Marijuana Policy

As you may know, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2007.

This means that the $1,802,152 in donations that we have received from the 5,523 people who have donated so far this year will be doubled.

But as you can see, we are still a ways off from meeting the $3 million challenge — $1,197,848 off, which means that we need to raise $10,890 every day from today through the end of the year to make our goal.

So if you’re one of the approximately 94,500 people on this e-mail list who hasn’t yet given to MPP this year, please make a donation today, because we need your support to finance the following projects that we’re paying for this fall ...

 - Signature drives to place medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot in Arizona and Michigan, as well as assisting the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy with raising funds for a signature drive to place a marijuana "decriminalization" initiative on the ballot in Massachusetts. All three initiatives will be voted on in November 2008.

 - The launch of a new Outreach Department at MPP, which will use creative “viral marketing” techniques on the Web to attract new activists and donors from across the country to MPP’s ranks.

 - A new full-time staffer in our D.C. headquarters to organize our growing grassroots network in 50 congressional districts, with the goal of securing a record 190 votes for our medical marijuana legislation on the House floor next summer ... which would position us to pass the legislation in 2009, soon after a new president and Congress take office.

 - A new full-time staffer in California to help pass legislation in Sacramento to legalize the sale of medical marijuana statewide — landmark legislation that has never before been passed.

 - A full-time staffer in New Hampshire who is heading up a large team of voters to influence all presidential candidates to take public, positive positions on medical marijuana. So far, we’ve garnered positive positions in favor of medical marijuana access from all eight Democratic candidates and two of the nine Republican candidates.

 - A new TV/radio advertising campaign in Alaska to build on the existing level of support for taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol. Support for such a proposal is already ahead by a 53% to 42% margin (with 5% undecided) — the highest level of support in any state — but we need to increase the public’s support to beyond 60% in order to safely pass a ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition entirely. This has yet to be done anywhere in the world, and we hope to do it in the next few years.

We’re at a critical juncture in our work, and we have a lot of expenses right now. Would you please help by making a donation today? Anything you can give will help us meet the matching challenge ... that is, your donation will be doubled.

Thank you for considering this request.

