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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2009 CONTACT: Tony Newman at (646) 335-5384 or Anthony Papa at (646) 420-7290 NY State Assembly Hearing on Tuesday to Map Out Next Steps in Implementation of Historic Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Courts, Treatment Providers and Community-Based Programs to Brief Lawmakers on Expanded Access to Drug Treatment and Alternatives to Incarceration for Most Drug Offenses The New York State Assembly on Tuesday will hold a key hearing to press forward with implementation of the Rockefeller Drug Law Reform of 2009, soliciting feedback from courts, treatment providers and community-based programs on their readiness and resource needs to carry out the groundbreaking new law. The reform, which took effect on Oct. 7, eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most drug offenses, restored discretion to judges to sentence individuals to probation, drug treatment or other alternatives to incarceration, and allows approximately 1,000 people convicted under the old Rockefeller Drug Laws to apply for re-sentencing. “As someone who spent 12 years behind bars on Rockefeller charges and another 12 fighting the inhumane laws, I am thrilled that the law has been changed,” said Anthony Papa, author of 15 Years to Life. “But Rockefeller reform will only be real when those who are behind bars are allowed to come home and those who need help get treatment instead of a jail cell.” At Tuesday’s hearing, lawmakers will explore a wide range of issues related to the Rockefeller reform, including: What steps has the court system taken to prepare for and implement the new judicial diversion program, and to ensure that persons who are resentenced have access to community-based reentry programs? Are there sufficient community-based treatment programs available to serve individuals sentenced to treatment or probation, or those released from prison? What are the barriers faced by formerly incarcerated individuals with a history of substance abuse in obtaining public benefits, medical assistance, employment and affordable and stable housing? These reforms will allow people to reclaim their dignity as we shift from a punitive criminal justice model to a much needed holistic public health framework," said Shreya Mandal, Mitigation Specialist for the Legal Aid Society. "Now it is time to see this reform through by empowering formerly incarcerated individuals with comprehensive re-entry planning. Reform also calls for revamping outdated modes of drug treatment, both in and out of prison, and for making progressive changes in how we respond to addiction.” Under more limited reforms to the Rockefeller laws signed by Gov. George Pataki in 2004 and 2005 – which authorized resentencing and eliminated life sentences for individuals convicted of certain drug felonies – 584 individuals were released from prison, and just 9 percent of these people returned to jail, far lower than the state’s 39 percent overall recidivism rate. These results counter claims made by district attorneys and law enforcement officials that sentencing reform leads to disaster. “Opponents of reform try to scare the public with claims that the ‘sky is falling’ every time individuals with substance abuse problems are sent to treatment instead of prison,” said Glenn Martin, Vice President of Development and Public Affairs for The Fortune Society. “But by working collaboratively among treatment providers and Alternatives to Incarceration programs, stakeholders can ensure the success of New York’s movement toward a public health and safety approach to drug use.” Enacted in 1973, the Rockefeller Drug Laws were intended to target drug kingpins, but instead the laws led to the incarceration of thousands of individuals, mostly people of color, for low-level, nonviolent offenses, many with no prior criminal records. Approximately 12,000 people remain locked up for drug offenses in New York State prisons, at a cost of roughly $45,000 per year to incarcerate a single person, compared to an average cost of $15,000 per year for drug treatment, which is proven to be 15 times more effective at reducing crime and recidivism. The Drug Policy Alliance is the nation's leading organization working to end the war on drugs and promote new drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights. For more information, please visit: www.drugpolicy.org. What: NY State Assembly Hearing on Rockefeller Drug Law Reform When: 10:30 A.M. Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 Where: Assembly Hearing Room 250 Broadway, Room 1923, 19th Floor New York, NY

Cultural Baggage * Century of Lies * 4:20 Drug War NEWS Cultural Baggage for 12/06/09, 29:00 Mason Tvert, director of Safer Choice in Colorado discusses progress in fighting reefer madness LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2684 TRANSCRIPT: Tuesday Century of Lies for 12/06/09, 29:00 Bruce Mirken, outgoing director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project re his 8 years serving drug reform + Jack Cole, Dir of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2685 TRANSCRIPT: Tuesday 4:20 Drug War NEWS, 12/07 to 12/13/09 Link at www.drugtruth.net on the right margin - Sun - Bruce Mirken, Dir of Comm for Marijuana Policy Project Sat - Mason Tvert, 2/2 Fri - Mason Tvert of Colorado's "Safer Choice" & co-author: Marijuana is Safer, So Why are We Driving People to Drink? 1/2 Thu - Jack Cole of LEAP 2/2 Wed - Jack Cole Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition 1/2 Tue - Steff Sherrer, Director of Americans for Safe Access Mon - DTN Editorial/Appeal to Canadian Legislators Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston, 90.1 FM. You can Listen Live Online at www.kpft.org - Cultural Baggage Sun, 7:30 PM ET, 6:30 PM CT, 5:30 PM MT, 4:30 PM PT (Followed Immediately By Century of Lies) - Century of Lies, SUN, 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT Who's Next to "Face The Inquisition?": TBD Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org We have potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates i You can tune into both our 1/2 hour programs, live, at 6:30 central time on Pacifica's KPFT at http://www.kpft.org and call in your questions and concerns toll free at 1-877-9-420 420. The two, 29:00 shows appear along with the seven, daily, 3:00 "4:20 Drug War NEWS" reports each Monday morning at http://www.drugtruth.net . We currently have 71 affiliated, yet independent broadcast stations. With a simple email request to [email protected] , your station can join the Drug Truth Network, free of charge. Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, DTN Producer, 713-462-7981, www.drugtruth.