Last
Week's
Alerts:
Government
Fires
Opening
Salvo
in
War
on
Internet
Reform
Activities:
DRCNet
Members
Respond!
7/2/97
(If every member writes just one letter - or sends one email - or makes one phone call - per month...) GOVERNMENT FIRES OPENING SALVO... On Friday, June 20th, the New York Times carried a front page article by Christopher Wren titled, "Seductive Drug Culture Flourishes on the Internet." In it, there was, in our opinion, an inexcusable blurring of the lines between legitimate and principled drug policy reform, and the worst of the worst of on-line drug "information" (recipes for Methamphetamine, advocacy of LSD use by teenagers, etc.) DRCNet Director David Borden was quoted in the piece. Then on Wednsday, June 25th, Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey, in an article in the Washington Post ("Other Drugs Supplanting Cocaine Use" by Roberto Suro, pg. 1) announced that the Federal Government would be putting $400,000 into "anti-drug" web development, because, according to the good Czar, "If you go on the Internet right now, it's dominated by pro-drug, pro-legalization opportunities to learn; you know, High Times, interactive video. And the more objective, scientific, socially responsible thinking almost isn't there." Hearing the government label responsible drug policy reform efforts as "pro-drug" is nothing new. The fact that they will be targeting the Internet, however, is. Despite the ominous sounding language and the horrific slant on the Times article, DRCNet believes that it shows that we are beginning to have our desired effect. The drug policy reformers who are organizing, educating and activating on- line have absolutely nothing to hide. If the government wants to talk about "drugs on the Internet" we welcome the opportunity to get the word out about the drug policy reform movement in general and DRCNet in particular. Rapid Response Network Responds! On Saturday, June 21, DRCNet sent out an Action Alert to this list. The response was terrific! Our office received copies of over 60 email messages to the NY Times within the first three days. (And they're still coming in.) In our experience, many of you do not regularly cc DRCNet on your correspondence, (especially snail-mail and fax) so we are certain that the Times received even more mail on the subject than we did. (NOTE: Please, when possible, cc DRCNet when responding to an Alert. It makes it easier to show our funders how responsive and effective the Rapid Response Network really is.) On Friday, June 27th, the Times' Letters section contained four letters regarding the Internet piece under the headline "Internet Promotes an Informed Drug Debate". All were on our side, and a quick check of our records indicate that at least three of the four came from members of the Network. Congratulations to RRN members Steve Welcome, Andrei Foldes, and Theodore Wilcox!! And thanks to everyone for letting the Times know that there is indeed a very serious, very important on-line movement going on.
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