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Changing Minds 2009
Changing Minds 2010
Director's Blog

Marijuana decriminalization advances in New Hampshire and the nation -- taxing and regulating it is next!

Dear friends:

New Hampshire took a major step forward today, passing a bill to decriminalize marijuana in the House by an overwhelming 214-137, thanks in great part to Matt Simon, MPP grant recipient and executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy! Having passed with equally impressive numbers (16-2) in a committee vote earlier this year, the legislation will now move on to the Senate for consideration.

Won't you consider helping MPP and our allies to continue to work towards ending marijuana prohibition?

It's not just New Hampshire — and not just decriminalization — that's making waves this year. Several other states are talking about not just decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, but taxing and regulating it as well. Legislators in Washington, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia all also sponsored decriminalization bills this session. In Hawaii, a Senate bill to decriminalize an ounce of marijuana recently passed with an amazing 22-3 margin!

On the tax and regulation front, we've seen a historic committee win in California, where voters will get the chance to vote to tax and regulate marijuana later this year, as well as a New Hampshire House vote to study a proposed tax-and-regulate bill there. Rhode Island has just introduced a tax-and-regulate bill, and Washington state saw a bill earlier this session, as well. This is a sea change of support that MPP, our allies, and you are helping to drive.

Red states, blue states, and every color in between are beginning to realize that ending marijuana prohibition is both fiscally and socially sound. Please, help support MPP's work so that we can continue to push for these sensible policies across the nation and end marijuana prohibition once and for all!

Sincerely,

Karen O'Keefe's signature 

Karen O'Keefe
Director of State Policies
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

Investing in the Future of Drug Policy Reform

Invest in the Future of Drug Policy Reform



Will you help send students to SSDP's 11th Annual Conference?

Dear Friends,

Something very big is happening this weekend. 

This coming Friday, over 400 students from around the world will fly into San Francisco for three days of inquiry, education and training during Students for Sensible Drug Policy's International Conference entitled, "This Is Your Brain On Drug Policy" (inspired by this 1980s gem of an anti-drug commercial).  It's our largest conference to date and the first with a satellite gathering of 100-plus students in Nigeria as part of their inaugural national SSDP Conference.

The weekend will begin with orations from the leaders in the drug policy reform movement, with an emphasis on how we leverage student organizing in the years ahead.  On Sunday, we'll focus on advocacy training, where students will learn tangible organizing tools, from working with their schools' administrations to forming broad coalitions and changing campus policies.  I'm thrilled with our line-up of presenters and am keen to see our newest members learn from one another and develop lasting bonds around their passion for reform.

Only days before the first students arrive, I want to ask for your help to make this conference even bigger.  We would still like to award additional scholarships to make it possible for our newest chapter leaders and promising chapter starters to attend. 

Can you help?

A $25 donation will help reduce a student's registration cost, $100 can cover the weekend's hotel costs for one attendee, and $250 brings someone from our expanding international network of student leaders.

Thank you for helping foster the future drug policy reformers of the world. 

I hope to see you in San Francisco.

Matthew Palevsky
Acting Executive Director
Students for Sensible Drug Policy

 

Vote for a new member of MPP's board of directors

Dear friends:

MPP is in the process of choosing a new member of our board of directors.

Want to take part and vote for a candidate?

Qualifying to vote is easy: Anyone who has donated to MPP or the MPP Medical Marijuana Political Action Committee in the last 365 days is eligible to vote. (Donations to MPP Foundation do not count for the purpose of determining eligibility for the MPP board vote.)

If you don't currently qualify to vote and you'd like to participate, simply make yourself eligible by making a donation of $5 or more to MPP right now, and then you can cast your vote.

I invite you to participate in the governance of MPP by voting today. Together we will end marijuana prohibition.

Sincerely,

Marsha Wallen NA_030910

Marsha Wallen
Director of Membership
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

Prison Art Gallery: Our First Spring Prison Art Show in Downtown, DC

 

It's fun, it's free, it's convenient, and it features (live, in person) ex-prisoner artist Jahi Foster-Bey. Join us as we unveil our latest prisoner-made art and jewelry for 2010. It's happening this Saturday and Sunday (March 13 and 14) 10 AM to 6 PM at the north entrance of the Dupont Circle Metro in downtown Washington, DC.

 

Multi-talented artist Jahi Foster-Bey will be on hand to answer your questions about creating art in prison and what it takes to succeed as an artist on outside. You've seen Jahi perform at the Kennedy Center, viewed his commissioned work in Spin magazine, and seen his extraordinary art on display at the Prison Art Gallery. Now meet him in person and purchase a unique ring, bracelet or necklace he created for just $15.  Come out and show your support, while walking away with something beautiful.

