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Tear It Down, friends!
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Dear friends, The drug warâs foundation is beginning to crumble thanks to your hard work. By just four votes, the House last week voted down an amendment that would have upheld the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange programs. The ban has been in place since the 1980s and is one of the pillars of the drug war. With such a close vote, itâs clear that every single email, letter and phone call to Congress played a part in defeating the amendment. In addition to your emails, we had staff calling congressional offices for days leading up to the vote, and our offices in California, New York, New Jersey and New Mexico organized grassroots efforts to persuade legislators from those states to end the ban. You and I are closer than ever to tearing down some of the worst drug war policies. Itâs time for Congress to own up to its mistakes and stop putting politics before public health and sound science. Help us hold them accountable by making a donation today. While this recent victory is exciting, weâre not done yet. Now we need your support to prepare for upcoming opportunities to dismantle failed drug war policies. Discriminatory sentencing and mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenses could soon be reformed. Congress is also on the verge of repealing both the Barr Amendment, which prevents the District of Columbia from setting its own marijuana policy, and the Higher Education Act drug provision, which excludes students with drug convictions from financial aid. We need your help to make sure we have the resources to keep the momentum going and win more victories against bad drug war policies. Your donation will help us keep up the fight to end the drug war. Sincerely, Bill Piper
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In The Trenches
Marijuana in the mainstream? Read all about it in MPP's latest newsletter...
Dear friends:
I hope you've had a chance to review MPP's most recent newsletter that I sent you last week. (If you didn't receive it, donate $25 now to get MPP's newsletter and other information about MPP's campaigns sent to your mailbox.)
You can also find it online here:
The theme of this issue is âmarijuana in the mainstream.â Inside you'll read all about how marijuana policy reform is advancing more rapidly than ever â from Rhode Island's new medical marijuana law to a U.S. Supreme Court victory to MPP's unprecedented recent successes in the media, as well as new data on marijuana and cancer, and much more.
If you haven't already donated to MPP in 2009, I hope you'll update your membership now, by giving $25 or more. (You can see your giving history in the sidebar to the right.)
Thank you so much â we couldn't do what we do without your help.
Sincerely,
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.
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Chronicle
Marihuana medicinal: Cámara de EE. UU. invalida enmienda Barr y elimina obstáculo a implementar votación de 1998 en DC
Once años después que los electores de DC aprobaron abrumadoramente una iniciativa pro marihuana medicinal, por fin el Congreso de EE. UU. se quita. Ayer la Cámara aprobó el proyecto de la ley anual de presupuestos del Distrito de Columbia sin la enmienda Barr, que habÃa impedido que el Distrito implementara tal votación.
Blog
Cop Accidentally Reveals the Wisdom of Marijuana Legalization
As the call for legalization continues to reverberate louder than ever before, the hired soldiers in the war on drugs are seeking to defend their livelihood with arguments of unprecedented desperation and incoherence:
Legalization is not the solution, [statewide CAMP Commander Michael] Johnson said, given that most of the pot is being grown illegally on public parkland by foreign citizens who cannot be taxed. [San Francisco Chronicle]
You won't have to tax them because they'll be out of business. No one's going to buy some crappy weed that's grown illegally and destructively in our national forests if there's an alternative. The instant you allow California's legions of skilled and socially conscious marijuana growers to operate in a regulated and legitimate environment, everything ugly and uncontrollable about the state's marijuana industry will change overnight.
Just watch how he proves my point:
"I've been doing this for five years, and there just seems to be more and more of it everywhere," Johnson said. "We don't even bother with medicinal grows. What we're concerned about is the destruction of the habitat."See how he admits that the "medicinal grows" are not what's causing the problem? That's because they're legal and regulated. It really isnât any more complicated than that.
Blog
Drug Czar Gets Caught Lying and Contradicting Himself
Remember last week when the new drug czar Gil Kerlikowske dusted off the old drug czar pocket manual and whipped out the classic "marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit" line? Well, Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone recalls his recent interview with Kerlikowske, in which the new drug czar claimed the verdict wasn't in yet on marijuana's medical benefits:
So when the drug czar is talking to Rolling Stone, he cares about science, but when he's hanging out with a bunch of drug cops in California, he's got no problem spouting off pathetically false and antiquated drug war propaganda. Beautiful.
Of course, even the earlier position about waiting for the science to explain everything to us is flagrantly dishonest. Everyone knows what the science says and it's been that way for a long time now. It's really just disgusting to act confused about it when an extraordinary number of real human beings with real illnesses are standing before you eager to share the stories of how medical marijuana has improved and sometimes saved their lives.
