Press Release

[Courtesy of Justice Policy Institute] Clinton Crime Agenda Ignores Proven Methods for Reducing Crime Advocates say plan will increase incarceration rates and negatively impact the poor and minorities For Immediate Release: Monday, April 14, 2008 Contact: LaWanda Johnson (202)-558-7974 x308, cell 202-320-1029 Washington, D.C.--The Justice Policy Institute (JPI) announced today that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's anti-crime package ignores critical research that finds that investments in employment, education, housing and treatment for those who need it is the most effective and fiscally-responsible way to improve public safety. Research shows that Clinton's proposal to revive former President Clinton's COPS initiative, which called for investments in policing, would increase prison populations, and may have a negative impact on the nation's poor and minorities, without significantly reducing crime. The Clinton Administration's "tough on crime" policies resulted in the largest increases in federal and state prison inmates of any president in American history. Advocates say re-implementing this agenda would be a return to bad policies. "The first COPS was found to be costly and ineffective in reducing crime rates and COPS 2.0 is not an improved version of the first one," says JPI executive director Sheila Bedi. "COPS was only successful in filling our prisons and jails with people who research shows can be better served with treatment, evidence-based practices, and community-based alternatives that also promote public safety." According to research, adding police to the streets is not the most effective method for reducing crime. Delaware received $19.6 million in COPS grants and during that same time, the number of violent crimes increased 35.9 percent. In contrast, Oklahoma City, which did not receive any COPS grants, decreased its police force by 16 percent and during that same period saw a dramatic 32.5 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes reported. Furthermore, advocates say law enforcement professionals don't support policing as being the most effective method of reducing crime. In a 2002 poll, 71.1 percent of surveyed chief of police, sheriffs and prosecutors agreed that providing more educational and after-school programs would make the greatest impact in reducing youth crime and violence. Only 14.9 percent said that hiring more police would have the greatest impact. "We've tried to win the war on gangs with law enforcement alone, but we have little to show for it," says National Black Police Association Executive Director Ronald Hampton. "Rather than engaging in endless battles, we need to target the problem behavior that hurts communities. We should support the kinds of prevention and proven programs that we already know reduce violence and crime." Research supports investments in communities as a more cost effective and beneficial way of reducing crime. Research shows that when there is a reduction in crimes rates, it coincides with increased employment. When more people have jobs, fewer crimes are committed. A study by the Heritage Foundation found that "For every 1 percent increase in civilian labor force participation, violent crime is expected to decrease by 8.8 incidents per 100,000" people. "Not only does the Clinton crime plan lack innovation and forward thinking, it ignores all we know about crime prevention. When people are employed, violent crime decreases," says Lisa Kung, Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights. "One in every one hundred Americans is incarcerated. It is clear that Clinton intends to continue a legacy of policies that will keep Americans paying for more police, more prisons and more punitive measures." Advocates also believe that Clinton's opposition to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's decision to make retroactive the changes to sentencing for the thousands of people who had received disproportionately long sentences for crack-cocaine, most of whom are African American, is concerning. Nationwide, from 1995 to 2004, drug abuse violations were the only crime that saw an increase in arrests following the COPS grant. However, a report by JPI release last year, found that while African Americans and whites use and sell drugs at similar rates, African Americans are ten times more likely than whites to be imprisoned for drug offenses mainly due to disparate policing practices, disparate treatment before the courts, mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws, and differences in the availability of drug treatment for African Americans. According to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, "it would be a cruel injustice to base the crack cocaine reduction on an assessment that these people have suffered under an unjust structure and then deny the benefit of the amendment to the very people whose experiences led the Commission to lower the sentences in the first place." "If any of the candidates really wants to do something about crime, then they should invest in policies that increase employment, educational attainment and treatment for people who need it," says Bedi. "These are proven approaches that reduce crime and recidivism--evidence-based practices, which have undergone rigorous experimental inquiry, and have been shown to have proven public safety benefits." For more information contact LaWanda Johnson at 202-558-7974, ext. 308. #######

