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VIDEO: Michael Phelps and marijuana

Dear friends:

MPP's John Berry made this 30-second video about Michael Phelps and the hypocrisy surrounding the reaction to the photo of him smoking marijuana. Take a look, and please forward it to your friends.

And if you haven't already signed MPP's petition pledging to boycott Kellogg's products until the company changes its decision to drop Phelps as an endorser, please visit MPP's action center here and fill out the easy online form. You can also call Kellogg's at (800) 962-1413.

Sincerely,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

Watch new video on the human cost of marijuana prohibition

Dear friends:

If you only watch one video from the Marijuana Policy Project in your lifetime, let it be this one.

 

Naulls_Video

This new documentary from MPP is about the human costs of that war, told by those who have been caught in the crossfire: people like Bernie Ellis, who is fighting to keep the farm he has loved for 40 years after giving medical marijuana to terminal cancer patients ... people like the Naulls family, whose children and property were seized by law enforcement officers even though, as medical marijuana dispensary operators, they had broken no state laws ... and people like Marisa Garcia, who lost her student financial aid because of an arrest for a minor marijuana violation.

And then there are those like Jonathan Magbie, a quadriplegic who died in jail as a result of inadequate medical care after being convicted of possessing a small amount of marijuana, who will never be able to tell their stories.

Every week, we at the Marijuana Policy Project confront extreme government abuses like these, as the war on marijuana users rages on, with the government arresting law-abiding citizens, seizing their property, locking them up for decades, and even killing them.

With the help of our 25,000 dues-paying members, MPP is working to end the persecution and destruction of people just like you. You can help us bring sense to our nation's marijuana policies by making a financial contribution to our work.

Your help is desperately needed. In the time it takes you to watch this video, 28 more Americans will be arrested for marijuana.

We can end our government's cruel war on its own citizens — but we must stand and fight.

Sincerely,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. If you'd like to get your own copy of this video on DVD to show to friends and family, you can order it here.

Video: An historic moment in global drug policy

 

SSDP is influencing United Nations drug policy and expanding internationally.

Watch videos of SSDP at the U.N.:

Then help us keep the momentum going!

http://www.ssdp.org/donate

 

Dear Friend,

The student movement to end the War on Drugs has truly gone global.

Two years ago, Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy appeared on the scene and immediately began influencing policy discussions in Ottawa. Late last year, SSDP chapters sprung up in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Earlier this year, United Kingdom Students for Sensible Drug Policy began forming a network of chapters in Europe. And last month, I attended a United Nations forum in Vienna, Austria representing one of only 25 U.S. organizations invited to join hundreds of other international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) charged with recommending changes in global drug policy.

Believe it or not, despite the wide range of organizations present, all groups came to a consensus on recommendations that are forward thinking and grounded in reality, not dogma.

In addition to voicing SSDP's opposition to the failed War on Drugs, I made it a priority to ensure that youth concerns were included in the recommendations adopted by the global NGO community. Despite opposition by American prohibitionist groups like the Drug Free America Foundation and the Drug Free Schools Coalition, SSDP and a coalition of youth organizations succeeded in getting the NGO community to adopt the following language:

"Acknowledge that young people are disproportionately affected, both directly and indirectly, by illicit/harmful drug use and drug policy, and honouring the right of young people to be actively involved in the formation and evaluation of all facets of global drug policy"

In other words, the world is finally ready for young people to take a lead in the formation of drug policy. In fact, the chairman of the forum wrapped up the meeting with, "Its true what they say. Sometimes you have to look to the youth to lead."

But they weren't just looking for young people to lead the status quo. The recommendations submitted to the U.N. called for a drastic shift in the way that we deal with drugs and drug users:

- Acknowledging that drug policy should always be crafted and implemented with full respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms

- Recognizing that harm reduction plays an important role in mitigating many of the dangerous consequences of substance abuse, such as the spread of blood borne infections like HIV and Hepatitis

- Calling on the United Nations to treat demand reduction and harm reduction as equally or more important than supply reduction

- Calling on the United Nations to study the collateral consequences of a criminal justice approach to drug control, and to make recommendations to mitigate these harms

While the final declaration does not go as far as you and I would like, it represents a significant step forward in global drug policy.  If adopted by the United Nations, our recommendations may lead to public health based drug policies being adopted by governments around the world, which would be a welcome shift from treating drugs as primarily a criminal justice issue. And more importantly, youth will be welcomed to the forefront of this shift.

Now more than ever, Students for Sensible Drug Policy is ready to take on that challenge. By contributing to this groundbreaking work, you can take part in history in the making. http://www.ssdp.org/donate

Thank you for all of your support,

Kris Krane
SSDP Executive Director

P.S. To read the final declaration language or watch a few short video documentaries of the forum, visit http://www.ssdp.org/unitednations

Legalization Debate Featuring David Borden, Stop the Drug War's Executive Director

 

 

I thought you might enjoy this video of a 25-minute legalization debate I did recently. It aired on a news network that broadcasts primarily to Arab audiences across Europe and the Middle East.

While we continue to work for reforms like medical marijuana, changes in drug sentencing, restoring financial aid to students with drug convictions and limiting the use of SWAT teams to emergency situations, it's also important to get the truth out about the failure, the harm and the injustice of drug prohibition itself.

Please watch the video (it's in three parts), please send it to a friend, and please make a donation today to help us get the truth out, around the globe, about drug prohibition and the need to end it.

 

 

 

http://stopthedrugwar.org/truthcampaign/donate

 

David Borden
Executive Director, StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet)
News & Activism Promoting Sensible Reform

 

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Video: CBC Sunday: Albert Hofmann - Psychedelic Pioneer

From the CBC News website: The Swiss chemist who discovered LSD, Albert Hofmann, died this week at 102. We examine the legacy of the man who became a hero to a rebellious generation, and look back at the history of this controversial drug - now in the midst of a research revival. http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/2008/05/050408_3.html

Watch the video / 67% support for MPP's medical marijuana initiative in Michigan

[Courtesy of MPP] 

A new, independent poll published in a prominent Michigan political newsletter shows that 67% of Michigan voters favor the passage of MPP's medical marijuana initiative in the state. This is a significant increase in support from polls conducted in previous years. It also cuts across all demographics, which bodes very well for making Michigan the 13th medical marijuana state this November.

Momentum is clearly on our side, but we still need the resources to mount an effective campaign this year to ensure we win on November 4. Would you please make a donation to MPP's campaign committee, the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, today?

Shortly after our initiative was certified for the November ballot, local pundits on the public television talk show “Off the Record” spoke glowingly of MPP’s campaign. Host Tim Skubick praised MPP’s strategy of flying under the radar, and one of the guests noted, “This is the most organized of the ballot proposals that are out there right now.” Click here to watch these reporters gush over MPP.

Back to the poll: Conducted by the Lansing-based consulting firm Marketing Resource Group (MRG) and published in "Inside Michigan Politics," it found that 67% of Michiganders support the passage of the medical marijuana law, with 28% opposed and only 5% undecided.

Earlier this month, the nearly half-a-million signatures we had submitted to the state government came back with a whopping 80% validity rate. Now the medical marijuana initiative advances to the Michigan Legislature. If, as expected, the legislature chooses not to act on the initiative after 40 days, Michigan voters will decide the issue at the polls on November 4.

The overwhelming amount of support reflected in the local media coverage and this latest poll is not altogether surprising: Five Michigan cities — Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint, and Traverse City — passed local medical marijuana initiatives by wide margins from 2004 to 2007. And previous polling — such as a 2005 survey that found 61% in favor of protecting medical marijuana patients — has always indicated that a majority of Michiganders support reform.

But the MRG poll demonstrates that this support is surging statewide as voters hear more about the issue, and now two out of three Michigan residents are saying they’d vote to protect patients from the threat of arrest and jail.

Despite this encouraging poll, the fact remains that the campaign still has a long way to go, and we'll need substantial resources to maintain this momentum. Would you please consider donating to the campaign today to help ensure a victory in November? Thank you for supporting this important work.

Sincerely,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2008. This means that your donation to the Michigan campaign today will be doubled.

Americans for Safe Access Introduces New Video Testimonials

Dear ASA Supporter,

As the National Field Coordinator for ASA I meet patients, medical professionals, caregivers, and people from all walks of life on a daily basis. When meeting people new to the movement I am regularly asked who supports medical cannabis and why should I get on board? In the past, I would then take several minutes to explain, but that is about to change today!

I am very excited to announce that ASA has developed a new type of outreach and education tool, which also happens to be rather entertaining! Today, we are releasing three video testimonials which at www.AmericansforSafeAccess.org/VideoTestimonial to help spread the word about medical cannabis.

"I had to pack up all my belongings, sell the family home, and move across the country to California to be safe to be a patient."
- Steve from Oakland speaking about his move from Virginia to Oakland to become a legal medical cannabis patient. Watch Steve's whole story.

The video testimonial project has been designed to help educate people about medical cannabis by having patients and supporters share their stories. This project was also designed to help people like you educate your friends and family about medical cannabis by sharing these videos with your community.

"Even my 80-year-old mother approves of me being a patient. She says to people, 'If it helps her pain then it is okay.'"
- Carole from the Fremont talking about being out as a medical cannabis patient with her family. Watch Carole's whole story.

Over the next month, ASA will be releasing a new testimonial each week beginning next Monday. Be sure to visit www.AmericansforSafeAccess.org/VideoTestimonial next Monday to view the next installment of ASA's video testimonials. We will be releasing a new video every Monday through the end of April. In the meantime, click here to view the first three videos today!

Thank you to Carson Higby-Flowers for volunteering to record, edit, and produce the testimonials. Also, thank you to all of the brave patients, supporters, and advocates who took the time to come in and participate in the video shoot.

Keep spreading the word about medical cannabis and forward this message on to your family, friends, and community members. Also, if you belong to an online social networking page like MySpace, Facebook, Tribe, and/or host your own personal blog, I strongly encourage you to link to the video testimonials.

Sincerely,

Sonnet Seeborg Gabbard
Field Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access

P.S. Let us know if you are interested in participating in the next video testimonial shoot at the ASA headquarters (date and time have yet to be determined). E-mail [email protected] if you are interested.

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