 

If you're not going to be in Washington, DC during the weekend, please visit our website by clicking here to view and purchase hundreds of works created by presently or formerly imprisoned artists.  Thank you.

 


 

All art on this page created by artists represented by the Safe Streets Arts Foundation, including "Obama" by Jahi Foster-Bey

 

"The Safe Streets Arts Foundation, incorporating both the Prisons Foundation and the Victims Foundation, is proud to sponsor the annual From-Prison-to-The-Stage Show at the Kennedy Center and the Prison Art Gallery at 1600 K Street. NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC, three blocks from the White House."

Gallery logo 

Join 999 others and double your impact for LEAP

Dear friends,

LEAP has very exciting news. An anonymous donor has pledged to match $50,000 in donations to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. That means your donation of any amount at this time can be doubled!

We hope you enjoyed our recent newsletter. As current and former members of law enforcement, LEAP speakers are spreading the message that it is time to get the criminal justice system out of an area where it does not belong. This year alone, LEAP has testified for decriminalization and/or legalization bills in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Washington. We would like to do even more - we can do more, but only with your help.


This is a perfect opportunity to help us reach our immediate goal of raising $50,000. If 1,000 of you were to give $50 we would make this goal. And the more you give, the more LEAP can do.

As always, we appreciate your support.

Thank you,


Jack A. Cole
Executive Director

Your donation puts LEAP speakers in front of audiences. To support LEAP's work by making a contribution, please click here.






           

121 Mystic Ave. Suites 8&9
Medford, MA 01255
(781) 393-6985 [email protected]


You received this e-mail because you are a supporter of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.   We need help growing our all-encompassing movement of citizens who want to end the failed "war on drugs," so please invite your family and friends to learn about LEAP.

 

Americans for Safe Access: March 2010 Activist Newsletter

 

In This Issue:

D.C. Council Holds Hearing on Medical Marijuana

Maryland May Be 15th State to Make Medical Cannabis Legal

ASA Argues Against Local Dispensary Bans in Calif.

ASA Files Suit Over Dispensary Rules in LA

Medical Marijuana Week a National Success

UC Researchers Issue Report on State-Funded Studies

ACTION ALERT: Tell the AG to End the Raids!

Become an ASA Member!

Please support the work of Americans for Safe Access

On The Web:

ASA's Mission

What We Do

ASA Forums

ASA Blog

ASA YouTube

Legal Info

Take Action

Condition-Based Booklets

Join ASA Email Lists

ASA's Online Store

"Gear up" for medical cannabis activism with ASA's new T-shirts, hats, stickers, bags and more! All proceeds go to ASA advocacy

Americans for Safe Access

1322 Webster St., Ste. 402
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-251-1856
Fax: 510-251-2036

Email us!

Americans for Safe Access
Monthly Activist Newsletter

March 2010

Volume 5, Issue 3

D.C. Holds Hearing on Medical Marijuana

ASA testifies on behalf of patients

Local officials in Washington, D.C. are shaping legislation to make medical marijuana available to patients there, after Congress lifted a ban on implementing a 1998 initiative in the District.

D.C. resident and Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access Steph Sherer was among the patients and advocates who appeared before the council at a hearing this month to explain why they should use care in restricting access to medical marijuana.

"A lot of regulations look good on paper but don't really help patients," Sherer told the members of the council's judiciary and public health committees. She urged the council not to limit patients to receiving recommendations only from their primary care physicians, explaining that chronically ill patients frequently see many specialists, and those that specialize in cannabis therapies are no different.

The D.C. council is wrestling with regulatory amendments for implementing Initiative 59, which was approved directly by District voters. In addition to restrictions on who can write recommendations for medical cannabis, officials are considering limiting what conditions patients could be treated for, who will be permitted to work in dispensaries, and where the cannabis would be cultivated.

Officials have said they are concerned because any legislative action taken by the council must be approved by Congress. Council Chairman Vincent Gray co-introduced the proposed legislation with council members David Catania and Phil Mendelson.

"This is a great first step, and we are confident that after hearing from patients in the District, the Council will make the necessary improvements," said Sherer.

Further Information:
Proposed D.C. legislation to implement I-59
Text of I-59, as passed in 1998.

Back to Top

Maryland May Be 15th Medical Cannabis State

Advocates and patients testify before state lawmakers

Patients and advocates testified before Maryland state legislators this month in support of new legislation to make medical marijuana legal in the state. The hearings of the House Judiciary Committee and Health and Government Operations Committee addressed concerns about the proposed law's restrictions.

