Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2002
Subject: #256 Noelle Bush’s Case Highlights Drug War Flaws

Noelle Bush’s Case Highlights Drug War Flaws

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

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 256 Oct 4, 2002

The continuing sad odyssey of Noelle Bush, the daughter of Florida
Governor Jeb Bush, took another turn earlier this week as a court in
Orlando ruled that the employees of the treatment center she is living
at cannot be forced to testify against her in pending criminal charges
of crack cocaine possession.

It is definitely reasonable to many people that Ms Bush’s time in the
Center for Drug Free Living should be kept from the public eye so as
to better assist her and the professionals there who seek to assist
her in dealing with her drug abuse issues. What is clear to most
everyone is that Noelle Bush’s case highlights the problems associated
with drug prohibition. Since she was forced into treatment by virtue
of her criminal charges last January, she is subject to a solid prison
term should she fail to meet the terms of the drug court. Governor
Bush is thus brought face to face with the reality that prison cells
do nothing to assist drug abusers and so he of course does not want to
see his own daughter subject to such sanctions.

Indeed the situation in Florida prisons is even worse following Bush’s
elimination of state funded in-prison drug treatment this past January
(the legislature later restored 40% of those monies). According to FL
Drug Czar James McDonough, over 80% of Florida’s inmate population of
almost 75,000 (about 60,000) suffer from some form of drug abuse
behavior or habits.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY!

Please consider writing to any of the Florida newspapers and/or the
other newspapers that have carried the recent updates of Noelle’s
story and telling them how you feel about the hypocrisy of protecting
some citizens from jail, while others who have committed equal or
lesser crimes must suffer in jail or prison.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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, email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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 so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

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

***************************************************************************
Following is a list of links to Florida newspapers that have carried
coverage of Noelle’s court case. Unlike many LTEs you need not reference a
specific headline or story. Simply referencing Noelle’s case should be
sufficient to provide proper context to your letter.

The biggest paper in the state(circulation)is the St Petersburg Times
[email protected]

Other major market papers are:
Tampa Tribune: [email protected]
Miami Herald: [email protected]
Orlando Sentinel: [email protected]

Florida Times-Union(Jacksonville): [email protected]
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: [email protected]
Palm Beach Post: [email protected]

Florida Today(Melbourne/SpaceCoast):
http://www.floridatoday.com/forms/services/letters.htm
Bradenton Herald: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/contact_us/feedback/
Daytona Beach News-Journal: [email protected]

Gainesville Sun: [email protected]
The Ledger(Lakeland): [email protected]
News-Press(Ft Myers): [email protected]

Pensacola News-Journal: [email protected]
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: [email protected]
Tallahassee Democrat: [email protected]
**************************************************************************
EXTRA CREDIT

Please write your local newspapers on this subject as
well.

To find the Letter to the Editor email addresses for your area
newspapers go to http://www.mapinc.org/media.htm Use the “List by
Area” drop down to select and display your area. Then click on
“contact” to obtain the contact information for each newspaper.

***************************************************************************
SAMPLE LETTER
(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.)
Dear Editor:

To the editor:

The Noelle Bush case strongly highlights the hypocrisy and flaws
inherent in Governor Jeb Bush’s drug policies. While it is
appropriate for Noelle to have anonymity in her drug treatment
setting, it is unfortunate that she has access to such protections
while thousands of other non-violent drug offenders rot in jail cages.

This past January, Governor Bush eliminated the entire state funding
for in-prison drug treatment programs (the legislature later restored
about 40% of these monies). With over 80% of Florida jail inmates
having some form of drug abuse problem, most will languish without
needed attention and therefore their chances of recidivism and
continued drug abuse problems will remain upon their release from jail.

It seems that Mr Bush wants it both ways. He harshly slashes drug
treatment options in the prison system but then uses his legal team to
protect his own daughter from such a fate. It seems only right that
he must either allow his daughter to be prosecuted fully or he should
reconsider fully funding in-prison drug treatment for the 60,000
Floridians who lack Noelle’s legal resources.

Or maybe, GASP, Bush could reconsider the entire policy of making
Floridians who have committed no other crime than drug possession be
subject to jail sanctions in the first place.

Respectfully,

Stephen Heath
Clearwater FL

(Always include your address and phone number for newspaper verification.
Most papers will not print your letter otherwise.
***************************************************************************
ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/
***********************************************************************************************
Prepared by:
Stephen Heath for the Drug Policy Forum of Florida http://www.dpffl.org
Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002
Subject: DEA Destroys 20 Plants In Latest California Raid

DEA Destroys 20 Plants In Latest California Raid

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

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #255 Wed Sep 25, 2002

On Tuesday morning, Sept 23 in San Diego, the DEA conducted yet
another raid on a medical marijuana provider. This time the victim was
Steve McWilliams and his Shelter From the Storm garden, which provides
legal medical marijuana to six patients in the SoCal area. Agents
arrived to seize the plants from his modest garden which had already
been trimmed and the useful medicine distributed.

This action comes on the heels of the Feds previous arrests of
McWilliams for growing in larger quantities and following a warning
last week by letter to McWilliams from the local U.S. Attorney.

Any of the federal raids on legal California medical marijuana
dispensaries are reprehensible, but this latest is likely the most
audacious and heartless move yet by John Ashcroft and Asa Hutchinson’s
agents. With the U.S./Mexico border just miles away providing an
entry point for literally millions of dollars per day in illegal
drugs, the DEA decided to divert agents and valuable resources to
shutting down the Shelter From the Storm garden.

As shown in the article below, this raid is still another direct and
overt attempt by the Feds to punish anyone who might be publicly
critical of U.S. policy.

Additionally, this action took place less than a week following an
extremely strong opinion column in the San Diego Union-Tribune by the
Drug Policy Alliance’s Ethan Nadelmann. In his column, archived at
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1804.a11.html Nadelmann astutely
and accurately demonstrates why any such raids by federal agents are
foolhardy practice and a sad waste of valuable federal law enforcement
agents.

