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What do Rosanne Barr and the clergy have in common?

Dear friends:

With just one day to go until Massachusetts voters vote on an historic initiative to decriminalize marijuana possession, more than 50 religious leaders and a slew of other prominent figures have come out in favor of the measure. The list of endorsers includes:

  • Steve Buscemi, actor;
  • Roseanne Barr, actress;
  • Lewis Black, comedian;
  • Noam Chomsky, MIT professor and noted scholar;
  • Ray Benson, musician;
  • Carly Simon, musican;
  • Doug Stanhope, comedian;
  • Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling, comedian;
  • Michelle Phillips, musican;
  • Rick Steves, author; and
  • More than 50 Massachusetts religious leaders from diverse faiths — Baptist, Buddhist, Catholic, Church of Christ, Congregationalist, Episcopal, Jewish, Lutheran, Methodist, and Unitarian Universalist.

This outpouring of support comes as the campaign is fighting hard to win tomorrow — fighting back against dirty tricks by the state's district attorneys, who have resorted to outright lies about the measure ... such as claiming that marijuana causes violent crime and that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco.

It's been a long and hard-fought road, and tomorrow the voters will finally get to decide. As you might imagine, MPP's coffers have been depleted by this campaign and the medical marijuana initiative campaign in Michigan. If you're able to help out, we'd really appreciate any donation you can make to help us replenish — because no matter what tomorrow's results, the fight doesn't end. Thank you for anything you can give.

Sincerely,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)

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 $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2008. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

Press Release: Bay Area Legislators Call Prop. 5 Much Needed, Just-in Time Reform

For Immediate Release: November 3, 2008 Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190 or Tommy McDonald at (510) 229-5215 Bay Area Legislators Call Prop. 5 Much-Needed, Just-in-Time Reform Echo State Democratic Party Endorsement SAN JOSE – Bay Area legislators today announced support for Proposition 5, echoing the endorsement of the State Democratic Party. Highlighting the cost savings of treatment not incarceration programs, Assemblymembers Beall, Lieber and Leno called on voters to approve the much-needed treatment expansion and prison reform. Assemblyman Jim Beall, of San Jose, said, “By failing to directly address the problem of addiction, California has taken a one-sided, punitive and costly approach – incarceration. Little funding goes to the most cost-effective approach that stops the cycle of addiction: prevention and early intervention for our youth. In this time of economic crisis, we need an effective approach to combat the disease of addiction rather than continuing to fund an ineffective incarceration-first policy.” Assembly Member Sally Lieber, of Silicon Valley, said, “The state’s worsening prison overcrowding and ballooning budget deficits are not separate crises. They are intimately related. Until we address our failed prison policies, we will only see our budget problems increase. That’s why Prop. 5 is the right thing for California. It will usher in more effective and affordable responses to nonviolent drug offenses – and stop pouring taxpayer money down the drain of the bloated prison system.” Assembly Member Mark Leno, of San Francisco, said, “California can’t afford to kick the can down the road any longer. If we don’t address our broken prison system, it will drain our state coffers at a time when we most need to spend cautiously. For better public safety and better use of taxpayer dollars, we need real prison and sentencing reform. Prop. 5 brings that reform to California just in time – when we really can’t wait any longer.” The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office found that Prop. 5 will lower incarceration costs by $1 billion each year and save taxpayers $2.5 billion in reduced prison-construction costs. This doesn’t include savings related to reduced crime, fewer social services costs (e.g. emergency room visits, child protective services, welfare), and increased individual productivity. For more information, visit www.Prop5Yes.org. ###

Press Release: Children's Defense Fund-California Endorses Prop. 5: Would Provide Youth with Treatment Instead of Jail Sentences

