#308 USA Today’s Cannabis Policy Opinions

Date: Wed, 18 May 2005
Subject: #308 USA Today’s Cannabis Policy Opinions

USA TODAY’S CANNABIS POLICY OPINIONS

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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #308 – Wednesday, 18 May 2005

Today USA Today printed an editorial about our marijuana policies and
laws, and an OPED response by John Walters.

You may read the editorial ‘War on Drugs Gone to Pot’ at
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n800.a03.html and the OPED
‘Marijuana Policy Just Right’ at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n800.a04.html

Both links have the USA Today email address for writing LTEs:
editor@usatoday.com

With a circulation of just over 2.3 million copies, the largest
circulation newspaper in the United States, the value of even one
printed letter in terms of what it would cost to buy the same space as
an ad is in the range of $10,000 or more.

Please consider sending the paper a LTE today. Someone is very likely
to have their letter printed. It seems likely that more than one will
be printed.

You can help give the USA Today editors a choice of quality letters to
print, but only if you write.

Writing letters now to any newspaper about the push by the Drug Czar
and Congress to escalate the war on cannabis users is likely to meet
with success.

Another good target for your letters is the Washington Post OPED
printed Tuesday, May 17th titled ‘The Right Drug to Target’ at
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n799/a03.html

For more about the efforts in Congress see http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=1876&l’536

Thanks for your effort and support.

It’s not what others do it’s what YOU do

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Additional suggestions for writing LTEs are at our Media Activism Center:

http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

Or contact MAP Media Activism Facilitator Steve Heath for personal
tips on how to write LTEs that get printed.

heath@mapinc.org

You may join in discussions with successful letter writers on ways to
improve your success in the DrugSense Virtual Conference Room. See
http://www.mapinc.org/resource/paltalk.htm

The schedule for the letter writing sessions is at
http://www.mapinc.org/resource/pal_sched.php

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PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER

Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list (sentlte@mapinc.org) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to heath@mapinc.org if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list (sentlte@mapinc.org) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see

http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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Prepared by: Stephen Heath, MAP Media Activism Facilitator

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