These DEA actions against medical cannabis users and those who help
them are far from rare, as shown by the list maintained here
http://www.canorml.org/news/fedmmjcases.html

Please contact the San Diego Union-Tribune today and let them know how
you feel about this latest raid. Further, let them know how you feel
about Nadelmann’s column and thank them for their continued coverage
of this very urgent topic.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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, email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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 so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

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

**************************************************************************
CONTACT INFO

Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)

Contact: [email protected]

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

FOLLOWING is the story of the raid from the San Diego Union Tribune
published today, Wednesday, 25 September:

POT GARDEN UPROOTED IN RAID

Federal warrant used to search home of marijuana activists

By Jeff McDonald and Marisa Taylor, Staff Writers

One week after Steve McWilliams handed out medical marijuana outside
San Diego City Hall, drug enforcement agents uprooted his Normal
Heights pot garden and said he may face cultivation charges in federal
court.

The first of its kind ever in San Diego, the raid began at around
11:20 a.m. yesterday when about 10 members of a regional drug
enforcement task force used a federal warrant to search the property.

They confiscated 26 maturing plants – some as tall as 8 feet – and
about 10 pounds of loose marijuana cultivated by McWilliams under a
state law that permits medicinal use of the drug. Officers also carted
away irrigation equipment, fans and other marijuana-growing tools.

No arrests were made. Agents said the decision to bring charges
against McWilliams or his partner, Barbara MacKenzie, would be made by
the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“He claims this is medicine,” said Donald Thornhill Jr. of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration, which sought the warrant. “From our
perspective, there’s no medical use for this.”

U.S. Attorney Carol Lam said her office is reviewing the case to
decide whether to pursue charges. She declined to comment further.

Medical-marijuana activists across the state contend that the federal
government is cracking down on activists such as McWilliams so that
more people do not attempt to grow marijuana under California’s
Proposition 215.

Thornhill said the seizure had nothing to do with McWilliams’ protest
outside City Hall last Tuesday. “This has been on the agenda for a
while,” he said. “It’s the politics of the time.”

McWilliams had staged his protest to support a similar demonstration
in Santa Cruz, where elected officials joined 1,000 or more people
criticizing the DEA for an earlier raid on a marijuana cooperative
there.

Neither McWilliams nor MacKenzie was home when the narcotics team went
to the Wilson Avenue residence. Agents climbed through an open window
before taking an inventory of the home’s contents.

Television news crews taped the raid as it unfolded, while neighbors
came out of their homes to watch.

McWilliams arrived about 10 minutes later and was told that if he
entered the property he would be detained. He left soon afterward but
not before sharply criticizing the government’s action.

“I don’t know why this is happening,” he said. “I’ve had police
officers out here, probation officers out here, even the city
attorney’s office out here I don’t know how many times.”

The search warrant was executed at the height of the annual harvest.
McWilliams said most of the marijuana seized was not yet useable.

“It might have been 10 pounds with the branches and leaves, but it was
totally unmanicured,” he said.

The action was not entirely a surprise.

McWilliams was hand-delivered a letter from Lam last week warning him
that his plants violated federal drug laws – even though they are
allowed by city and state officials under Proposition 215.

MacKenzie and McWilliams said that over the weekend they trimmed their
plants and delivered marijuana to patients. They said several of the
patients returned the marijuana Monday because they feared reprisals
from the government.

Both marijuana activists have been working closely with local
officials to abide by guidelines being drafted by a city task force.

Those recommendations are scheduled to be debated by a City Council
committee next month.

“I trusted the political process,” said MacKenzie, who was angry after
arriving home to find federal agents searching her home.

“They don’t want to prosecute. They just want to take the
medicine.”

San Diego Councilwoman Toni Atkins, who helped organize the city task
force, called the seizure “unfortunate.”

“It’s a tragedy that the will of the voters of the state of
California, who overwhelmingly passed Proposition 215 in an effort to
help sick people, continues to be subverted,” she said.

The city will push ahead with plans to issue identification cards to
medical-marijuana patients, Atkins said. San Diego attorney Patrick
Dudley is representing McWilliams and MacKenzie for free. Outside the
home yesterday, he said there was little he could do but wait to see
whether his clients are charged.

“I’ve never seen a case with such a small amount (of marijuana),” he
said. “It’s getting ludicrous. They’re being targeted because they’re
speaking out.”

The question now is whether McWilliams will be charged with any crime.
In Santa Cruz, federal prosecutors declined to charge several
activists who were arrested by federal agents earlier this month.

Peter Nunez, San Diego’s U.S. attorney under President Reagan,
predicted that the Justice Department would pursue criminal charges,
especially because McWilliams has refused to back down.

“This guy is begging to be prosecuted,” Nunez said. “I’m sure there
are people who are quietly growing 10 plants in their back yards but
they won’t be prosecuted because they aren’t publicizing the fact.”

Stephen G. Nelson, a former assistant U.S. attorney of 25 years who
headed the office’s drug division, agreed that a prosecution is likely
but said he hoped the U.S. attorney would turn down the case.

“If it’s a small number of plants and they are being grown consistent
with California law, it’s obviously a waste of federal resources to
prosecute this guy,” he said.

McWilliams said medical-marijuana activists are rallying to help him
and are planning protests for today at federal buildings around the
state.

“Everyone knows what kind of place we ran,” he said. “There was no
large amount of patients and no large amount of plants. People are
very upset.”

Copyright 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

**************************************************************************
EXTRA CREDIT

Every day more stories appear in the press about medical cannabis that
could also make superb targets for Letters to the Editor. Please use
this link to review the articles often, and please, write your letters
http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm

To learn about the frequent protests please visit the Americans for
Safe Access website – and consider signing up for their action
announcement list http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

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

SAMPLE LETTER

(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.)

To the editors of the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Thank you for running the astute commentary of Ethan Nadelmann (The
Hospice Raid and The War On Drugs, Sep 19), which accurately decries
continuing federal raids of legal California medical marijuana
dispensaries. How sad and tragic to read less than a week later of
yet another raid, this time on the Shelter From the Storm garden of
Steven McWilliams in San Diego, which provides legal medical marijuana
to a whopping total of six patients. DEA agents stormed McWilliam’s
garden to seize a hand full of plants?

With the U.S./Mexican border just miles away being an entry point for
literally millions of dollars per day in illegal narcotics, the DEA
chose to waste valuable resources and manpower on this petty and
terroristic raid. Considering McWilliams’ history of publicly
criticizing the federal government’s policies on medical marijuana,
such an operation can only be seen as utterly vindictive and yet
another slap in the face to California voters and their law which
permits him to operate legally.

