No. 2341, from October 1, 2015 to be effective immediately. This Bill relates to Sections 9 and 19 to 27, inclusive; so that no one can be refused treatment and all people who are willing to work on their sobriety can get the help they desperately need. UPDATE: The author of the above amendment and cofounder of Heroin is Killing My Town, Dina Favreau, is following this legislation very closely. Currently, there is no change in the effective date of October 1, 2015 being moved up at this time. (7/29/15) Proposed Bill: Amendment to Senate Bill 2341 otherwise known as MGL Ch. 258 of the ACTS of 2014; An amendment to Senate Bill No.: 2341, Sections 9, 21, 23, 25 and 27, inclusive, is hereby amended by striking out, the words “for up to a total of 14 days” in a detox treatment facility and inserting in place thereof the following words: - “a total of 30 days,” so that we can start to effectively treat this disease and implement better relapse prevention practices. UPDATE: The author of the above amendment and cofounder of Heroin is Killing My Town, Dina Favreau, is following this legislation very closely. Currently, this amendment has progressed to the Senate Ways and Means Committee under Senate Bill 1502 and is pending their review for financing. This bill was reported favorably with a 22-0 vote in both the House and Senate. (06/12/16) Proposed Bill: An Amendment to MGL Ch.123, Sec. 35; An amendment to insert Section 35A which provides for a mandatory 30 day involuntary commitment to a detox treatment facility, for any person whose life is saved from an opiate overdose with the use of Narcan when administered by emergency first responders or Trauma Response (ER) hospital personnel. “The OD30 Law.” UPDATE: The coauthor of the above amendment (OD30 Law) and cofounder of Heroin is Killing My Town, Dina Favreau, is following this legislation very closely. Currently, a lesser version (3 hour hold) of this amendment has been assigned to House Bill 1824, Sponsored by Congressman Tim Whelan and is pending Joint Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee at 25% progression. We (Dina and I) created this Petition in order to request the assistance of the Governor, the AGO and Congress to engage in real and immediate action to fight and save the lives of people within the Commonwealth who are battling this disease. This is an epidemic and one of the largest in history. It is our hope to use this to develop new programs with better long term success rates. Research tells us that effective inpatient treatment leads to long term sobriety and fewer relapses. In too many cases, the treatment was insufficient and, therefore, ineffective. The relapse rate for people suffering from addiction who have undergone only short-term detox (less than 30 days) is between 40 and 90 percent within the first 30 days after entering into a detox program, often with deadly consequences. For these reasons, we respectfully request that you enactment of the Proposed Amendments submitted to your offices in January 2015. Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/heroiniskillingmytown

I am petitioning for President Obama to pass a law stating that all businesses and farms must label all food sold in the United States if it is GMO-free or not. Also, fire Michael R. Taylor from the F.D.A. Monsanto is bigger than America. Monsanto owns and is in charge of almost the entire United States food industry, and genetically modifying food is what they do best. Think organic farmers can save us? Well, guess what? Monsanto gives ZERO about proximity laws of how far away they have to be from homes, schools and other farms when spraying pesticides. So what does this mean for organic farmers who are trying to be healthy? Well, when Monsanto sprays pesticides near organic farm land, pesticide clouds often drifts over to the organic crops and genetically modifies those crops. And if the owner of the once organic land plants wants to keep the GMO seeds and plant them, then Monsanto can claim that the farmer took place in infringement. WE NEED TO STOP MONSANTO. LET'S SUE THE JERKS PUTTING DEATH IN BABY FOOD! That's right: Monsanto has no shame about putting chemicals into children's food, food that is linked to severe health risks in children. In 30 other countries there are bans and restrictions on the production of GMO's because they are not considered proven safe. There have been plenty of tests and evidence stacking up in South America and the United States of incidents of severely poor human health afflictions as a result of Monsanto pesticides and GMO's. Furthermore, no progress of developing and feeding our people healthy food that is good for our bodies if Michael R. Taylor remains Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the FDA. He had been Monsanto's attorney before becoming policy chief at the FDA. Soon after, he became Monsanto's vice president and chief lobbyist. "GMOs were rushed onto our plates in 1996. Over the next nine years, multiple chronic illnesses in the US nearly doubled -- from 7% to 13%. Allergy-related emergency room visits doubled between 1997 and 2002 while food allergies, especially among children, skyrocketed. We also witnessed a dramatic rise in asthma, autism, obesity, diabetes, digestive disorders, and certain cancers." ---- (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/youre-appointing-who-plea_b_243810.html) As the supporters at Millions Against Monsanto say, GMOs: Don't grow them, don't sell them, don't buy them! Go to http://www.nongmoproject.org/ to learn more about GMO's! Or, if your a movie person, try out "Seeds of Death" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUd9rRSLY4A&feature=youtu.be (http://www.sproutsanfrancisco.com/get-educated/healthy-baby-guides-food/). https://www.organicconsumers.org/campaigns/millions-against-monsanto