For Immediate Release: November 3, 2008 Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190, Tommy McDonald at (510) 229-5215, or Ed Shelleby at (202) 662-3602 Children's Defense Fund-California Endorses Proposition 5 Prop. 5 Would Provide Children with Treatment Instead of Jail Sentences LOS ANGELES - Today, the Children's Defense Fund - California (CDF-CA) endorsed Proposition 5, a ballot initiative that Californians will vote on next Tuesday. If passed, Prop 5 would provide $65 million per year to counties to make drug treatment available to at-risk youths under the age of 18. Virtually no publicly-funded treatment is available now for young people. "The Children's Defense Fund supports Prop 5 because it would implement strong policies that would provide treatment and services to youths instead of arresting and incarcerating youth for minor drug offenses," said Deena Lahn, Policy Director of CDF-CA. "Putting more and more of California's children behind bars costs taxpayers too much and isn't an effective crime prevention tool. If we stop arresting children for problems that are more effectively addressed through early intervention and treatment, it will benefit every community across the state. Prop 5 is the right policy for California youths." Currently, only 10 percent of California youth who need treatment actually receive it. In 2006, there were more than 15,000 juvenile arrests for misdemeanor drug offenses. Low-income youths-frequently the group most at risk-are often first arrested and processed into the juvenile justice system before receiving any form of treatment; even then, youth programs are often inadequate. Under Prop 5, parents, teachers and doctors could all refer young people directly to these health services without the need for a criminal justice intervention. Research shows that adolescent treatment is effective in reducing arrests, improving academic performance and keeping youth in school. Prop 5 ensures that the new system of care meets the full spectrum of youths needs, including family therapy, educational and employment stipends and more. The Children's Defense Fund-California joins the League of Women Voters of California, California Nurses Association, California Federation of Teachers, Consumer Federation of California, California State Conference of the NAACP and National Council of La Raza, among others, in endorsing Prop. 5. For more information about Proposition 5, visit http://www.prop5yes.com/ ###

Press Release: Religious Leaders Support Marijuana Ballot Initiative

Fifty-one Clergy From A Dozen Denominations in 46 Towns Throughout Massachusetts Urge Voters to Pass Question 2 Contact: Charles Thomas, IDPI Executive Director, at 301-938-1577 November 3, 2008 — Religious leaders throughout Massachusetts are urging voters to pass Question 2, replacing incarceration and a criminal record with a civil fine for possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use. Fifty-one clergy in 46 towns and cities signed a statement proclaiming, “We support changing Massachusetts law so that people who possess under an ounce of marijuana will no longer face arrest or prison.” The clergypersons calling for more just and compassionate policies are from a dozen different denominations, including Catholic, Congregationalist, and American Baptist. Several denominations and other major religious groups also have adopted official positions opposing criminal penalties for marijuana users, including the National Council of Churches, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church USA, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the Unitarian Universalist Association. In Massachusetts, more than 7,500 people a year are arrested for the personal possession of an ounce or less of marijuana and face up to six months in jail and a fine. In addition, a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) report is generated upon arrest, which frequently bans individuals from obtaining school loans and professional licensure, as well as substantially limiting opportunities for employment and housing, thereby impeding their ability to lead productive lives. “Those we incarcerate are not faceless strangers but our children,” said Pastor Jeffrey Long-Middleton from the West Acton Baptist Church. “It is unjust to lock them up for behaviors that don’t directly harm others. In fact, the current laws only increase the likelihood that they will become trapped in a cycle of offenses and self-harm.” A small group of only six clergypersons recently spoke out against Question 2, having been misled into believing that replacing criminal penalties with a civil fine would lead to an increase in marijuana usage by young people. In fact, eleven other states enacted similar laws in the past 35 years, and there was no resulting increase in marijuana use in any age group in those states. “We’re not urging anyone to use marijuana,” said the Rev. Marc Fredette from the First Unitarian Universalist Parish in Waltham. “But it is worse to have a marijuana policy that doesn’t accomplish any of its goals, disproportionately punishes the most vulnerable members of our community, and continues to punish them even after they’ve served their sentence.” Marijuana use rates are the same across race and class lines; however, arrest and conviction rates rise dramatically for offenders of color, youth, and the economically disadvantaged. Efforts to educate the public about the need to pass Question 2 include a full-page ad in today’s Berkshire Eagle, quoting the religious leaders’ entire statement of support. “It’s time to set the record straight,” said Charles Thomas, executive director of the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative in Washington, D.C. “Criminal penalties for marijuana possession violates the core religious principles of justice and compassion. Religious leaders everywhere are seeing the light, and it’s very encouraging that clergy in Massachusetts taking a position on Question 2 are overwhelmingly supportive.”

Medical marijuana patients attacked in new ad

Dear friends:

Michigan's medical marijuana initiative is under attack.

With just five days remaining until Election Day, prohibitionists are running this fear-mongering TV ad, which shows “footage” of a child trying to go in a medical marijuana dispensary and “patients” assaulting an elderly woman.

Attacking medical marijuana patients is a truly despicable tactic. Medical marijuana patients aren't thugs. They're seriously ill doctors, teachers, nurses, plumbers, and other upstanding Americans — who don't want to fear arrest and jail for using the medicine their physicians have recommended.

Here's a look at one of them:

Will you please help protect people like Dr. Wagoner and his wife from arrest and jail?

