(State action is coming right up in Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut and California. If you haven't filled out your registration form yet, please take a moment to do so -- http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html, whether you're donating or not -- or if you don't want to share your mailing address, at least send us your state, at [email protected]. This information will helps us target our bulletins to maximal impact.)

A Message from DRCNet:

Now that 1998 has begun in earnest, and everyone's gotten through their post-vacation hangovers (when's the next vacation again?) it's really time to get back to the business of ending the Drug War. We have a very activist- oriented issue this week. There's federal action against the California buyers' clubs to oppose (and a defense fund for the clubs which is seeking contributions), a Washington state medical marijuana bill to support, a national news story which just begs for letters to the editor of your local paper, an editorial in the international medical journal Lancet, to which we hope that all the MD's on this list will respond, and a very important harm reduction conference being planned in Boston whose organizers are looking for some small donations to cover their expenses.

Yes, it's time to stand up and be counted. 1998 promises to be a seminal year in the movement toward a more rational and humane drug policy. You know that you can count on DRCNet and The Week Online to keep you plugged in to the issue, and to let you know how best to make your voice heard. There are a lot of exciting things in the works, including a global response to the United Nations' first-ever special session on narcotics in June (more on that next week). So get ready to get active. In the words of Margaret Meade, "Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world... in fact, it's the only thing which ever has."

(And please don't forget to send us copies of your letters - - it is crucial for our documenting and fundraising. E-mail to [email protected], fax to (202) 293-8344, or mail to DRCNet, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Vasconcellos Calls for Medical Marijuana Access in Face of Federal Action Against Clubs
2. Defense Fund Established for Buyers' Club Defendants
3. Washington State Bill Authorizing Medical Marijuana to be Considered: Your responses needed!
4. Pentagon Proposes Ending Military Border Patrols
5. President Clinton Signs Directive: Authorizes $200 Million to try to Reduce Drugs Use... in Prisons
6. EU Parliament Delays Vote on Drug Commission Report
7. Colombian Foreign Minister: "If US Doesn't Certify Us, There Will be a Political Earthquake"
8. British Medical Journal, Lancet, Calls on US to Act on Needle Exchange
9. New Australian Harm Reduction-Based Drug-Ed Program Sends Kids to Teach Kids
10. Nuclear Cruiser USS California Deployed in Drug War
11. Harm Reduction Workshop in Boston

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Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

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