Where are your governor and attorney general? Why are they not on the
front page of every newspaper in the state demanding the end of this
federal harassment and terrorism against your citizens?

Respectfully submitted,

Stephen Heath Clearwater FL (ALWAYS INCLUDE your address and phone
number so the newspaper can verify. Most papers will not print your
letter otherwise.)

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

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

************************************************************************
Prepared by:
Stephen Heath,
Focus Alert Specialist,

Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002
Subject: #250 Telling The Truth About Medical Marijuana Raids

Telling The Truth About Medical Marijuana Raids

——-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #250 Wed. September 18, 2002

The outrageous behavior of the DEA has shocked even the mainstream
press. Many newspapers have covered the latest raid of the Wo/Men’s
Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) in Santa Cruz, and many
reporters seem startled by the brutality and inverted priorities
displayed by the DEA.

An excellent example was published in USA Today this week. The
article, below, starts by describing the shock of a polio sufferer who
was repeatedly ordered to stand up by DEA agents even after they saw
her leg braces and crutches. The article goes on to paint a fair
picture of the club which makes the attempts by the narcs to justify
their raids sound even more absurd.

Please write a letter to USA Today, or other newspapers that have
covered this issue to encourage editors and reporters to keep
reporting the truth about medical marijuana and the vicious actions of
the DEA.

NOTE: USA Today is the largest circulation newspaper in the U.S.Your
letter, if published could be worth _$5,000_ or more in advertising
value!! See the Target Analysis 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: USA Today (US)
Contact: [email protected]

Find the email address of any other newspaper you care to send your
letter to at: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/email.htm

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

ARTICLE

Pubdate: Tue, 17 Sep 2002
Source: USA Today (US)
Webpage: http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020917/4453835s.htm
Copyright: 2002 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nfront.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: John Ritter

Pot raid angers state, patients

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Suzanne Pfeil understands why federal agents
burst in just after dawn with guns drawn and handcuffed her. That’s
routine in drug busts. What she can’t understand is why agents kept
ordering her to stand up after they saw her crutches and leg braces
next to the bed.

Then when her blood pressure spiked and she felt chest pains, the
agents refused to call an ambulance, says Pfeil, 42, disabled by
polio. That she can’t forgive. ”Totally unprofessional,” she says.
”They were brutalizing us.”

Outrage over a Sept. 5 raid at a medical marijuana cooperative in the
coastal hills north of here festers beyond the terminally ill patients
who use marijuana to ease pain, which California law allows.

The raid is the latest, perhaps most controversial collision of
federal law and the nation’s growing medical marijuana movement.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer condemned the bust as a waste
of law enforcement resources, a cruel step against a group that
presents slight danger to the public and a slap at the state’s voters.
The Santa Cruz County sheriff, whose deputies have worked closely with
co-op managers to ensure that the operation is law-abiding, said he
was ”disappointed” by the raid.

Today, the Santa Cruz City Council will permit the co-op to hand out
marijuana publicly to its patients at City Hall.

”It’s just absolutely loathsome to me that federal money, energy and
staff time would be used to harass people like this,” says Emily
Reilly, Santa Cruz’s vice mayor.

A Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman in San Francisco accused
the council of ”flouting federal law” prohibiting marijuana possession.

In Washington, DEA administrator Asa Hutchinson defends the
raid.

”What the DEA concentrates on is the investigation and prosecution of
major trafficking cases,” Hutchinson says. ”But the DEA’s
responsibility is to enforce our controlled substances laws, and one
of them is marijuana. Someone could stand up and say one of these
marijuana plants is designed for someone who is sick, but under
federal law, there’s no distinction.”

Other states follow

Since California voters approved medical marijuana in 1996, Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have
enacted similar laws. Federal authorities say no conclusive scientific
evidence proves marijuana’s medicinal benefit, but advocates say a
number of foreign studies do.

”My hope is this bust represents the federal government pushing too
far, the overreach that shocks the conscience of a lot more people,
especially those in Washington who have seemed so callous to date,”
says Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
The group promotes alternatives to the drug war, such as treatment
instead of jail for drug offenders.

The DEA has raided eight medical marijuana operations in California,
including one in Sonoma County three days after the Santa Cruz bust.
But Hutchinson denies that California is being targeted. ”It’s one of
the things we’re carrying out all across the country,” he says.

Chris Battle, a DEA spokesman in Washington, says enforcement has been
active in California because the state’s law is loosely worded and
open to abuse.

”California doesn’t say how much you can grow, how much you can have
or what disease you can use it for,” says Allen St. Pierre, executive
director of the NORML Foundation, a pro-marijuana advocacy group.

Laws in Oregon, Washington and Maine specify weight amounts, numbers
of plants that can be possessed and specific diseases marijuana can
treat. Oregon requires a doctor’s recommendation and a photo ID card.
Several bills that would set similar guidelines haven’t been approved
by the California Legislature.

Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputies closely monitored the co-op that
was raided last week — WAMM, the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical
Marijuana, founded and run by Valerie and Mike Corral. ”Valerie has
been very open and very consistent in what she’s doing up there and
how the marijuana is handled,” sheriff’s spokesman Kim Allyn says.

Valerie Corral is the movement’s ”Mother Teresa,” says Nadelmann of
the Drug Policy Alliance. She served on a task force Lockyer formed to
write guidelines for the Legislature, and her group is seen as a model
nationally.

( snipped – to see the rest of the article go to http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020917/4453835s.htm
)

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

SAMPLE LETTER

To the Editors:

In Britain, marijuana has been removed from the government’s list of
most-dangerous “Class A” drugs, and possession is no longer an
arrestable offense.

The Canadian Senate has just recommended full legalization and
government regulation of marijuana.

In Portugal, anyone possessing less than ten days’ supply of any
illegal drug is sent to treatment, not jail.

Meanwhile, in the Land of the Free, some 650,000 Americans are
arrested every year for simple possession of marijuana. In the Home of
the Brave, federal DEA agents toting chainsaws and machine guns roust
polio patients from their beds for the “crime” of growing legal
medicinal herbs for other sick and dying patients.

When will we put a stop to this home-grown brand of state-sponsored
terrorism?

Keith Sanders

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

With a U.S. circulation of over 2.3 million, the readership
demographics are: Total Adult Readers 4.3 million. Male/Female 66/34%.
Median Age 41 years. Attended College 80%. Median HH Income $71, 661.

