Date: Wed, 08 May 2002
Subject: # 242 Disease Plays Better Than Needle Exchange In Peoria

Disease Plays Better Than Needle Exchange In Peoria

——-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #242 Wed, 8 May 2002

Needle exchanges have been an important part of efforts to block the
transmission of disease among intravenous drug users. Apparently the
news hasn’t made it to Peoria yet. The local newspaper ran several
stories this week about a needle exchange program in the city. The
coverage included a remarkably ignorant editorial that is reproduced
below. A column printed the same day that’s almost as bad can be
viewed here: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n875/a10.html

The attack against needle exchange has now become a personal attack on
the provider of the services. The editorial viciously attacked Beth
Wehrman, a courageous reformer who has brought successful harm
reduction efforts to many cities in Illinois. Beth is also a dedicated
Media Awareness Project volunteer. The effectiveness of street
outreach and needle exchange programs has been proven in study after
study – for information on the subject see http://www.drugwarfacts.org/syringee.htm

Tuesday evening, May 7th, in a rush to judgement, the City Council of
Peoria acted, and the Wednesday morning banner headline is “Needle
Exchange Program Outlawed.” See http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n881.a07.html

Unfortunately, the Peoria Journal Star and some local politicians
clearly haven’t taken the time to read the evidence. Instead their
arguments are based on prejudice and illogical assumptions. Please
write a letter to the Peoria Star Journal to politely remind editors
that a little research might save them from embarrassing themselves in
the future. It might also help to reduce the harm of the drug war in
their city. Please also consider writing to the City Council in
Peoria. Contact information is below.

Thanks for your effort and support.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so
others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) 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
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one very effective way of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO

Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL)
Contact: [email protected]

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EXTRA CREDIT

Please let the Peoria Mayor and City Council know what you think about
their efforts to run Beth out of town! Please be polite and positive.
Educate them!

Mayor: David Ransburg [email protected]

Council Members:
Jim Ardis [email protected]
Charles Grayeb [email protected]
Clyde Gulley Jr. [email protected]
John Morris [email protected]
Patrick Nichting [email protected]
Gary Sandberg [email protected]
William Spears [email protected]
Marcella Teplitz [email protected]
Gale Thetford [email protected]
Eric Turner [email protected]

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EDITORIAL

Pubdate: Tue, 07 May 2002
Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL)
Copyright: 2002 Peoria Journal Star
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://pjstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/338
Related: Please read thru the following to see exactly how this newspaper
created the hysteria:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n852/a09.html
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n867/a02.html
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n867/a01.html
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n875/a10.html
Facts: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/syringee.htm
Bookmarks: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)
http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

GET THE POINT: ‘NEEDLE LADY’ SHOULD BE SENT PACKING

Letting somebody drive into a residential neighborhood and give away
needles to junkies is the craziest idea that’s come this way in a long
time. It’s as bizarre as any urban legend that’s gone around, but it’s
true. Unfortunately.

Every Wednesday, Beth Wehrman cruises through Peoria’s South Side,
pulls over and hands out needles and syringes to drug addicts who,
neighbors complain, sometimes shoot up in public view and throw the
refuse onto their property. This goes on near a school, near
businesses and near homes. And this, Wehrman would have you believe,
is good for the city because it will reduce the incidence of AIDS.

Don’t you believe her. The weekly appearance of the “needle lady” (as
the neighbors call her) is a hideous threat to this neighborhood and
to any city that permits it. It lures junkies in. Junkies scare good
homeowners, renters and businesses away. It tells kids that drug use
must be more than OK, it must be very good, because otherwise somebody
wouldn’t be handing out needles for free. Even the ice cream man makes
you pay. It gives suburbanites one more reason to stay there and
Peorians one new reason to think about moving out.

The needle exchange program is part of an effort to limit the spread
of AIDS by encouraging addicts to return their used needles and shoot
up with clean ones. Nearly one-fourth of new AIDS cases can be traced
to contaminated needle reuse. Wehrman, a nurse, runs a Rock Island
based agency which partners with a Chicago alliance that says it is
engaged in public health research about needles. She also has a grant
from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health which is supposed to be used
for prevention and education. Wehrman also hands out condoms and gives
hepatitis immunizations and HIV tests.

While the support for needle exchanges is growing to counteract the
threat of AIDS, there are a number of reasons for communities to
embrace them reluctantly. Drugs can kill; sterilizing a needle does
not make usage safe. Illegal drug use is illegal; cities should not
abet those who would break the law. Junkies destroy families and
communities; society should not sanction or enable them.

Whatever the role for privately funded needle exchanges might be
should be limited to programs operated in conjunction with a broader
effort to wean people off drugs. There is some evidence that addicts
who come to agencies for clean needles become receptive, over time, to
starting treatment. But a clinic, where a counselor is available, is a
far cry from a street-corner encounter with a nurse in a car who says
it’s not her job to recommend that abusers see the light.

Tonight the Peoria City Council will consider an ordinance that would
limit the sale or exchange of needles to a building in a part of town
that is not residentially zoned, and also require the distributor to
tell the police when and where he’ll be working. Corporation counsel
Randy Ray believes this is as far as state law permits cities to go.
Wehrman maintains that if she is forced to move to a storefront or
clinic, she won’t be able to reach as many people.

That would be wonderful.

The first responsibility of any city is not to keep its drug addicts
healthy but to protect the people who live and work in its
neighborhoods, who obey the law every day and who are trying to teach
their children to do the same. Residents of the Olde Towne South
neighborhood where Wehrman sets up shop already put up with too many
neighborhood vermin. They shouldn’t have to advertise for imports.

The Peoria City Council should do whatever it takes to put this
huckster wagon out of business. Then it should ask the state
Legislature to take a second look at the 50-year-old law that courts
have said justifies street-corner giveaways if the distributor says
she’s doing important research. That’s really preposterous.

******************************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER (sent)

To the Editor of the Peoria Journal Star:

I was very disappointed to read your editorial “Get the Point,” about
the so-called “needle lady,” Beth Wehrman. The slightest bit of
research would have dispelled many myths editorialists presented as
facts.

The editorial stated, “While the support for needle exchanges is
growing to counteract the threat of AIDS, there are a number of
reasons for communities to embrace them reluctantly.” Unfortunately,
the editorial did not cite any studies that would explain such
reluctance. Authors must have missed virtually every study released on
needle exchanges in the past five years.

Four years ago, the U.S. Surgeon General stated: “After reviewing all
of the research to date, the senior scientists of the Department and I
have unanimously agreed that there is conclusive scientific evidence
that syringe exchange programs, as part of a comprehensive HIV
prevention strategy, are an effective public health intervention that
reduces the transmission of HIV and does not encourage the use of
illegal drugs.”

That perspective has not changed in the scientific community. Hmmm,
who’s judgement should I trust, editorialists in Peoria or the former
Surgeon General?

The judgement of editorialists was further put into question with a
number of statements including: “Wehrman maintains that if she is
forced to move to a storefront or clinic, she won’t be able to reach
as many people. That would be wonderful.”

Difficult problems are best dealt with in the open. Pushing them
underground only helps them to fester and grow. Maybe this is what the
Peoria Journal Star wants the injection drug problem to fester and
grow, but please don’t try to use obfuscation to convince anyone that
that increasing the harm from IV drug use is in the community’s best
interest.

Stephen Young Member Drug Policy Forum of Illinois

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IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone
number

Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify
it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous
copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives
credit for his/her work.

