https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/399/whatdrcnetdoes.shtml

Last week Tom Angell of Students for Sensible Drug Policy allowed us to send a letter of support to our e-mail list explaining some of what DRCNet and Drug War Chronicle has meant to him and his work. With issue #400 coming up next week, we want our readers to understand a little more about our long term strategy, so we print Tom's letter here again:

Dear friend,

If you're a regular DRCNet reader, then you might know about me from DRCNet's Drug War Chronicle newsletter -- first as the founder of the University of Rhode Island chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), and now as the campaigns director in the SSDP national office. Earlier this summer, Rhode Islanders scored a big hit: Our state Senate overwhelmingly passed a pro-medical marijuana bill, a mere one day after the US Supreme Court rejected states' rights to medical marijuana in the Raich case, and in the face of a veto threat by Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri. The bill was then passed overwhelmingly by the state House of Representatives as well -- and the governor did veto it. But the Senate overrode his veto the very next day. If things go as well in the House, it will be a great victory for medical marijuana that will help patients throughout the state and send a necessary message to Congress that they should act too.

While DRCNet played no direct role in the Rhode Island medical marijuana campaign [which after a certain point was principally funded by MPP], it very well may not have happened without them. The reason is that DRCNet's long-term movement-building, movement-empowering work laid a crucial portion of the groundwork for it. The Rhode Island medical marijuana campaign was founded by myself and an activist at the Brown University SSDP chapter. But SSDP might not have existed were it not for DRCNet's starting the Higher Education Act Reform Campaign in 1998 -- rallying students nationwide against a law that takes financial aid away from students with drug convictions -- and using its list and its funding to get SSDP off the ground as an independent national organization, which now has thousands of activists on more than 100 college and high school campuses nationwide. That's one of the reasons. The other reason is that I became an activist because of Drug War Chronicle. Reading the Chronicle week after week taught me just how serious and just how important an issue this is, inspired me to get involved, pointed me to opportunities for doing so, and then kept me informed and prepared to do the best job that I could. And I am just one of many people around the country who say the same thing.

I hope you will take a few moments today to make the most generous donation to DRCNet that you can. With everything that DRCNet does to support, build and get the word out about all the other organizations in the movement, there are many deserving places to send a check that come to your attention in Drug War Chronicle every week. But even if the issue that you care most about -- be it medical marijuana, sentencing, drug testing, etc. -- is not one that DRCNet is leading, it would be shortsighted to not support DRCNet as well. Because without DRCNet, we would have a smaller movement less capable of taking all those things on; and who knows how much DRCNet will be able to do for the movement moving forward in the same way -- subtle, long-term, but powerful? In my opinion, a lot -- but only with your help.

DRCNet is so important, for the movement's present and for its future -- thank you for making the most generous donation that you can.

Tom Angell, Campaigns Director
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Washington, DC

• Our write-to-Congress web site delivered nearly 2,800 letters supporting the Hinchey/Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment to members of the US House of Representatives this June.
• Our action alert in support of former medical marijuana provider Bryan Epis has generated dozens of letters from our members asking Judge Damrell to sentence Epis to time served.
• We have published hundreds and hundreds of articles about medical marijuana in Drug War Chronicle, informing, empowering and inspiring thousands of people around the world.

Click here for more reasons to financially support DRCNet, for info on our new book offer -- "Breaking Rank" by former Seattle police chief Norm Stamper -- and instructions and other information on how to donate. We really need your help as issue #400 approaches -- thank you in advance!

	Please make a generous donation to support Drug War Chronicle in 2007!

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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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