Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 12, 2007 CONTACT: Patrick Goggin at (415) 312-0084 or Adam Eidinger at (202) 744-2671, [email protected] California Legislature Passes Industrial Hemp Bill for Second Time in Two Years AB 684 Would Allow Farmers to Grow Non-Drug Varieties of Cannabis New Compromise Legislation is Ripe for Governor’s Support SACRAMENTO, CA – Last night, California’s Senate and Assembly each voted to approve AB 684, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007. The legislation gives some California farmers the right to grow non-psychoactive industrial hemp, which is commonly used in everything from food, clothing, paper, and body care to bio-fuel and even auto parts. The bill now goes to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature. The text of the legislation can be found at: http://www.votehemp.com/state/california.html#Legislation . AB 684, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, was authored by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine). Thanks to their leadership, this is the second time in two years that a bipartisan hemp farming bill has passed the legislature. Last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 1147. The new version of the bill responds to his concerns. “The new legislation significantly limits the scope of hemp farming to just four agricultural counties, includes a sunset provision, and contains rules on testing crops to ensure the industrial hemp contains less than 3/10 of 1% THC,” says Vote Hemp legal counsel and San Francisco attorney Patrick Goggin. “This bill is a response to the Governor’s detailed explanation of his veto last year. Everyone knows hemp farming is consistent with California’s effort to be leader on US environmental policy. We believe this new hemp legislation is deserving of the Governor’s signature,” adds Goggin. Farmers would only be able to grow industrial hemp as a pilot program in Imperial, Kings, Mendocino, and Yolo counties. Hemp is a versatile plant that is taking off as an organic food and body care ingredient. Imports from Canada of hemp foods grew 300% between 2006 and 2007. Today more than 30 industrialized nations grow industrial hemp and export it to the US. Hemp is the only crop that is both illegal to grow and legal for Americans to import. There is strong support for hemp in California. A telephone poll of likely California voters, taken from February 22 – 26, showed a total of 71% (+/- 3.5%) supporting changes to state law allowing farmers to grow hemp. The survey was conducted by the respected research firm Zogby International on behalf of Vote Hemp and five manufacturers of hemp food products, including Alpsnack®, French Meadow Bakery®, Living Harvest®, Nature’s Path Organic Foods® and Nutiva®. Poll questions and results regarding industrial hemp farming policy and consumer attitudes on hemp products and nutrition can be viewed online at: http://www.votehemp.com/polls.html # # More information about hemp legislation and the crop’s many uses can be found at www.VoteHemp.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, September 10, 2007 CONTACT: Tom Murphy, tel: 207-542-4998, e-mail: [email protected] or Adam Eidinger, tel: 202-744-2671, e-mail: [email protected] Hemp Food Markets Continue Growth in United States, Canadian Hemp Acreage Declines in 2007 as Expected OCCIDENTAL, CA – The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) is pleased with the latest statistics on hemp markets and acreage from Canada. The statistics, released by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Health Canada and Statistics Canada late last month, show that the decade-old Canadian hemp industry is continuing its growth, but at a more moderate and sustainable pace. "Last fall we expected the double-digit growth of the hemp food sector to continue in 2007, especially since hemp milk would finally be available to waiting consumers," says Eric Steenstra, HIA Executive Director. "The latest statistics out of Canada for 2007 to date far exceeded our expectations. We project that this growth in the markets for hemp products will keep pace into 2008, with some categories experiencing triple-digit growth,” adds Steenstra. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Statistics Canada data show that the quantity of hemp seed exports increased 300% from 2006 to 2007. Hemp oil exports kept pace, with an 85% increase in quantity. Hemp fiber exports showed encouraging progress, with a 65% increase in quantity. All statistics represent growth from the period January to June in 2007 versus the same period in 2006. Hemp industry experts had predicted a drop in acreage as a result of wholesale market conditions. "Due to higher prices of other commodities, the lack of a major commercial fiber processing facility, and some surplus left over from 2006, hemp acreage has decreased for 2007," says Arthur Hanks, Executive Director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance. "On the plus side, we estimate that the farm-gate value of Canada's hemp industry is about $7 million per year, and with value-added processing that number can well exceed $10 million per year.” Health Canada statistics show that 48,060 acres of industrial hemp were produced in Canada in 2006. The Health Canada draft statistics for 2007 show a decline to 11,569 