(This blog post was published by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 9, 2008 CONTACT: Neal Levine, MPP director of state campaigns, tel: 612-326-6690 ext.802 Medical Marijuana Bill Passes Final Committee Measure Clears Last Hurdle Before House Floor ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA -- Minnesota's bill to protect seriously ill patients from arrest for using medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation cleared its final committee hurdle today, passing the House Ways and Means Committee, 13-4. The next stop for the bill, SF 345, is the House floor. The Senate version of the bill was approved by the full Senate last year. Preston resident Neil Haugerud, former sheriff of Fillmore County and a former state representative who suffers chronic pain from arachnoiditis (inflammation of the lining that surrounds the spinal cord), said, "I'm grateful to the committee for passing the medical marijuana bill, and I hope the full House and the governor will go ahead and make it law as soon as possible. Patients who are in pain shouldn't have to risk arrest and jail to get relief." "Medical marijuana is a conservative issue," said Rep. Chris DeLaForest (R-Andover), a co-sponsor of the bill. "It's about the right of doctors and patients to make the best treatment decisions to relieve suffering, without interference from politicians and bureaucrats." "I hope the House follows the Senate's lead and, for the sake of Minnesota's seriously ill patients, passes this compassionate bill quickly," said bill sponsor Rep. Tom Huntley (DFL-Duluth). The bill's chances were recently boosted by a strong statement of support for medical marijuana from the 124,000-member American College of Physicians, the largest medical specialty society and second largest physician group in the U.S. The ACP statement is available online at http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf Twelve states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington -- presently allow medical use of marijuana. Medical marijuana bills are now under consideration in Illinois and New York, and an initiative is expected to appear on Michigan's November ballot. With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

[Courtesy of Drug Policy Alliance] For Immediate Release: April 7, 2008 Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli (213) 291-4190 Hundreds to Celebrate Prop 36 at California Capitol Third Annual “Prop 36 Works!” Rally Counts Lives and Dollars Saved Wednesday, 11-1pm: Rally and March in Capitol Park Sacramento – Clients, graduates and supporters of Proposition 36, California’s treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, will gather at the Capitol on April 9 to celebrate seven years of the groundbreaking program’s success. Hundreds of rally participants will represent the over 84,000 people who have graduated from the program in the last seven years—and call attention to the over $1.5 billion saved by Prop 36 so far. Many participants at Wednesday’s rally are in recovery rather than jail thanks to Prop 36, and have come from around the state to show their support for the program and for treatment rather than incarceration. After the outdoor rally, the crowd will march and then enter the Capitol Building to leave that message with their legislators. WHAT: Prop 36 Works! rally WHEN: Wednesday, April 9, 11a.m. rally ; 1p.m. march. WHERE: North steps, California Capitol Building, Sacramento. WHO: Prop 36 graduates from across California, Parent advocates for Prop 36, Formerly incarcerated people & advocates, Legislators The Drug Policy Alliance, sponsor of the event, was instrumental in the campaign to pass Prop 36 in 2000 and continues to work to protect the program. Co-sponsors represent the wide support for the program: California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC), California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources (CAARR), California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives (CAADPE), California Society of Addiction Medicine, The Effort, & NCADD Sacramento. Other supporters include: A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing), All of Us or None, Alpha Project, Beacon House Association of San Pedro, California Church IMPACT, Coalition for Effective Public Safety (CEPS), County Alcohol and Drug Programs Administrators Association of California (CADPAAC) & Justice Now. For more information, visit: www.prop36.org.

