For Immediate Release: February 26, 2009 Contact: ASA Communications Specialist Kris Hermes at (510) 325-9574 Medical Marijuana Patients React to New "American Policy" - Media conference call Thursday, February 26, 12:00 PM to feature medical marijuana dispensary operators targeted by DEA raids Washington, D.C. - Speaking at a press conference on Feb 25 with DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart, and reiterating a position made by the White House following DEA raids in California on February 4, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that ending federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries "is now American policy." The Attorney General's comments are the latest sign of a sea change in federal policy that prohibits the use of medical cannabis in the thirteen states that have enacted such laws. What: Media conference call in response to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder statements on ending DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries "now American policy" When: Thursday, February 26, 2009 @ 12:00 PM Pacific (PST) Where: Conference Call # (800) 762-6558 Who: Medical marijuana patients and dispensary operators who were targeted in DEA raids, and ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. In response to a reporter's questions about DEA raids at medical marijuana facilities in California, Holder said, "What the President said during the campaign... is now American policy." 72 million Americans live in states where medical cannabis is legal, but federal law prohibits its use under any circumstances. More than 100 Americans are currently facing prosecution, sentencing, or serving time in prison for medical cannabis offense right now. ASA hopes the emerging change in federal policy will signal an end to prosecutions and bring those already serving time for medical cannabis offenses home to their families. "There has been a lot of collateral damage in the federal campaign against medical cannabis patients," said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, the nation's largest medical cannabis advocacy organization. "We need to stop the prosecutions, bring the prisoners home, and begin working to eliminate the conflict between state and federal medical marijuana laws." ASA has provided recommendations for a new national medical cannabis policy to President Obama and the 111th Congress earlier this year. Participant Bios: Steph Sherer is a medical cannabis patient who founded Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research in 2002. Larry Epstein operates a legal medical cannabis dispensing collective in Marina del Rey, CA, that was raided by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on February 4, despite President Obama's statements on the campaign trail indicating a change in federal policy. Heather Poet operates a medical cannabis dispensing collective in Santa Barbara, CA. The DEA has pressured her landlord to evict the collective using threats of prosecution and civil asset forfeiture. Her case prompted US Representative Lois Capps (D-CA) to ask Attorney General Eric Holder to stop any and all prosecutions of property owners on February 16. Charles C. Lynch was convicted in August 2008 of operating a medical cannabis dispensing collective in Morro Bay, CA. Like all federal medical cannabis defendants, he was not allowed to present evidence about medical cannabis or the fact that he was obeying state law at his trial. He faces decades in prison at his sentencing on March 23. For more information: Policy Recommendations to President Obama: www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/PresidentialRecommendations Congresswoman Lois Capps Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder: www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/CappsLetter

The Unvarnished Truth About the Drug War From the Drug Truth Network NOTE: Our "Player" Interface Now Pauses, Moves Forward and Back :) (To downlad these 29:00 files, click on links below. To simply listen, go to www.drugtruth.net and select the arrow below the shows description.) Cultural Baggage for 02/25/09 Oaksterdam II - Founder Richard Lee, anonymous instructor, Keith Stevenson of Purple Heart Dispensary, Atty. James Anthony of LEAP, Atty. Robert Raich MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=audio/download/2311/FDBCB_022509.mp3 TRANSCRIPT: TBD Century of Lies for 02/24/09 Oaksterdam I - Richard Lee, founder of Oaksterdam University, Dale Geringer of California NORML, Roger LaChance of Medical Cannabis Safety Commission, Chris Conrad, publisher and Court Qualified Marijuana Expert, Atty. James Anthony, Atty. Robert Raich & Terry Nelson with LEAP report. MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=audio/download/2310/COL_022409.mp3 TRANSCRIPT: TBD PLEASE NOTE: We now have transcripts, potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. Next - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed, listen online at www.kpft.org: - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: Marijuana Dispensaries 1, 2, 3 - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: Houston Judge Michael McSpadden Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US, Canada and Now Australia!!! Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston. www.kpft.org Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker: More than 55 Drug Policy Videos online) 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, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net

