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The LEAP Report: LEAP into Overdrive, Issue VIII August 29, 2007 Criminal Justice Professionals Speaking Out Against the “War on Drugs” A note from the editor: We are back with the newsletter, to be published monthly. The year seems to be slipping by too quickly, with students returning to school soon, but that means more opportunities for LEAP. I’m enjoying meeting people on the LEAP MySpace page, which feeds my passion to volunteer for LEAP and work to end drug prohibition. Peace and Love, Joe Bokan LEAP’s Board, Speakers and Staff will be participating in the 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference, hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance in partnership with LEAP, December 5-8, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Come join more than 50 LEAP Speakers and Board Members at this most important of all International Conferences on Drug Policy, attended by over 1,000 reformers from around the world. Visit http://kessjones.com/conf07/register.html for registration details. LEAP has limited scholarship funds to help members attend. The funds are distributed on the basis of need and active participation with our organization. Those interested in scholarship money reply to [email protected] Speakers Bureau Update: Speakers Bureau Report for July, 2007 Quite a book-ended month for us, as we zoomed through many summer efforts and began plans for the fall. I had the opportunity to journey out from Syracuse to the FreedomFest Conference in warm, sunny Las Vegas. Dave Doddridge and Jerry Cameron, who campaigned hard for LEAP to attend this conference, joined me. Dave, as you may recall, is retired from the Los Angeles PD narcotics squad. He lives up the road in St. George, Utah- in this case, ‘up the road’ means 120 miles each way, and he made the trip three times- but he was very happy to help. Investors and progressive thinkers attended the conference to talk about social policy, capitalism and wealth, and Cameron was featured in a pair of presentations. It seems we did well—we have 35 new members, and numerous requests have already come in for speakers: last week, Hunter McDonald met with business leaders in Victoria, BC. Other presentations that evolved out of this conference include future efforts in Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado, California, Texas and Guatemala. July was really highlighted by Tony Ryan’s tour of Central Arkansas, which certainly qualifies as a “red” state. I am constantly being told that drug legalization is a topic for “blue” states and that ours is a tough message to sell to conservatives. With all due respect, I completely disagree- and Arkansas proved me right. Tony wowed crowds in Little Rock and every other mid-sized town in the Razorback State. At least one mayor- I cannot say which one at the moment- and one police chief told Tony that they completely agree with him. Ryan’s pitch was heard at 20+ venues and received some great media attention. The tour was assembled by our rock-solid set-up man Rick (“Sparky”) Ostrander. He’s a retired electrician- okay, not so funny. Howard Wooldridge continued to pitch to Congress this month, but he also had an interesting gig in Norfolk, VA: Howard said a few words at a movie theater viewing of the terrific documentary “Damage Done”, which focuses on former drug warriors who are now opposed to drug prohibition. Halifax, Nova Scotia resident Connie Littlefield directed the film. It features many LEAP speakers, and amongst the LEAP luminaries in the film is a fellow many will remember—Frank Serpico. Connie just advised us that “Damage Done” has been selected to be shown at the UN Film Festival in San Francisco this fall. After the “Damage Done” viewing, Howard traveled to his native Michigan to speak to a large group of Rotarians in Flint—nearly a hundred heard the LEAP pitch. Serendipitously, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm announced (almost simultaneously) that she was calling for the legislature to roll back lengthy sentencing for non-violent drug offenders, saying that prison doesn’t cure addiction and that it was too expensive to send so many people who are not a threat to society to jail/prison. Wow. Who knew? Dr. Richard Watkins spoke to students in the Sam Houston State University Criminal Justice program down in the Woodlands, Texas. They started with the 12-minute LEAP DVD promo, then Rich spoke for several minutes, and after that there was a question-and-answer period. Boy, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to hear a retired Texas prison warden telling criminal justice students that we should end prohibition. Two of LEAP’s most experienced speakers, Eric Sterling and Judge Jim Gray, went to Hawaii to participate in a panel at the 9th Circuit Judicial Court’s Conference in Honolulu. In addition to the panel discussion, Jim and Eric received requests for numerous local interviews and spoke to the editorial staff at the Honolulu Star. Hey, we will go anywhere for an interview—even Hawaii! Judge Gray barely had time to catch his breath and change flights, heading east to Washington, DC for presentations at America’s Future Foundation, the Fund for American Studies, and the Liberty and Current Issues Conference, among others. All were well-attended events to hear Judge Gray’s (and LEAP’s) explanation about current policies.