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

****************************************************************************

Prepared by Stephen Young – www.maximizingharm.com Focus Alert
Specialist

Date: Wed, 01 May 2002
Subject: Drug Czar Ignores IOM Report, Record Of Failure

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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #241 Wed, 1 May 2002

Drug Czar Ignores IOM Report, Record of Failure

Write Away! Write Now! It’s your Right to Write! Just DO
It!

********************* PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE ******************

Taking a break from blaming drug users for September 11th, Drug Czar
John Walters has published yet another misleading op-ed. This time
the subject is marijuana and the Washington Post is the messenger.
Walters pretends to be rational and even goes so far as to acknowledge
the existence of prohibition-related violence.

Unfortunately, in Walters’ mind gangland killings are acceptable
collateral damage providing the price of marijuana remains high. The
near-record levels of drug use cited by Walters suggest that the price
of pot has not kept kids from smoking it. Walters’ most glaring
offense is his lies about medical marijuana. In claiming a lack of
available research on a plant that has been used medicinally for
thousands of years, Walters’ ignores the recommendations of the 1999
Institute of Medicine Report, commissioned by the very same White
House Office of National Drug Policy he works for.

Potential LTE talking points:

* There is no evidence that marijuana use would “soar” if legal. If anything
tough drug laws increase use. A majority of European Union countries have
decriminalized pot. Despite marijuana prohibition, lifetime use of
marijuana in
the U.S. is higher than any European country. See:
http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/espad_pr.pdf

* The anti-tobacco campaign Walters mentions succeeded at reducing
tobacco use without relying on a punitive criminal-justice system. If
social marketing works for addictive tobacco, why is the threat of
criminal records necessary to deter marijuana use?

* Drug policy dictated by federal bureaucrats with “drug-free”
backgrounds gives rise to policy based on ignorance. Key stakeholders
(actual drug users) are not only ignored, but persecuted and
incarcerated.

* The increased marijuana potency cited by Walters, if true, is not
necessarily a bad thing. Potent pot requires less smoke inhalation
and incurs fewer health risks to the user.

* The ONDCP needs to stop pretending there is no scientific basis for medical
marijuana and read the recommendations of its own report. See:
http://www.mpp.org/science.html

Thanks for your effort and support.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

**********************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so
others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) 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
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one very effective way of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO

[email protected]

*************************************************************************
ARTICLE

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n832/a02.html

Webpage: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11915-2002Apr30.html
Pubdate: Wed, 01 May 2002
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: A25
Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: John P. Walters
Note: The writer is director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

THE MYTH OF ‘HARMLESS’ MARIJUANA

Last December the University of Michigan released its annual survey
“Monitoring the Future,” which measures drug use among American youth.
Very little had changed from the previous year’s report; most
indicators were flat. The report generated little in the way of public
comment.

Yet what it brought to light was deeply disturbing. Drug use among our
nation’s teens remains stable, but at near-record levels, with some 49
percent of high school seniors experimenting with marijuana at least
once prior to graduation — and 22 percent smoking marijuana at least
once a month.

After years of giggling at quaintly outdated marijuana scare stories
like the 1936 movie “Reefer Madness,” we’ve become almost conditioned
to think that any warnings about the true dangers of marijuana are
overblown. But marijuana is far from “harmless” — it is pernicious.
Parents are often unaware that today’s marijuana is different from
that of a generation ago, with potency levels 10 to 20 times stronger
than the marijuana with which they were familiar.

Marijuana directly affects the brain. Researchers have learned that it
impairs the ability of young people to concentrate and retain
information during their peak learning years, and when their brains
are still developing. The THC in marijuana attaches itself to
receptors in the hippocampal region of the brain, weakening short-term
memory and interfering with the mechanisms that form long-term memory.
Do our struggling schools really need another obstacle to student
achievement?

Marijuana smoking can hurt more than just grades. According to the
Department of Health and Human Services, every year more than 2,500
admissions to the District of Columbia’s overtaxed emergency rooms —
some 300 of them for patients under age 18 — are linked to marijuana
smoking, and the number of marijuana-related emergencies is growing.
Each year, for example, marijuana use is linked to tens of thousands
of serious traffic accidents.

Research has now established that marijuana is in fact addictive. Of
the 4.3 million Americans who meet the diagnostic criteria for needing
drug treatment ( criteria developed by the American Psychiatric
Association, not police departments or prosecutors ) two-thirds are
dependent on marijuana, according to HHS. These are not occasional pot
smokers but people with real problems directly traceable to their use
of marijuana, including significant health problems, emotional
problems and difficulty in cutting down on use. Sixty percent of teens
in drug treatment have a primary marijuana diagnosis.

Despite this and other strong scientific evidence of marijuana’s
destructive effects, a cynical campaign is underway, in the District
and elsewhere, to proclaim the virtues of “medical” marijuana. By now
most Americans realize that the push to “normalize” marijuana for
medical use is part of the drug legalization agenda. Its chief
funders, George Soros, John Sperling and Peter Lewis, have spent
millions to help pay for referendums and ballot initiatives in states
from Alaska to Maine. Now it appears that a medical marijuana campaign
may be on the horizon for the District.

Why? Is the American health care system — the most sophisticated in the
world —
really being hobbled by a lack of smoked medicines? The University of
California’s
Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is currently conducting scientific
studies
to determine the efficacy of marijuana in treating various ailments. Until that
research is concluded, however, most of what the public hears from marijuana
activists is little more than a compilation of anecdotes. Many questions remain
unanswered, but the science is clear on a few things. Example: Marijuana
contains
hundreds of carcinogens.

Moreover, anti-smoking efforts aimed at youth have been remarkably
effective by building on a campaign to erode the social acceptability
of tobacco. Should we undermine those efforts by promoting smoked
marijuana as though it were a medicine?

While medical marijuana initiatives are based on pseudo-science, their
effects on the criminal justice system are anything but imaginary. By
opening up legal loopholes, existing medical marijuana laws have
caused police and prosecutors to stay away from marijuana
prosecutions.

Giving marijuana dealers a free pass is a terrible idea. In fact,
thanks in part to excellent reporting in The Post, District residents
are increasingly aware that marijuana dealers are dangerous criminals.
The recent life-without-parole convictions of leaders of Washington’s
K Street Crew are only the latest evidence of this.

As reported in The Post, the K Street Crew was a vicious group of
marijuana dealers whose decade-long reign of terror was brought to an
end only this year after a massive prosecution effort by Michael
Volkov, chief gang prosecutor for the U.S. attorney’s office. The K
Street Crew is credited with at least 17 murders, including systematic
killings of potential witnesses. ( It should not be confused with the
L Street Crew, a D.C. marijuana gang that killed eight people in the
course of doing business. )

Says prosecutor Volkov: “The experience in D.C. shows that marijuana
dealers are no
less violent than cocaine and heroin traffickers. They have just as much
money to
lose, just as much turf to lose, and just as many reasons to kill as any drug
trafficker.”

Skeptics will charge that this kind of violence is just one more
reason to legalize marijuana. A review of the nation’s history with
drug use suggests otherwise: When marijuana is inexpensive, as it
would be if legal, use soars — bad news for the District’s schools,
streets and emergency rooms.

***********************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

To the Editor:

Drug czar John Walters is confused if he thinks that the principal
argument for marijuana legalization is that the plant is relatively
harmless. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused. It is
not the effects of marijuana that necessitate drug law reform, but
rather the effects of marijuana prohibition.

Walters notes near-record levels of marijuana smoking among teenagers,
yet fails to consider that drug dealers don’t ID for age. Apparently
Walters thinks leaving marijuana distribution in the hands of
organized crime is a good thing providing pot remains expensive.