[Courtesy of Drug Policy Alliance] For Immediate Release: April 7, 2008 For More Info: Gabriel Sayegh, tel: 646-335-2264 or Tony Newman, tel: 646-335-5384 New York Overdose Epidemic: More People Die from Accidental Overdose than Homicides Public Heath Advocates, Community Groups Travel to Albany on Tuesday to Demand Effective Overdose Legislation Nearly 1,000 Flowers—One Flower for Every Accidental Overdose Death in NYC —to be Delivered to Gov. Paterson’s Office at 1 p.m., April 8 On Tuesday, April 8, the Drug Policy Alliance, Harm Reduction Coalition, New York City AIDS Housing Network, Voices of Community Advocates and Leaders, and advocates from around the state will travel to Albany to demand effective overdose legislation and public health policies for drug user health in New York. There is an overdose epidemic across the country and in New York State. In New York City alone, nearly 1,000 people died of accidental drug overdose in 2006, making it the fourth leading cause of death among adults after heart disease, cancer and AIDS. More people die of overdose than homicides in New York City. At 11 a.m., advocates will gather at Emmanuel Baptist Church for a strategy meeting and inspirational talk by Senator Tom Duane and Humberto Cruz, Exec. Director of NYS AIDS Institute. At 1 p.m., the coalition will make a special delivery to Gov. David Paterson’s office—one flower for every accidental overdose death in New York City. Nearly 1,000 flowers will be delivered. Many accidental drug overdoses in New York are preventable. Most people hesitate to call 911 because they fear getting arrested for illicit drugs. Assembly Bill 8740, the 911 Good Samaritan Bill, will save lives in New York by allowing people to call 911 to save a life without fear of being arrested. Additionally, the Expanded Syringe Access Program (ESAP), passed by the NYS Legislature in 2000, amended the Public Health Law to make possession of clean syringes legal. However, New York State Penal Law still states that possession of a clean syringe is a Class A misdemeanor, and many clients are arrested around syringe exchange programs—for possession of syringes. Advocates will call on legislators to remove syringes from the penal code to encourage injection drug users to access clean syringes to reduce HIV/AIDS without fear of arrest. What: Statewide Meeting and Lobby Day to Reduce Accidental Drug Overdoses When: Tuesday, April 8th 11:00 A.M. Where: Meeting at Emmanuel Baptist Church 275 State Street, Albany, NY Who: Advocates, with special comments by Senator Tom Duane and Humberto Cruz, NYS AIDS Institute Director Action: Flower Delivery to Gov. Paterson to symbolize overdose deaths in New York: 1:00 p.m. at the Executive Chamber

HIPPIES INVITE THE POLICE TO SMOKE THE PEACE PIPE and NIMBIN APRIL FOOLS DAY RAID, WAITING FOR THE TRUTH TO COME OUT “The last two evenings in Nimbin have seen mini convoys of up to six police cars cruising the deserted main street of Nimbin’s tiny village. The cost must be prohibitive but the propaganda to justify targeting Nimbin is the real joke”, said Michael Balderstone, Hemp Embassy President. “Instead of this waste of money we need Senior Police to join us at MardiGrass for sane discussion on alternative strategies for dealing with cannabis use. But will anyone take us, the users, seriously?” “It is not the Police’s fault, they are the meat in the sandwich, ’just doing their job’ so to speak, but we need their support in making legal changes, as has happened in the UK. Policing Nimbin with a National Party local MP has been costing a fortune for years, you’d think the Labor Party might be a fraction different.” “One option is a trial of a decriminalised supply of cannabis and at MardiGrass this year Dr. Alex Wodak from St. Vincents Hospital will be presenting a model for regulated and taxable cannabis supply. He will be supported by Paul Wilson, Professor of Criminology at Bond Uni. There are several working models overseas to consider and in the MardiGrass “Beyond Prohibition Forum’ we will have visitors from those countries to give us first hand accounts of how it works”. “We are especially inviting the law makers, the politicians, to come and hear these ideas borne of necessity out of desperation from worlds politicians rarely see. We also invite parents to the MardiGrass forums and it is worth remembering the Al Capone era in America ended when mothers marched against prohibition. Of course everyone is welcome, but we would especially love to see the gag taken off government employees like police and health professionals so they could join in the Forum”. At some point even the most hard headed must come round to seeing some merit in sitting down and talking a different approach to Nimbin’s unique situation. A few facts to consider please: A fast growing indigenous population in Nimbin would rather smoke yarndi, than get drunk. The local police would rather they did too! Dealing or stealing? Nimbin’s ‘refugee camp from the war on drugs’ sees all sorts of disadvantaged people finding their way here to ‘the last bus stop’ hoping to score a smoke, which is their favourite pain reliever. The catch is, they have little money and no land to grow their own so they join the growing throng of street “dealers” trying to catch the eye of someone visiting Nimbin to buy pot. They get a small cut, probably a smoke, for organising the deal. A huge risk just for a joint shows how desperate they are. It’s impossible for the police to bust all these people who rarely possess anything. Many backpackers come from countries where cannabis use is regulated. The current situation is teaching young people bad habits to say the least. No wonder disrespect is a boom industry. We notice young people in and out of jail lose their fear of it and even enjoy the gangster rap with police. Jail offers credibility in some cases, as well as study opportunities and a reliable bed and food. MardiGrass