acres. Hemp industry experts had expected an even larger decrease and are not surprised with this year’s numbers. Farmers in Canada have reported that hemp is still one of the most profitable crops they can grow. “In 2006 there were some exceptional yields in hemp grain. It is very easy to overproduce in this sector,” comments Arthur Hanks. “The hemp industry cut contracted acres in 2007 in order to move remaining 2006 production. Food processing capability continues to expand.” Hanks continues, “The data is very good and shows quite strong market growth. There was a 300% growth in quantity of hemp seed exports, and hemp oil exports are on track to exceed 80% growth. And this is all happening with a stronger Canadian dollar.” U.S. companies that manufacture or sell products made with hemp include Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, a California company that manufactures the number-one-selling natural soap, and FlexForm Technologies, an Indiana company whose natural fiber materials are used in over 2 million cars. Hemp food manufacturers, such as French Meadow Bakery, Hempzels, Living Harvest, Manitoba Harvest, Nature's Path, Nutiva and Ruth’s Hemp Foods, now make their products with Canadian hemp. # # # The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) represents the interests of the hemp industry and encourages the research and development of new hemp products. More information about hemp’s many uses and hemp legislation may be found at www.HempIndustries.org and www.VoteHemp.com. DVD Video News Releases featuring footage of hemp farming in other countries are available upon request by contacting Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 4, 2007 CONTACT: Ken Vail at 202-588-5580, www.PreventionWorksDC.org A Turning Point for Needle Exchange in D.C. With New Leadership and Influx of Public Funding PreventionWorks Prepares for Growth, Expansion Nine years after its founding in 1998, PreventionWorks, Washington D.C.'s only needle exchange program, has announced the departure of its long-time and respected Executive Director, Paola Barahona, the first and only person to hold the position. In her nine years of service, Barahona has raised more than $3.5 million in private funding to support and sustain the work of PreventionWorks which, until this year, was prohibited by an act of Congress from receiving or utilizing public funding for its needle exchange services. PreventionWorks provides access to sterile syringes, offers tools and information for leading healthier lives, and provides access and referrals to drug treatment, medical and social services. Its services are client-focused, culturally appropriate, and community supported. All services are provided without judgment. James Millner, a nationally known healthcare communications consultant who served on the board of directors of PreventionWorks, including a term as board president, says, The coinciding departures of both Paola and me truly mark the beginning of a new era for PreventionWorks. We leave behind a respected organization with a solid and stable foundation from which it can grow and expand to meet the significant challenges ahead. But we cannot move forward without properly acknowledging the tireless efforts of Paola Barahona, without whom PreventionWorks and needle exchange entirely would likely not exist in our nations capital. She deserves the thanks and appreciation of this entire city. Under the leadership of PreventionWorks President, Beth Beck, a Regional Director for the American Cancer Society, the board of directors has established a Transition Committee to oversee a national search for a new Executive Director. Chaired by PreventionWorks board of directors member Naomi Long (Director of the Washington Metro office for the Drug Policy Alliance), the Committee includes Barbara Chinn of Whitman-Walker Clinic, Channing Wickham of the Washington AIDS Partnership, James Millner (Past President, PreventionWorks board of directors), Patsy Fleming (Whitman Walker Clinics National AIDS Policy Director) and Scott Sanders of High Noon Communications. The board of directors is working with Transition Guides, a consulting firm dedicated to sustaining and strengthening nonprofits through better managed leadership transitions, to ensure the stability of the unique services provided by PreventionWorks during and after the leadership transition. Mr. Kenneth Vail, MPH, MA, has been hired as Interim Executive Director to manage PreventionWorks during its search for permanent staff leadership. Mr. Vail has 17 years of experience establishing and leading syringe access programs in Santa Cruz, California, Cleveland, Ohio, San Francisco, California, and Staten Island, New York, and has worked in HIV outreach, prevention and education in Boston, Massachusetts, San Jose, California, and Temirtau, Kazakhstan. For nearly a decade, PreventionWorks has grown and strengthened into an organization that is today a critical part of the District of Columbias HIV prevention strategy. No longer a stop-gap or temporary solution to provide clean needles to drug users, PreventionWorks is transitioning into a full service HIV prevention and health advocacy group for drug users, their families, friends and partners. For further information about the transition or PreventionWorks, please contact Ken Vail at 202-588-5580.