Sincerely,

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

MPP is gearing up to run TV and radio ads to change the way people think about marijuana and marijuana users. Many people sent in great ideas for ads, and now MPP's looking for professionals in the video production industry who want to work pro bono — or for low cost — on the ad campaign. If you have professional experience in directing or producing video/audio and would be willing to donate your expertise to MPP's groundbreaking ad campaign, please e-mail your resume and work samples to [email protected]. Additionally, MPP is seeking professional graphic designers to help design mail pieces for ballot initiative campaigns next year — again, either pro bono or at a reduced cost. If you or anyone you know is interested, please e-mail your resume and work samples to [email protected].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 6, 2007 Contact: Clifford Schaffer, tel: 661-268-0442, e-mail: [email protected] Marijuana Dealers Offer Schwarzenegger One Billion Dollars August 6 -- A coalition of California marijuana growers and dealers has offered Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger one billion dollars to solve the current state budget crisis. The group, calling itself Let Us Pay Taxes makes the offer through its web site LetUsPayTaxes.com. The offer comes at a time when the California legislature is deadlocked on a new budget and California has stopped issuing checks for vitally needed social services. Legislators are currently arguing over which programs will be cut in order to balance the budget. “It is ridiculous that California can’t pay its bills,” said spokesman Clifford Schaffer. “It is a tragedy that they will cut badly needed services and programs such as medical care for the elderly and prison drug treatment when the money to fund all these programs and more is there and available. Everyone who is currently waiting for a check from the state should be enraged at this foolishness.” Regulation and taxation of marijuana could produce six billion dollars in additional tax revenue, according to economic studies linked from their web site LetUsPayTaxes.com. In addition, it could save up to ten billion dollars in enforcement costs. “That is a conservative estimate,” said Schaffer. “By other estimates, the revenues could be five times that. The economists are with us all the way on this one. Marijuana prohibition is an economic disaster.” “Let’s face reality,” Schaffer says. “Marijuana legalization is inevitable. The situation is already beyond control in California. The state and local authorities have offered safe harbor for medical marijuana use and the Federal Government simply doesn’t have the resources for effective control.” More importantly, says Schaffer, the operators of the medical marijuana clubs are no longer afraid of the Federal Government. “If you talk to them, you will find that they know they are going to win this battle. They know that the DEA is vastly outnumbered and can’t begin to prosecute all of them. The few that are prosecuted are accepting their fate as martyrs because they know that what they are doing is right. They are willing to sacrifice themselves to make the point that the Federal Government has just gone too far in interfering with very personal and private decisions. There is no way the DEA is going to win this battle. At this point, it is all over but the counting of the money – and the victims of the DEA.” Schaffer went on to say that the national market for marijuana has been estimated from a low of ten billion dollars per year to more than fifty billion dollars per year. “The first states to regulate and tax marijuana will receive an economic bonanza bigger than the original California Gold Rush,” says Schaffer. “Some states will get rich like the Saudis.” Schaffer predicts that it will not take long for some local areas to wake up to the economic possibilities. “We are talking potentially big bucks here,” he said. “The Canadians are already starting to take note of a cannabis-fueled economic boom in some areas. Politicians can’t resist fresh cash, especially when it is coming to their local community. There will be big winners and losers here. The winners will be the ones who recognize the foregone conclusion first.” The group also cites foreign terrorism as a reason to regulate and tax marijuana. “Drug Czar John Walters is being dishonest when he says that marijuana money goes to criminals and terrorists. The only reason any of that money goes to criminals or terrorists is because of the prohibition that Walters supports,” said Schaffer. “Marijuana prohibition makes criminals rich just like alcohol prohibition did. The criminals are now so rich and powerful that they can challenge the legitimate governments of their own countries. There is no reason to send billions of dollars per year to foreign criminal gangs when patriotic Americans make the best products in the world. There is no reason to suffer such a huge foreign trade deficit when that money could be providing jobs and funding badly needed services right here in the USA.” Let Us Pay Taxes calls upon all US citizens to sign their petition at their web site http://LetUsPayTaxes.com and press the issue with their lawmakers. “Take the money, please,” said Schaffer. “These people want to contribute. Now it is up to our politicians to tell us why they want to send those billions to foreign criminal gangs rather than to their own voters.”

Click here (http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/CannabisSocClubs/) for the Legalise Cannabis Alliance's (http://www.lca-uk.org) petition to the British Prime Minister to allow private-member Cannabis Social Clubs for adults. The petition simply states "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to allow local authorities the power to license legal private-member Cannabis Social Clubs for adults." The Legalise Cannabis Alliance adds: CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS: A HEALTHY OPTION In most countries, adults can go to a shop or bar when they want to buy alcohol or consume, or they can brew their own. There should be a system for production and distribution of cannabis that will cause less problems and lower policing costs. There should be a place where cannabis can be enjoyed in a responsible way, where it is away from minors, hard drugs, and where the consumers are safe. CSC's are associations of citizens who want to cultivate a limited amount of cannabis to satisfy their personal needs legally. Health and safety conditions of a CSC should be monitored during the entire process - from cultivation to consumption. This would stop the use of adulterants used in the illegal market all with their own risks. Cultivation would take place in accordance with safety rules. This would reduce problems such as fire risk and theft of electricity. Membership of the clubs would be limited to adults, so these clubs are a way to reduce the availability of cannabis to minors. This proposal is a harm reduction measure.

