SAN FRANCISCO -- Recent alarming reports of environmental damage caused by illegal marijuana farms in national forests and wilderness areas in California and elsewhere show that an entirely new approach is needed in order to solve the problem, officials of the Marijuana Policy Project said today.
"Year after year we hear from law enforcement and U.S. Forest Service officials about growing environmental damage caused by these criminal operations, even as law enforcement seizures of marijuana plants set new records every year," said Bruce Mirken, MPP's California-based director of communications. "What we've been doing is plainly not working and has actually caused the problem in the first place. It's time to get off the treadmill and try a new approach."
Dear friends:
Last week, I sent you MPP's new video about the lies being spread about marijuana by the Drug Free America Foundation (DFAF).
DFAF is now taking its lies into Massachusetts, where a measure to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana is on the ballot this Election Day. Its new radio ad â which you can listen to here â claims that the initiative will âput marijuana, a dangerous and addictive drug, into the hands of our children.â
If you want to fight back against the dishonorable attempts to keep Massachusetts voters from passing a far more sensible law, please give what you can to the campaign today. With just three weeks remaining until Election Day, every dollar you can give will help.Â
Bizarrely, the ad criticizes the campaign for accepting âout-of-stateâ contributions â yet the opposition ad itself is sponsored by the Florida-based Save Our Society from Drugs (SOS). SOS is DFAF's lobbying arm.
Even more disgustingly, DFAF was previously known as Straight Inc., one of the most notorious drug war abominations: It ran a network of âtreatment facilitiesâ that were shut down amid lawsuits and investigations regarding horrifying physical and emotional abuse of the young people in its care.
That's the sort of shady opposition that the campaign is up against in Massachusetts. They're willing to say and do anything to keep the initiative from passing on November 4. Would you please consider donating $10 or more today so that the campaign has the resources to continue fighting back?
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.