Last week I reached out for help from you and other supporters for the Drug War Chronicle newsletter. You can read a copy of that email on our web site here.
Since I sent that letter, members have donated over $5,000 to help us keep Drug War Chronicle operating at full strength. Thank you!
If you've been following our newsletter, then you know that the fight to stop the drug war has entered its most critical moment to date: Support for marijuana legalization has reached 50 percent. Heads of state including the current presidents of Mexico and Colombia have called for alternatives to drug prohibition to be considered. Leading civil rights groups have called for an end to the war on drugs in its current form. And yet -- and yet -- the federal government under President Obama has escalated its campaign to crush California's medical marijuana industry to its broadest and most aggressive level yet.
Do you agree with me that despite the troubled economy and the hit it's taken on nonprofits everywhere, that this is not a time to downsize the effort, this is a time to fight harder than ever? Will you make a donation today for the Chronicle and StoptheDrugWar.org?
Last week I shared some testimonials from activists who got involved in drug policy because of Drug War Chronicle or use it in their work. But the Chronicle reaches over a million people per year, on our web site alone, and the web site over two million. So this week I'm sharing some thoughts from readers on what the Chronicle's done for their thinking on the issue and how they use it to help others:
Your newsletter gives me the details on the 'other side of the fence' as I work for a law enforcement agency and all I hear/see is their side of everything.
I use your information to keep abreast of drug laws and initiatives and inform clients, prisoners, and prison activists. You provide a very valuable service for those involved in criminal defense and those assisting prisoners in appealing unjust sentences and convictions.
I am a university professor who teaches a criminal justice course concerning drug use/abuse trends, law enforcement issues, etc., and find the Drug War Chronicle an up-to-date source of solid information useful to me and/or my students. Even if one may disagree with some of the views presented, the Chronicle obviously tries to get the facts straight -- and does. It is an extremely valuable resource.
I am the father of two adults in their 20s and the grandfather of six very young children. I have used information from StoptheDrugWar.org as instructional material for them, as survival tools, and for my parents, both in their 70s, who thirst for the comfort that knowing the truth about the drug war provides. I am thankful as well for reliable data I have used in blogs, letters and readers' forums in various publications. Thank you!
I read the Drug War Chronicle every weekend. I spend my life working to defend those charged with drug crimes and your newsletter keeps me posted to advise other judges and district attorneys why decriminalization is the only way to proceed. The Drug War must end and you folks will lead the way.
There is more at stake right now in drug policy right now than I've seen at any time in my career, and we need your help to decide whether StoptheDrugWar.org and Drug War Chronicle can enter this historical moment at full strength and looking to grow. Will you step up today in meeting the needs of the times? Please make a generous donation to StoptheDrugWar.org -- non-deductible for our lobbying work, or tax-deductible for our educational work like Drug War Chronicle -- to help us enter the new year right.
Donations to our organization can be made online at http://stopthedrugwar.org/donate, or they can be mailed to: DRCNet Foundation (tax-deductible), P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036; or Drug Reform Coordination Network (non-deductible for lobbying), same address. (Contact us for information if you wish to make a donation of stock.)
Thank you for standing with us to stop the drug war's cruelties and meet the opportunity this time offers to make a brighter future. And don't get discouraged by the challenges our movement and the cause are currently facing: Time, and the truth, are on our side!
Sincerely,
David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
Washington, DC
http://stopthedrugwar.org
P.S. Reply to this email or use our contact form to send us your Drug War Chronicle testimonial!
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Add new comment