The average published letter would cost over $5,000 if purchased as an
ad.

The MAP published letter archive has more than 50 letters from USA
Today. A recent sample shows they tend to be short – about 40% being
under 100 words. The average published is 169 words, and the largest
about 300 words.

The published letters can be viewed here:

http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=USA+Today

—————————————————————————–

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

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

****************************************************************************
Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to [email protected]

Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002
Subject: #249 Support Nevada Police Who Endorse Initiative

Support Nevada Police Who Endorse Initiative

——-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 249 August 13, 2002

Last week the largest police association in the state of Nevada,
NCOPS, issued a press release in which they endorsed the upcoming
Nevada marijuana initiative with a vote of 9-0. Following three days
of outcry from surprised opponents of the proposed measure, including
a number of high ranking police officials, the association’s president
Andy Anderson resigned and the group reversed their public stance.
Five of the other eight officers who supported the endorsement then
backpedaled, claiming they had been confused when Anderson polled them
via telephone and thought he was referring to a ‘medical marijuana
question’, etc.

For these officers, who have been on the job prior to Nevada’s passage
of a medical marijuana initiative in 1998/2000, to issue such a limp
retraction displays not only questionable integrity, but also an
embarrassing indictment of how much the War on Marijuana has provoked
officers nationwide to compromise their common sense and actual street
experience; all in the name of supporting the Blue Line.

Please write a letter to the various Nevada newspapers listed below
and let them know how you feel about the NCOPS original endorsement
and also their subsequent reversal. In addition, please consider an
extra letter to your local newspaper(s) either thanking them for their
coverage of the Nevada marijuana initiative, or asking them why they
have not had any coverage for this potentially ground breaking initiative.

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

Go here for the most up to date links on archived news and opinion
items for the Nevada marijuana initiative. All articles will provide
an E-mail address for easy transmittal of your LTE.

http://www.mapinc.org/find?162

Note that a number of the articles are from newspapers outside Nevada.
These papers really need to hear from you as well as the Nevada wraps.
the MAP contract database provided this list of email addresses for
Nevada newspapers

(NOTE:We are currently updating and fine tuning the MAP contact
database so some of these addresses could be out of date)

Nevada Newspapers:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],

For current newspaper Email contact info for any other newspaper see:
http://www.mapinc.org/resource/email.htm

***************************************************************************
Here are the two key articles which create the framework for this discussion.

US NV: Marijuana Ballot Issue – Police Back Legalization URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1463/a09.html

AND: (thanks to our friends at cannabisnews.com for this complete
version)

US NV: Police Group Retracts Support Of Marijuana http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread13704.shtml

******************************************************************************
SAMPLE LETTER

To the Editor:

The dual news stories last week of the Nevada Conference of Police and
Sheriffs first endorsing the proposed Nevada ballot initiative to
amend current marijuana laws and then reversing their stance following
NCOPS President Andy Anderson’s resignation made for a sad commentary.

In the past 30 years, stringent and harsh criminal sanctions against
responsible adult marijuana use have done nothing to reduce use.
Rather they have helped create the largest criminal black market in
the nation outside of arms and weapons. This criminal market helps
fund more dangerous and violent activities which endanger not only
police, but the public they serve.

Smart, street-wise police know full well the drag that enforcing
marijuana prohibition laws have on their primary mission of protecting
and serving the public. As the departing Anderson stated in his
original endorsement of the initiative, “….a single (marijuana)
arrest would take anywhere from a couple of hours to about half my
shift….time that could have been better spent on the streets
addressing violent crime.”

More questions need to be asked of the eight NCOPS board members who
backpedaled Friday, claiming ‘confusion’ as to what Anderson was
asking them during his telephone survey earlier in the week. Further,
close scrutiny should be used against any and all law officers who
campaign against the initiative on taxpayer time. Police should be
using their job hours to enforce the law, not lobby for or against
proposed changes.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephen Heath (contact info)

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.
—————————————————————————-

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

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

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

Prepared by Stephen Heath http://www.flcan.org Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002
Subject: #254 Letters To Canadian Editors Needed Now!

Letters to Canadian Editors Needed Now!

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

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #254 Mon, 9 September, 2002

Now that the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs in a
600 page report has strongly recommended legalizing cannabis, the
editorial and opinion writers of Canadian newspapers are having a
field day. Below we have provided contact information and links to
these opinions.

Please review these items and write Letters to the Editor to as many
of these newspapers as possible. We are not going to provide a sample
letter because (1) what folks who live in Canada would write is likely
to be different than folks from outside Canada (2) each item deserves
consideration and writing on it’s merits. Of course those that support
legalization have earned praise for their bold position. Many
recommend only decriminalization, a 10% solution that leaves the large
majority of harm caused by the laws in place.

Some appear to have rushed to judgement without even reading the
report. Otherwise why would they throw out red herrings that are
clearly and well answered in the report? You can read the actual
report – and we suggest reading at least the summary for letter ideas
– on line at http://www.parl.gc.ca/illegal-drugs.asp – click on
reports. There is also a very good set of info, links, etc. at
http://cannabislink.ca/gov/senatesumm.htm

An analysis by Canadian Matt Elrod is at http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2002/ds02.n266.html#sec5
and another from the states is at http://www.drcnet.org/wol/253.html#canadiansenate

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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 so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

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

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

CONTACT INFO

Below we have tried to fit each of the editorials and opinion items
into one of three groups. Some are clear fits. For others it is a hard
call – so you may well believe we have made a wrong choice. Some of
the authors appear to be good at not being very clear where they
stand. This just adds our recommendation that Letter writers look at
each item and write based on what the item says.