program details growing on www.nimbinmardigrass.com On April Fools Day the police ( with Lismore City Council inspectors} came with their media unit and supplied all the footage for channels Seven, Nine & Ten’s news stories that night, but the raid netted so little the story barely made it into the Sydney or Brisbane news. “The police media release announcing the raids came out at 11.41am. At 11.30 the search began in Nimbin. They arrived in riot gear, screaming and yelling like it was Nim Bin Ladin’s very own cave. They were in full battle dress and surrounded Nimbin’s two primary off the street (which is covered by cameras live to the copshop) tourist attractions, the Nimbin Museum and the HEMP Embassy, and cordoning them off for searches until well after the many school buses had unloaded. Hippies love their children and are angry about this insensitivity. Unable to answer back the battle dressed riot squad were fair pickings for some cheeky Nimbin kids who have grown up in a “criminalised cannabis culture”, other kids were shocked and scared at the show of force in their village. Many in the village think it is just anti-terrorist training on harmless hippies.” The pages and pages of Property Seizure Forms of what was confiscated in their raid is all tabled on www.hempembassy.net “Many of the items were not prohibited and will be returned when the police discover they are not illegal. Many of the food items were just that, with no cannabis in them.” “The cash collected, around five thousand dollars from so many sources was clearly no big deal. The Hemp Bar Activist’s Kiosk run by volunteers has no bank account but gets donations for drinks, etc. It apparently had ice cream containers full of ten and twenty cent coins. Perhaps this is the ‘large quantity of cash’ seized by police from our study of money listed on their Property Seizure forms.” “The eight arrests were in fact mostly Cannabis Cautions. We reckon five cautions for personal amounts, two small cannabis charges and one young Aboriginal male who was in breach of bail conditions by being in Nimbin. EIGHT ARRESTS! BIG DEAL!” “The five kilos of cannabis they claim to have seized was in fact mostly cookies making up the weight. FLOUR AND WATER! The “plants” they seized were in fact one tiny straggly male plant no one had noticed in the back yard of the HEMP Embassy! The cannabis ‘suppositories’, (ouch!), seized from the Hemp Bar we hear are tobacco plugs!” Further details of the raid with pictures and movies www.hempembassy.net Embassy… ph 02 6689 1842 ah 66897525

PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE NIMBIN APRIL FOOLS’ DAY POLICE RAIDS Michael Balderstone, President of the Nimbin Hemp Embassy, was sitting in the backyard of the Museum. “I thought it was the musicians arriving for our “Fossil Fools’ Day Event”, but the van door slid open and police poured out in riot gear screaming like on American TV – ‘NOBODY MOVE – IT’S A CRIME SCENE’ etc etc……” Possibly seventy police spent the day in Nimbin trying to make a difference in our village. But they can’t be here every day, and hippies are never going to stop smoking pot, so when do we start talking and creating real solutions? If only government employees could speak their mind. Many of them know what we all know - drug use is a health issue and I have no doubt many of the police in Nimbin today quietly questioned the morality of their operation and how worthwhile it was. They know the difference between a pot smoker and a real criminal, and they know pot is the least harmful of all the illegal substances. They also know pot is the easy bust and the harder they target cannabis in Nimbin the more people will use easily hidden powders and pills and drink a lot more alcohol. In California today there are about four hundred vending machines which spit out a bag of pot if you put in a fifty dollar note! And this, in the country which started the war on drugs. Hopefully Kevin Rudd’s closer look at youth binge drinking might lead him to some understanding of all youth drug use. Why are they so reckless? Why is disrespect for authority a growth industry? Why don’t the police lobby for more leeway with cannabis users as has happened in the UK? Making the hippies’ favourite medicine illegal has created widespread generational disrespect for the laws and lawmakers, not only in our community but throughout the land. Unfortunately the police are the meat in the sandwich, ‘just doing their job’. The most distasteful part of today is that police co-ordinated their raid with Lismore City Council departments….the crudest way possible for the LCC to communicate with this community. Clearly they are keen to make us as ‘normal’ as possible, which will sterilise the thriving tourism industry here and kill the Aquarian spirit which has brought so much colour to the north coast. Ironically today our planned event was to ask LCC to let us be nothing like normal, because ‘normal’ has nearly killed the planet, as our press release said. It also appears they want the Museum closed, if not the Hemp Embassy and it’s incorrect of Commander Lyons to say he has the community’s support for his operations. The majority of this community is sick to death of the consequences of cannabis being illegal and he needs to lobby Sydney for us to trial something different instead of just getting more and more police. His job, above all, as I understand it, is to keep the peace. Our annual MardiGrass and Cannabis Law Reform rally, on the first weekend in May will show him how much support for change there is in the community. Many people in the large crowd witnessing the police today were galvanised for the coming rally. Many other people in the crowd were asking “Where are you when the pub shuts” or “Where are you on Friday night”? We all know these days that respect is the critical ingredient. When cannabis users are respected for their choice of medicine, the laws and lawmakers may start to be respected again. More information at Nimbin Hemp Embassy 02 6689 1842, after hours 6689 7525