MPP’s ultimate goal in Nevada is to pass a statewide ballot initiative that would tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in Nevada, thereby ending marijuana prohibition in the state. This position is an exciting opportunity to play an integral role in a groundbreaking organization that seeks to significantly and permanently reform marijuana policy. Candidates must have excellent oral and written communications skills, experience doing radio and print interviews, and an understanding of politics and public policy. The ideal applicant would have experience doing public relations for political campaigns, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and/or corporations. Applicants who have ties to the Nevada political and business community and/or are fluent in Spanish will be given priority. Professional copy-editing experience would be extremely helpful, but not required. The overarching goal of the position is to maximize the level of public support for ending marijuana prohibition in Nevada. To this end, the Communications Director is responsible for assisting in building a statewide coalition of organizations, editorial boards, and opinion leaders who endorse ending marijuana prohibition, including elected officials, physicians, business leaders, local government leaders, religious leaders, community groups, current and retired members of law enforcement, drug treatment specialists, and parents groups; aggressively pitching reporters and doing interviews to get MPP-NV’s message into the news at every opportunity; writing news releases, op-eds, and letters-to-the-editor; arranging media interviews for the MPP-NV Director; giving public speeches and engaging in public debates; and conceiving of and writing blog posts for MPP’s web site. The Communications Director reports to MPP’s State Campaigns Director, who heads up the Las Vegas office. The salary for the position is $40,000 to $50,000. The position includes full health insurance and an optional retirement package. To apply, please see http://www.mpp.org/jobs/process.html and follow the instructions there. Interviews are being conducted on a rolling basis, so interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. ABOUT MPP With 36 employees, 26,000 dues-paying members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, MPP is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana - both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit its use - and believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment.

THE DRUG WAR SOUTH OF THE BORDER ********************************************************************** DrugSense FOCUS Alert #397 - Wednesday, 25 February 2009 Headlines from Tuesday and Wednesday morning newspapers alert us. Wave of Drug Violence Is Creeping into Arizona From Mexico, Officials Say http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a04.html El Paso Police Investigate Threats Against Juarez Mayor http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a06.html A Treaty That Can Help Stem Drug Violence in Mexico http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a07.html Colombia's Worry: Looser US Ties http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a02.html Mexico Attorney General: We Don't Need U.S. Troops to Intervene in Drug War http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a03.html Gov. Perry Wants U.S. Troops Guarding Border http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a04.html Mexico Drug War Prompts Federal Contingency Plan http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a05.html Today the Los Angeles Times website states that there has been 7,337 drug war related deaths in Mexico since January, 1997 as the newspaper continues it's Mexico Under Siege series http://mapinc.org/find?255 You know the solution as do the former Presidents as reflected in their OPED below. Please write those LTEs as they help shape public opinion. Please also contact the folks who represent you in Congress and President Obama. What you do does make a difference. ********************************************************************** Pubdate: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 Source: Wall Street Journal Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: [email protected] Authors: Fernando Henrique Cardoso, CeSar Gaviria and Ernesto Zedillo Note: Mr. Cardoso is the former president of Brazil. Mr. Gaviria is a former president of Colombia. Mr. Zedillo is a former president of Mexico. Cited: The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy http://drugsanddemocracy.org/ THE WAR ON DRUGS IS A FAILURE We Should Focus Instead on Reducing Harm to Users and on Tackling Organized Crime. The war on drugs has failed. And it's high time to replace an ineffective strategy with more humane and efficient drug policies. This is the central message of the report by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy we presented to the public recently in Rio de Janeiro. Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization of consumption simply haven't worked. Violence and the organized crime associated with the narcotics trade remain critical problems in our countries. Latin America remains the world's largest exporter of cocaine and cannabis, and is fast becoming a major supplier of opium and heroin. Today, we are further than ever from the goal of eradicating drugs. Over the last 30 years, Colombia implemented all conceivable measures to fight the drug trade in a massive effort where the benefits were not proportional to the resources invested. Despite the country's achievements in lowering levels of violence and crime, the areas of illegal cultivation are again expanding. In Mexico -- another epicenter of drug trafficking -- narcotics-related violence has claimed more than 5,000 lives in the past year alone. The revision of U.S.-inspired drug policies is urgent in light of the rising levels of violence and corruption associated with narcotics. The alarming power of the drug cartels is leading to a criminalization of politics and a politicization of crime. And the corruption of the judicial and political system is undermining the foundations of democracy in several Latin American countries. The first step in the search for alternative solutions is to acknowledge the disastrous consequences of current policies. Next, we must shatter the taboos that inhibit public debate about drugs in our societies. Antinarcotic policies are firmly rooted in prejudices and fears that sometimes bear little relation to reality. The association of drugs with crime segregates addicts in closed circles where they become even more exposed to organized crime. In order to drastically reduce the harm caused by narcotics, the long-term solution is to reduce demand for drugs in the main consumer countries. To move in this direction, it is essential to differentiate among illicit substances according to the harm they inflict on people's health, and the harm drugs cause to the social fabric In this spirit, we propose a paradigm shift in drug policies based on three guiding principles: Reduce the harm caused by drugs, decrease drug consumption through education, and aggressively combat organized crime. To translate this new paradigm into action we must start by changing the status of addicts from drug buyers in the illegal market to patients cared for by the public-health system. We also propose the careful evaluation, from a public-health standpoint, of the possibility of decriminalizing the possession of cannabis for personal use. Cannabis is by far the most widely used drug in Latin America, and we acknowledge that its consumption has an adverse impact on health. But the available empirical evidence shows that the hazards caused by cannabis are similar to the harm caused by alcohol or tobacco. If we want to effectively curb drug use, we should look to the campaign against tobacco consumption. The success of this campaign illustrates the effectiveness of prevention campaigns based on clear language and arguments consistent with individual experience. Likewise, statements by former addicts about the dangers of drugs will be far more compelling to current users than threats of repression or virtuous exhortations against drug use. Such educational campaigns must be targeted at youth, by far the largest contingent of users and of those killed in the drug wars. The campaigns should also stress each person's responsibility toward the rising violence and corruption associated with the narcotics trade. By treating consumption as a matter of public health, we will enable police to focus their efforts on the critical issue: the fight against organized crime. A growing number of political, civic and cultural leaders, mindful of the failure of our current drug policy, have publicly called for a major policy shift. Creating alternative policies is the task of many: educators, health professionals, spiritual leaders and policy makers. Each country's search for new policies must be consistent with its history and culture. But to be effective, the new paradigm must focus on health and education -- not repression. Drugs are a threat that cuts across borders, which is why Latin America must establish dialogue with the United States and the European Union to develop workable alternatives to the war on drugs. Both the U.S. and the EU share responsibility for the problems faced by our countries, since their domestic markets are the main consumers of the drugs produced in Latin America. The inauguration of President Barack Obama presents a unique opportunity for Latin America and the U.S. to engage in a substantive dialogue on issues of common concern, such as the reduction of domestic consumption and the control of arms sales, especially across the U.S.-Mexico border. Latin America should also pursue dialogue with the EU, asking European countries to renew their commitment to the reduction of domestic consumption and learning from their experiences with reducing the health hazards caused by drugs. The time to act is now, and the way forward lies in strengthening partnerships to deal with a global problem that affects us all. ********************************************************************** Prepared by: Richard Lake, Senior Editor www.mapinc.org === . DrugSense provides many services at no charge, but they are not free to produce. Your contributions make DrugSense and its Media Awareness Project (MAP) happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards. Or, mail your check or money order to: DrugSense 14252 Culver Drive #328 Irvine, CA 92604-0326. (800) 266 5759 . DrugSense is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the expensive, ineffective, and destructive "War on Drugs." Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.