OPINION ITEMS THAT SUPPORT THE SENATE COMMITTEE REPORT:

Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: Legalizing Marijuana Is the Logical and Proper Thing to Do
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/2B6CAA5F-36C5-4302-A70F-004E5133B873

Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
[email protected]
Editorial: Legalize Cannabis
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1668/a08.html

StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
[email protected]
Editorial: Senate Pot Ideas Worth Adopting
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/F5EA6AC2-1F62-4B5E-91BE-C65CFCCDEA60

Daily News, The (CN NS)
[email protected]
Editorial: Senate Surprises Us On Legal Pot
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/CCE506B7-7749-420A-85C8-BA1A434BEA9F

Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) [email protected] OPED:
Legalization Can No Longer Be Snickered Away http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/F4B2505D-AC84-45BE-8D34-D680C570FEA9

Globe and Mail (Canada) [email protected] OPED: Taking The High
Road http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1654/a11.html

Sentinel Review (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: It’s Time To Legalize Pot
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1663/a04.html

North Bay Nugget (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: Senate Goes the Extra Mile
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1676/a07.html

Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
[email protected]
Column: Smoke Gets In Scott’s Eyes
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1678/a10.html

Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
[email protected]
Column: Unenforced Marijuana Laws Breed Only Contempt for Legal System
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1693/a01.html

ITEMS THAT ONLY SUPPORT DECRIMINALIZATION:

Globe and Mail (Canada)
[email protected]
Editorial: Don’t Legalize Pot, Decriminalize It
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1681/a12.html

Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: Going To Pot
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1662/a06.html

Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
[email protected]
Editorial: Let’s Decriminalize Marijuana As an Interim Step to Saner Law
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/A7FF38FE-C103-42D8-8B8C-A1116AA09E27

National Post (Canada)
[email protected]
Editorial: Smoking Marijuana Shouldn’t Be A Crime
http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/story.html?id={5C830FDB-2544-4824-8894-B237EA9FE933}

Toronto Star (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: Senate Report Goes Up In Smoke
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1674/a08.html

Toronto Sun (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: Taking It One Toke At A Time
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1696/a07.html

Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
[email protected]
Editorial: Pipe Dream
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1655/a02.html

Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
[email protected]
Editorial: Don’t Legalize It
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/AFBD7F8E-584F-498A-847B-6F54A8B9B367

Halifax Herald (CN NS)
[email protected]
Editorial: No Pot Of Gold
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1666/a01.html

Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
[email protected]
Editorial: Go Slow On Marijuana Change
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/8F561FD6-3EC5-4D10-B15F-D45B8434BC54

Kitchener-Waterloo Record (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: The Senate’s Fine Smoke Signals
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1675/a04.html

Province, The (CN BC)
[email protected]
Editorial: It’s Time to Light a Fire Under Marijuana Use
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/E0B85BBB-8BC7-49C2-9B54-C2358FF9EDF5

Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
[email protected]
Editorial: Smoke Clouds Reason
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1662/a07.html

Calgary Herald (CN AB) [email protected] OPED: Senate One
Toke Over The Line On Legalizing Pot http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/DFEF7CA2-00F8-4A83-BDED-AA0F0E3E2B99

Lethbridge Herald (CN AB)
[email protected]
Editorial: Legalized Pot Not a Solution
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1675/a06.html

Expositor, The (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: Marijuana Madness
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1677/a01.html

Guelph Mercury (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: Marijuana Debate Calls For Caution
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1680/a04.html

ONES THAT APPEAR TO SUPPORT THE CURRENT LAWS:

Calgary Herald (CN AB)
[email protected]
Editorial: Dopey Idea
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/481E9EED-06D5-4BBD-8DE0-F3E3FE777D80

Alliston Herald (CN ON)
[email protected]
CN ON: Editorial: Pot Luck
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1680/a09.html

Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
[email protected]
Editorial: Legalization Not The Answer
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/DDBE98AA-355F-4E1E-8EA7-366F47E42E86

Lindsay Daily Post (CN ON)
[email protected]
Editorial: Not the time to legalize marijuana
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1687/a06.html

Additional opinion items on this topic MAP posted in the days ahead
should be easy to spot here http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm and
general news items about cannabis in Canada here http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm

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

EXTRA CREDIT

Thank the Senate committee for their fine report by sending a note to
[email protected]

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

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

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

Prepared by: Richard Lake http://www.mapinc.org/rlake/ Focus Alert
Specialist

Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002
Subject: # 253 Good Riddance Bob Barr!

Good Riddance Bob Barr!

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

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #253 Wed. August 21, 2002

The stunning and overwhelming defeat of Bob Barr (R-GA) in the Georgia
primaries yesterday bodes very well for those who are working towards
more rational and sensible drug policies. Barr was targeted for defeat
by the Libertarian Party and other drug reform advocates as one of the
most rabid and irrational supporters of our failed drug policy. For a
drug war Zealot to be so soundly defeated may begin to send the
message to the rest of Congress that supporting the drug war may
result in more politicians becoming unemployed.

Unfortunately the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Barr’s primary local
newspaper, completely missed what was the likely a key reason for
Barr’s defeat. Over the past two weeks, Barr’s Libertarian opponent,
Carole Ann Rand, flooded Georgia’s 7th District with more than 4,000
TV spots. The ads feature a multiple sclerosis victim who lashes out
against the Congressman for his crusade against medical marijuana.

Please write a letter to the AJC expressing your views on Bob Barr,
his drug war Zealotry, and the lack of coverage on the drug policy
reform groups opposing him and who likely led to his defeat.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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 so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

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

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

CONTACT INFO

Atlanta Journal Constitution

[email protected]

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

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Newshawk: Cheryl Miller’s cherylheart website http://www.cherylheart.org/
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
Pubdate: Wed, 21 Aug 2002
Website: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/
Address: 72 Marietta Street, NW, Atlanta, Ga. 30303
Contact: [email protected]
Copyright: 2002 Cox Interactive Media.
Forum: http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/issues/
Author: MELANIE EVERSLEY

Republicans pick low-key candidate

U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, a conservative Republican perhaps best known for
his attempts to drive President Clinton out of the White House,
conceded shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday to fellow Republican Rep. John
Linder in their primary election contest to represent the 7th
Congressional District.

The Associated Press declared Linder the winner shortly after 10
p.m.

The lopsided results marked the end of a sometimes slapstick race
characterized by insults, one-liners, a controversy over a cartoon
character and the accidental shooting of a gun. The district is
heavily Republican, but Linder will face Democrat Michael Berlon in
the November general election.

With eyes misting and his wife, Jeri, by his side, Barr hugged and
thanked supporters who crowded into the 1818 Club in Duluth.

“We’ve been watching the numbers, and they don’t look nearly as good
as we would have hoped,” the 53-year-old congressman told a somber
crowd of 300, many with tears in their eyes.