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #351 - Sunday, 29 July 2007 On Friday, the British medical journal Lancet published a 13 page meta-analysis 'Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychosis in Later Life.' As a result the media around the world has used the study, most often with incorrect data and conclusions, to create another reefer mania scare. Backers of stern cannabis prohibition laws have seized on this news to urge the British government to increase the potential punishment of users under their laws. More reasoned voices have cautioned that escalating criminal penalties based on a perceived increased health risk would be counterproductive. See 'Experts Dismiss Case for Cannabis Reclassification' http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n901/a05.html MAP is continually archiving both international and domestic coverage of the issue as we receive clippings. These press clippings may be reviewed by using the following link, which is updated nightly. Note that MAP identifies press stories by the location of the story. Thus a number at the link are identified as "UK:" but are actually from newspapers in the United States or Canada. http://www.mapinc.org/topics/psychosis Please consider writing and sending Letters to the Editor to the newspapers of your choice. It is important that mainstream newspaper editors and opinion writers are given a more complete and balanced perspective than that being pushed by prohibitionists. If you elect to write to more than one newspaper, we suggest at least some modification of your message so that each newspaper receives a unique letter. Thanks for your effort and support. It's not what others do, it's what YOU do. ********************************************************************** The study, as published in the Lancet, was placed on line by the Guardian as a 13 page .pdf file. See: http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2007/07/27/cannabis_new.pdf The best critique of the media's reaction to the study we have seen provides an accurate assessment of the report. Thus it may provide ideas for letter writers. Please see the column 'Cannabis Data Comes to the Crunch' at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n906/a02.html Additionally, as the Lancet study was in the preparatory stages this past May, NORML's Paul Armentano provided an astute analysis of the core propositions put forth. See: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6798 Armentano's analysis may help letter writers more accurately explain key alternative conclusions which may be drawn from the Lancet study. ********************************************************************** Additional suggestions for writing LTEs are at our Media Activism Center: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides Or contact MAP's Media Activism Facilitator for personal tips on how to write LTEs that get printed. [email protected] ********************************************************************** PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent letter list ([email protected] ) if you are subscribed, or by e-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others can learn from your efforts. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ( [email protected] ) will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form ********************************************************************** Prepared by: The MAP Media Activism Team, www.mapinc.org/resource === 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.

[This release is courtesy of Iker Val at the Ganjazz Art Club in San Sebastian, Spain.] Sunday 22 July Greetings to everyone, from Iker, president of the Ganjazz Art Club in San Sebastián. I was arrested on Friday 20 July and released yesterday, Saturday 21 July. I am very happy with all the support received from all over the country and especially from our land Euskadi. During these 30 hours that I have been free I do not do anything else than reaffirming my thoughts that came to me in the 30 hours that I was arrested: EVERYTHING WILL BE ALLRIGHT. I believe firmly in the work that our association has carried out in the past years and I believe in the strength of my arguments in the declarations to the police and the prosecutor, they are the fruit of many years defending an alternative to the policies that are applied to cannabis, a realistic alternative that we are promoting firmly, to respect some legal parameters and social criteria for normalisation and social integration of the cannabis consumer, in this so-called democratic society and its hypothetical state of law. The entire collective plantation of Ganjazz was destroyed on Friday afternoon, in the course of a desastrous intervention in the seat of the association. The work of many years selecting plants and collecting genetical information has been destroyed, all the stored flowers that were used to develop our programme of activities was erradicated. And even so, we are satisfied, because where they hoped to find some drug dealers, with thousands of euros, with all kinds of substances, kilos and kilos, arms, prostitutes etc. etc., they have found to their own surprise a simple association, that implements its humble activities in accordance with its capacities and necessities. We know that good work is being done if there is absolute coherence between theory and practice and this has been the case of Ganjazz. From now on, a new process starts for Ganjazz, in which we will have to regularise our activities. We believe that every negative event has its advantages, all this innecessary intervention in the daily life of our association has only made our conviction stronger, it has made us stronger. This experience will help us to transmit with more strength and courage the proposal to regulate the collective and individual cultivation for personal consumption. At the same time we know that society is ill in many different ways and that the reaction to all these systematical attacks on our lifestyle will change as long as we maintain this effort to organise us and reivindicate our rights as cannabis users through activities that improve OUR QUALITY OF LIFE. So our message is: Let's go forward and support all these initiatives that create a gap in the wall and increase our capacity of developing means to use our rights that we have as consumers within the law, yesterday in Euskadi we were three associations, today there are more than ten and this will increase in the near future. In various corners of the state similar projects are surging and developing really well. Greetings to all those who have been concerened with my personal situation, to all people who participated in the manifestation, to all people in the Cannabiscafe, to the RCN, to associations and growshops who have expressed their support, I have felt very supported by many people and this reaffirms me in all my ways of acting against the prohibition of cannabis. Thanks to everybody, I will continue to inform you through various media about the legal case and its resolution. On the moment our activities have not ended, nor has the club been closed, so we will be up and running shortly again. STRENGHT AND CHEERS. Iker Val. President Ganjazz Art Club http://www.encod.org/info/@[email protected]