"We applaud the Maryland legislature for recognizing the need to protect medical marijuana patients," said Caren Woodson, ASA Government Affairs Director. "But this bill falls short of meeting the fundamental needs of patients."

The proposed measure -- HB712, introduced by Maryland House Delegate Dan Morhaim, M.D. -- would replace the state's current medical marijuana law, the Darrel Putnam Compassionate Use Act, which was adopted in 2003. Existing law provides for patients who use and possess cannabis for medical treatment to receive misdemeanor convictions with maximum fines of $100.

The new legislation would put the state's health department in charge of the medical marijuana program, including the licensing of patients, caregivers, large-scale growers, and distributors. Patients would b e prohibited from cultivating any cannabis themselves and could only legally possess two ounces or less of medicine.

Further information:
Maryland's new proposed medical marijuana law HB712
ASA Legislative Memo re: Maryland proposed law
Darrel Putnam Compassionate Use Act (current law)

Safe Streets Arts Foundation: Our Director to perform at ACLU awards dinner

Can't wait for our director Dennis Sobin to perform his classical-jazz guitar music again at the Kennedy Center? Got $150 to spend on a very worthwhile cause (ACLU awards dinner) at Washington's prestigious Omni Shoreham Hotel on March 18?

 

As many fans of our director's classical and jazz guitar playing know, when he is not engaged in his regular performances at the Kennedy Center, he appears at colleges, festivals and (his favorite) nonprofit fundraisers. Coming up on his busy early spring performance schedule is the annual Nation's Capital ACLU Bill of Rights Awards Dinner on March 18, 2010, 6:30 pm at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC. Presenting the awards this year is Gregory B. Craig, President Obama's first White Counsel Counsel. Mr. Craig led the Administration's effort to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp and fought for President Obama's "civil liberties campaign" to correct many of President Bush's harsh policies.

For more information about the ACLU awards dinner, please click here. For free listening/downloads of Dennis Sobin's ten guitar music CDs, please click here. Thank you.

 


 
All art on this page created by imprisoned artists and available at our Prison Art Gallery or online at http://prisonsfoundation.org/art.htmt

 

"The Safe Streets Arts Foundation, incorporating both the Prisons Foundation and the Victims Foundation, is proud to sponsor the annual From-Prison-to-The-Stage Show at the Kennedy Center and the Prison Art Gallery at 1600 K Street. NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC, three blocks from the White House."

Gallery logo 

European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies -- March 2010 Bulletin

ENCOD BULLETIN ON DRUG POLICIES IN EUROPE MARCH 2010 "CLOSER TO THE TRUTH" From March 8th to 12th, 2010, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs will hold its annual meeting in Vienna, to evaluate the results of the current drug control strategy. The stated goal of this strategy is to reduce the production, trade and demand for illegal drugs. The truth is, that there are no positive results of this strategy at all. On February 23, 2010, during the Public Hearing on EU Drug Policies that Encod co-organised in the European Parliament, Carel Edwards, the Head of the Drugs Coordination Unit of the European Commission stated that: "Repression does not work. We know enough now to draw this conclusion." Since March 2009, the European Commission has had in its possession a report on the impact of drug policies on the Global Market of Illicit Drugs from 1998 to 2007. This report draws the following conclusion: current drug policies, based on prohibition, fail to diminish drug supply and demand and are causing harm to individuals and society at large. An ENCOD delegation will also be present at the coming meeting in Vienna, to remind government delegates that they are there to protect their people against dangers, not to expose them to these dangers. On March 4, Encod members will organise a protest at the Embassy of Malaysia both in Paris and London. The same day a public letter to the Malaysian government will be published in the Malaysian press in order to ask for an immediate end to the death penalty for drug offenders. The truth of the statement we have made for many years, that prohibition is the real menace for society, is becoming as evident as the fact that the sun rises every day. Drug prohibition results in immense illegal profits, perturbing the economy, corrupting authorities and fueling armed groups. It causes and increases social exclusion and individual stress. The total public expenditure needed to maintain drug prohibition just in the EU is estimated (conservatively) at 40 billion Euros, or 80 Euros per citizen per year. In times of economic crisis we can no longer allow such an amount to be wasted on a policy that clearly has no benefit whatsoever, and at the same time generates problems and harm for millions of individuals. The Reuter Trautmann report also exposes these truths. Those who accept scientific evidence can no longer deny that drug prohibition has been proved a false theory. A framework for the legal production and distribution of drugs is the only reasonable and effective way to reduce drug related problems, reduce organised crime and raise tax revenues to invest in health, education and social programmes. The question is not if, but when. To accelerate the end of prohibition, we must continue with determination to fulfill two objectives: discredit the prohibitionist regime, ensuring it has no way to rejuvenate itself, and encourage people who want another policy to speak up and demand change. When will common sense start to rule the world of drug policy, and the world in general? Read all about it in the next Encod bulletin. By Joep Oomen, with the help of Peter Webster

Take A Moment To Support Compassion And Common Sense

Take A Moment To Support Compassion And Common Sense

Please take a moment to support compassion and common sense by making a donation to DrugSense. Whether we realize it or not, public policies affect our everyday lives. When policies fail us, we often take notice only after its too late. Compassion and common sense may be the first casualties.

