Announcement

HRC at DPA 2007 Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans, LA December 5-8, 2007 www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=121856 The New Orleans International Drug Policy Reform Conference is the biggest Harm Reduction event of 2007. Town Hall Meeting - Evening Session What's up and what's on with our community right now and where are we going? Allan Clear, Bernie Lieving, Wyndi Anderson, Rona Taylor, Hilary McQuie, Luciano Colonna, Daniel Raymond, Donald Davis, Corey Davis, Sharon Stancliff, Phillip Fiuty, Andy Ko, Caitlin Padgett, Terri Hurst, Dimitri Mobengo Mugianis, Patrick Kroupa, Roseanne Scotti, Paula Santiago, and Tyler Fisher will be sifting publicly through the wreckage of our lives. Fed Ban Teach-In The Fed Ban has got to go! This year the DC ban was lifted. What can we do around the Dems, Labor HHS, Obey, full committee, Hill visits, and in-district meetings? Confused? Come to the teach-in to get informed and mobilized. Hilary McQuie & Daniel Raymond Workshops Buprenorphine: Thinking Outside the Box - Bup has been abysmally marketed in the US. It's a great medication but are your exchangers getting access to it? Sharon Stancliff Hepatitis C Integration - Eliminate blood borne HCV and HIV will also be eliminated. Yet we spend our time educating injectors about HIV whilst paying lip service to HCV. Learn how to fully integrate the message. Donald Davis & Narelle Ellendon Opiate Overdose - Too many preventable deaths happen among our opiate users. Many needle exchange programs are helping to save lives by distributing narcan and teaching rescue breathing. Learn how to save lives too. Caroline Rath & Lauren Enteen Law Enforcement - Police harassment of drug injectors isn't going away. We have to work with law enforcement for the sake of our programs and our participants. Get the skinny. Corey Davis & Basha Closic Other harm reduction panel topics and invited speakers at the conference: Hidden Histories of Harm Reduction - Caroline Acker, Sheigla Murphy, Allan Clear Integration of Harm Reduction into Government - Roseanne Scotti, Daliah Heller, Bernie Lieving, Kasia Malinowska Juvenille Justice and Harm Reduction Ibogaine - Howard Lotsof, Dimitri Mobengo Mugianis, Dana Beal, Patrick Kroupa Drinking Age of Youth and Harm Reduction Drug Cultures in Post-Katrina New Orleans - Implications for Harm Reduction Youth Engagement training - Caitlin Padgett Beyond Zero Tolerance - Chuck Ries For more information contact Rona Taylor @ [email protected]

Dear ASA Supporter, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) scored an important victory in Congress yesterday, one that may have protected the medical cannabis laws in all twelve states in which they have been adopted. In April, ASA was the first to get word from allies in Washington, DC, that staunch medical cannabis opponent Senator Tom Coburn planned to quietly introduce an amendment to the Prescription Drug Use Fee Act, that would have effectively blocked implementation of state medical cannabis laws by giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to obstruct these laws! ASA and our allies in the HIV/AIDS community sprang into action – launching a stealthy campaign to kill the amendment without alerting our adversaries. Yesterday, the bill was adopted without the harmful Coburn amendment! This is exactly the work we came to do when we opened the first office in Washington, DC devoted exclusively to medical cannabis advocacy. We need your support to be sure we are here to fight back again next time – and take the campaign on the offensive. Please take a moment to support ASA’s work today by visiting www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/Join. ASA has worked hard to establish strategic alliances with health care advocacy organizations in order to expand and strengthen the coalition supporting medical cannabis. This new coalition had the power to persuade Senator Ted Kennedy and Presidential Candidates Senators Clinton and Obama to oppose the amendment. ASA and our allies continued working to be sure the sneaky amendment was not introduced in the House, and ultimately removed from the final bill. We had to act fast and work in concert with our allies, but we were able to stop the Senator’s attempt to do an administrative end run around states’ medical cannabis laws. Unfortunately, this will not be the last time we have to fight off an attack on safe access. That is why ASA continues to educate members of Congress, advocate for policies that promote safe and legal access, and keep an eye on our increasingly sophisticated opponents. We need your continued support to do this work so please contribute today: www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/Join. We rely on support from people like you to defend safe access against threats like the Coburn amendment. Please help us do this work, so that we can finally harmonize federal law with the laws of the states that allow medical cannabis use. Only then, will patients’ access be truly safe. Thank you for doing your part! Sincerely, Steph Sherer Executive Director Americans for Safe Access

