Dear Friends:

A record 7.3 million people — or one in every 31 American adults — were behind bars, on probation, or on parole at the start of last year, according to a new report from the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project.

Of these 7.3 million people, an astounding 2.3 million are actually in prison or jail. That's 1 in every 99 adults.

The report also highlights how the U.S. criminal justice system inordinately penalizes people who are not white. Black adults are four times as likely as whites and nearly 2.5 times as likely as Hispanics to be under correctional control. While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, the figure is one in nine for black males in that age group.

Who are our nation's drug laws helping by locking up so many young black men — or by forcing so many people into the criminal justice system? True drug addicts? Nonviolent drug offenders? Their families?

If you're as outraged by these statistics as I am, please turn your anger into action by helping MPP restore some sense to our nation's laws by ending marijuana prohibition. With the help of our 26,000 dues-paying members, MPP has already achieved or funded significant progress — see www.mpp.org/history for some of our victories — but we need your help to continue making progress.

And if you have a few minutes, please watch this MPP documentary about the human costs of this war, told by those who have been caught in the crossfire. In just the time it takes you to watch the video, 28 more Americans will be arrested for marijuana.

Will you please join with MPP in working to end the persecution and destruction of people just like you? We can end our government's cruel war on its own citizens — but we must stand and fight.

Thank you,

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

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.