Not only is the opposition lying to voters about the face of medical marijuana, but they're lying about the initiative too. Michigan's initiative wouldn't even allow dispensaries; it simply permits private marijuana use by patients with a doctor's approval.

If this turns your stomach like it does mine, please turn your anger into action: Help the campaign win here.

Time is running short. Even a donation of $10 to the campaign committee will help ensure that sick and dying patients no longer must fear arrest.

Thank you,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)

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 $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2008. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

Pants on Fire

Election 2008

Dear friends,

The prison guards' union is spending millions to defeat California's Proposition 5 and to make sure the number of people behind bars just keeps growing.

And they're lying to make that happen.

Here's your chance to fight back by helping us get this ad on the air. Donate now.

Every union has a mission to fight for better pay and working conditions.

But it's despicable when anyone sees their interests best served by locking up as many of their fellow citizens as possible.

The prison guards' union is lying to beat Prop. 5 -- the ballot initiative we drafted that would reduce prison overcrowding, expand treatment and rehabilitation for nonviolent drug offenders and cut billions of dollars in state spending.

Prop. 5 is in serious danger on Election Day because the prison guards' union has mounted an insidious campaign on TV that tells voters anything but the truth.

Help us make sure every voter in California sees the truth.

And please keep in mind: This is not just about California.  If Prop. 5 wins, it will provide a new model for the nation.

Please give whatever you can now to ensure that millions of people see this ad before Election Day.

Thank you,

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance Network 

P.S. Don't miss this last chance to be a part of the biggest prison and sentencing reform in U.S. history. Give now.

Press Release: Prison Guards Blasted on New 'Yes on 5' TV Spot: Union Has Spent $2 Million to Fight Prop. 5

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 29, 2008 CONTACT: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190, Tommy McDonald at (510) 229-5215 Prison Guards Blasted in New 'Yes on 5' TV Spot CCPOA Has Spent Almost $2 million to Fight Prop. 5 Why? Overcrowded Prisons = Overtime Pay LOS ANGELES - California's prison guards union has provided most of the money lined up against Proposition 5, a drug treatment measure that would reduce prison overcrowding and forestall $2.5 billion worth of new prison construction. Today the Yes on 5 campaign struck back with a new TV spot that highlights the prison guards' contributions and their financial interest in defeating Prop. 5. Titled "Party's Over," the new Yes on 5 spot begins, "Our prisons are overcrowded. And prison guards are overjoyed!" The ad then explains that, for prison guards, overcrowding means more overtime pay. "That's why the prison guards want to stop Proposition 5, and are spending millions against it," says the ad. "Tell the prison guards the party's over. Vote Yes on 5." Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy campaign manager for Yes on 5, said, "We know that California voters will be outraged to learn that the people paying for those No on 5 ads are the people who benefit the most from overcrowded prisons. Let's not forget, it is California taxpayers who shell out $10 billion a year for a broken prison system and enormous overtime pay for guards." The prison guards union, formally the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), contributed $1 million to the official No on 5 campaign on Oct. 14, then last Friday made another $825,000 "independent expenditure" contribution of TV airtime to oppose Prop. 5. This means the prison guards have provided 75% of the money behind the $2.4 million in airtime purchased so far to oppose Prop. 5 Dooley-Sammuli added, "If you want to know why our prison system is dysfunctional, look no further than the checkbook of the CCPOA. The prison guards will fight any reform that might threaten their bottom line. It's time for the voters to stand up to the 800-pound gorilla of state politics. We can do that by voting Yes on Prop. 5." ### To view the ad: http://www.prop5yes.com/partys-over Broadcast-quality copies of the new Yes on 5 ad are available on request.

Press Release: Yes on Prop. 5 TV Spot Focuses on Treatment Success and Fiscal Savings!