For Immediate Release: March 18th, 2008 Contact: Tony Newman (646) 335-5384 or Bill Piper (202) 669-6430 New Report Evaluates U.S. Methamphetamine Policies, Recommends Comprehensive and Integrated “Four Pillars” Response California, New Mexico and Utah Cited as States with Exemplary Methamphetamine Policies Federal Government Criticized for Short-Changing Treatment and Public Health At a tele-press conference today, the Drug Policy Alliance released a groundbreaking report that evaluates current state and federal methamphetamine policies and recommends major reforms. The report, entitled “A Four-Pillars Approach to Methamphetamine: Policies for Effective Drug Prevention, Treatment, Policing and Harm Reduction,” is the first report in the U.S. to lay out a “four pillars” approach to addressing methamphetamine abuse. In Geneva, Zurich, Frankfurt, Sydney and other major cities around the world, most notably Vancouver, the four pillars approach to substance abuse has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of users consuming drugs on the street, a significant drop in overdose deaths, and a reduction in the infection rates for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. “The U.S. government has taken a punitive, supply-side approach to methamphetamine for more than 40 years, and at every step of the way this approach has enriched organized crime, made street methamphetamine more potent, and worsened meth-related problems,“ said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance and author of the new report. “It’s time for a demand-side approach that prioritizes treatment, public health and family unity.” Other speakers included Reena Szczepanski, director of DPA New Mexico and a member of the Mid Region Council of Governments’ Methamphetamine Task Force; Lou Martinez, a former methamphetamine user and graduate of California’s successful treatment-instead-of-incarceration program, Proposition 36; and Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, statewide Prop. 36 coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance. The report makes numerous recommendations for improving U.S. prevention, treatment, policing and harm reduction efforts, including: - Eliminate barriers to successful meth treatment, such as the shortage of treatment programs for pregnant and parenting women; - Divert nonviolent methamphetamine offenders to treatment instead of jail; - Invest in research to develop the equivalent of methadone and buprenorphine for the treatment of methamphetamine abuse, and allow doctors to prescribe dextroamphetmaine, modafinil, Ritalin and other medications to treat stimulant addiction as part of counseling and drug treatment; - Eliminate failed, scare-based prevention programs like D.A.R.E. and the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, and increase funding for after-school programs instead; - Re-prioritize local and federal law enforcement agencies to focus on violent criminals instead of nonviolent drug offenders, and set clear statutory goals and reporting requirements for the disruption of major methamphetamine operations; and - Make sterile syringes widely available to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. While the report concludes that the federal government has failed to enact an effective methamphetamine strategy, it finds that several states are already leading the way, including California, New Mexico and Utah. California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (Proposition 36) has proven to be the nation’s most systematic public health response to methamphetamine to date. This landmark measure, approved by 61% of voters, diverts approximately 35,000 persons from jail to drug treatment every year—over half of whom identify methamphetamine as their primary illegal drug. No other statewide program in the nation has offered treatment to or graduated more methamphetamine users than Proposition 36. In the process, California taxpayers have saved more than $1.3 billion over the program’s first six years. New Mexico is the only state to have developed a statewide methamphetamine strategy that combines prevention, treatment, policing, and harm reduction. This strategy is becoming a model for bringing together key stakeholders, fostering interagency collaboration, and implementing a coordinated methamphetamine strategy. In addition, DPA New Mexico is working with state agencies and the private sector to implement a youth methamphetamine education program funded by federal grant money that will serve as an alternative to the failed scare tactics of D.A.R.E., the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, and the Montana Meth Project. Utah recently enacted an innovative program that provides substance abuse screening and assessment to anyone convicted of a felony offense (drug- and non-drug-related). The results of these screenings and assessments are provided to the court before sentencing, allowing judges to divert certain offenders to treatment instead of jail. This program, the Drug Offender Reform Act (DORA), is based on a pilot program that has diverted more than 200 offenders in Salt Lake County to treatment instead of jail, many of whom have methamphetamine-related problems. The Utah Methamphetamine Joint Task Force recently rejected calls to develop scare-based TV ads in favor of developing a more realistic and uplifting prevention campaign. “Our country cannot incarcerate its way out of the methamphetamine problem,” said Piper. “Punitive policies have been exhaustively tried and they have failed, not just with methamphetamine, but also with cocaine, heroin, marijuana and numerous other drugs including alcohol during Prohibition. The federal government should follow the lead of California, New Mexico and Utah and emphasize treatment over incarceration.”

