Unfinished Business: An Appeal to Our Past Donors

Will You Rejoin the Fight and Keep Our Writers Working in 2014?

First of all, thank you! You're one of the incredibly generous donors who have helped us force drug policy reform into the national conversation. Would you have believed five years ago that recreational marijuana use would be legal in two US states and the federal government would start rolling back mandatory minimum sentencing?

It's been an incredible few years. During those years, you've kept our writers fed so they can craft the stories that inform and inspire in the Drug War Chronicle. You've helped our lean and dedicated staff roll back draconian laws that deny college aid to kids convicted of drug crimes.

It's been an exciting time, but not without its challenges. Small- and medium-sized donors are our lifeblood. We exist because readers like you decided to partner with us to create a vital, informed counter-narratives to the injustices and excesses of the drug war. Because of that dependence on lots of small donors, the economic downturn of 2008 presented a significant setback from which we're still trying to recover.

Will you rejoin the fight and keep our small, dedicated staff on the front lines during this critical and promising phase of the battle? Drug policy reform is at a major crossroads. And so are we. We're asking our supporters to help keep StoptheDrugWar.org funded in 2014.

See What We've Done Together

• The Drug War Chronicle newsletter reaches over a million people a year on our web site, tens of thousands of people by email, and many more through other outlets because of our open-rights republishing policy. Our web site in total reaches millions. Every story adds to the drumbeat of common sense that is turning prohibitionists into doubters and encouraging those on the fence to join reform efforts.
• We created a bully pulpit that helps local activists across the country -- both by inspiring them to create change and giving them a louder megaphone for their efforts. Leading activists in the movement often tell us they got involved in drug policy because of our web site and email list.
• Our work launched a successful initiative to amend a law that took financial aid away from students convicted of drug offenses, and also launched Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), an organization still active today on college campuses across the US.

Why We Need You Back

In an era where too much of the national debate is still framed by prohibitionist dogma, our small, dedicated and passionate staff keep anti-prohibitionists on the cutting edge of legislation and policy. And you drive it all: Providing vital information for reform advocates -- locally, nationally, and globally -- and amplifying their efforts for audiences they couldn't have hoped to reach otherwise. Our mission to provide the best information available on the global drug war and its costs is critical to the national and global efforts to end it.

But because of the economy and other big changes, we can't do it any longer without you. Without you, our small and prolific team of experts will have to pack it up and go home. While we know how to run lean and live modestly, we can't continue to run as close to empty as we've been doing lately. And so we're asking for your partnership and your support once again.

Despite some progress, the mainstream media continues to be a depressingly dependable source of fear-based misinformation in the drug debate much of the time. That's why it's up to reformers like us to fund and make their own media -- a drumbeat sounding clear and true against the fear and misinformation, turning a few more heads every year and normalizing rational debate.

Please Help Fund Our Editorial Staff for 2014

We ask that you support our campaign by making a donation. It's easy, secure, and it will give us a vital boost in the new year and further what we have all built together -- an advocacy journalism and activism outlet that is a valuable resource for other reformers across the nation.

Advancing information, research and informed argument in the national debate is critical to not just marijuana legalization, but ending the drug war on all fronts. America is at a crossroads -- and so are we at StoptheDrugWar.org. Will you rejoin us, preserve what we have built and keep driving towards a more just and prosperous horizon?

Watch Drug War Chronicle editor Phil Smith's award acceptance speech at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Denver last October: