Letter from the Drug Czar: Don't help the Marijuana Policy Project

[Courtesy of MPP] Dear MPP Supporter: Now that most of the 50 state legislatures are back in session — and many are considering marijuana-related bills — I’ve decided it’s time for me to lay down the gauntlet. I'm concerned. Last year, you and MPP made my life difficult by making Rhode Island’s medical marijuana law permanent and expanding the medical marijuana law in Vermont. Unfortunately, there’s an even bigger explosion of legislative activity in the state legislatures this year. So I’m ordering you not to make a monthly credit card pledge to MPP to support the following state lobbying activities this year: MPP has retained professional lobbyists to pass medical marijuana bills in Illinois, Minnesota, and New York — something my office isn’t permitted to spend money on. And in California, MPP’s Sacramento lobbyists and a wide coalition of medical marijuana supporters are working to pass legislation that would prevent local and state law enforcement officials from cooperating with the DEA in its raids on medical marijuana patients and providers. Worse yet, MPP is spending your money to pass marijuana decriminalization bills in New Hampshire and Vermont. Local press reports have been favorable to the efforts and — outrageously — the Vermont Judiciary Committee passed the decrim bill by a 4-1 vote just five days ago! In Ohio and Kansas, recipients of MPP grant money are working to pass medical marijuana bills in both states. And other horrible — you would probably call them “good” — marijuana-related bills are also pending or imminent in Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee. Some people say that I’ve been lying, propagandizing, and illegally spending taxpayer money for the seven years I’ve been in charge of the federal government’s drug war. But how could these claims even be true, given that MPP has continued to have success after success with a much smaller budget? This must stop now. It’s vitally important that you not join MPP’s monthly pledge program. With candor, honesty, and love, John Walters P.S. I was especially upset that MPP’s Rob Kampia referred to me as an "ugly man with a cold heart" in his interview with the Austin Chronicle in August. Who the heck does Mr. Kampia think he is? ========================================================= The Marijuana Policy Project hopes that each of the 180,000 subscribers on our national e-mail list will make at least one financial donation to MPP's work in 2008. Please visit http://www.mpp.org/donate to donate now. MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in its 2008 strategic plan -- http://www.mpp.org/2008plan -- if you and other allies choose to fund our work.