For Immediate Release: August 27, 2007 Contact: Tony Newman (646) 335-5384 or Jennifer Carnig (212) 607-3363 New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform Debates Rockefeller Drug Law Overhaul This Week Dozens of Advocacy, Community Groups Unite to Reject Half-Steps, Demand Real Reform Tuesday 11 am: Leading Advocates and Family Members Join Tele-Press Conference to Release Coalition Statement on Commission What: Tele-Press Conference When: Tuesday, August 28, 2007. 11 a.m. Call in information: 800-311-9404; Passcode: 740815 Who: Cheri O’Donoghue, Prison Family Community Forum member and mother of a young man locked up for 7 – 21 years on a first-time, B-felony offense. Anita Marton, Legal Director, Legal Action Center Tony Papa, Communications Specialist, Drug Policy Alliance; author; and formerly incarcerated under the Rockefeller Drug Laws Donna Lieberman, Executive Director, New York Civil Liberties Union Howard Josepher, Executive Director, Exponents Treatment Program New York— This week, the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform will vote on its first round of recommendations, before releasing a preliminary report of findings to the public in October. The Commission, enacted by Governor Elliot Spitzer through Executive Order, is charged with reviewing New York’s sentencing structure, sentencing practices, community supervision, and the use of alternatives to incarceration. The Rockefeller Drug Laws, including the Second Felony Offender Act, are high on the Commission’s priority list. The Real Reform Coalition - made up of advocates, academics, activists, families and individuals impacted by the Rockefeller Drug Laws – has been monitoring the Commission closely. Tomorrow, the Coalition will release an open letter to the Commission highlighting what constitutes meaningful reform. Signatories include the leading criminal justice, alternatives to incarceration, and drug treatment advocates in New York, along with families and community members directly impacted by the unjust laws. The leading opponents to reform are some prosecutors who are terrified of losing their power through additional changes in the law. They have been using skewed politically motivated reports to derail reform efforts. The Rockefeller Drug Laws, enacted in 1973 under Governor Nelson Rockefeller, mandate extremely harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. Supposedly intended to target major dealers (kingpins), most of the people incarcerated under these laws are convicted of low-level, nonviolent offenses, and many of them have no prior criminal records. Despite modest reforms in 2004 and 2005, the Rockefeller Drug Laws continue to deny people serving under the more punitive sentences to apply for shorter terms, and does not increase the power of judges to place addicts into treatment programs. Currently, more than 14,000 people are locked up for drug offenses in New York State prisons, representing nearly 38 percent of the prison population and costing New Yorkers hundreds of millions of dollars every year. “My son did not benefit from the so-called reforms of 2004,” said Cheri O’Donoghue, who’s son, Ashley, is incarcerated for 7 – 21 years on a first-time, nonviolent offense. “When do families like ours finally get justice? The Commission’s mandate is clear—the status quo has failed, and we need comprehensive reform.” “There is tremendous support in New York for real reform,” said Gabriel Sayegh, project director at Drug Policy Alliance. “The so-called reforms of 2004 were a half-step forward, but New Yorkers understand it was not enough. As the Rockefeller Drug Laws continue, so do racial disparities, sentencing disparities, and lack of drug treatment alternatives.” Real reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws requires four key elements: restoration of judicial discretion in all drug cases; the expansion of alternative-to-incarceration (ATI) programs, including community based treatment; reductions in the length of sentences for all drug offenses; and retroactive sentencing relief for all prisoners currently incarcerated under the Rockefeller Drug Laws. “Under its drug-sentencing laws New York State has perpetrated one of the great civil rights injustices of our time,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “The state’s Rockefeller Drug Laws have come to mean a law that is unfair, unjust and cruel; that is destructive, not rehabilitative; that is enforced with a blatant racial and ethnic bias. We hear much these days about an era of reform in Albany – reform of the state’s drug laws is a good place to start.”

