In addition, while the weather begins to cool off, things in the reform movement are really heating up. And because the movement is entering such an important phase, it is vital that you, the people who understand the enormity of the damage being done in the name of the Drug War, step up your efforts and make your voices heard. DRCNet enters this new season nearly 7,000 strong, with plans in place that could increase our numbers many-fold. If you think you can help us in that mission, please get in touch and we'll send out email sign-up sheets or help you in any other way possible. Remember, the more people that we can reach in your state, the more impact your efforts will have.
Our first action alert of the fall went out early yesterday morning, regarding the possible parole and release of Will Foster, originally sentenced to 93 years, and who has spent more than two years in jail, suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and separated from his family for cultivating medicinal marijuana. So far, more than 120 of you have written to let us know that you did take action on behalf of Will Foster, in response to our alert. Thank you! You'll be interested to know that in response to the flood of phone calls, the governor's office has set up a special voice mailbox just for calls about Will Foster.
If you have not yet taken a moment to write, fax or call Governor Keating of Oklahoma in response, please consider doing so today. We are committed to increasing our response rate significantly in the coming months, but that will only happen if YOU take a moment to respond, with a letter, phone call, fax or email, when an action alert arrives in your in-box. Your voice IS important, and politicians, the media and other decision-makers DO take notice. The Will Foster case is indicative of that, and we, as a movement, are only just beginning to flex our political muscle. (If you missed the alert, you can access it on our web site at http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/9-10.html.)
Please note that article three of this issue is another action alert, opposing a bill in Congress that would further arm Latin American militaries in the name of the drug war, militaries that in some cases have appalling human rights records and even sponsor death squads to deal with dissenters. The source country strategy on which this bill is based has failed -- not partially, but completely -- to reduce the global availability of opium or cocaine -- and in its wake has fueled political instability and sometimes outright civil conflict in these nations that are struggling to establish democracy against a history of dictatorship. An article in issue #43 of The Week Online -- http://www.drcnet.org/wol/043.html#bolivia -- describes a personal tragedy that resulted directly from the U.S. government's fraudulent Andean drug war. Take some of the excitement you've shown for the Will Foster case, and use it to mobilize on this alert as well. Your abction here -- less directly but just as surely -- will help prevent more innocent people from falling victim to the war on drugs. And please, send copies of your correspondence, or just a note letting us know what actions you've taken, to alert-feedback@drcnet.org. Your feedback will help us document our impact and give our donors and potential donors confidence that their support is building a potent force for change. Can we get another 100 letters on this one?
(A long-standing alert that is still important is helping promote the book Drug Crazy -- a book which happens to give a devastating account of the war on drugs in the Andes, among other topics, and which promotes groups in the movement through an Internet appendix, especially DRCNet. This exciting book by DRCNet advisory board member Mike Gray, author of the China Syndrome among other credits, is capable of changing the debate on drug policy if only it goes big. See http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#slate for some background and suggestions for what to do.)
So welcome back from vacation, and get ready to act. Because YOU represent the leading edge of the next great political and social movement in the history of the United States, and of the world. The Drug War is beginning to crumble, but after decades of violence, profits, repression and injustice, it will not go down without a fight.
|
|
| Issue #58, 9/11/98 A Note to Our Readers | US-Trained, Incorruptible Mexican Anti-Narcotics Squad Widely Corrupted | Alert: McCollum Drug Act Would Further Militarize Andean Drug War | Texas Paper Releases Scathing Pentagon Review of Esequiel Hernandez Shooting | Whitman, AIDS Council Still at Odds Over Needle Exchange | Fayetteville City Council Rejects Random Drug Testing | New Jersey Supreme Court Finds Right to Jury Trial in Forfeiture Cases | March To Stop the Drug War, Berkeley, CA 26-Sep | First-Ever Global Conference on How To Legalize Cannabis | Attention College Students! | NY Attorney General Candidates Admit Past Marijuana Use | Patient's Glaucoma Justified Medical Marijuana Use, Cultivation, Canadian Judge Rules | Editorial: Long, Hot Summer |
This issue -- main page This issue -- single-file printer version Drug War Chronicle -- main page Chronicle archives |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