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friend, Since 2003, the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC) has led the Rhode Island’s medical marijuana movement. This past year has been monumental with the passage of the compassion center legislation which will allow three state-regulated, not-for-profit, retail dispensaries in RI. This victory will help to ensure that RI patients will have safe and affordable access to their medicine and make the RI Medical Marijuana Act the best in the country. Even before this success in June 2009, RI and RIPAC have been receiving amazing press coverage and recently we were even featured in The New York Times. We have been responding to the national medical marijuana developments with such actions as my interview on WPRI/Fox Providence and press statement in response to the Obama Administration’s announcement last month protecting patients in medical marijuana states. This is AMAZING progress and we need your continued support! http://ripatients.org/Donate/ RIPAC has expanded our services and we are now conducting orientations to provide patients and caregivers with the skills they need to make the most of the program. We continue to hold multiple meetings every month to educate patients, caregivers and community members. These meetings have gotten bigger and our monthly cardholder meetings now consistently include more than 10% of the state’s population of medical marijuana patients. None of this could have been possible without your continuous support. As a very small nonprofit, RIPAC relies heavily on private donors like you. With your generous support we can continue our work to advocate for patients, help educate them to navigate the program and help them retain a better quality of life. Your contribution, of any size, is crucial for us to continue our work to preserve the rights of patients. http://ripatients.org/Donate/ We are reaching much of the community, but now more than ever, we still have more work to do. We need to continue educating medical professionals and RIPAC, along with Patients Out of Time, is accomplishing this by hosting an international Continuing Medical Education “Clinical Conference on Cannabis” at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI from April 15-17, 2010. We also need to educate law enforcement personnel to protect our patients and we need to make sure that the compassion centers have the patients’ best interests in mind. In this season of giving, founding executive director Jesse Stout and I ask you to contribute $50, $100, $250 today with a check or credit card or become a member of our “Advocacy Circle” with monthly donations of $50, $40, $25 or whatever you can afford. Our goal is to raise $30,000! You can help with your gift, which is tax-deductible, and you can conveniently give by visiting our website and donating in the upper right hand corner. http://ripatients.org/Donate/ Happy Holiday Season to all! Sincerely, Stephen Hogan Jr. & Jesse Stout

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 3, 2009 CONTACT: ASA Media Liaison Kris Hermes at 510-681-6361 National Boards of Pharmacy Conference Focuses on Medical Marijuana Advocacy Group Presents on Medical Marijuana Alongside AMA & Other Health Experts Tucson, AZ -- As pharmacists and drug regulators from across the country convene in Tucson this week for their Winter symposium, they will be discussing medical marijuana, an issue which is headlining the agenda. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) opens its symposium on Thursday with several presentations on medical marijuana by an array of speakers and experts, including Caren Woodson, Government Affairs Director with Americans for Safe Access, the country's largest advocacy organization focused on the issue. "We welcome the interest in medical marijuana by the Boards of Pharmacy and want to work with them to address this public health issue," said Woodson. "State Boards of Pharmacy can have an impact on medical marijuana and we want to work with them to adopt sensible policies." The Oregon Board of Pharmacy has been ordered to remove marijuana from its state list of Schedule I drugs, per legislation signed by Governor Kulongoski in August. In addition, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy is currently considering rescheduling marijuana as a result of litigation. Woodson will co-present on a panel Thursday morning with Barry D. Dickinson, the Director of Science & Biotechnology for the American Medical Association, and Alice Mead, the Director of U.S. Public Relations for GW Pharmaceuticals, a U.K. company conducting clinical trials for a medical marijuana extract. The panel is entitled, "Should Marijuana be a Medical Option?" Later, Woodson will take part in a point-counterpoint on medical marijuana with Dickinson, Mead and other experts, including Andrea Barthwell, former deputy director for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy and other marijuana researchers. The NABP symposium will be attended by Boards of Pharmacy executive officers, members, and other state and federal regulators as well as stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry. Both the California Attorney General's office and the California Department of Public Health are sending representatives to the symposium. Attendees will be able to earn continuing pharmacy education credit for their participation in medical marijuana panels. The mission of the NABP is to assist its member boards in developing, implementing, and enforcing uniform standards for the purpose of protecting the public health. The State Boards of Pharmacy oversee the classification of controlled substances, such as marijuana, at the state level, similar to the way that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) oversee the federal classification of controlled substances. While state controlled substance lists routinely match the federal list, the State Boards of Pharmacy can change the classification of particular drugs independent of the federal government. The NABP symposium follows a report on medical marijuana issued last month by the American Medical Association, in which the oldest and largest physician-based group in the U.S. urged the federal government to review the Schedule I status for marijuana. The AMA noted that marijuana appeared to be efficacious for several health conditions and said that further research was needed to assess whether marijuana should continue to be considered a dangerous drug with no medical value. Further Information: The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy 2009 Symposium Schedule: http://www.nabp.net/whatsnew/meetings/2009symposium/ ASA National Policy Platform: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/ASA_Natl_Policy_Agenda_09-11.pdf # # #