MEDIA ADVISORY Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: August 23, 2007 Contact: ASA Media Liaison Kris Hermes (510) 681-6361 or ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford (415) 573-7842 Medical Marijuana Patients Argue for Right to Unlawfully Seized Property Hearing Today in state appellate court could mark an end to years of local law enforcement violations What: Oral arguments for two medical marijuana "Return of Property" cases in State Appellate Court When: Thursday, August 23 at 1:30pm Where: California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, 925 N. Spurgeon Street, Santa Ana Who: ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer, Chief Counsel Joe Elford will all be available for comment after the hearing Santa Ana, CA -- After more than two years, Garden Grove patient Felix Kha may finally see the return of his wrongfully confiscated 8 grams of medical marijuana. California's Fourth Appellate District in Santa Ana will hear oral arguments today in a case that has drawn the attention of the State Attorney General and the California Police Chiefs Association. Both organizations filed amicus briefs in the case, which supported opposite sides of the issue whether law enforcement has a right to seize a patient's marijuana and, in the event of an unlawful seizure, whether that patient has a right to get it back. Kha was cited for marijuana possession and had his medicine seized in June 2005, but after the case was dismissed in August 2005, an Orange County Superior Court judge ordered the return of his medicine. However, the City of Garden Grove not only refused to return Kha's unlawfully seized property, it also appealed the order, an unprecedented action by a California city. "More than ten years after the passage of the Compassionate Use Act, patients are still victim to routine medical marijuana seizures by local law enforcement," said Americans for Safe Access Chief Counsel, and Kha's attorney, Joe Elford. "It is bad enough to have your medicine indiscriminately seized by police, but to then be denied its rightful return shows a blatant disregard for state law and the hundreds of thousands of California patients for whom this law was designed to protect." Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has compiled reports from nearly eight hundred patient encounters with local or state police during a period of more than two years. These reports show a glaring trend: more than 90% of all encounters result in medicine seizure by police regardless of any probable cause. According to reports received by ASA, rampant seizure of medical marijuana from qualified patients and primary caregivers has taken place in 53 of California's 58 counties. These violations of state law occur in both urban and rural locales, in the north as well as the south, and by both city and county law enforcement. Until 2005, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) held the record for the worst violator of Proposition 215, with a policy of mandatory seizure of medical marijuana regardless of patient status. In early 2005, ASA sued the state's top law enforcement agency and by August of that year the CHP had revised its policy to better respect patients' rights. As a result of that policy change, the CHP went from being the most irresponsible law enforcement agency with regard to the unlawful seizure of medical marijuana to one of the state's best. As a result of different litigation, also involving ASA, the County of Merced revised its police policy in June 2007 to prevent the unlawful seizure of marijuana from qualified patients. As a consequence of the high number of medicine seizures, ASA has assisted scores of patients in seeking the return of their property. Although fairly onerous, California criminal courts have a mechanism to seek the return of medical marijuana; patients can file a motion for return of property and request a hearing. According to ASA, at least thirty of these motions have resulted in Superior Court orders and the return of patient medicine. At the same time, an undue number of denials have also occurred. In fact, Kha's case will be heard alongside the case of Jim Spray, a Huntington Beach patient that was denied a court order by a different judge in the same Superior Court that issued Kha's order. This discrepancy makes the issue ripe for an appellate court decision.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- August 9, 2007 CONTACT: Rielle Capler, T: 604-875-0214, E: [email protected] Report Reveals Massive Inefficiencies in Government's Medical Cannabis Program, Urges Cost Coverage for Medicine A report released today by the BC Compassion Club Society (BCCCS) uncovers massive spending inefficiencies in Health Canada's Medical Cannabis program. It was recently discovered that the government is marking up their supply of cannabis by 1500%--and that many people who have ordered the government's supply are unable to afford it and have been cut off from accessing this sole legal source. The BCCCS felt this situation warranted further scrutiny of the cultivation contracts between Health Canada and its supplier of cannabis, Prairie Plant Systems (PPS). The report's highlights include findings that: 63% of the cannabis Health Canada buys from PPS is unusable, at a cost of $220,000 this year; and 80% of the total cost of the government program are operational costs, including the cost of reports at a price of $86,740 per month. These are some of the costs being passed on to patients. The original contract between Health Canada and PPS began in December 2000, with the cost of the contract now totaling over $10 million. The report finds that community-based dispensaries are more cost-effective--while also providing higher quality services to many more people who suffer from critical and chronic illnesses. It costs the government $500,000 more per year to serve 10 times fewer people than the BC Compassion Club. The BC Compassion Club, a non-profit medical cannabis dispensary, just celebrated its 10th year anniversary of distributing high quality cannabis to over 4000 critically and chronically ill Canadians. Together compassion clubs across the country serve an estimated 10,000 people, whereas Health Canada's program has licensed only about 1,700 Canadians, of whom only 350 are accessing their cannabis from