In June 1998, in a Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York, the governments of the world announced a 10-year strategy to achieve significant and measurable results in the fight against drugs by the year 2008. Among others, the strategy included the purpose of eliminating or significantly reducing the illicit cultivation of the coca bush, the cannabis plant and the opium poppy by the year 2008. In March 2008, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs will meet in Vienna to review the results of the strategy. In the past ten years, it has become obvious for everybody that this strategy has failed completely, even in the countries that enforced it most strictly. Drug supply and demand are rising systematically throughout the world, sometimes even spectacularly as in the case of Afghanistan. Meanwhile the policy of prohibiting drugs leads to violent conflicts, violation of human and civil rights, criminalisation and stigmatization of entire populations, social and health disasters such as the spread of HIV, as well as to the increase of organised crime. To eliminate plants would threaten the biological and cultural diversity of the planet. Hemp, coca leaves and opium have many medicinal, nutritional and other useful applications. The legal cultivation of these plants can support small-scale agriculture that operates without state support and promotes sustainable development. Vienna 2008 is the perfect opportunity for all those citizens who want new solutions to the global drugs problem. In Vienna in March 2008, we can show the world there is much more to fear from drug prohibition than from a tolerant alternative. Our plan is to organise a 3 day "Global Village for a Different Drug Policy" in Vienna in March 2008, during the period in which the UN meeting will be held (final dates will be confirmed in October). We would like to invite you to participate in one of the planned events of this village: 1. An exposition /fair on the culture and beneficial use of plants that are prohibited by the UN Drug Conventions. We hope to count with the presence and/or collaboration of companies involved in the organisation of hemp fairs around Europe, as well as companies and organisations who promote the beneficial and responsible use of hemp/cannabis, mushrooms, coca leaves etc. 2. A scientific conference with the purpose of making a psychoanalysis of current drug policy. Is prohibition based on a primitive instinct that has lost its legitimacy long ago? We hope to count on the presence of experts (researchers, representatives of affected communities etc.) who can shed some light on the reasons why drug prohibition is continued in spite of the many evidences that prove it to be a total failure. 3. A demonstration to the UN building in Vienna: Cures Not Wars. We hope to count on the presence of thousands of activists, as well as musicians and artists. In 2003, ENCOD organised a similar event (http://www.vienna2003.org), during the mid-term evaluation meeting of the 1998 strategy. If you are interested to collaborate with us in the organisation of this event, please contact us at :[email protected]. More news will follow in the coming weeks. ---------------- EUROPEAN COALITION FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES Lange Lozanastraat 14 - 2018 Antwerpen - Belgium Tel. + 32 (0)3 293 0886 - Mob. + 32 (0)495 122644 E-mail: [email protected] / www.encod.org

Dear Friend, I am with Shot Caller Press, LLC a publishing company dedicated to prison art and literature. Currently we are holding a contest for prison poetry, with cash prizes. The contest if for prisoners, ex-prisoners, family members or friend of someone in prison, any prison guards, prison volunteer, or prison worker. First Place is $250.00, Second Place: $100.00, and Third Place: $75.00. If you would like more information about this contest please log on at: www.shotcallerpress.com/poetrycontest.htm. This site will outline the rules and tell you about our publishing company. If you have any further questions please feel free to email me or call me at the number below. Theresa M. Huggins www.shotcallerpress.com Shot Caller Press, LLC 8316 N. Lombard # 317 Portland, Oregon 97203 503-890-1027

If you’ve ever wanted to hang out with author Tom Robbins, this is your chance. On behalf of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy (CSMP), I’m pleased to invite you to a VIP reception featuring the bestselling author in Boston on Friday, September 14. This is the only time we’re going to promote this event to MPP’s national e-mail list, so please purchase your tickets here (http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/?msource=5164&tr=y&auid=2891378) today. Tom Robbins, who has penned such classics as Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, and the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy (http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/) will host the event at the home of Woody Kaplan and Wendy Kaminer in Boston’s Back Bay. The event will raise much-needed funds for the signature drive to place a binding marijuana “decriminalization” initiative on the November 2008 statewide ballot in Massachusetts. This will be the first such initiative to remove all criminal penalties for the possession of marijuana in any state. The initiative seeks to change Massachusetts state law so that the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana would be a civil fine instead of a criminal sanction. You can find more information about this event and purchase tickets here (http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/?msource=5164&tr=y&auid=2891382). The signature drive to place the initiative on the ballot will cost approximately $350,000, which must be raised by mid-October, because the signature drive must take place from September 19 to November 21 of this year. Who: Woody Kaplan, Wendy Kaminer, and author Tom Robbins will be joined by me and CSMP's campaign manager Whitney Taylor What: VIP reception to support the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy Where: 2 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass. When: Friday, September 14, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $250 in advance or $350 at the door. Purchase tickets here (http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/?msource=5164&tr=y&auid=2891407). Please join us to discuss how the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy intends to make history in November of next year. I look forward to seeing you in Boston on September 14 ... Sincerely, Rob Kampia Executive Director Marijuana Policy Project Washington, D.C.