So whichever position the drug czar ultimately decides to stick with, he's a liar either way.
This is a striking departure from what Kerlikowske told me in an interview in May.
Because of the restrictive terms the Vice Presidentâs office imposed on our interview, Iâm not at liberty to quote the drug czar directly.
But when I asked Kerlikowske for an example of how he hoped to bring sound science back to Office of National Drug Control Policy, he told me that science would answer whether smoked marijuana has any medical benefit.
Thatâs a question that science answers, he told me, not ideology.
So when the drug czar is talking to Rolling Stone, he cares about science, but when he's hanging out with a bunch of drug cops in California, he's got no problem spouting off pathetically false and antiquated drug war propaganda. Beautiful.
Of course, even the earlier position about waiting for the science to explain everything to us is flagrantly dishonest. Everyone knows what the science says and it's been that way for a long time now. It's really just disgusting to act confused about it when an extraordinary number of real human beings with real illnesses are standing before you eager to share the stories of how medical marijuana has improved and sometimes saved their lives.
So whichever position the drug czar ultimately decides to stick with, he's a liar either way.
Blog
Crack Sentencing Reform Bill Passes Full Judiciary Committee
Last week we reported that the crime subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee had unanimously passed H.R. 3245, a bill to reduce federal crack cocaine penalties to the same level as those for offenses involving powder cocaine.
The full Judiciary Committee approved the bill today, we just heard, by a vote of 16-9. I'll post back with a link to the roll call when it becomes available on Thomas, or follow the link to the bill above to check in the meanwhile. Reports indicate it is expected to be taken up on the floor of the House of Representatives, and that a bipartisan Senate bill is expected out soon too. So this is big news.
Not the only big news -- read more in our current top Chronicle feature, "Winds of Change Are Blowing in Washington -- Drug Reforms Finally Move in Congress."
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Blog
Mexico's Drug War is Eventually Going to Collapse
President Calderon's epic drug war escalation is rapidly becoming an unprecedented exhibit in the absolute futility of everything drug prohibition stands for. The harder you fight, the more you lose, and that realization is increasingly beginning to sink in:
No kidding. How are soldiers supposed to "stem soaring violence" when their deployment is causing it? Violence is what soldiers do for a living.
They didn't anticipate this. Seriously. Anyone who's surprised by this outcome has no business working on international drug policy, let alone allocating American tax dollars towards programs that do the exact opposite of what they think.
What does that even mean? You said you were trying to reduce violence and you increased it. Unless your goal is to eventually kill everyone in Mexico, it's not working.
Yes there are. And the only rational and humane choice you have is to begin discussing them now before thousands more lives are needlessly lost. There is only so much the Mexican people can tolerate and it's really just a matter of time before the war has to be stopped. This plan didn't work last year and it wonât start working next year.
It's not hard to understand the reluctance of so many who bear responsibility for this to admit that they've been wrong all along. The countless lives lost and destroyed are not something anyone wants on their conscience and the human mind is a powerful tool for shielding desperate people from uncomfortable truths. Still, the battlefield that smolders before us is obviously here to stay as long as we continue down the hopeless path our governments have chosen for us. As long as this has gone on, it nonetheless stands to reason that it cannot continue forever.
It is vastly nobler to admit failure in the name of progress than to continue it out of fear and shame.
There are now sustained calls in Mexico for a change in tactics, even from allies within Calderón's political party, who say the deployment of 45,000 soldiers to fight the cartels is a flawed plan that relies too heavily on the blunt force of the military to stem soaring violence and lawlessness. [Washington Post]
No kidding. How are soldiers supposed to "stem soaring violence" when their deployment is causing it? Violence is what soldiers do for a living.
U.S. officials said they now believe Mexico faces a longer and bloodier campaign than anticipated and is likely to require more American aid.
They didn't anticipate this. Seriously. Anyone who's surprised by this outcome has no business working on international drug policy, let alone allocating American tax dollars towards programs that do the exact opposite of what they think.
U.S. and Mexican government officials say the military strategy, while difficult, is working.
What does that even mean? You said you were trying to reduce violence and you increased it. Unless your goal is to eventually kill everyone in Mexico, it's not working.
"This battle is a full frontal assault," Monte Alejandro Rubido, Calderon's senior adviser on drug policy on Mexico's National Security Council, said in an interview. "There are no alternatives."