PPS. "Health Canada is requiring taxpayers and medical cannabis patients to fund inefficient practices, capital upgrades, and equipment for a private contractor. Instead of providing affordable medicine to those in need, Health Canada has chosen a policy and program that seemingly creates a windfall for one monopoly supplier," states Rielle Capler, the report's author. The report highlights the need for cost coverage of this important medicine, regardless of the source. "The cost of cannabis for those in medical need must be covered under Canada's universal health care system as it is for other medicine," says Ms. Capler. The Attorney General's office is in the early stages of an audit of certain user fees in Health Canada's program. The Vancouver Island Compassion Society (VICS) is currently in court with a constitutional challenge of the government's program. Senator Pierre Claude Nolin and Lynne Belle-Isle of the Canadian AIDS Society testified against the program this week in Victoria. "It's clear from the testimony of patients enrolled in this program that the cost is an obstacle to safe access to medical cannabis," said Philippe Lucas, director of VICS. "Compassion clubs have long urged the government to explore cost-coverage options through provincial or federal funds." To see the report: http://safeaccess.ca/pr/hc_pps_contract_report.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 8, 2007 CONTACT: Laura A. Green, Coalition Director, Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition, T: 785-865-9001 (office) or 785-550-4757 (mobile), E: [email protected], Web: www.ksccc.org New Organization Advocates Compassion for Medical Marijuana Patients in Kansas Poll shows 62% of Kansans would not oppose a law protecting patients from arrest A new, grassroots organization has been created in Kansas to advocate for legal protection of patients who use medical marijuana and for physicians who recommend the drug as part of a treatment program. The group, known as the Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition, is committed to supporting those who use marijuana as a last resort when more traditional medications prove ineffective in addressing the effects of chronic pain, cancer, chemotherapy, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma and other serious conditions. “Our objectives are simple: To allow physicians – not politicians – to make decisions about what is best for patients and to protect citizens from the risk of arrest simply because they’re trying to gain relief from a major medical problem,” said Coalition Director Laura Green. A nationwide Gallup Poll conducted in 1999 found that 73 percent of American adults favor “making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering.” Twelve states that make up about 22 percent of the U.S. population already have enacted laws that allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes. An estimated 115,000 Americans have obtained physician recommendations to use marijuana for medical purposes in states with existing medical marijuana laws, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. In addition, a growing number of mainstream medical organizations have voiced support for the use of medical marijuana under a physician’s supervision, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association and the American Nurses Association. The New England Journal of Medicine also has editorialized in favor of patient access to marijuana. “No one should face the ordeal of arrest and possibly prison because they want to feel better,” Green said. “That’s why the Compassionate Care Coalition is working closely with state legislators, law enforcement officials, healthcare leaders and others to pass laws that will help our fellow Kansans in their time of need.” In Kansas, the possession of any amount of marijuana for whatever purpose currently is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Cultivation of five or more marijuana plants, even for medical purposes, is a felony punishable by 11 to 17 years in prison. Green said that common misconceptions about medical marijuana have been shown to be inaccurate. A 2002 study by the Government Accounting Office, for example, found no evidence that abuse of medical marijuana laws was routinely occurring in states that had passed medical marijuana legislation. “We look forward to working with the growing number of Kansans who believe that our fellow residents have a right to access medical marijuana if it is recommended by their physician,” Green said. The Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition currently has more than 400 members and chapters in NE Kansas and Wichita. The group includes concerned patients, doctors, nurses, caregivers and others. For more information see the coalition web site, www.ksccc.org. # # #

For Immediate Release: August 7, 2007 Contact: Tony Newman at 646-335-5385 Artist, Activist Tony Papa to Highlight Cruel Drug War with Art Installation at Criminal Justice Conference at John Jay College in NYC on August 9-10 Show Visually Depicts Major Tragedies of Drug War: “Two Years for One Joint”; “HIV Due to Dirty Syringes”; “Racial Disparity of Drug War” Papa Discovered Art in Prison and Painted His Way to Freedom after 12 Years Behind Bars Under Draconian Drug Laws Noted artist, activist and author Anthony Papa will highlight the casualties of the war on drugs in an art installation during a conference titled “On the Edge: Transgression and the Dangerous Other on August 9 and 10 at John Jay College of Criminal Justice located at 899 10th Ave. in New York City. The conference will involve presentations, art and photographic exhibits, music, spoken word performances and film screenings centered around the concept of a new criminology for the 21st century. “The Drug War” is an art installation by artist/activist Anthony Papa. The installation is a multi-media presentation that visually portrays some of the most compelling drug war issues in the news. The visual narratives in the installation are powerful reminders of the raging war on drugs that ravages many of our communities. “The use of art as a political weapon is not new,” says Papa who discovered his political awareness through his art and has used his art as a vehicle to fight the drug war. “Through history, the role of the artist as a social