Barr congratulated Linder, pledged his support and paid homage to
hundreds of campaign workers who went door to door, made telephone
calls and hung Bob Barr literature on doorknobs in the heated,
sometimes nasty campaign.

“We’ve accomplished as a team more than any other congressman
accomplishes in an entire lifetime and I appreciate that,” Barr said.

Linder, a low-key lawmaker known for working behind the scenes,
expressed his gratitude to supporters next door at the Gwinnett Civic
and Cultural Center.

“He ran a good campaign. We ran a better one,” said Linder,
59.

Barr, the sober-faced and outspoken congressman often depicted as a
bulldog, watched results come in privately, holed up in a Duluth hotel
room, and later conceded to supporters quietly.

Linder, a soft-spoken policy expert who almost seems to avoid the
public eye, laughed with about 200 supporters in the civic center ballroom.

Both incumbents, Linder in office for 10 years and Barr for eight,
came to do battle after the redistricting process Democrats controlled
in 2000 pitted them against each other.

At first, both kept to their promise to run a clean campaign. But as
time passed and opinion polls showed the two in a virtual dead heat,
the nastiness emerged.

Barr made fun of the fact that Linder often declines to give an
opinion on issues, saying he has no right to insert himself into
people’s lives. A Barr commercial portrayed Barr as a bulldog and
Linder as a whining, whimpering dachshund. Linder touted himself as a
family man, married to his wife, Lynne, for 39 years, while he spoke
of Barr’s three marriages.

Linder teased Barr about an incident in which an antique gun
accidentally fired in the home of a Barr supporter while Barr and
another person were handling it. Days later, a Linder supporter
dressed as the cartoon character Yosemite Sam, known for shooting off
pistols, mingled at a pro-Barr event, touting himself as Barr’s
“personal gun safety trainer.” Adding steam to the fracas was a video
on an Internet Web site that showed Barr’s adult son, Derek, shoving
the man dressed as Yosemite Sam.

Late Tuesday night, Linder supporters — mingling in the ballroom and
surrounded by red, white and blue balloons imprinted with “Linder” —
said they believe the negative campaigning hurt Barr. They also said
Barr was perceived as an outsider.

“The reality is that Bob Barr appeals to a small number of people who
believe you get things done by yelling and screaming,” said B.J. Van
Gundy, Linder’s campaign manager in Gwinnett County. “John Linder
thinks like the majority. You work with people to get things done.”

Linder’s approval ratings were high before the race started, added Ed
Brookover, a Linder campaign consultant. “In the end, what came
through was that John was a solid leader,” Brookover said.

The contest would have been disappointing to Georgia Republicans no
matter what the outcome, said U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson, a Republican.

“We had two good men and we lost one,” Isakson said. “Redistricting is
a process which sometimes has unfortunate results. This time and in
this case, it resulted in two incumbents having to challenge one
another. It’s just disappointing.”

Staff writers Brian Feagans, Paul Donsky, Rhonda Cook and Bill Torpy
contributed to this report

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts See:

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

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

EXTRA CREDIT

Unfortunately the New York Times also failed to acknowledge the
importance of the drug policy reform movement in playing an important
role in Barr’s defeat.

Please send a copy your letter to the New York Times. At this writing
the article was not in the MAP archive but you can use this
information for reference:

New York Times
Contact: [email protected]
August 21, 2002

A Bush Foe and a Clinton One Are Ousted in Georgia Primaries By STEVEN
A. HOLMES

Please write your local newspapers on this subject as
well.

To find the Letter to the Editor email addresses for your area
newspapers go to http://www.mapinc.org/media.htm Use the “List by
Area” dropdown to select and display your area. Then click on
“contact” to obtain the contact information for each newspaper.

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

SAMPLE LETTER (sent)

Good Riddance Bob Barr!

Dear Editor:

I find it quite perplexing that your coverage on the landslide defeat
of drug war Zealot Bob Barr (Republicans Pick Low-Key Candidate AJC
8/21) made no mention whatever of the one factor that may have been
the most important in bringing about Barr’s historic loss.

Over the past two weeks, Barr’s Libertarian opponent, Carole Ann Rand,
flooded Georgia’s 7th District with more than 4,000 TV spots. The ads
feature a multiple sclerosis victim who lashes out against the
Congressman for his crusade against medical marijuana.

There can be little question that the American public is far ahead of
the curve in realizing that the drug war has failed miserably and that
support for the drug war has dwindled significantly in recent years.
Barr’s defeat would seem to verify this theory quite
convincingly.

Barr is but the first political casualty of many to come if our
elected representatives continually fail to grasp that the drug war is
no longer supported by their constituents. Bringing a sensible end to
our failed and very expensive “war on drugs” is becoming a major
consideration amongst voters.

Among Barr’s most egregious actions was his un Constitutional blocking
of the will of the voters when Washington D.C. overwhelmingly passed
an initiative to allow sick and dying patients access to the medicinal
use of cannabis and Barr subsequently blocked the implementation of
this initiative.

Good Riddance Bob Barr!

Mark Greer

[address and phone 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, Please See:

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

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

Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to [email protected]

Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002
Subject: #252 Please Thank The San Francisco Chronicle – Exceptional

Please Thank the San Francisco Chronicle – Exceptional Recent
Coverage

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

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 252 August 19, 2002

Sunday, August 18th the San Francisco Chronicle printed two superb
OPEDs and a lead editorial which focused on the damage being done by
the War on Drugs in South America. Seldom have we seen a newspaper put
the issues in such in such sharp focus.

While readers may not agree with every paragraph the major thrust was
clear. The harm being done by the U.S. war has a far greater impact on
the region than it does in the states.

Thanking the Chronicle via a Letter to the Editor will encourage the
Chronicle editors to consider more items of interest to us.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, 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.

This is Very Important as it is one very effective way of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

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

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

Rather than excerpt the editorial and OPEDs we request that you read
them on-line at the San Francisco Chronicle website at the links below.