This is more or less a copy of the reply sent to individuals who write to the Government about cannabis. Visit the petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Cannabis/ ------------------------------------------------------ 13 July 2007 We received a petition asking: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to legalise cannabis." Details of Petition: "Prohibition does not work. Any possible dangers the government believes to be involved in the use of cannabis can only increase the need for the government to take the control of it's supply away from criminals and regulate it as alcohol and tobacco are regulated. Add to this the proven medicinal uses of cannabis and it's religious use throughout the world, for which prohibition is illegal under human rights law, and legalisation can be the only logical way forward." Read the Government's response: Thank you for your petition seeking the legalisation of cannabis. The Government has no intention of legalising cannabis. In response to the Home Affairs Committee report on The Government's Drugs Policy: Is It Working? in 2002, we stated that "We do not accept that legalisation and regulation is now, or will be in the future, an acceptable response to the presence of drugs" and that includes cannabis. Whilst there is every sympathy for those with debilitating illnesses and chronic pain who are looking to alleviate their symptoms and who may not find adequate relief from existing medication. The Government's view that cannabis is and will remain a controlled, illicit drug for good reasons. When recommending the reclassification of the drug from Class B to Class C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs asked for it to be clearly understood that cannabis is unquestionably harmful. It has a number of acute and chronic health effects and prolonged use can induce dependence. Most cannabis is smoked and smoking, in any form, is dangerous. Even the occasional use of cannabis can pose significant dangers for people with mental health problems, such as schizophrenia, and particular efforts need to be made to encourage abstinence in such individuals. The Government believes that it clearly makes sense, on health grounds, for cannabis to remain a controlled drug whose unauthorised production (including cultivation), supply and possession for whatever purpose are and will remain illegal. The Government understands the reasons for your opposition to the prohibition of cannabis and your support for legalisation of the drug and control of its quality in a regulated way. However, we have concluded that the disadvantages of legalisation would outweigh the benefits. Legalisation would run counter to the Government's health and education messages. Our message to all - and to young people in particular - is that all controlled drugs, including cannabis, are harmful and no one should take them. To legalise the possession of cannabis for personal consumption would send the wrong message to the majority of young people who do not take drugs on a regular basis, if at all, with the potential risk of increased drug use and abuse. The Government's objective is to reduce the use of all illegal drugs - including cannabis - substantially, not to encourage increased consumption due to more ready access to increased supply. While our drugs laws cannot be expected to eliminate drug use, there is no doubt that they do help to limit use and deter experimentation. Among other things, the prohibition on cannabis and many other drugs was introduced by UN Convention specifically for protecting public health and welfare. On the human rights front, it is widely agreed that the law has a function in protecting public health and welfare, including protecting people from the consequences of their own actions - compare, for example, speed limits, seat belts, safety and crash helmets, tobacco health warnings, etc. The Government must balance the rights of individuals on the one hand and the greater public health and welfare considerations on the other. Whilst the Government has no intention of legalising the use of cannabis in its raw form for medicinal purposes, we have said that we would seek Parliament's agreement to make any necessary changes to the law to enable the prescription of cannabis-based medicine, for the purposes of relieving pain, but not before the granting of product approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It would not be appropriate for the Government to circumvent or undermine the well-established process attached to the evaluation of the safety, quality and effectiveness of all prospectively prescribable products by the MHRA. It is a process, which is designed to protect public health. Doctors must be confident about what they prescribe. In order to protect public health, the Government faces difficulty in making any changes to the law unless and until we are satisfied that the benefits have been formally established by the statutorily recognised means. This position is supported by the British Medical Association.

