Dear Drug War Chronicle
devotee:
In case you were not already
aware, I wanted to let you know that Drug War Chronicle's own Phillip S.
Smith was featured in the new book Under The Influence: The Disinformation
Guide to Drugs -- Phil wrote two of the book's nearly 50 fascinating
articles and essays, including an especially provocative one, "Imagining
a Post-Prohibition World."
As part of our campaign to
complete Drug War Chronicle's budget for 2005, DRCNet is pleased
to offer Under The Influence as our latest membership premium.
Make a tax-deductible donation of $40 or more to support Drug War Chronicle
-- or a non-deductible donation to support DRCNet's lobbying programs like
the Higher Education Act Reform Campaign -- and we will send you a complimentary
copy of Under The Influence as our special thanks.
Thanks to support by readers
like yourself, and a generous grant received late last year from the Educational
Foundation of America, DRCNet Foundation has now raised $36,000 toward
Drug
War Chronicle's expenses in 2005. However, we are expecting the
Chronicle's total costs to reach about $67,000 as they have for each of
the past two years. That means we have $31,000 to go. If you
are one of the many who have helped us with this campaign so far, thank
you. If you have yet to donate or pledge for 2005... please understand
that we need your help to do this right. We need your support or
we will have to downscale the newsletter and cut back our activist programs.
Please click
here to make a one-time donation to Drug War Chronicle, or click
here to sign up to donate monthly. Or, send us an e-mail at [email protected]
to let us know how much you are pledging and for when.
When Ecuadoran former
army colonel Lucio Gutierrez gave an interview to Chronicle editor
Phil Smith at an anti-Plan Colombia conference, he didn't expect it to
come back to haunt him when three years later as President of Ecuador he
tried to deny attending that conference and opposing Plan Colombia. But
El Universo, one of Ecuador's largest daily papers, found the interview
online. The article ran on the front page – click
here to read it online (in Spanish). |
We had hoped to be able to
raise and set this money aside last year. But frankly, the presidential
election campaigns, which were the most expensive in history, hit our fundraising
like a ton of bricks. The numbers tell the story: During the
first half of 2004, donations under $500 in size to DRCNet totaled $40,374.
During the second half of 2004, they came to only $21,095, slightly over
half as much. You can help get the word out about the injustice of
the drug war and catalyze change this year by donating to Drug War Chronicle
-- we can't do it without you! Again, click
here to make a one-time donation to Drug War Chronicle, or click
here to donate monthly.
Contributions to DRCNet Foundation
to support Drug War Chronicle are tax-deductible. (If you
select a gift item, the portion of your donation that you can deduct is
reduced by the item's retail price.) Contributions to the Drug Reform
Coordination Network supporting our lobbying work are not-deductible.
If you want to make a donation in this category, please click here to go
to our main donation page instead. The address for checks or money
orders is P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036 -- contact us for information
if you wish to make a donation of stock.
Because of the enthusiasm
of our readers, Drug War Chronicle has completed 7 ½ years
of publishing – 373 issues, nearly 5,000 articles -- and we now move into
2005 and another year of hopeful, distressing, interesting, ridiculous
and dangerous developments in drug policy and its impact on our communities
and world. From mandatory minimum sentencing, to pain doctor prosecutions,
police ignoring state medical marijuana laws, Afghanistan's drug war, major
court rulings, ongoing chronicling of the consequences of prohibition,
the latest hair-brained drug warrior idea, David Borden's editorials, This
Week's Corrupt Cops Stories, coverage of the drug policy reform movement,
to leading drug warriors like drug czar John Walters and congressman Mark
Souder and the usually bad things they say and do, Drug War Chronicle will
be there to provide you with the detailed story behind the story.
Thank you for your support
of Drug War Chronicle. As the book title suggests, the drug war is
sustained in part by a torrent of disinformation. And disinformation
can only be countered by... valid information... hence Drug War Chronicle.
Please feel free to write or call if you have any questions, and stay tuned
for a challenging but hopefully successful year in drug policy reform!
P.S. Click
here to read the Drug War Chronicle review of Under The Influence.
P.P.S. Following are a few
of the many testimonials we've received about Drug War Chronicle's
impact and influence:
Media:
... "[Drug War Chronicle]
is absolutely the best way to keep abreast of the issue. It's just
a phenomenal resource -- full of interesting stories and links."
- a reporter at the Los
Angeles Times
"I've covered the drug story
for years, in many places and on many levels. Your coverage of the
drug scene has been a vital resource for us. You provide a continuous
flow of information that isn't available from any other media source."
- a producer of documentaries
for HBO
"I thought you'd like to
know that I follow your bulletins religiously for the simple reason that
the Canadian press says little about drugs. So when you have drug
news, it has very often not been reported here. I flag items for
my editor -- we've had a number of stories that started that way.
In fact, Pastrana's call for a world conference was a recent example of
just that. So, your work, based on my experience, is helping making
waves even when you don't realize it."
- a prominent reporter in
Canada
Activists:
"I use [Drug War Chronicle]
as a source for information I disseminate to the chapter's local members
use the information in conversations and more formal talks about drug policy,
as well as in letters to the editor."
- the coordinator of a local
chapter of a national organization
"Your newsletter has been
an invaluable source of information to us as far as keeping up to date
on all of the latest issues surrounding addiction and drug policy.
I read every issue as thoroughly as I can, and reprint and pass along many
articles to my colleagues and associates. I also have used [Drug
War Chronicle] in my monthly meetings and also in Patient run support groups."
- head of a state chapter
of a national addiction-related advocacy organization
Policymakers:
After we ran a story in June
2003 about the cancellation of a NORML/SSDP fundraiser in Billings, MT,
following a threat by DEA agents to prosecute club owners under the controversial
"RAVE Act," our story was forwarded by a constituent of a member of Congress
to one of her staffers, who then contacted us for information. The
staffer is working on monitoring the Act to prevent abuses, and subscribed
to our list.
A prominent agency head in
South America wrote: "Our work is well known in Brazil and I serve on government
committees as well as present at most of the conferences here. [Drug
War Chronicle] has been a major source of information and has helped shape
our treatment programs as well as influenced many policies and conferences,
where the only other sources have been the official USG and UN policies."
