Drug Policy Alliance - Take Action against the war on drugs

[VWFringe]

I know this is a hot topic, and many here might take exception to the idea of legalizing all drugs without restriction, but I noticed being on these folks mailing list that I don't mind taking the moment to read their emails and even clicking on the link to sending their emails with my name on them...i always feel good about it, and they're never outside of my interests.

So, maybe some of you would also like to try it out (being on their mailing list), i thought i'd provide the link to their home page...

http://drugpolicy.org/homepage.cfm

Click on the Take Action link at the top to get to where you can send the emails

after you send one just click cancel on the donations page, it doesn't cancel your message that was sent, just re-directs you to a page with other actions


here's there current actions available:

Current Action Campaigns

Log In or Register to see actions most relevant to you. Sending messages to your legislators and other decision makers is one of the best ways to take a stand for drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights. Thank you for your dedication!


Cut Drug War Spending
President Obama is working on a new federal budget. Tell the President to stop wasting money on the failed war on drugs.
Cut Funding for the Drug War
Congress is working on a new federal budget. Tell Congress to cut the funding that helps keep the drug war alive at the local level.
Tell the President: Don't Interfere With State Marijuana Laws
Urge President Obama to respect states' rights to try new marijuana policies without interference from the federal government.
Urge Asm. Ammiano to Re-Introduce Marijuana Legislation
Although Prop. 19 did not pass, the debate has completely changed. Please urge Asm. Ammiano to re-introduce new legislation to regulate marijuana for adults over 21 in California.
Fight AIDS and Help Diabetics with Common-Sense Reform
Tell New Jersey Senate Senators to vote yes on life saving legislation allowing for over-the-counter sale of syringes to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and to help those who must use injectable medications.
Stop Dangerous Drug Raids
It's time to put an end to military-style drug raids that put our communities at risk! Tell Congress that you won't tolerate these dangerous raids in your community.
Urge Your State Rep. to Introduce Marijuana Legislation
Although Prop. 19 did not pass, the debate has completely changed. Please urge your state Rep. to introduce legislation to regulate marijuana for adults over 21.

 

[OO]

i joined, though i am one of the people who believes that all drugs should be available to those who get a license for them.

it's a different concept than most would apply, but i believe it's the best solution i have ever heard of (though i came up with it myself)

 

[Plotinus]

DPA is a great organization. It's always good to remember that supporting groups like this doesn't necessarily mean you want them to get 100% of what they want. It just means you want them involved in the decision-making. In politics, it's a mistake to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

While we're on the topic, I'm also a supporter of MPP (http://www.mpp.org) and I think you should be as well. They work closely with DPA and have a similar style, but they focus exclusively on marijuana law reform.

Join these organizations! Pay your member dues and get active. We win through collective action.

 

[VWFringe]

I like how easy it is to browse the issue and click through to sending their email - sometimes I add something personal, sometimes not.

sometimes too personal, like this one today, here's their text:

I urge you to cut funding to the Byrne/JAG Grant program. This program is wasting taxpayer money, filling US jails and prisons with nonviolent drug offenders, and distorting law enforcement priorities. With deficits rising, it's long past time to eliminate or cut failed drug war programs.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, there is virtually no evidence that the Byrne/JAG program has been effective in reducing crime. A recent GAO evaluation of Byrne grant spending included in the 2009 stimulus bill found that performance measures used by the Department of Justice "lack key attributes of successful performance assessment systems that GAO has previously identified, such as clarity, reliability, a linkage to strategic or programmatic goals, and objectivity and measurability of targets."

Moreover, numerous studies and news reports have found that Byrne grants are fueling civil rights abuses across the country from racial profiling to civil asset forfeiture (where property is confiscated from Americans never charged, not alone convicted, of a crime) to no-knock raids that put both police and citizens in harm's way. Congress could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year by eliminating this problematic and wasteful program.

and then I felt a need to add this:

Speaking as a former crack cocaine user, I can attest that the laws did not enter into my decision making. Because my drug use did not constitute addiction, I would have, if caught, navigated the system and come out the worse. I believe I am free of drugs now because of the education I have gotten about their effects on biological systems and relationships, and my continuing education into societal and political concerns, or how i fit into society and the people around me. If there had been no black market to educate me, if i had had to buy my drugs at a pharmacy, and be of age when i did so... and if they had been a bit more factual and detailed in my early education, in grade school, i would be making bank right now, as i could have avoided taking them, but if you doubt what I am saying please go the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition web site and see what these people are saying about the war on drugs. There is a better way out, and it just takes some fortitude to swallow it. Drug use is a Health and Family issue, not belonging in the punitive system, and taking it out of the punitive system will save billions of dollars which can then go to better use in eduction and out-reach programs.

too funny that i said i wasn't doing drugs any more, as I'm usually meticulously honest in these emails, so I think this just goes to show how much I associate weed with herbs like tobacco, and...jeez, you think i should write them back and explain? hahaha

 

[AGBeer]

A little off topic but still on topic -

https://secure2.convio.net/mpp/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=667

This is the MPP petition to help urge Congress to Eliminate the Drug Czars Office. Will it happen?
Doubtful... But its nice to try sometimes :/

 

[VWFringe]

that was easy, thanks!

i had to stare at it for a moment however, pondering whether this was too much, hahaha

it was so beautiful i didn't even want to add anything to personalize the email, afraid i'd fuck it up, like the one above. lol

Eliminate the Drug Czar's Office

The House is currently debating H.R. 1, which would fund the government for the rest of the current fiscal year. As part of this debate, Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO) and Ron Paul (R-TX) are introducing an amendment to eliminate funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, commonly known as the Drug Czar's office. This would represent a savings of more than $24 million in taxpayer dollars.

Just a few months ago, the conservative Heritage Foundation endorsed this exact position when it called on Congress to "[e]liminate the duplicative Office of National Drug Control Policy." This proposal can be seen on the following page:

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/10/how-to-cut-343-billion-from-the-federal-budget

The Drug Czar's office is simply not necessary. Levels of drug use do not change because we have a person of power in Washington going around the country saying, "Drugs are bad." Moreover, a case can be made that the Drug Czar's office has done a disservice to our youth by emphasizing the harms associated with marijuana at the expense of educating them about the relative harms of all drugs. If you wonder why some kids don't appreciate that heroin is far more harmful than marijuana, consider the messages that have come out of the Drug Czar's office over the past two decades.