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 4, 2007 CONTACT: Ken Vail at 202-588-5580, www.PreventionWorksDC.org A Turning Point for Needle Exchange in D.C. With New Leadership and Influx of Public Funding PreventionWorks Prepares for Growth, Expansion Nine years after its founding in 1998, PreventionWorks, Washington D.C.'s only needle exchange program, has announced the departure of its long-time and respected Executive Director, Paola Barahona, the first and only person to hold the position. In her nine years of service, Barahona has raised more than $3.5 million in private funding to support and sustain the work of PreventionWorks which, until this year, was prohibited by an act of Congress from receiving or utilizing public funding for its needle exchange services. PreventionWorks provides access to sterile syringes, offers tools and information for leading healthier lives, and provides access and referrals to drug treatment, medical and social services. Its services are client-focused, culturally appropriate, and community supported. All services are provided without judgment. James Millner, a nationally known healthcare communications consultant who served on the board of directors of PreventionWorks, including a term as board president, says, The coinciding departures of both Paola and me truly mark the beginning of a new era for PreventionWorks. We leave behind a respected organization with a solid and stable foundation from which it can grow and expand to meet the significant challenges ahead. But we cannot move forward without properly acknowledging the tireless efforts of Paola Barahona, without whom PreventionWorks and needle exchange entirely would likely not exist in our nations capital. She deserves the thanks and appreciation of this entire city. Under the leadership of PreventionWorks President, Beth Beck, a Regional Director for the American Cancer Society, the board of directors has established a Transition Committee to oversee a national search for a new Executive Director. Chaired by PreventionWorks board of directors member Naomi Long (Director of the Washington Metro office for the Drug Policy Alliance), the Committee includes Barbara Chinn of Whitman-Walker Clinic, Channing Wickham of the Washington AIDS Partnership, James Millner (Past President, PreventionWorks board of directors), Patsy Fleming (Whitman Walker Clinics National AIDS Policy Director) and Scott Sanders of High Noon Communications. The board of directors is working with Transition Guides, a consulting firm dedicated to sustaining and strengthening nonprofits through better managed leadership transitions, to ensure the stability of the unique services provided by PreventionWorks during and after the leadership transition. Mr. Kenneth Vail, MPH, MA, has been hired as Interim Executive Director to manage PreventionWorks during its search for permanent staff leadership. Mr. Vail has 17 years of experience establishing and leading syringe access programs in Santa Cruz, California, Cleveland, Ohio, San Francisco, California, and Staten Island, New York, and has worked in HIV outreach, prevention and education in Boston, Massachusetts, San Jose, California, and Temirtau, Kazakhstan. For nearly a decade, PreventionWorks has grown and strengthened into an organization that is today a critical part of the District of Columbias HIV prevention strategy. No longer a stop-gap or temporary solution to provide clean needles to drug users, PreventionWorks is transitioning into a full service HIV prevention and health advocacy group for drug users, their families, friends and partners. For further information about the transition or PreventionWorks, please contact Ken Vail at 202-588-5580.

Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage + Century of Lies + 4:20 Drug War NEWS Half Hour Programs, Live Fridays... at 90.1 FM in Houston & on the web at www.kpft.org. Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US and Canada., Cultural Baggage for 08/31/07 Seattle Hempfest "Pot Pride" + Terry Nelson & LEAP report, Drug War Facts & BBC News re Afghanistan MP3 MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/FDBCB_083107.mp3 Century of Lies for 08/31/07 Seattle Hempfest Law Enforcement Panel with Matt McCally of LEAP, Fred Gardner & Dean Becker + Poppygate MP3MP3 Link: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/COL_083107.mp3 4:20 Drug War NEWS 09/03/07 to 09/09/07 now online (3:00 ea.): Monday 09/03/07 Top 10 Reasons Marijuana Should Be Legal (Per High Times Mag) Tuesday 09/04/07 LEAP Report from Terry Nelson Wednesday 09/05/07 Poppygate & BBC News on Afghan Opium Thursday 09/06/07 Drug War Facts with Doug McVay Friday 09/07/07 Dr. Robert Melamede re Med Marijuana 1 Saturday 09/08/07 Dr. Robert Melamede re Med Marijuana 2 Sunday 09/09/07 Dr. Robert Melamede re Med Marijuana 3 NEXT Friday: ) - Cultural Baggage 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT. Washington Post writer Neal Peirce re Failed Drug War - Century of Lies 2 PM ET, 1 PM CT, Noon MT & 11 AM PT. Seattle Hempfest 3 Check out our latest videos via www.drugtruth.net/dtnvideo.htm Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Once we remove these charlatans from positions of power, other social changes will become much easier." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net