Walters goes so far as to suggest the 17 murders committed by the K
Street Crew, one of two “marijuana gangs” cited by Walters, are
acceptable collateral damage. I for one do not approve of my tax
dollars subsidizing organized crime and violence. The marijuana plant
has never killed anyone. The same cannot be said of marijuana
prohibition.

Finally, we have the effects of drug laws on the individual. A heavy
marijuana smoker will no doubt experience some negative consequences,
but short-term memory problems are inconsequential compared to
long-term criminal records. The government does not actively try and
destroy the lives of alcoholics. I fail to see why marijuana smokers
should be singled out for punishment.

Robert Sharpe

IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone
number

Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify
it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous
copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives
credit for his/her work.

—————————————————————————-

TARGET ANALYSIS

The Washington Post has over 1.5 million readers daily, 2.1 million
readers on Sunday. While the Post has a nationwide audience, it most
effectively reaches the people, and those who work for the federal
government, inside the beltway.

Reviewing previously published letters at http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=Washington+Post
it is clear that the Post selects fairly short – three or four
paragraph – letters to the editor to print. The body of the average
printed letter is 146 words. The range of published letters is between
104 and 210 words in length.

TWO MORE ALERT TARGETS

The John P. Walters, U.S. Drug Czar’s OPED “The Myth of ‘Harmless’
Marijuana” which was printed in the Washington Post also appeared in the
following two newspapers Thursday, 2 May

Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Contact: [email protected]

Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Contact: [email protected]

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ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

********************************************************************

Prepared by Robert Sharpe, Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002
Subject: #240 Smoke Pot And Kill The Environment

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DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 240 Fri, 26 Apr 2002

Smoke Pot and Kill the Environment

********************* PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE *********************

The United States Drug Czar, John Walters, got loose with his second
published OPED earlier this week out of his great respect for the
environment and the supporters of Earth Day and other right thinking
American ideals.

He is gravy-training on the two month old ONDCP ad campaign which
continues to tell Americans that if they smoke pot they are funding
terrorism. As if that is not enough to weigh down the conscience of
tens of millions of citizens, now they must also accept the burden of
being responsible for environmental damage. Most noted are the
destruction of South America and also North America…in short — half
the planet or better.

The OPED is full o’ bull in nice heaping helpings for those who enjoy
rebutting tired and stale accusations wrapped coyly in the thin,
easily penetrated onion skin of a new ‘angle’.

We invite you to consider writing one or both of the newspapers it ran
in (to date), and let them know how you feel about some of the points
that Walters makes. Please do not send the same exact letter to both
papers since they are in very similar geographical markets. If time is
a concern, consider at least a few modifications so each letter is
distinct.

Thanks for your support and enjoy.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

**********************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so
others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) 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
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is our way of gauging our impact and
effectiveness.

**********************************************************************

CONTACT INFO:

The OPED was printed in these newspapers, and perhaps
others.

April 22 in The Oregonian
US OR: OPED: The Other Drug War
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n782/a03.html
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/

and

April 24 in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
US WA: OPED: Drugs Destroy Environment Too
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n795/a08.html
Webpage: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/67652_drugop.shtml
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.seattle-pi.com/

Here is a portion of the column, from the webpage URL
above:

DRUGS DESTROY ENVIRONMENT TOO

Wednesday, April 24, 2002
By JOHN P. WALTERS, DRUG CZAR

We know that illegal drugs do a great deal of harm — to our bodies,
our minds and our communities.

But there’s another harm associated with illegal drugs that more and
more Americans are beginning to understand: The billions of dollars
Americans spend on drugs each year are taking a horrific toll on some
of the most fragile and diverse ecosystems on the planet.

Consider the Andes and Amazonian regions of South America. In
countries such as Colombia and Peru, astonishing environmental riches
abound. The Huallaga region of Peru may be the world’s richest in all
forms of fauna, hosting record numbers of species among butterflies,
amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Colombia contains roughly 10
percent of the Earth’s biodiversity, second only to Brazil.

But that diversity is rapidly being destroyed. Environmental
journalist Stephanie Joyce, reporting in International Wildlife,
described the scenes she had witnessed in the Andean region: “a
devastated landscape … an accordion of scarred red hillsides dotted
with rotting tree stumps. The forest has disappeared as far as the eye
can see.”

Who cut down the forest, wiped out the fragile wildlife, depleted the
soil and left behind a chemically poisoned scar that had once been
rainforest? It’s a tragic story of greed and dependency. But the
culprit here isn’t a rapacious corporation. It’s our demand for
illegal drugs.

It is time we look at the real, far-reaching consequences of our drug
use and the damage we are doing to our selves and to our world.

Our government and the host nations have tried to curtail cocaine
production by spraying coca fields with glyphosate (the chemical
compound that has been used safely by millions of Americans for
years). But our spraying is not the engine driving all this
environmental destruction; it’s the growing and processing of cocaine
itself. Illegal drug manufacturers, obviously, follow no environmental
or safety rules.

**********************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

NOTE If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at
least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of
the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.

To the Editor:

Drug Czar Walters weaves a tawdry web of deceit in his column and
leaves us struggling to identify our most astonished moment when reading.

Since over 85% of illegal drug use he references is adults smoking
marijuana, it is a fanciful twist to tie them in with the growers of
coca and the manufacturers domestically of methamphetamines. However
after his Super Bowl ad campaign theme of linking us to Osama Bin
Laden, I guess it’s par for the course. His observations would have
more value if he acknowledged that current U.S. drug policy is
directly responsible for the obscene profits of illegal drug sales. We
note that alcohol and tobacco users are not destroyers of the
environment since their products are produced in a legal and regulated
marketplace.

But likely even more boggling was Walters’ , “Our government ….have
tried….spraying coca fields with glyphosate (the chemical compound
that has been used safely by millions of Americans for years).”

Thus, Mr. Walters with a straight face now cites glysophate as being a
‘safe’ product to be dumping out of airplanes with huge barrels and
sprayers. Day after day after day across the Colombian farmlands. Mr
Czar, please note this is not what I read on the bottle of glysphate I
bought at the nursery last week as following label directions for the
front lawn of my house.

If America continues to swallow the odorous and misleading guidance of
the White House and ONDCP drug policy, far more than the environment
is doomed.

Stephen Heath
Clearwater FL

(always provide your email and phone contacts so that editors may
verify that you sent the letter)

———————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

**********************************************************************

Prepared by Stephen Heath, DrugSense FOCUS Alert Specialist

Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002
Subject: #239 It Is Not OK To Evict Granny

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DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 239 Fri, 29 Mar 2002

It Is Not OK To Evict Granny

********************* PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE *********************

By now every daily newspaper in the United States has carried the
story about the Supreme Court deciding it is OK to throw entire
families out of public housing for the sins of one family member or
friend. And the editorials and OPEDs are starting to appear, both for
and against this decision.

Ohio’s Beacon Journal editorial ‘Scales of Justice’ said, “A 1988
federal law authorized the Department of Housing and Urban Development
to evict from public housing any tenant who violated the lease
requirement that no tenant, members of the household and guests be
involved in using, producing, selling or distributing drugs.

“HUD then developed a “one-strike-and-out” zero-tolerance policy that
permits a family to be evicted — even if the tenant had no way of
knowing that a guest or member of the household had violated the drug
policy. Also, it made no difference whether the violation occurred
within or away from the housing property.