Descendants of Mission Natives strongly oppose the canonization of Junipero Serra. Pope Francis recently apologized to Native peoples in South America for past inhumane treatment and colonization; yet our ancestors were suppressed, dominated and enslaved by Serra and considered collateral damage to the Church and State. The canonization will not celebrate Hispanics (since Serra and his Inquisition Conquistadors were foreign invaders), welcome Native Peoples back to the Catholic Church, or honor our ancestors. It will re-awaken the Inquisition Doctrine of Discovery; a very dark, and brutal time in the history of the Catholic Church and Civilization. The passage of time has not made the reality of dominations and genocide of Indigenous Californians go away, nor has it made the Mastermind of the brutal Mission system a Saint. We respectfully ask you to urge the Pope to vacate this plan and open meaningful dialogue with California Nations, in California, before his visit to Washington D.C.. We do not want an apology; rather, we need immediate action from the Vatican to rescind the Doctrine of Discovery and to recognize the inhumane treatment of our ancestors. This canonization is in direct conflict with the pope's position on protecting indigenous peoples in his encyclical on the environment. If Pope Francis is sincere in his intentions towards Native peoples, he will abandon the canonization of Junipero Serra now.

This epidemic can no longer be ignored. I have seen what Heroin can do to our children personally. My son has been struggling with addiction for 14 years. There are several drugs that have been developed to help this crisis, however the government will not fund enough money for more clinical trials. These are very promising drugs that can save our children and give them back there chance at life. We cannot ignore the huge pink elephant in the room any longer. WE NEED FUNDING NOW!

The DNR confiscated Donny's buck, and propose to mount the deer and display it in a public place. Because of a "grey area" in the regulation book, Donny should be allowed to keep his deer, especially after paying a substantial fine.

As a health care provider, I have witnessed the abuses of prescription drugs. I believe marijuana is a safer alternative to most prescription drugs. I would love to see decriminalization of this drug, and see it help contribute to PA's economy.

THE ACA, though not perfect, is the beginning of health care for all Americans, many of whom had no health care, or protection against devastating medical debt. I speak for Democrats who have worked hard to help with your campaigns and are also dedicated to help the neediest in our country. Republicans will try piecemeal to undermine the ACA, the Medical Device Tax is a wise choice, as is appears to contribute little to the revenue needed to finance the ACA. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE INFORMATION; READ THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH REPORT: If your state has many Medical Device Industries - look carefully at the actual burden this tax has meant to them, not what facts you are given by lobbyists. TAKE A STAND ON SUPPORTING (OBAMACARE). VOTE NO ON S157

Our historic, rural, high density agricultural neighborhood Pleasant View Rural Community, on the border of Boulder and Weld County in Colorado is being severely threatened by two 12 well HFHV sites and two massive facility sites with 36, 25 foot high towers, 12 separators and 12 burn-off towers. Our neighborhood is an inappropriate place for this intensive level of Industrial Oil and Gas Extraction. The current rules and regulations in our state do not protect us from these aggressive invasions. These two HVHF sites would devastate our way of life, the nature in our community, our roads, our property values and our health. Please help us encourage the Governor of Colorado to take strong immediate steps to protect the health, safety and welfare of Colorado citizens. Governor Hickenlooper has the authority to stop HVHF sites from being built near homes and neighborhoods. It is his mandate to protect the precious resources of water and air quality that are currently threatened by major Oil and Gas Industrial Sites across the state. Ask Governor Hickenlooper, Local Governments and the COGCC to stop putting corporate profits ahead of human rights and environmental stewardship.

Over the past year The News Tribune (The McClatchy Company) has tossed millions of unwanted plastic bag wrapped advertisements upon private and public property on a weekly basis. Many of the bags are left to decay in the street where they are washed away by rain directly into Puget Sound via our storm drains. The environmental damage to our Sound as a result is undeniable. Plastic particles are killing our oceans. Stop this indiscriminate trashing of our streets and our Sound by making The News Tribune deliver these "circulars" only to those who have personally requested it. Freedom of the Press is not freedom to mass-litter, especially with plastic. Let’s take a stand for what is right.

Warren Hill is scheduled to be executed by the state of Georgia on January 27, 2015.

The great majority of Americans, regardless of party, want the rules governing Wall Street and financial companies to be tougher, not weaker. We are thankful for the existence of a financial oversight agency with a mandate to put the interests of borrowers and consumers ahead of the power and profits of Wall Street and the big banks. Congress needs to hear from us!

Our campaign finance system is broken and does not serve the interests of the American people. The result is that, all too often, lobbyists and large special interests determine who is elected and affecting public policy decisions, over the needs of the people of Illinois. That is why Common Cause Illinois has launched a new campaign, Fair Elections Illinois, advocating for the City of Chicago to establish a small donor match campaign finance system, similar to New York City’s system. An increase in small donors in electoral campaigns decreases the reliance on large special interests, enables a diverse pool of candidates, and increases political participation and the impact of small donors - especially in low-income communities. Under New York’s system, previously disenfranchised communities achieved long-sought reforms on paid sick leave and a domestic workers' bill of rights. During this first phase of Fair Elections Illinois, we successfully placed the following advisory question on the February 24 City ballot: "Should the City of Chicago or the State of Illinois reduce the influence of big special interest money in our elections by financing campaigns using small contributions from individuals and a limited amount of public funds?"