[Courtesy of Americans for Safe Access] For Immediate Release: March 17, 2008 Contact: ASA Media Liaison Kris Hermes (510) 681-6361 or, in Sacramento, ASA California Director Don Duncan (323) 326-6347 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Testify at Taxpayers' Hearing in Sacramento Patients and their providers pay more than $100 million in sales tax annually Sacramento, CA -- More than a half-dozen medical marijuana dispensary operators from across the state are expected to testify tomorrow at 1:30pm before the State Board of Equalization (BOE) at its Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Hearing. Dispensary operators from southern and northern California, joined by medical marijuana advocates, will be in Sacramento to discuss the significant contribution of $100 million in annual sales tax revenue to an ailing state budget. While sales tax on medical marijuana clearly benefits the fiscal health of the state, that funding is threatened by increased interference from the federal government. What: Medical marijuana dispensary operators and advocates testify at the Board of Equalization's Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Hearing When: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 1:30pm Where: Hearing Room 121 at the BOE, 450 N Street in Sacramento Why: Medical marijuana annual sales tax revenue of $100 million is threatened by continued federal interference Who: Testimony will be heard from dispensary operators in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Berkeley, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz "Medical marijuana dispensaries are doing their best to comply with state law," said Kris Hermes, spokesperson for Americans for Safe Access (ASA), one of the advocacy groups testifying tomorrow. "One hundred million dollars annually in sales tax revenue is not small change," continued Hermes. "However, by continuing to shut these facilities down, the federal government deprives the state of this money at a time of fiscal crisis." According to recent estimations by multiple advocacy groups, California's hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries contribute to the state budget at least $100 million annually in sales tax revenue. The State of California began collecting sales tax revenue from medical marijuana dispensaries in October 2005, after a policy decision that year by the BOE. However, the same facilities that are expected to comply with this policy are currently under attack by the federal government. Enforcement tactics by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have had a devastating impact on dispensaries in California. In 2007 alone, the DEA raided more than 50 medical marijuana dispensaries in at least 10 different counties across the state. Also, in 2007, the DEA launched a new tactic in its attempts to undermine state law by disseminating more than 300 letters to landlords of dispensaries, threatening the property owners with criminal prosecution and asset seizure if they continued to lease to dispensaries. "The sales tax collected by medical marijuana dispensaries in one year could fund the construction of two large schools or 2,000 elementary and high school teachers," said ASA Chief of Staff Rebecca Saltzman. "By robbing California of this much needed revenue, the federal government is not only harming thousands of patients that rely on this medicine, it is also impeding the state's ability to fund critical aspects of its infrastructure." The federal government's efforts to undermine California's medical marijuana law have not gone unnoticed by local and state lawmakers. Letters from concerned local officials in 2007 prompted U.S. House Judiciary Chair John Conyers to issue a statement in December expressing his deep concern and calling for DEA oversight hearings. Since then, Mayors from Oakland and Santa Cruz, as well as the Berkeley City Council and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, have all registered their opposition to federal enforcement against medical marijuana. In addition, State Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) introduced SJR 20 earlier this year, calling for an end to federal interference and urging Congress and the President to establish policy consistent with the compassionate use laws of California. Most recently, in February, former BOE Chair Betty Yee co-authored an opinion piece with Senator Migden harshly criticizing DEA tactics in California, emphasizing the harm to both patients and the state. Further information: ASA Fact Sheet on Sales Tax: http://americansforsafeaccess.org/downloads/sales_tax_fact_sheet.pdf Copy of State Senate Joint Resolution 20, calling for an end to DEA interference: http://americansforsafeaccess.org/downloads/SJR_20.pdf BOE notice sent to dispensaries in 2007 alerting them to the new sales tax policy: http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/medseller2007.pdf Opinion piece by Betty Yee & Carole Migden: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/15/ED0UV1RNP.DTL