CONTACT INFO

[email protected]

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

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

EDITORIAL Foreign Policy Shifts Our widening war in
Colombia

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/18/ED55847.DTL

SOUTH AMERICA Dealing with Drugs and Revolution – Back from the dead
— with U.S. help

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/08/18/IN14597.DTL

SOUTH AMERICA Dealing with Drugs and Revolution – Our moral obligation
to Colombia

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/08/18/IN172924.DTL

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

EXTRA CREDIT

Please let your local newspapers know about what the San Francisco
Chronicle printed. A Letter to the Editor something like the one below
will let the paper know that these issues are important to you:

Dear Editor, [newspaper name]

I read over the Internet an Editorial and two OPEDs about the damage
done by our War on Drugs south of the border printed in Sunday’s San
Francisco Chronicle. Please consider reprinting them, or doing a
similar analysis. I believe few readers understand the damage we are
causing in these countries.

EDITORIAL Foreign Policy Shifts Our widening war in
Colombia

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/18/ED55847.DTL

SOUTH AMERICA Dealing with Drugs and Revolution – Back from the dead
— with U.S. help

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/08/18/IN14597.DTL

SOUTH AMERICA Dealing with Drugs and Revolution – Our moral obligation
to Colombia

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/08/18/IN172924.DTL

Sincerely,

[your name]

To find the Letter to the Editor email addresses for your area
newspapers go to http://www.mapinc.org/media.htm Use the “List by
Area” dropdown to select and display your area. Then click on
“contact” to obtain the contact information for each newspaper.

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

SAMPLE LETTER (already sent)

Dear Editors,

Congratulations and high praise for putting together two guest columns
“South America/Dealing with Drugs and Revolution” that showed more
good sense than does the Bush Administration and all the rest of the
Washington, D.C.,”drug crazies”

Your lead editorial also displayed thought-provoking analysis.
Clearly an immediate end of our Drug War in South America would be
giant step toward ending the social chaos and resultant suffering.
Back home cocaine might be a cheaper but that’s no reason to expect
use or abuse to increase. Cocaine consumption rises and falls for
reasons lying outside of supply or law enforcement efforts.

Gerald M. Sutliff [address and phone number]

NOTE: Please write your own letter. It is not likely that Chronicle
editors will be impressed if yours looked exactly like the one above.

———————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

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

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

Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to
[email protected]

Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002
Subject: Please Counter The Attack On Stossel’s ‘War On Drugs: A War On

Please Counter the Attack on Stossel’s ‘War on Drugs: A War on Ourselvess’

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

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 248 July 31, 2002

Tuesday evening ABC TV broadcast a superb documentary by John Stossel, “War
on Drugs: A War on Ourselves.” A webpage summary is at
http://abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/stossel_drugs_020730.html

If you missed the show, we recommend listening to it via the low
bandwidth audio feed at http://highwire.stanford.edu/~straffin/dp/

The program is also available for viewing online using the Real Player at:

http://www.crrh.org/hemptv/video_news.html

That the documentary really hit the mark can be seen by the outrage,
along with the usual twisting of facts, in press releases by the
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)
http://www.cadca.org/PressGallery/PressReleases/ABCNewsProgram.htm
and by former White House Drug spokesman Bob Weiner
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n000/a096.html

These folks and others have launched an organized letter writing
campaign directed at David Westin, the President of ABC News, to tell
him how wrong ABC was to present this documentary — that they were
not given the time to present their views, that the facts were wrong,
and so on.

They are asking folks to send letters by regular mail. Can we do any
less? Please write your own letter to Mr. Westin at:

David Westin, President, ABC News, 47 W. 66th Street, New York, NY 10023

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, 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.

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Extra Credit: While taking any of the following actions is not as important
as writing and mailing a letter as suggested above, the following actions
will help:

Use this webform, and the dropdown to ‘Other’ to send a note to
ABC

http://abcnews.go.com/service/Help/abcmail.html

Use this webform to send John Stossel a note

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/2020/stossel_mailform.html

Please send a note to your local ABC station thanking them for
carrying the documentary, and asking them to contact the network about
having it rebroadcast. The fast way to find the station is to do a
search. For example, using http://www.google.com/advanced_search and
asking it to find all the words ‘ABC TV Marquette Michigan’ brought
that station to the top of the links list.

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LETTER example (MAILED AT THE POST OFFICE)

David Westin
President
ABC News
47 W. 66th Street
New York, NY 10023

Dear Mr. Westin,

Thank you for airing the John Stossel documentary, “War on Drugs: A War on
Ourselves.”

While I was on active duty I saw many scenes like those shown, but
never thought about the impact, the maximizing of harm, being caused
by the drug war. After I retired I started to see columns and
editorials which questioned aspects of the war. TV seemed to be
avoiding the hard hitting analysis I see in my newspaper.

But nothing pulled it all together for me so well is this documentary!
TV seems to be avoiding the hard hitting analysis I see in my
newspaper. I learned much that I did not know.

I hope you will rerun it, and provide us with regular updates based on
it. I will be taking notes next time it is on.

If it is available, could you please have someone send me a note about
how I may purchase a video tape copy of the documentary.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Richard Lake
Chief Warrant Officer
United States Army (retired)

NOTE: Please write your own letter. It is not likely that Mr. Westin
would be impressed if yours looked exactly like mine.

———————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

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

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Prepared by Richard Lake http://www.mapinc.org/rlake/ Focus Alert
Specialist

Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002
Subject: #247 Drug Czar Demonstrates Ignorance Of Reform

Drug Czar Demonstrates Ignorance Of Reform

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

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 247July 23, 2002

Federal drug czars aren’t hired to solve drug problems – they are
hired to maintain drug prohibition. If you had any doubt about this,
check the recent oped piece by John Walters in the Wall Street Journal.

Walters starts by equating any reform with legalization, and the truth
quotient goes downhill from there. For an excellent line by line
analysis (and correction) of Walters’s lies and obfuscations, see
Richard Cowan’s commentary at Marijuananews.com this week –
http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=558

Please write a letter to the Wall Street Journal to say that the drug
war is bad enough without John Walters’s prohibition of honest criticism.

Thanks for your effort and support.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

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

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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: Wall Street Journal (US)
Contact: [email protected]

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

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
—————–

Pubdate: Fri, 19 Jul 2002
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: John P. Walters
Note: Mr. Walters is director of the National Office of Drug-Control Policy.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

DON’T LEGALIZE DRUGS

The charge that “nothing works” in the fight against illegal drugs has
led some people to grasp at an apparent solution: legalize drugs .
They will have taken false heart from news from Britain last week,
where the government acted to downgrade the possession of cannabis to
the status of a non-arrestable offense.