“Harsh and inflexible, the policy has been applied in California
against such tenants as an elderly woman whose mentally disabled
daughter was caught with cocaine three blocks away from the apartment
she shared with her mother, and an elderly man whose caretaker was
caught with crack cocaine. By zero-tolerance guidelines, they were
guilty because of the behavior of others.

“This week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld without a dissenting vote
HUD’s eviction guidelines as within the language and intent of the law
as enacted by Congress….

“As with other war-on-drugs policies and legislation — for example,
forfeiture laws that target homes, automobiles and other properties
suspected to be associated with drug-related crimes — the eviction
policy offers one more example that as instruments of justice, zero-
tolerance policies are blunt, utterly unfair and indiscriminate….

“The high court’s ruling exposes the deep flaw in the law. The onus
is on Congress to rectify it by expanding the administrative
discretion of housing agencies.”

In addition to contacting your congress persons, letting the media,
and thru the media the public, know your views is critical if we hope
to turn this around. Your Letters to the Editor will help the public
see the basic injustice in this law.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

**********************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so
others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) 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
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is our way of gauging our impact and
effectiveness.

**********************************************************************

FINDING TARGETS FOR YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Already many dozens of news items have been archived at MAP. They are
all good targets.

http://www.mapinc.org/find?TK=evict&dd1=26&mm1=3&yy1=2002&DE=m

You may wish to write to many of the newspapers in your state. Finding
the email addresses for Letters to the Editor for your state’s
newspapers is also easy.

Go to http://www.mapinc.org/resource/email.htm Use the Location
dropdown to select your state. Check the Email Only block. If you wish
to have the list sent to you as well as shown, enter your email
address in the ‘Email to’ field. Press the Search button.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Newspaper editors expect that the LTEs you write are for them alone.
For the best results always address each email one at a time to each
newspaper.

Below is a list of some of the early opinion items already published.
Besides being superb targets for your Letters, they may give you some
ideas for drafting your letter:

Editorial: Zero Tolerance For Zero Tolerance
Las Vegas Sun (NV)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n595/a03.html

Editorial: Federal Housing: Laying Down The Law
Topeka Capital-Journal (KS)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n599/a03.html

OPED: New Law’s Target Too Broad Ledger-Enquirer (GA)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n593/a11.html

Editorial: Scales Of Justice
Beacon Journal, The (OH)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n593/a06.html

Column: There’s One Law For The Rich, Another For Poor
Intelligencer Journal (PA)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n593/a03.html

Editorial: Mix ‘Zero Tolerance’ Rule With Compassion
Jackson Sun News (TN)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n592/a06.html

Editorial: Little Justice In Court Decision On Evictions
Asheville Citizen-Times (NC)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n591/a07.html

Editorial: Kicking Out Grandma
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n584/a02.html

Editorial: A Win For Public Housing
Boston Herald (MA)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n583/a07.html

Editorial: Drug Law Ruling Can Help Clean Up Public Housing Northeast
Mississippi
Daily Journal (MS)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n582/a09.html

**********************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

NOTE If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at
least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of
the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.

To the Editor:

Congress writes a law, and the government uses it to force families
who would otherwise be homeless to sign a contract saying that they
will all be thrown out of their public housing – if a family member,
friend, or even a visitor is alleged to be using drugs.

It does not matter if the alleged offence is blocks or miles away and
the person signing the lease had no idea that the other person was
involved with drugs.

And the Supreme Court agrees! Congress can write laws that are unfair
– that tear up American values of justice and fair play.

It is OK to evict granny and the rest of the family because one person
sneaks off and is caught doing wrong. Never mind that the person who
sinned may be being punished, or even in taxpayer supported
rehabilitation. Just put them all out on the street.

Must be that new ‘compassionate conservatism’ that I keep reading
about!

Richard Lake
Chief Warrant Officer
U.S. Army, Retired
Escanaba, Michigan

(always provide your email and phone contacts so that editors may
verify that you sent the letter)

———————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

**********************************************************************

Prepared by Richard Lake, DrugSense FOCUS Alert Specialist

Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002
Subject: # 238 Canadian Newspapers Carrying Anti-War Messages

******************************************************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 238 Mon, 18 Mar 2002

Canadian Newspapers Carrying Anti-war Messages

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

In the six years The Media Awareness Project have been tracking
newspaper coverage of drug policy news and opinion, we have seen a
demonstrable and measurable shift away from Drug War support. Not
only has overall coverage and column inches increased tremendously,
the most important half of the equation – opinion – has clearly swung
to a majority support for reform ideas and proposals. Additionally, we
see an increasing number of newspapers calling out Drug War
hypocrisies, and most notable is the number of editorial boards and
opinion writers who are quite frankly ‘demanding’ public officials
take notice and accept accountability for ending of the War as we have
known it for the past 60+ years.

While the needed areas of reform are numerous and each require more
light and scrutiny, nowhere is the need for dramatic reform more
apparent than in the area of cannabis law reforms. While recent
opinion polls may still show a minority of voters believe that
“Marijuana should be legalized for adult use”, we also know that a
majority of voters believe an adult should not be jailed for marijuana
possession. This percentage jumps to 80% or better when the question
involves adults using marijuana as medicine.

Most folks already know that Canada has been ahead of the U.S. in
terms of it’s laws about marijuana for adults. In the past two years,
not only has their federal government made allowances for medical
users, but they are clearly giving serious debate to overall
decriminalization of marijuana possession. This of course has provoked
an even higher level of press coverage than enjoyed by the readers of
U.S. newspapers. And likewise, an increasing amount of this coverage
is calling for strong reform of drug policy.

The NATIONAL POST, Canada’s second most widely read newspaper came out
with likely the strongest editorial viewpoint about marijuana
decriminalization that we have seen from a newspaper of this size
anywhere in North America. The editorial ran this past Friday (Mar 15)
and speaks for itself.

This is as strong a need as we have ever had for supporting and
thank-you letters.

One need not make a particularly eloquent statement, nor compose the
‘perfect’ thoughts for this letter, since the editorial does the work
for us. What is most needed is to let the National Post know that
their viewpoint is shared by many people, and not just those who ‘want
to legalize all drugs’, or simply ‘unrepentant hippies and
counterculture types’ (You all KNOW who you are…)

Thanks for your effort and support. We suggest you review our Target
Analysis (below the Sample Letter) prior to writing your letter for
information which may increase your impact and your chance of
publication.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

***************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so
others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) 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
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is our way of gauging our impact and
effectiveness.
************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO

Source National Post (Canada)

Contact [email protected]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXTRA CREDIT –

Send your letter to any or all of the newspapers in Canada and ask
them to consider reprinting the editorial from the National Post.

You can go to the DrugSense MEDIA EMAIL DATABASE. Simply go to the
website below and select ‘Canada’ as your criteria and – presto – a
list of media contacts complete with names of the media organization
will be presented or E-mailed to you.

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

IMPORTANT NOTE

Newspaper editors expect that the LTEs you write are for them alone.
For the best results always address each email one at a time to each
newspaper.

***************************************************************************

ORIGINAL EDITORIAL

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n468/a04.html

Webpage:
http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/story.html?f=/stories/20020315/344962.html

Pubdate: Fri, 15 Mar 2002
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2002 Southam Inc.
Contact: [email protected]

IT’S AGREED: DECRIMINALIZE POT

The lobby to decriminalize marijuana continues to grow, with the
Canadian Medical Association now joining the push. The organization,
which represents more than 50,000 physicians, has strengthened the
case previously made by groups such as the federally funded Canadian
Centre on Substance Abuse, the Association of Canadian Police Chiefs
and the Canadian Bar Association. These organizations hardly
constitute a hippy rabble.