commentator has been invaluable.” “Like Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ and Goya’s ‘Third of May,’ which both powerfully portrayed the atrocities of war, my installation follows their lead in revealing the impact of America’s drug war. Papa spent 12 years in prison for a first time non-violent drug offense. While imprisoned, he discovered his artistic talent. In 1995, after a showing of his art at the Whitney Museum, his case attracted national attention. Two years later, New York Governor George Pataki granted Papa executive clemency. Papa currently works for the Drug Policy Alliance. The installation highlights issues that affect all Americans, whether they use drugs or not. It is steeped in a continuous motif of an upside down American flag, which signifies the universal concept of the state of distress in war. “Justice in Black and White” shows the racial imbalance of the effects of the New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws. Ninety-four percent of those incarcerated under the laws are black and Latino. Ten crying babies dress in prison garb dangle in front of their incarcerated mothers and ask “where are our mothers?” “Two Years in Jail for One Joint” shows the madness of the drug war. Mitchell Lawrence, an 18-year-old was sentenced to two years in jail for one joint by an over zealous prosecutor in Massachusetts. A single golden joint sits in a silver jewelry box surrounded by dozens of candles “Give Them All Dirty Needles and Let Them Die” - taken from the cruel quote of TV’s “Judge Judy” - boldly illustrates how New Jersey is the only U.S. state that lacks a needle exchange program. Dozens of bloodied syringes penetrate a coffin draped with the New Jersey flag. In “Cops or Docs” a marijuana plant asks the question who should decide what medicine we should put in our bodies. “Got a Cold? Prove it and Sign the Log” portrays the hoops Americans must now jump through to buy cold medicine due to the federal government’s desire to monitor our everyday actions in the name of the curbing the methamphetamine “epidemic.” Papa hopes the installation raises awareness for those in mainstream society who rarely think about the drug war. “I use my art as a means of visually translating the deep emotional responses of the human condition,” Papa said. “My life choices forced me to discover my hidden artistic talent.” For more conference info: www.jjay.cuny.edu/ontheedge/

[Courtesy of DEA] News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 6, 2007 American Express Bank International Enters Into Deferred Prosecution Agreement And Forfeits $55 Million To Resolve Bank Secrecy Act Violations AUG 6 -- WASHINGTON ­ Miami-based American Express Bank International has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement on charges of failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and will forfeit $55 million to the U.S. government, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Karen Tandy announced today. A criminal information filed today at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami charges American Express Bank International with one count of failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. American Express Bank International waived indictment, agreed to the filing of the information, and accepted and acknowledged responsibility for its behavior in a factual statement accompanying the information. The company will pay $55 million to the United States to settle forfeiture claims held by the government. In light of the bank¹s remedial actions to date and its willingness to acknowledge responsibility for its actions, the government will recommend the dismissal of the charge in 12 months, provided the bank fully implements significant anti-money laundering measures required by the agreement. ³Banks and other financial institutions must uphold their responsibility to safeguard financial markets from the illegal activities of international drug cartels and professional money launderers,² said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division. ³An effective anti-money laundering program is critical to law enforcement efforts to detect and cut off the flow of drug money. The Department of Justice will continue to work to stop financial institutions from knowingly disregarding their obligations to have these vital programs in place.² ³Today an established and respected financial institution learned a valuable lesson about its legal responsibilities. American Express and all legitimate banking organizations must take every step possible to avoid becoming entangled in the web of international drug money laundering,² said DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy. ³Today the message is loud and clear: due diligence-don't take money without it.² The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has also assessed a $25 million civil money penalty against the company for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve has assessed a $20 million civil money penalty. The $20 million Federal Reserve penalty and $15 million of FinCEN¹s $25 million penalty will be deemed satisfied by the payment of the $55 million forfeiture, resulting in total payments of $65 million by American Express Bank International under these settlements. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks are required to establish and maintain an anti-money laundering compliance program that, at a minimum, provides for: (a) internal policies, procedures and controls designed to guard against money laundering; (b) the coordination and monitoring of day-to-day compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act; (c) an ongoing employee training program; and (d) independent testing for compliance conducted by bank personnel or an outside party. Banks are also required to have comprehensive anti-money laundering programs that enable them to identify and report suspicious financial transactions to the U.S. Treasury Department¹s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys John W. Sellers and Thomas Pinder of the Criminal Division¹s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, which is headed by Chief Richard Weber. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration¹s Miami Field Division, Fort Lauderdale District Office.

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