Yes there are. And the only rational and humane choice you have is to begin discussing them now before thousands more lives are needlessly lost. There is only so much the Mexican people can tolerate and it's really just a matter of time before the war has to be stopped. This plan didn't work last year and it wonât start working next year.
It's not hard to understand the reluctance of so many who bear responsibility for this to admit that they've been wrong all along. The countless lives lost and destroyed are not something anyone wants on their conscience and the human mind is a powerful tool for shielding desperate people from uncomfortable truths. Still, the battlefield that smolders before us is obviously here to stay as long as we continue down the hopeless path our governments have chosen for us. As long as this has gone on, it nonetheless stands to reason that it cannot continue forever.
It is vastly nobler to admit failure in the name of progress than to continue it out of fear and shame.
Blog
My Published Criticism of the Drug Czar
I got the following comments published as a Letter to the Editor in both the online and print versions of my local newspaper, the Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com/ ---
Blog
Oakland Activists File 2010 California Marijuana Legalization Initiative
Oakland marijuana activists are moving forward on a possible 2010 marijuana legalization initiative. Led by Oaksterdam University's Richard Lee and former Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Co-op head Jeff Jones, proponents today filed a proposed ballot measure with the California attorney general's office that would allow people aged 21 and over to legally possess up to an ounce of pot and grow their own on garden plots no larger than 25 square feet.
"California's laws criminalizing cannabis have failed and need to be reformed," said Lee. "Cannabis is safer than alcohol," says Lee. "Cannabis doesn't cause overdose deaths or make people violent like alcohol. It makes sense to regulate cannabis like alcohol, instead of prohibiting it completely."
The initiative would also let cities and counties decide whether or not to tax and regulate cannabis sales and commercial cultivation. If a city or county decides not to, sales and cultivation within area limits would remain illegal, but possession and consumption of small amounts would be allowed.
To make the November 2010 ballot, organizers must gather 434,000 valid voter signatures by December. That will be the first major test of the initiative's viability. Another indicator of the measure's support will be if major funders step up to back it.
When the Chronicle wrote last month about initial planning for the initiative, drug reform organizations were apprehensive that the proposed initiative was too soon, that the polling numbers weren't high enough, and that a loss could take the steam out of the legalization push for years to come. This week, the Chronicle will be revisiting those groups to see where they now stand.
The Drug Policy Alliance said Tuesday it would have preferred to wait until 2012, but hopes it wins. "The momentum to end decades of failed marijuana prohibition just keeps building," said Stephen Gutwillig. "While the Drug Policy Alliance would prefer such an initiative to appear on the ballot in 2012, when public support will likely be even greater than it is now, we'd of course like to see it win. There's simply no denying the intense groundswell for change."
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In The Trenches
Press Release: Critics Call California Efforts to 'Eradicate' Marijuana Costly, Futile
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â
JULY 28, 2009
Critics Call California Efforts to 'Eradicate' Marijuana Costly, Futile
Reformers Say Time to Tax, Regulate Marijuana Is Now
CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 707-575-9870
                  Dan Bernath, MPP assistant director of communications â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 202-462-5747 ext. *2030
SANTA ROSA, Calif. â Law enforcement efforts to "eradicate" outdoor marijuana growing operations currently underway in California fail to make any impact on the availability or price of marijuana in the state, officials at the Marijuana Policy Project charged today.
    The annual Campaign Against Marijuana Growing, or CAMP, has produced increasingly gaudy results in terms of numbers of plants destroyed by law enforcement each summer â for example, police recently reported that they had seized $1.26 billion worth of marijuana from illegal farms in Fresno County. But critics argue that the sheer volume of marijuana illegally grown, often in public parks, makes it impossible to identify and destroy enough marijuana to reduce the available supply or hinder drug cartels' profits in any way.
    "Law enforcement officers point to a 2,000 percent increase in plants seized in the past decade and hold that as a sign of success," said Aaron Smith, MPP's California policy director. "But these efforts have had no effect on the widespread prevalence of marijuana in our society. Just like the days of alcohol Prohibition, we have ceded control of a popular product to criminals â making them rich in the process."
    Although eradication programs rarely receive much public scrutiny, the Department of Justice acknowledged in its 2008 National Drug Threat Assessment that such operations do little more than drive growers to indoor sites, often in residential neighborhoods.
    "At a time when California is facing drastic budget cuts, it's beyond irresponsible to continue this costly and ineffective policy," Smith said. "The only way to get these illegal grows out of our parks and neighborhoods is by ending marijuana prohibition and regulating the drug's production. After all, you don't see wine producers sneaking into forests and setting up covert vineyards."
    With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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