[Courtesy of Marijuana Policy Project]

The Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy (CSMP) has just begun the second and final stage of the signature drive to place a marijuana decriminalization initiative on the Massachusetts ballot ... giving voters the chance to decriminalize the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use in the state.

Last November, after two months of petitioning, CSMP turned in more than 105,000 signatures to qualify the initiative for the November 2008 ballot. State law then required the state legislature to consider the initiative between January 2 and May 6. That period is now over, and CSMP began the second stage of the signature drive, which requires another 11,099 valid signatures by June 18. To ensure a place on the ballot, the campaign must collect approximately 20,000 raw signatures — at a cost of about $65,000.

Would you please consider making a contribution to the campaign to ensure that voters have the chance to decriminalize marijuana this fall?

This is the first time in history that an initiative to decriminalize marijuana will be placed on any statewide ballot. And winning in Massachusetts could dramatically advance marijuana policy reform elsewhere in the country.

So far, the campaign has done everything right, including successfully completing the first part of the signature drive and lobbying the legislature not to take any actions that would harm the campaign.

But now the campaign must raise the money that's needed to complete the second phase of the signature drive. Will you please visit www.SensibleMarijuanaPolicy.org/donate to donate $10 or more today?

Thank you,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.