Marijuana Policy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 5, 2005

New Anti-Drug Plan Doomed to Failure, Reformers Charge
Failure to Consider Fundamental Reforms Guarantees Cartels Will Continue to Dominate Marijuana Trade

 

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 202-215-4205 or 415-585-6404

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The new anti-drug initiative for the Southwestern border announced today by the Obama administration is doomed to failure because it simply dresses up failed policies in new clothing, the Marijuana Policy Project charged today.

     "The new plan simply calls for rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "The plan ignores the central problem, which is that our policy of marijuana prohibition has handed the Mexican cartels a massive market that keeps them rolling in cash, not just in Mexico, but according to the Department of Justice, in 230 American cities."

     Houston noted that federal officials have stated that 60 to 70 percent of the cartels' profits come from the marijuana trade, and that the Mexican government seems to be signaling its unhappiness with the United States' current policy. "The Mexican Congress strategically scheduled consideration of legislation to remove criminal penalties for marijuana possession to coincide with President Obama's trip there," Houston said. He also noted that Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhán called for the debate on regulating and taxing marijuana to be "taken seriously on both sides of the border" on national television.

     "Rather than trying to make America's 15 million monthly marijuana consumers go away, we need to gain control of this market by regulating marijuana like we do beer, wine and liquor," Houston said. "Any anti-drug effort that leaves the marijuana trade in the hands of the cartels is nothing but a full-employment plan for professional drug warriors and cartel bosses alike, not a serious proposal to address the problem."

     With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
MAY 19, 2009

Rejection of Budget Measures Boosts Drive to Tax, Regulate Marijuana
56% Support Taxing Marijuana, According to Recent Field Poll 

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

SAN FRANCISCO -- Today's thumping rejection of a series of ballot measures aimed at easing California's hemorrhaging budget deficit adds new urgency to the drive to regulate California's largest cash crop, marijuana, advocates said tonight.

     "It's clear that voters didn't like the solutions put forth by the legislature on last night's ballot," said Aaron Smith, California policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "But a Field poll last month showed solid support for making marijuana a legal, regulated product and making producers and sellers pay taxes that they now avoid. For the legislature to leave marijuana untaxed even as our state faces catastrophic cuts to schools, transportation, public safety and other critical services borders on the criminal."

     A 2006 study by public policy researcher Jon Gettman found marijuana to be California's top cash crop, exceeding the value of the number two and three crops, vegetables and grapes, combined. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, two million Californians acknowledge having used marijuana in the past month. Estimates have suggested that California could save hundreds of millions in law enforcement costs and gain more than a billion in tax revenues if marijuana were taxed and regulated as proposed in legislation introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco).

     "Now that it seems we've hit the end of the road in the search for solving California's budget mess, we need to be looking outside the box," Smith added. "Replacing the failed policy of marijuana prohibition with a system of regulation and taxation would not only be sound public policy, but it also looks a lot more politically popular than anything else being offered up by Sacramento right now."

     With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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Last week the new White House Drug Czar called for an end to the "War on Drugs", signaling a new, more sensible path for drug policy.  See here.                                                           

Come celebrate this sea change with Colorado's preeminent drug policy reformers at the Sensible Colorado 5th Anniversary Gala this Saturday (5/23) from 6-9pm.                                                    

We are happy to announce our special guest speaker for this event will be Don Duncan, California Director of Americans for Safe Access.  Don is one of the longest-running and most respected medical marijuana dispensary operators in America, and has been featured on "60 Minutes" and on other national programs.                                                  

This FREE event is open to the public and will feature speakers, awards, food and drink.                                              

What:  Sensible Colorado's 5th Anniversary Gala

Where:  Atlantis Community Center (201 S. Cherokee Street, Denver CO 80223)

When:  Saturday, May 23 from 6-9pm.                                         

*This event is non-smoking and fully disabled accessible.                                  

Dear Friends:

Alternative rock giants The Dandy Warhols will be playing at MPP's party at the Playboy Mansion on June 4.

The Dandy Warhols

And if you purchase tickets between today and May 18, your name will automatically be entered into a raffle to win a free night's stay for June 4 at The Andaz, a luxury hotel near the party. 

The party will also feature music from HunnyPot DJ Action with a special guest set from David J. of Bauhaus and Love & Rockets, and it will be hosted by actress Fairuza Balk, star of the movie "Humboldt County," as well as many other hit movies (including "The Craft," "American History X," "Almost Famous," and "The Waterboy").

Please visit www.mpp.org/pb2009 to purchase your tickets today, since the price will soon increase. (The ticket price is $800 now but we only have a small number of tickets to sell before the price increases to $900.)

I hope you'll join me, The Dandy Warhols, Fairuza, and other celebrities and supporters of marijuana policy reform at our party at the Playboy Mansion: Buy your tickets today.

I look forward to seeing you at the Mansion on June 4!

Sincerely,

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

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
APRIL 15, 2009

Obama in Mexico: Marijuana on the Agenda?

In Possible Rebuke to Obama, Mexico's Ambassador Said an End to Marijuana Prohibition "Needs to Be Taken Seriously"

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With President Obama leaving for talks with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Thursday, marijuana policy reformers are wondering if the role of U.S. marijuana laws in subsidizing vicious Mexican drug gangs will get the serious attention that Mexico's ambassador to the U.S. recently said it deserves. Obama's visit comes immediately after Mexico's Congress held a historic debate on ending marijuana prohibition.

     "In his only public statement on the issue since taking office, President Obama treated the question of ending marijuana prohibition as a joke, but the families of the 7,000 murdered by Mexican drug gangs know it's not funny," said Marijuana Policy Project executive director Rob Kampia. "By refusing to bring the massive marijuana industry out of the shadows and regulate it as we do beer, wine and liquor, we've handed a massive subsidy to some of the most brutal thugs on the planet."

     In an April 12  discussion of Mexico's brutal drug cartels on CBS's "Face the Nation," Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan was asked by host Bob Schieffer, "What if marijuana were legalized? Would that change this situation?"

     Rather than dismissing the idea as President Obama did in his recent online town hall meeting, Sarukhan said, "This is a debate that needs to be taken seriously, that we have to engage in on both sides of the border."

     "Ambassador Sarukhan got it exactly right," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "The public in both countries is ready for a serious discussion about the marijuana laws that are directly aiding the murderous gangs that are killing people daily and now operate in 230 U.S. cities. It's time for Presidents Obama and Calderon to show the sort of decisive leadership that's needed to get both of our countries out of this mess."

     With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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