Public policies toward legal and illegal substances have far reaching consequences. They are costly, they are nonsensical, and they are often cruel. Organizations like DrugSense that bring these injustices to the fore deserve adequate funding. A donation to DrugSense is a "vote" for compassion and common sense.

Donating is quick, easy, and secure. http://www.DrugSense.org/donate

You can also make your check or money order payable to DrugSense and mail it to:

DrugSense
14252 Culver Dr #328
Irvine, CA 92604-0326

Or you can donate toll free by calling 1-800-266-5759.

*SPECIAL NOTE!* Due to the generosity of a long time DrugSense funder, we have secured a large matching funds grant! This means that anything you contribute right NOW to DrugSense will be matched 100%, thus doubling the effective amount of your contribution.

Also, you can easily repeat your donation every month, quarter, or half year to provide DrugSense with automatic, recurring support. (www.drugsense.org/donate/) Please sign up for whatever you can afford. Recurring donations count against the matching funds grant.

STILL NOT CONVINCED? Here are a few good reasons to donate to DrugSense:

  • DrugSense is popular. Our collection of websites rank among the most popular drug policy-focused sites in the world as judged by independent web monitoring services. They consistently trump websites for which the government has spent billions.
  • DrugSense is comprehensive. Our news bot, http://www.drugnewsbot.org processes more than 1,000 drug policy-focused articles 24/7, while our 210,000+ DrugNews Archive http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/ holds the most important clippings, correctly attributed and regardless of spin.
  • DrugSense is worldwide. We maintain parallel efforts in the Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, and France, while our archive contains clippings from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
  • DrugSense is technical. We provide first rate Internet services to well more than 130 drug policy organizations. This includes Web hosting, e-mail lists, forums, blogs, and newsfeeds. http://www.drugpolicycentral.com.

This is only a partial list of the services we provide to promote compassionate, common sense, and cost effective drug policies and to stop this war on our rights and freedoms. Please donate what you can. Make a difference RIGHT NOW! http://www.drugsense.org/donate.

Thank you!

Tell MTV to "Get Real" on Marijuana

Since 1992, MTV has produced and aired programs like "The Real World," which feature young people consuming large quantities of alcohol and then engaging in reckless, violent, destructive, and oftentimes illegal behavior. Yet it has never once shown a cast member consuming marijuana, which the network almost surely prohibits and undoubtedly discourages. Please visit http://tinyurl.com/y8elkmn and take just a few seconds to sign SAFER's on-line petition calling on MTV to stop driving its cast members to drink and "start getting real." In the real world, millions of people use marijuana and every objective study on it has concluded it is far safer than alcohol for them and society. Yet in "The Real World" and other reality shows like "Jersey Shore," MTV makes sure alcohol is always available in abundance -- and that cast members never make the safer choice to use marijuana instead. Recently, things have gotten more out of control than ever. On this week's episode of "The Real World," an extremely drunken cast member shoved another off the tall ledge of the staircase outside their house, resulting in him being taken away on a backboard by paramedics. And just a couple a months ago MTV's new reality show, "Jersey Shore," received worldwide attention when a drunken young man at a bar punched one of the female cast members hard in the face after she accused him of stealing some drinks purchased by a fellow castmate.* You can help us draw much-needed attention to MTV's dangerous "alcohol only" reality programming by visiting http://tinyurl.com/ y8elkmn today and taking just a few seconds to sign: --- A petition in support of SAFER MTV programming --- Future cast members of "The Real World," "Jersey Shore," and other MTV reality shows should be allowed to use marijuana as a safer recreational alternative to alcohol. In the real world, millions of adults enjoy using marijuana responsibly, and every objective study on it has concluded it is far safer than alcohol both for them and society. Yet MTV embraces -- and often encourages -- the use of alcohol by its cast members, and it prohibits them from making the rational choice to use a less harmful substance instead. "The Real World," "Jersey Shore," and MTV's other reality shows should stop driving cast members to drink and "start getting real."
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