What is it going to take for the federal government to abandon the
obsolete view that marijuana is a dangerous vice that merits the force
of Criminal Code sanction? The CMA notes that of the 66,500 drug
offences in Canada in 1997, more than 70%, or 47,908, were
cannabis-related. Of those, two-thirds involved mere possession and
the majority of those charged with offences were young. About 2,000
Canadians go to jail annually for simple possession of marijuana. It
is these figures, and not the consumption of the mood-altering
substance, that constitute the real source of concern Enforcement of
our marijuana laws necessitates a useless waste of public funds and
police resources.

[SNIP]

The facts show that marijuana generally contributes to ruin of neither
mind nor body

[SNIP]

Public opinion is also well ahead of the government on this issue.
Polls have shown that Canadians overwhelmingly support
decriminalization, with one survey in 1990 finding that seven out of
10 Canadians felt marijuana possession merited no more than a fine.

[SNIP]

The federal legislators should take the advice of their doctors and
decriminalize marijuana entirely.

*****************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

NOTE If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at
least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of
the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.

TO THE EDITORS of The National Post

Thank you for publishing, “It’s agreed Decriminalize
pot’.

It’s refreshing to read some sane, rational viewpoints regarding
Marijuana Prohibition. Your editorial aptly noted that it is the law
enforcement of this inane criminal interdiction policy , aka
Prohibition, that causes the real harm to our society.

Too often the media plays the “reefer madness” party line at the
expense of not only medical marijuana users, but all adults who use
marijuana responsibly. After all, such coverage usually garners gushy,
reactionary readership. It does squat though to truly inform and
educate the public.

Thank you kindly for showing some leadership, honesty and willingness
to buck the status quo on Marijuana Prohibition. Canada has an amazing
opportunity to not only demonstrate leadership in reforming our drug
laws but also to send a clear signal that we will not be intimidated
by the failed American “Drug War” Policies of zero-tolerance and its
wasteful, shameful abuses.

David d’Apollonia Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

—————————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

TARGET ANALYSIS

The National Post is one of two newspapers sold everywhere in Canada.
Here is what their website says about their circulation (note that a
Canadian dollar is worth about 63 cents in U.S. dollars today) 810,400
daily readers across 16 major Canadian markets. $76,918 average
household income is 30% higher than the Canadian average. $49,346
average personal income is 40% higher than the Canadian average.
National Post daily readers are 44% more likely than adults 18+ to
have personally accessed a search engine in the past month.

Our analysis of the published letters at http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=National+Post+(CN)
shows that the National Post selects what they print based on quality
– without any bias as to the location of the LTE writer. Clearly,
shorter to the point LTEs are most likely to be printed. Our analysis
shows that the average published letter body is only 124 words long,
with a range from 56 to 258 words.

****************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

NOTICE

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes.

REMINDER

Please help MAP find news articles. Details at http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm

=
NOW YOU CAN DONATE TO DRUGSENSE ONLINE AND IT’S TAX DEDUCTIBLE

DrugSense provides many services to at no charge BUT THEY ARE NOT FREE
TO PRODUCE.

We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you
are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort visit our
convenient donation web site at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

-OR-

Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. d/b/a DrugSense PO Box 651
Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759

********************* Just DO It!! **********************************

Prepared by Stephen Heath of The Drug Policy Forum of Florida
DrugSense FOCUS Alert Specialist

Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002
Subject: # 237 Let The Voters Decide

*****************************************************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #237 Mar 14, 2002

LET THE VOTERS DECIDE

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #237 Mar 14 2002

As many readers already know, the triumvirate of Peter Lewis, George
Soros and John Sperling have extended their plans for helping Right To
Treatment ballot initiatives. They are targeting Nov 2002 for voters
in Ohio, Michigan and Florida to vote on their proposal, a similar
version of which has already passed in California and Arizona.

As the petition signature drive heats up with less than eight months
remaining before Election Day, the opponents of the trio’s proposal
are speaking up, and their make-up is predictable.

Police officers, district attorneys and governor appointed Drug Czars
are all bemoaning that allowing the initiatives to pass will ‘de-facto
legalize all drug use’. Further they suggest that it tantamount to a
‘free pass’ through the justice system while ignoring the fact that
the accused will be required to complete a court supervised treatment
program with the threat of jail constantly in play.

The Columbus Dispatch had a lengthy piece this past Sunday that
featured quotes from both sides with a clear lean to opponent’s
quotes. Further they ignored the already proven revelations from last
fall that demonstrate direct and illegal tactics being taken by Gov
Taft in Ohio, such as using government offices and resources to
directly oppose a constitutional amendment proposal.

Thanks for your effort and support.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

***************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so
others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) 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
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one very effective way of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.
************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO
Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)
Copyright: 2002 The Columbus Dispatch
Contact: [email protected]
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
US OH: Supporters Ready To Press Plan For Drug Offenders
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n444/a11.html
Newshawk: Mary Jane Borden
Pubdate: Sun, 10 Mar 2002
Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)
Copyright: 2002 The Columbus Dispatch
Contact: [email protected]
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93
Author: Alan Johnson
Cited: Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicyalliance.org/
Ohio Campaign for New Drug Policies http://www.drugreform.org/ohio
Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association http://www.iwaynet.net/~opaa/

SUPPORTERS READY TO PRESS PLAN FOR DRUG OFFENDERS

They Are Rich Beyond Imagination, Mega-Philanthropists With A Bagful Of
Eccentricities.

Although Peter B. Lewis, George Soros and John G. Sperling don’t share
political or personal philosophies, they are united on one front: They
passionately oppose the war on drugs — “a grave injustice in American
society.”

Since 1996, the well-heeled trio have used their deep pockets to fund
a national crusade to reform drug laws. Using 19 ballot issues in 11
states from California to Maine, the three have fought drug laws —
and won 17 times.

Now their campaign — this time in the form of a proposal to
substitute treatment for jail time for nonviolent, first- and
second-time drug offenders — has come to the heartland. The issue,
which would appropriate $38 million in state money annually for drug
treatment, is likely to be on the Nov. 5 ballot as a proposed
amendment to the Ohio Constitution.

The campaign is expected to gain visibility this week as supporters
seek backing from minority lawmakers and leaders.

Advocates of the proposal contend that Ohio taxpayers would save $85
million annually by diverting more than 4,600 people to treatment
programs instead of jail.

Voters in Florida, Michigan and Washington, D.C., might see similar
ballot issues this fall.

The Ohio proposal could turn into a donnybrook because Gov. Bob Taft,
most of Ohio’s political establishment and the law-enforcement
community vigorously oppose it.

“It’s just not necessary,” said Taft, labeling the proposal “de-facto
legalization, not just of marijuana but a whole range of other drugs
— crack and cocaine and LSD.”

(SNIP) The remainder of this article can be viewed by clicking the
URL above.

—————————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

*****************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER (SENT)

NOTE: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at
least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of
the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.

To the editors of Columbus Dispatch:

Here in Florida we watch with interest the attempt by Ohio citizens to
change current drug policy to one that favors health care alternatives
over strict criminal sanctions. This over the overt and also covert
opposition of Governor Taft.

