[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24495]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN REMEMBRANCE OF JOSEPH STEPHEN ZORETIC

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 17, 2007

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to reflect on the life of a 
courageous and passionate man, Joseph Stephen Zoretic, who dedicated 
his life to fighting for sensible drug policy and to free others from 
suffering. Along with his devoted wife, Dee Dee, he was a founding 
member of the Ohio Patient Network and its lobbying component, the Ohio 
Patient Action Network.
  Joe started his life-long residency in the Cleveland area on December 
25th, 1968. He became an active figure in the medical marijuana 
movement in the 1990s, when his wife was diagnosed with Reflex 
Sympathetic Dystrophy and needed cannabis to relieve the pain other 
medications could not. Since then, Joe provided policy ideas and 
inspiration to the state marijuana legalization activist community, 
from speaking at mainstream political events to testifying for better 
drug policy. Even if it meant going to jail, Joe stood up for what he 
knew: That love and bravery can overcome injustice.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring and 
remembering an extraordinary husband, father, citizen, and activist, 
Joseph Stephen Zoretic, who demonstrated the power we all possess to 
make change in this world.

                          ____________________