For Immediate Release: October 28, 2008 Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190 or Tommy McDonald at (510) 229-5215 Yes on 5 TV Spot Focuses on Treatment Success, Fiscal Savings Supporters Say Prop. 5 Means More of Both SACRAMENTO – With the budget deficit worsening and prison overcrowding reaching crisis levels, voters are looking for an affordable and effective alternative. Proposition 5 builds on California’s proven treatment-instead-of-incarceration programs for nonviolent drug offenders. According to the nonpartisan legislative analyst, Prop. 5 will expand access to proven treatment programs and cut state costs. The savings – in lives and taxpayer dollars – of California’s existing treatment programs is the theme of “Success Story”, a new TV spot released today by the Yes on 5 campaign and now airing statewide. The ad focuses on Proposition 36, the treatment-instead-of-incarceration program approved by voters in 2000, which has graduated 84,000 nonviolent drug offenders and cut state spending on incarceration by $2 billion. The ad comes just days after the release of a new study on Proposition 36. Al Senella, president of the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives, said “The proof is in the research: treatment works and it cuts costs. But Prop. 36 hasn’t been adequately funded. That means some people aren’t getting all the help they need and taxpayers aren’t seeing all the savings they should. Inadequate investment in treatment means higher costs later.” Conducted by independent researchers at UCLA, the October 14 report found that Prop. 36 consistently serves 35,000 nonviolent drug offenders each year, saves $2 for every $1 spent, and that program completers have lower recidivism rates. Tom Renfree, executive director of the County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association of California, said “UCLA showed that the program needs individualized treatment, increased supervision and improved accountability. Prop. 5 delivers on all these recommendations. For those not satisfied with Prop. 36, Prop. 5 is the answer. It will improve outcomes and further cut costs.” Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy campaign manager of Yes on 5, said, “Prop. 36 has been a huge success. What all the research tells us is that treatment can be even more successful at cutting recidivism and prison spending. That’s why Prop. 5 is on the ballot.” The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office found that Prop. 5 will lower incarceration costs by $1 billion each year and reduce prison-construction costs by $2.5 billion. This doesn’t include savings related to reduced crime, fewer social services costs (e.g. emergency room visits, welfare), and increased individual productivity. For the ad: http://www.prop5yes.com/campaign-ads-videos For the report:http://www.uclaisap.org/prop36/documents/2008%20Final%20Report.pdf

Listen to this lie-filled radio ad

Dear friends:

Opponents of the initiative to decriminalize marijuana in Massachusetts have now hit a new low. They're airing this radio ad, which falsely alleges that the initiative would benefit drug dealers, tell children that drug use is “safe and acceptable,” and “make it easier for kids to get behind the wheel of a car after smoking marijuana," and that its chief proponent is philanthropist George Soros.

All false.

It's no surprise that the opposition can't argue the initiative on its merits and has to resort to outright lies.

But one week out from Election Day, there's not much time left to make sure that Massachusetts voters hear the truth.

Would you please help the campaign complete its final, crucial push in these last remaining days? There is a real opportunity here to change marijuana laws in an historic way, but time is short.

Thank you,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)

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

P.S. You can opt out of receiving fundraising mentions in the e-mail alerts I send you in 2008 by visiting www.mpp.org/2008optoutpreference at your convenience.

DPA: Tell Your California Friends to Vote "Yes on 5"

 

Election 2008

Dear friends,

President Bush’s Drug Czar and the powerful California prison guards' union are both turning their guns on the biggest U.S. drug policy reform since alcohol Prohibition was repealed 75 years ago. 

Don’t let them get away with it. Tell everyone you know in California to vote YES on Prop. 5!

Proposition 5 on the California ballot would dramatically reduce the role of prison in dealing with drug offenders.

It’s also the only measure on the ballot in California that will save taxpayers billions.  (That’s not just our opinion.  It’s the conclusion of the California Legislative Analyst’s Office.)
 
But the Drug Czar and the prison guards' union don’t give a damn about soaking taxpayers to pay for a failed drug war.  And they could care less about giving people with drug problems a chance to get treatment and rehabilitation instead of a prison cell. 

Now we just found out that the “lock ‘em all up” lobby is raising big bucks to defeat Prop. 5 from the casinos, beer distributors and drug war fanatics.

All that money is going for TV ads using the same old scare tactics that fueled the war on drugs in the first place. But on Election Day, we can show them how wrong they are -- if we get voters to the polls in support of Prop. 5.
 
No matter where you live, we bet you know at least a few Californians (or at least someone who does)! Will you help get out the vote for Prop. 5? Do it the easy way -- forward this email! 
 
Check out our TV ads and then share the link with your friends in California so they hear the truth about Prop. 5. Coming from you, the message will carry a lot of weight. You can help us counter the millions of dollars the prison guards’ union and their friends are spending on dishonest and scare tactic ads.
 
You’ll be in good company. Everyone from the League of Women Voters of California to the California Nurses Association to the California Federation of Teachers to the Consumer Federation of California supports Prop. 5.  So does former Secretary of State George Shultz.  They all know Prop. 5 will save money and save lives.

Sincerely,
 
Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance Network
 
P.S. Even if you don’t live in California, you can help put ads on TV! Check them out here and support the Prop. 5 ad campaign with a donation!

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