In our own state, Governor Jeb Bush raises similar complaints though
refusing to speak publicly on the matter since his daughter’s arrest
in January on felony drug charges and her subsequent direct routing
into drug treatment rather than jail. As in Ohio, Bush and Florida
Drug Czar Jim McDonough make the astounding suggestion that this is
simply a ‘ploy’ which will lead ‘to the full legalization of ALL drugs”

Hyperbole at best, deliberate falsehoods at worst. Statements like
these are patently absurd since they imply there are a majority of
citizens and/or legislators who favor full legalization. If this is so
then current legislators are even more out of the loop regarding
public sentiment than initially suggested.

Quite simply what Peter Lewis and his associates are doing is forcing
the legislatures of both states to hear exactly what the voting public
thinks. And those who might complain about the out-of-state funding
can take solace in knowing that the White House Drug Czar’s office has
an annual advertising budget that is literally 60 times the size of
the initiative’s backers,, and it’s theme is to keep laws just the way
they are now.

It’s time to let the voters examine both sides and make their own
choice.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephen Heath Drug Policy Forum of Florida Clearwater FL
http://www.drugsense.org/dpffl/

****************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

NOTICE:

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes.

REMINDER:

Please help MAP find news articles. Details at http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm

=
NOW YOU CAN DONATE TO DRUGSENSE ONLINE AND IT’S TAX DEDUCTIBLE

DrugSense provides many services to at no charge BUT THEY ARE NOT FREE
TO PRODUCE.

We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you
are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort visit our
convenient donation web site at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

-OR-

Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to:

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. d/b/a DrugSense PO Box 651
Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759 [email protected]
http://www.mapinc.org/ http://www.drugsense.org/

********************* Just DO It!! **********************************

Prepared by Stephen Heath DrugSense FOCUS Alert Specialist

Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002
Subject: #236 Clueless In Afghanistan

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #236 Feb 25, 2002

CLUELESS IN AFGHANISTAN

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #236 Feb 25, 2002

Much has been made of the link between terror and drugs by both drug
warriors and drug policy reform advocates. There is a crucial
difference between the interpretations: Drug warriors ignore
prohibition’s role in the link, while reformers understand prohibition
offers the central relationship between drugs and terror.

The drug warriors have spread their perspective with the assistance of
the mainstream press. A good example is this month’s Vanity Fair,
which contains an article by Maureen Orth about drug corruption in
Afghanistan. The word prohibition isn’t raised once in the article.
Instead, Orth follows the party line that the drug war should be
fought with even more resources. Please write a letter Vanity Fair to
remind Orth and editors that this simply isn’t logical. When the drug
war is causing corruption, an enhanced drug war can only lead to more
corruption.

Thanks for your effort and support.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

***************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so
others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) 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
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one very effective way of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.
************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO

You can contact Vanity Fair at [email protected]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Afghanistan’s Deadly Habit URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n259/a04.html

AFGHANISTAN’S DEADLY HABIT

No Matter Who Controls Afghanistan, Its Opium Crop-More Than 70% Of The
World’s Supply-Is Creating Narco-Societies Throughout Central Asia, From
Russia To Pakistan. In Tajikistan, The Author Discovers The Extent Of The
Region’s Drug Corruption, Which May Prove More Destructive Than Any
Terrorist Threat.

The ex-K.G.B. colonel and I are bumping along on the ancient Silk Road
in Tajikistan, heading southeast from the capital city of Dushanbe
toward the Panj River, which separates Tajikistan from Afghanistan.
Arid mountains loom on either side, and random boulders are spewed on
the poorly paved road, which we share with a few peasant boys and
donkeys bearing bundles of kindling wood. Like most Americans, I had
barely heard of this country before September 11, but soon I began to
realize its crucial importance to a dangerous war that is sure to last
much longer than the one going on in Afghanistan. The enemy is heroin,
the most valuable export of Central Asia, and I have come 7,000 miles
to understand the symbiotic connection between drugs and terrorism.

Now I am about to visit the nexus of the world’s largest heroin supply
and the beginning of its extravagantly profitable transit between the
porous border between these two impoverished countries.

In the villages on both sides of the river, virtually the entire
population is engaged in smuggling the only cash crop that Afghanistan
grows, the opium poppy.

You have to smuggle or you die of starvation-it is the only means to
live, a Tajik Drug Control Agency commander told me. My guide, Colonel
Salomatsho Kbushvakhtov, once the K.G.B. agent in charge of the border
for the Soviets and now an officer of the elite new Tajik drug agency,
concurs, explaining that the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda will
not stop heroin from flowing across the border.

In July 2000 the Taliban, to gain international recognition and
deplete their stockpiles, imposed a strict ban on poppy growing, which
was 91 percent effective by 2001. Nevertheless, Khushvakhtov assures
me, the warlords who still roam Central Asia need the money heroin
brings.

It is their main source of income, and they have to feed and pay
soldiers.

(SNIP) TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK THE URL ABOVE

—————————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

*****************************************************************

To the Editor:

One has to question Maureen Orth’s capacity for rational thought. A
former Peace Corps volunteer who witnessed, first hand, the
destruction of the Colombian economy by a burgeoning criminal market
for cocaine a decade or so ago, Orth, as journalist, reported very
competently on the injury done by the criminal market for heroin, not
only to Afghanistan, but to all of Central Asia. She then ended with
one of the most puzzling conclusions in the annals of modern
journalism: “Rarely has there been a more auspicious moment to help
eliminate a worldwide scourge and bring corrupt officials to heel.”

Come again? The current “victor” in Afghanistan, the United States,
remains firmly committed to drug prohibition. As Orth stated in her
opening line, it doesn’t matter who controls Afghanistan; opium will
dominate its economy. It is impossible to see how removal of the
Taliban will change that fact, especially since the only rule now
possible is at the hands of the same opium growing warlords we once
recruited to eject the Russians.

One point Orth does make clearly: when a criminal enterprise becomes
the economic life-blood of an entire region, bad things happen. That
was the exact situation in Central Asia when we lost interest in it in
1992. The result was September 11th. How Orth– or the US State
Department and CIA– could possibly think our recent bombing of
Afghanistan has changed things for the better is a critical question.
It’s now clear they simply have no rational answer because the US
under Bush remains as deeply committed to drug prohibition as ever.

So long as heroin remains illegal, the conditions Orth described in
Central Asia will remain beyond any government’s capacity to change.

Tom O’Connell, MD

NOTE: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at
least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of
the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.

****************************************************************************

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writing activists.

NOTICE:

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes.

REMINDER:

Please help MAP find news articles. Details at http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm

=
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DrugSense provides many services to at no charge BUT THEY ARE NOT FREE
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We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you
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-OR-

Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to:

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. d/b/a DrugSense PO Box 651
Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759 [email protected]
http://www.mapinc.org/ http://www.drugsense.org/

********************* Just DO It!! **********************************

Prepared by Stephen Young ([email protected]) and Stephen Heath
([email protected]) DrugSense FOCUS Alert Specialists

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002
Subject: #235 Remove The Cannabis Patients From The Battlefield

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #235 Feb 16, 2002

Please Help Remove the Cannabis Patients from the Battlefield

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

Deroy Murdock, a columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service wrote
this in his syndicated column:

The Bay Area clampdown recalls the DEA’s Oct. 25 closure of the Los
Angeles Cannabis Resource Center. It operated with the blessing of
West Hollywood officials and the L.A. County sheriff, all elected
authorities. That was not enough to keep 30 DEA agents from spending
six hours yanking 400 marijuana plants from its premises along with
computers, documents and the medical records of its 960 patients.