On Friday, July 6, a pair of common sense Opinion items hit North American newspapers, with one being reprinted in numerous newspapers across the country. This creates an excellent opportunity for those who endorse smarter public policies for dealing with marijuana in the 21st century. Gone should be the days of Reefer Madness - the late 1930s attitudes which have remained entrenched in federal government marijuana policies for over 70 years now. Friday's Los Angeles Times featured an OPED authored by Tony Newman of the Drug Policy Alliance. He emphasized the need to either offer help and appropriate treatment options for Americans with true drug problems. And he also noted that we should not waste criminal justice or valuable treatment resources on Americans who are only casual drug users without a problem. Newman also illustrated the disparity in our society where certain people of note receive easy access for alternatives to jail - using Al Gore III, Noelle Bush and Patrick Kennedy as prime examples. Read Newman's LA Times piece here: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n802/a04.html Also on Friday, Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post Writers Group released her latest column in which she aptly notes that the younger Gore's high-profile arrest offers Americans an opportunity to get real about drug prohibition, especially about marijuana laws. MAP has over a dozen placements of Parker's column. A continually updating link to her columns may be seen here: http://www.mapinc.org/author/Kathleen+Parker Please consider sending a Letter to the Editor to the Los Angeles Times sharing your personal support for Newman's OPED. And please consider also creating a letter in response to Kathleen Parker's column and then direct it to the newspaper closest to your hometown. If you elect to write to more than one newspaper, we strongly suggest at least some modification of your message so that each newspaper receives a unique letter. MAP has archived numerous clippings on the arrest and pending prosecution of Mr. Gore III. They may be easily be viewed here: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Al+Gore Letters of 200 words or less have the best chance of print unless otherwise noted in MAP headers. Thanks for your effort and support. It's not what others do it's what YOU do ********************************************************************** Contact: The Lost Angeles Times http://www.dailynews.com/writealetter Contact links for sending letters on Parker's column are displayed in the header for each of the MAP clippings. Learn more about how you can help deliver the messages of The Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicy.org ********************************************************************** Additional suggestions for writing LTEs are at our Media Activism Center: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides Or contact MAP's Media Activism Facilitator for personal tips on how to write LTEs that get printed. [email protected] ********************************************************************** PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent letter list ([email protected] ) if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others can learn from your efforts. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ( [email protected] ) will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form ********************************************************************** Prepared by: The MAP Media Activism Team www.mapinc.org/resource === . 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.

[Dutch News link: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2007/07/smoking_in_coffee_shops_will_b.php] Health minister Ab Klink announced late last night in parliament that coffee shops, where cannabis can be sold legally, will not be threatened by the smoking ban which takes effect on July 1, 2008, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday. 'If we want to stop our policy of toleration, we should just do so, and not use the ban as an excuse,' he told MPs. However, despite the urging of Labour, centre-left D66 and the Green Left party, coffee shops will not be entirely exempt from the ban. Klink insists that the counters where cannabis is sold must be smoke free. But as long as they are divided from the rest of the room, smoking on the premises will be allowed. Klink also wants health insurers to include nicotine patches and courses on how to stop smoking in the basic health care package, according to the NOS news site. And he is also considering allowing insurers to offer people with a healthy lifestyle a lower premium. The minister will present a full package of ideas for preventative healthcare after the summer recess.

People convicted of marijuana offenses — even minor ones — may face punishments that go far beyond whatever fines or jail sentences the court imposes, according to a new study. These "collateral sanctions" can haunt offenders for their whole lives and, in some cases, be worse than those faced by violent criminals. The report, issued by the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, was funded by MPP's grants program and is the first report to analyze the extra punishments faced by marijuana offenders. Some key findings of the report include: Sanctions triggered by a marijuana conviction can include loss of access to food stamps, public housing, and student financial aid, as well as driver's license suspensions, loss of or ineligibility for professional licenses, other barriers to employment or promotion, and bars to adoption, voting, and jury service. Sanctions triggered by felony marijuana convictions can be more severe than those for a violent crime — and a felony can be as little as growing one marijuana plant or possessing over 20 grams of marijuana. Marijuana offenders are subject to the most severe collateral sanctions in Florida, Delaware, Alabama, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Utah. Marijuana offenders are subject to the least severe collateral sanctions in New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Maine. Please click here http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/rpts/col_sanctions.htm to see the ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These types of reports are important because they systematically highlight the injustices caused by marijuana prohibition. Indeed, the issue of collateral sanctions is getting attention from officials: A story on June 24 in the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey described Mayor Cory Booker as incensed about laws that keep people with minor drug convictions from having a driver's license or getting many types of jobs, saying, "The drug war is causing crime. It's just chewing up young black men." The laws that create a kind of "double jeopardy" for marijuana offenders are too often a "feel-good" way for legislators to appear tough on drugs. But the results can be devastating to people's lives.