According to the logic of the legalizers, it’s laws against drug use,
not the drugs themselves, that do the greatest harm. The real problem,
according them, is not that the young use drugs , but that drug laws
distort supply and demand. Violent cartels arise, consumers overpay
for a product of unknown quality, and society suffers when the law
restrains those who “harm no one but themselves.”

Better, the argument goes, for the government to control the trade in
narcotics. That should drive down the prices (heroin would be “no more
expensive than lettuce,” argues one proponent), eliminate violence,
provide tax revenue, reduce prison crowding, and foster supervised
injection facilities.

Sounds good. But is it realistic? The softest spot in this line of
reasoning is the analogy with alcohol abuse. The argument goes roughly
like this: “Alcohol is legal. Alcohol can be abused. Therefore,
cocaine should be legal.” Their strongest argument, by contrast, is
that prohibition produces more costs than benefits, while legalized
drugs provide more benefits than costs.

But legalizers overstate the social costs of prohibition, just as they
understate the social costs of legalization. Take the statistic that
more than 1.5 million Americans are arrested every year for drug
crimes. Legalizers would have us believe that otherwise innocent
people are being sent to prison (displacing “true” criminals) for
merely toking up. But only a fraction of these arrestees are ever
sentenced to prison. And there should be little question that most of
those sentenced have earned their place behind bars.

Some 24% of state prison drug offenders are violent recidivists, while
83% have prior criminal histories. Only 17% are in prison for “first
time offenses,” while nominal “low-level” offenders are often
criminals who plea-bargain to escape more serious charges. The reality
is that a high percentage of all criminals, regardless of the offense,
use drugs . In New York, 79% of those arrested for any crime tested
positive for drugs .

Drug abuse alone cost an estimated $55 billion in 1998 (excluding
criminal justice costs), and deaths directly related to drug use have
more than doubled since 1980. Would increasing this toll make for a
healthier America? Legalization, by removing penalties and reducing
price, would increase drug demand. Make something easier and cheaper
to obtain, and you increase the number of people who will try it.
Legalizers love to point out that the Dutch decriminalized marijuana
in 1976, with little initial impact. But as drugs gained social
acceptance, use increased consistently and sharply, with a 300% rise
in use by 1996 among 18-20 year-olds.

Britain, too, provides an instructive example. When British physicians
were allowed to prescribe heroin to certain addicts, the number
skyrocketed. From 68 British addicts in the program in 1960, the
problem exploded to an estimated 20,000 heroin users in London alone
by 1982.

The idea that we can “solve” our complex drug problem by simply
legalizing drugs raises more questions than it answers. For instance,
what happens to the citizenship of those legally addicted? Will they
have their full civil rights, such as voting? Can they be employed as
school bus drivers? Nurses? What of a woman, legally addicted to
cocaine, who becomes pregnant? Should she be constrained by the very
government that provides for her habit?

Won’t some addicts seek larger doses than those medically prescribed?
Or seek to profit by selling their allotment to others, including
minors? And what about those promised tax revenues — how do they
materialize? As it is, European drug clinics aren’t filled with
productive citizens, but rather with demoralized zombies seeking a
daily fix. Won’t drugs become a disability entitlement?

Will legalization eliminate violence? The New England Journal of
Medicine reported in 1999 on the risks for women injured in domestic
violence. The most striking factor was a partner who used cocaine,
which increased risk more than four times. That violence is associated
not with drug laws, but with the drug . A 1999 report from the
Department of Health and Human Services showed that two million
children live with a parent who has a drug problem. Studies indicate
that up to 80% of our child welfare caseload involves caregivers who
abuse substances. Drug users do not harm only themselves.

Legalizers like to argue that government-supervised production and
distribution of addictive drugs will eliminate the dangers attributed
to drug prohibition. But when analyzing this “harm reduction”
argument, consider the abuse of the opiate OxyContin, which has
resulted in numerous deaths, physicians facing criminal charges, and
addicts attacking pharmacies. OxyContin is a legally prescribed
substance, with appropriate medical uses — that is, it satisfies
those conditions legalizers envision for cocaine and heroin. The point
is clear: The laws are not the problem.

Former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan observed that drugs place us in a
dilemma: “We are required to choose between a crime problem and a
public heath problem.” Legalization is a dangerous mirage. To address
a crime problem, we are asked to accept a public health crisis. Yet if
we were to surrender, we would surely face both problems —
intensified.

—————————————————————————-

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

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

SAMPLE LETTER (SENT)

To the editor of the Wall Street Journal:

Drug czar Walters used a familiar rhetorical ploy to defend the drug
war in Friday’s Journal (Don’t Legalize Drugs, 19 July 2002). First,
misrepresent the most damaging charges; then lie while dispatching the
straw men thus created.

Critics haven’t claimed ‘nothing works;’ rather, they point out US
policy is clearly failing– and 73% of the public agrees. Worse, while
those failures are being brazenly ignored, even more money and
manpower are squandered and collateral social damage continues.

Nor did critics claim drug laws ‘distort supply and demand.’ Our
policy’s worst effects– as has been repeatedly pointed out– flow
from the illegal markets our laws create as lucrative criminal monopolies.

Although many such ploys were used, space allows just one more
example; Walters’ claim that, deaths directly related to drug use have
more than doubled since 1980, and the question if, increasing this
toll (would) make for a healthier America. First, the numbers aren’t
comparable because criteria for such deaths were arbitrarily changed
in the interval; also Public Health experts attribute fifty percent of
drug deaths directly to their illegality. Finally; how do Walters’
repeated claims of policy success square with increased deaths?
Wouldn’t a successful policy have reduced them?

It’s reassuring that recent rhetoric attributing corporate fraud to a
few bad apples is neither unique nor unprecedented; we are led to fear
however, that devious federal rhetoric in defence of regulatory
failure may have quietly become a ‘traditional American value’ while
we weren’t looking.

Tom O’Connell,
MD

IMPORTANT: Always remember to include your address and phone
number.

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 – Wall Street Journal

There are more than 75 letters to the WSJ in the MAP archive. A
sampling of recent letters shows some as short as 93 words and some as
long as 340 words, with an average of about 180 words.

The published letters can be viewed here:

http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=Wall+Street+Journal+(US)

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

Prepared by Stephen Young – www.maximizingharm.com DrugSense FOCUS
Alert Specialist