Until the Feds intervened, these outfits operated legally. Fifty-six
percent of California voters approved Proposition 215, a medical
marijuana measure, in 1996. Initiatives also have legalized medipot in
Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Oregon, Nevada and Washington. While
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last May that therapeutic grass
suppliers cannot assert marijuana’s “medical necessity” to avoid
federal drug laws, it did not address the validity of state statutes
permitting clinical cannabis. Federal heavy-handedness has made drug
decriminalizers rail against DEA chief and former GOP congressman Asa
Hutchinson. As the Drug Policy Alliance’s Glenn Backes says: “You have
an appointed official, a career politician from Arkansas, who sits in
Washington, D.C. and tells the voters of California and the other
seven states that have supported medical marijuana: “It doesn’t matter
what you vote for. I have your tax dollars and I’m going to spend them
going after sick people.”

You can read the rest of the column at this link http://www.mapinc.org/author/Deroy+Murdock

We know that you, readers of our DrugSense Focus Alerts, are already
doing your part sending letters to the editor.

Because we also know, as a result of the votes above and respected
national polls, that taking the patients off the battlefields of the
War on Drugs has a solid majority of public support we are asking you
today to help insure that our elected officials to understand this
simple fact. With sustained pressure – both thru educating the media
and the politicians – we can carry the day on this issue.

So we are providing three alerts below — from the Drug Policy
Alliance, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws,
and the Marijuana Policy Project — in the hope that you will use them
to take further action.

****************************************************************************

From the Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicyalliance.org/

URGENT: STOP THE DEA! Protect Patients and Democracy!!!

Your help is urgently needed! The DEA made numerous medical marijuana
raids across the state of California yesterday ( February 12th ),
closing down non-profit medical co-operatives and victimizing AIDS and
Cancer patients. This comes on the very day that the U.S. Justice
Department urged all law-enforcement agencies “to be on the highest
alert” for impending terrorist attacks. Members of Congress need to
know that these actions are unacceptable.

How You Can Help Stop the DEA:

CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS!! TELL THEM:

1) “I’m outraged that the DEA made medical marijuana raids in
California on a day that law-enforcement agencies were supposed to be
on high alert protecting citizens from terrorist attacks.”

2) “The DEA should stop wasting millions of dollars attacking
patients.”

3) “Congress should cut the DEA’s budget by the amount spent on these
raids.”

4) “Members of Congress should issue press releases and go on record
opposing these raids.”

To Call:

Find out who your Representative and two Senators are by calling the
U.S. Capitol Switchboard at ( 202 ) 224-3121.

You can also find out who your Senators are by going
to

http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm

You can find out who your Representative is by going
to

http://www.house.gov/house/memberwww.html

AFTER YOU MAKE THOSE PHONE CALLS, go to

http://www.drugpolicy.org/action/frame_mdmj.html

and fax your Senators and Representative. It is VERY IMPORTANT to
follow up your phone calls with faxes.

For more information on medical marijuana and the DEA raids,
see

http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/pr-february12b-02x.html

****************************************************************************

From the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
http://www.norml.org/

Tell Your Congressmen to Oppose DEA Raids of California Medical
Cannabis Co-operatives Send a message that this time the DEA has gone
too far!

On the morning of February 12, DEA agents carried out a massive series
of raids on California’s medical cannabis co-operatives and providers.
The ultimate result of these raids is that hundreds of seriously ill
patients who rely on these support groups must now turn to the streets
and black market in order to obtain their medicine.

Disturbingly, these raids took place on the same day that our nation’s
federal law enforcement agencies were to be on their highest alert
protecting Americans from a possible terrorist attack. At a time when
federal law enforcement resources are desperately needed to combat the
real threat of terrorism in America, it is absurd that the DEA would
spend time and money coordinating and implementing an assault on
California’s medical marijuana patients and providers. Even more
appalling is that this action took place despite the fact that these
clubs enjoy the support of California voters, local law enforcement,
the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, and the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors.

Please take five minutes to write to your Congressmen and Senators,
urging them to go on record opposing these DEA raids as a waste of
time and money and as a violation of the will of the people of
California. We also recommend that you request your elected official
to introduce legislation in Congress to cut the DEA’s budget by the
amount of money spent planning and carrying out these misguided raids.

Thank you for your help in this important matter.

****************************************************************************

From the Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org/

Dear Friend,

At a time when our nation is concerned about the war on terrorism, the
DEA is waging an all-out war on medical marijuana patients.

The Bush administration warned that there was a high likelihood of a
terrorist attack on Tuesday. They were right: That day, DEA thugs
raided a medical marijuana clinic in San Francisco, charging four
activists in the Bay Area with the “crime” of providing medical
marijuana to patients who are legally authorized to use it under state
law. Each of the four defendants now faces between five years and
life in prison.

Significantly, the clinic was authorized by the local prosecutor’s
office, who expressed his outrage that the DEA is trampling the will
of California voters in its sick crusade against sick people.

Please visit http://www.mpp.org/USA today to fax a pre-written letter
of outrage to your U.S. representative and two U.S. senators. The
whole process takes less than two minutes.

( You might have previously used this Web page to fax a pre-written
letter to your U.S. representative. If so, thank you. But please
visit the page again, because we did not have the Web page set up at
the time for faxing your two U.S. senators. )

In an incredible show of arrogance, DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson
scheduled a speech in San Francisco for that night. He tried to claim
that the DEA is merely enforcing federal drug laws — and that medical
marijuana isn’t really a priority. But the crowd didn’t buy it,
catcalling him and shouting “Liar!” when he said science has shown
that smoking marijuana has no medical benefit. ( News articles are
available at http://www.mpp.org/USA )

He got a taste of the ridicule he deserves. And MPP wants to add to
his disgrace by overwhelming congressional offices with letters of
protest. Please visit http://www.mpp.org/USA right now to ask your
three members of Congress to ( 1 ) rein in the DEA, and ( 2 ) pass
H.R. 2592, which would allow states to determine their own medical
marijuana policies without federal interference — or raids.

As you may know, the Bush administration ran two TV ads during the
Super Bowl and newspaper ads in the week that followed, claiming that
people who buy drugs are really funding terrorism. If that were true,
why would the Bush administration’s DEA shut down a medical marijuana
clinic, thereby forcing hundreds of patients to buy marijuana from
illegal dealers on the streets instead of a locally sanctioned clinic?

And this isn’t the first time. Let’s not forget that in October, the
DEA pushed 1,000 patients into the streets of Los Angeles after
shutting down a clinic in West Hollywood.

The Bush administration is pursuing a harm-maximization, hate-filled,
destructive policy. It’s time to “just say no” to the DEA. Please
visit http://www.mpp.org/USA to tell the DEA’s funders — the United
States Congress — to come down hard on the DEA. The DEA doesn’t
answer to you — or the voters of California, apparently — but it
must answer to Congress. Please act now.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia, Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project

P.S. Please ask your family and friends to visit http://www.mpp.org/USA
so they can send their own letters of protest, too. MPP is trying to
generate enough pressure to force Congress to hold hearings on the
DEA’s abuses.

***************************************************************************

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

***************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE
http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

***************************************************************************

Prepared by Richard Lake, Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002
Subject: #227 The DEA And Hemp Hysteria

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #227 Feb 12, 2002

The DEA and Hemp Hysteria

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #227 Feb 12, 2002

Well the day finally arrived last week. The DEA’s self-imposed
‘interpretative ruling’ of the 1970 federal Controlled Substances Act
puts millions of Americans at risk of arrest should they be found in
possesion of a wide range of food and beverage products that may
contain hemp or hemp based ingredients.