The Sentencing Project and coalition partners, the American Civil Liberties Union, Open Society Institute and Drug Policy Alliance, have launched It's Not Fair. It's Not Working, a national campaign to educate the public about the crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity. The goal is to encourage the American public to make their voices heard in order to reform the mandatory penalties for crack and powder cocaine offenses to make them more equitable and fair. An important element of the initiative will be to engage the public through events such as town hall meetings, national conferences, hearings and other opportunities. All activities will be designed to educate and raise awareness. The It's Not Fair. It's Not Working campaign will also feature three advertisements: It's Not Fair (http://sentencingproject.org/tmp/File/Crack/Garrison_Ad%20(2c).pdf) features Karen Garrison, mother of twin sons who received long sentences for non-violent crack cocaine offenses just months after they graduated from college. Something's Wrong with the Math (http://sentencingproject.org/tmp/File/Crack/c_Chalkboard_Ad.pdf) points out that an individual only needs to possess 5 grams of crack cocaine to receive the same 5 year mandatory sentence as someone who sells 500 grams of powder cocaine. There's a Crack in the System (http://sentencingproject.org/tmp/File/Crack/c_SystemAd.pdf) supports the American ideal of a fair and appropriate sentencing system while at the same time informing the public that possessing a small amount of crack cocaine can carry an excessive penalty. Today a new consciousness about the unfairness and ineffectiveness of harsh crack cocaine mandatory sentences has emerged among advocates, policymakers, judges and the United States Sentencing Commission. At a time of bipartisan interest in this issue, Congress may be on the verge of mending the crack injustice. Since May, three bills have been introduced in the Senate that would reduce sentences for low-level crack cocaine offenses: · Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) for the first time introduced a bill to equalize penalties for crack and powder cocaine offenses. · Senator Orrin Hatch's (R-UT) new proposal would reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder by raising the trigger weight for a five-year mandatory crack sentence from five grams to 25 grams. · Senator Jeff Sessions' (R-AL) bill would reduce the sentencing disparity also but expand mandatory sentencing for powder cocaine offenses. The Sentencing Project is actively working to advance crack cocaine sentencing reform in Congress this year. The support of national, state and local organizations is critical to our efforts. We urge organizations to endorse a sign-on letter to U.S. House and Senate Judiciary members calling for legislation eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for low-level crack cocaine offenses. You can submit your organization's endorsement of the crack cocaine sentencing reform letter at: http://www.sentencingproject.org/Contact.aspx. Please include your organization's name, the name and title of signer, and the signer's e-mail address and phone number. For more information about It's Not Fair. It's Not Working, and The Sentencing Project's work to end the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, go to www.sentencingproject.org/crackreform.

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.

The masterful virtual tour of the Prison Art Gallery that Verizon put together, thanks to director Colby Hartburg, is something that the 2.3 million men and women can be proud of. Folks can look forward to seeing it broadcast on the Verizon-sponsored TV news magazine show "Push Pause." See it now on YouTube by clicking http://youtube.com/watch?v=oK-EVL_mE_I Located three blocks from the White House, the Prison Art Gallery is served by two Metro stations (Farragut North on the Red Line, and McPherson on the Orange and Blue Lines). Note that the entrance is on 16th Street, at the corner of K Street. Open Mon to Fri, 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 to 5:30 PM (also open evenings by appointment - groups welcome - admission is always free).

The Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics has released an important new report, "Life Sentences: Collateral Sanctions Associated with Marijuana Offenses," detailing the range of extra penalties that people with marijuana convictions can continue to suffer even after their criminal punishment is completed, including state-by-state summaries. According to CCLE: "Our latest study examines the true impact of a marijuana conviction. A misdemeanor conviction for possession of marijuana can trigger automatic bars on educational aid, a bar on serving as a foster parent, denial of federal housing assistance, revocation or suspension of occupational licenses, suspension of one’s driver’s license, and much more."