First issued on Oct 9, the DEA initially provided a ‘grace’ period of
90 days before they would begin active enforcement of their ruling.
Americans found in violation would be subject to the same penalties
currently leveled against those who violate federal laws against
marijuana possesion and/or distribution.

Thanks to the efforts of America’s hemp industry and their lawsuits
against the DEA, this enforcement period has been further extended
until Mar 18. DEA Director Asa Hutchinson exclaims that his agency is
‘simply enforcing the laws created by Congress’, and at the same time
ignores all rational discussions that show the foolishness of
criminalizing these products.

The Feb 10 issue of TIME magazine carried a very good summation of the
current state of affairs as well as some up close information about
the hemp industry in Kentucky.

PLEASE CONSIDER writing a letter to TIME magazine TODAY and thank them
for their coverage of this topic. You might also include indications
of your support for the DEA’s cessation of ending their plans to
criminalize hemp based foods and beverages.

You might also review any recent issue of TIME, and examine their
Letters page. Most printed letters in TIME are short and focus on a
single concise point. However these relatively small letters carry
enormous equivalent advertising value due to their huge circulation
and readership.

Thanks for your effort and support.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

NOTE: _SHORT_ Letters Needed! See Target Analysis Below

***************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so
others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) 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
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one very effective way of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

************************************************************************

The CONTACT info for TIME is:

[email protected]

or

Time Magazine Letters, Time & Life Bldg., Rockefeller Center, NY, NY 10020

*************************************************************************

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Pubdate: Mon, 18 Feb 2002
Source: Time Magazine (US)
Issue: Vol. 159, No. 7
Copyright: 2002 Time Inc
Contact: (mailto:[email protected])[email protected]
Website: (http://www.time.com/time/)http://www.time.com/time/
Details: (http://www.mapinc.org/media/451)http://www.mapinc.org/media/451
Author: John Cloud
Bookmark: (http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm)http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp)

THIS BUD’S NOT FOR YOU

Not if you want to get high, anyway.

But if hemp isn’t a drug, why is the DEA treating it like
heroin?

No one is saying Kentucky doesn’t offer its share of distinctive
intoxicants. Bourbon and tobacco have long been popular drugs here,
and even in these abstemious times, a well-known member of the
political class will occasionally pour his visitors a glass of
moonshine from a Mason jar with plumped cherries bobbing on the bottom.

But the farmers around Lexington are mostly old-fashioned men with a
serious problem: the decline in demand for U.S. tobacco.

And when they tell you they know of a crop that could help replace
tobacco and maybe save their farms, they aren’t promoting any stoner
foolishness. True, the crop they hope to grow is known to botanists as
Cannabis sativa, but different races within that species can have
widely varying amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC ), the
merrymaking chemical in pot. Marijuana will typically have anywhere
from 3% to 20% THC. Hemp is bred to contain less than 1%. You could
roll and smoke every leaf on a 15-ft. hemp plant and gain little more
than a hacking cough.

Next month, however, the Drug Enforcement Administration is set to
begin enforcing a new rule treating foods that contain “any amount of”
THC ( even nonpsychoactive amounts ) as controlled substances, making
them as restricted as heroin.

Anyone possessing such foods is supposed to dispose of them now,
though hemp sellers and eaters won’t be prosecuted until March 18.
Nationally marketed products include the Hempzel Pretzels, baked in
Pennsylvania, and Organic Hemp Plus Granola, made in Blaine, Wash.
Gastronomically speaking, a ban on these earthy-tasting comestibles
would be no great tragedy–though the hemp-crazy Galaxy Global Eatery
in New York City serves an apple pie with a delightful hemp crust.

Economically speaking, though, a ban could ruin the 20 or so companies
that make and sell more than $5 million worth of hemp waffles, salad
oils and other foods a year. Hemp Universe here in Lexington stopped
selling food weeks ago, and Whole Foods Market of Austin, Texas,
recommended last week that its 129 stores remove hemp products.

Other retailers are holding firm, saying hemp foods contain such tiny
traces of THC that the chemical wouldn’t register in a routine lab
test. But that’s not the same as having zero THC, and the threat of
further DEA action has prompted seven hemp companies to ask the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals to block the rule. They say the DEA is
effectively creating a new law, not interpreting existing statutes. A
Canadian hemp firm has filed a claim saying the DEA is violating NAFTA
by failing to provide scientific justification for a rule that “will
be nothing short of an absolute ban on trade in hemp food.” ( The
Canadian government has also formally objected. ) The DEA’s position
is that U.S. drug laws clearly ban THC–any THC. The court’s decision
will turn on the historically murky question of whether Congress
intended hemp to be part of those laws. Some antidrug groups–
including, most stridently, the Family Research Council–believe
allowing hemp foods would send a pro-marijuana message.

Many farmers are watching the case because it shows how hard the
government will fight a growing movement to legitimize hemp farming in
the U.S. Right now it’s legal to sell hemp products but illegal to
grow the hemp used in them, which is imported.

The global market for raw hemp is expanding.

Foods are only a fraction of the hemp-product universe, which includes
Mercedes door panels, Body Shop Body Butter, Armani place mats, and
countless humbler items such as twine, carpet and diapers.

These nonedibles would remain legal under the rule. But if the court
doesn’t intervene, investors may think twice before supporting a
business associated with drugs.

If hemp cultivation were legalized, could it really save U.S.
farms?

That’s unclear, but legislators in more than 20 states have asked for
research. They know that a year after Canada allowed hemp cultivation
in 1998, its farms were already growing 35,000 acres.

The U.S. has taken a different, more tangled approach to the plant,
one that reflects the quick assumptions of the war on drugs.

(Note: for space reasons, the rest of this article has been cut, but you
can read the remainder here:
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n230/a03.html )

*****************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

To the editors of TIME:

re: This Bud’s Not For You (Feb 10)

The Drug Enforcement Administration clearly wants to hide from their
nefarious ‘interpretative ruling’ about hemp based food and beverages.
DEA head Asa Hutchinson peeks from behind the skirt of the U.S.
Congress and proclaims that he cannot ignore the law. Should his
agency’s ruling prevail against the current legal actions of the hemp
industry, several million otherwise law abiding Americans will be
re-defined as criminals.

Since none of the hemp based food products made in America contain
sufficient THC to create even a twinge of a ‘high’, the DEA’s ruling
has nothing to do with public health or safety. Instead it comes down
to nothing more than a desire to further expand Washington’s War on
Americans, formerly known as the War on Drugs.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephen Heath (contact info)

****************************************************************************

TARGET ANALYSIS Time Magazine Circulation 4,250,000

Time has several published letters in the MAP archive. They tend to be
extremely short, between 23 and 83 words, with an average of 65 words.
On the other hand, if you can generate a short powerful reply to this
article you could potentially influence a huge audience. A one inch
LTE published in TIME Magazine has an equivalent advertising value of
more that $25,000!!

http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=Time+Magazine

*******************************************************************************

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

****************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

NOTICE:

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes.

REMINDER:

Please help MAP find news articles. Details at http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm

=
NOW YOU CAN DONATE TO DRUGSENSE ONLINE AND IT’S TAX DEDUCTIBLE

DrugSense provides many services to at no charge BUT THEY ARE NOT FREE
TO PRODUCE.

We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you
are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort visit our
convenient donation web site at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

-OR-

Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to:

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. d/b/a DrugSense PO Box 651
Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759 [email protected]
http://www.mapinc.org/ http://www.drugsense.org/

********************* Just DO It!! **********************************

Prepared by Stephen Heath http://www.drugsense.org/dpffl – DrugSense
FOCUS Alert Specialist