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[Courtesy of the Harm Reduction Coalition] By changing San Francisco, we change the world A major part of addressing the expanding HIV/AIDS and overdose mortality rates in the United States is good public policy. The legacy of democracy is that when elected officials falter on implementing public policies that save lives, the public itself must step forward and urge those officials to take a stand. We need 200 signatures by December from organizations and individuals living or working in San Francisco on a petition that will be delivered to the desk of Mayor Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and the San Francisco Department of Health Director Mitchell Katz demanding that our city create a legal safer injection facility to reduce the number of deaths by overdose and to curb the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C. Your activism does make a difference. With your support we were able to beat back an amendment in Congress by conservative South Carolina senator Jim DeMint that sought to ban all federal funding from any city that chose to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and save lives through the creation of a safe injection center. Join our petition to Mayor Newsom and help to save lives. Visit our website and sign our online petition today. http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/HRC/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=763 Other nations around the world have built 65-safer injection facilities in twenty-seven cities and eight nation, let's make San Francisco the first city in the U.S. to create one and begin a national trend that starts putting lives above politics. Hilary McQuie, Western Regional Director Harm Reduction Coalition www.harmreduction.org [email protected]

MEDIA RELEASE from Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: November 19, 2007 Contact: ASA Director of Government Affairs Caren Woodson (510) 388-0546 or ASA Media Liaison Kris Hermes (510) 681-6361 New Study Finds Marijuana Compound Inhibits Breast Cancer Growth Mounting evidence should compel federal government to stop obstructing research San Francisco, CA -- A new study announced today by the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute (CPMCRI) found that a non-psychoactive, naturally occurring compound in the cannabis plant (marijuana) called cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits the activity of breast cancer cells “in vitro” and in animals. While previous studies have found that tetrahydrocannabinol, another cannabis compound known as THC, has properties found to inhibit cancer growth, the CPMCRI study is the first time that CBD has been shown to have a similar effect. According to CPMCRI, the study was accepted for publication in October. “This pre-clinical research clearly demonstrates the therapeutic potential of marijuana’s active compounds,” said CPMCRI cannabinoid researcher Jahan Marcu, who is also on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA). “The availability of a non-toxic substance that has the potential to fight breast cancer and likely other forms of cancer is of tremendous importance.” Despite mounting evidence verifying the medical efficacy of smoked marijuana and it’s isolated compounds, the federal government continues to obstruct scientific research in this field. In the last 20 years, the FDA has approved only three studies using plant-derived marijuana or its constituent compounds, forcing researchers such as CPMCRI to use synthetic versions. One reason for a lack of U.S. research using naturally derived marijuana is that scientists must obtain it from the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), which has a stated disinterest in the investigation of marijuana’s therapeutic qualities. “It’s time for NIDA and the federal government to end the monopoly on research cannabis,” said Caren Woodson, Director of Government Affairs for ASA. “This study should compel our government to do everything in its power to conduct the long-overdue research recommended by the 1999 Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine report.” The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which works with NIDA to restrict the availability of research cannabis, is currently refusing to license University of Massachusetts Amherst Professor Lyle Craker, despite a ruling earlier this year from Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner that stated such research was “in the public interest.” The CBD compound used by CPMCRI for the study was synthetic due to the complications of obtaining research cannabis. However, compounds extracted from the marijuana plant are far cheaper and would be easier to acquire for the purpose of research if a competitive source of research grade marijuana were available. Coincidentally, the DEA is recommending that the natural form of THC be rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) so that the plant derived compound may be naturally extracted in order to facilitate the research and development of generic, natural THC-based therapeutic drugs. “This study provides clear evidence which suggests that DEA ought to further consider rescheduling other cannabinoids with clear medical benefit in order to jump-start the research and development of cannabis-based drugs so patients have access to these drugs sooner as opposed to later,” continued Woodson. Further information: CPMCRI Study and Researcher Dr. Sean McAllister – http://www.cpmc.org/professionals/research/programs/science/sean.html Additional cannabis research – http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/study.php 2007 Ruling by ALJ Bittner, claiming marijuana research is “in the public interest” – http://www.maps.org/ALJfindings.PDF

For Immediate Release: November 18, 2007 Contact: Brian Vicente, Sensible Colorado, 720-280-4067 Historic Lawsuit Overturns State's Medical Marijuana Policy Denver Judge slaps state health department; rules medical marijuana patients can appoint provider of their choice. DENVER -- Sensible Colorado will hold a press conference on Monday, Nov. 19, in front of the Denver City and County Building, to announce the issuance of an order by Chief Denver District Court Judge Larry J. Naves permanently overturning the Colorado Health Department's "Five Patient Policy." Adopted by the Health Department in a closed meeting in 2004, this policy limited the number of patients to which a caregiver can provide marijuana for medical purposes. Chief Judge Naves's decision stems from a lawsuit filed in June 2007 by Sensible Colorado on behalf of state-licensed medical marijuana patient Damien LaGoy. LaGoy, who uses medical marijuana to cope with nausea related to AIDS wasting-syndrome and Hepatitis C, sued the agency after his caregiver request was denied by the Health Department in May 2007 based on the "Five Patient Policy." In a July hearing Judge Naves temporarily suspended the policy accusing the agency of acting inappropriately in establishing the policy in a closed-door meeting which was not open to public or scientific input. Naves further alluded to the harmful nature of the policy in stating, "There is no reason this plaintiff should suffer." In a decision released late last week, Naves permanently overturned the policy citing violations of both the Colorado Open Meetings Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. This decision will allow the plaintiff Damien LaGoy, and the rest of Colorado's 1700 licensed medical marijuana patients, to appoint the medical marijuana provider of their choice. "I feel safer already," said LaGoy. "Now I can get my medicine from a safe and responsible caregiver instead of taking my chances on the streets." "This policy had the real effect of harming seriously-ill Coloradans," said Brian Vicente, lead attorney and head of Sensible Colorado. "Hopefully the Health Department will now begin acting to help medical marijuana patients, not harm them." WHAT: Press conference to announce an order protecting medical marijuana patient rights **copies of Judge Naves's decision will be made available at the press conference** WHEN: Monday, November 19, 12 p.m. (noon) WHERE: In front of the Denver City and County Building, 1437 Bannock Street WHO: Damien LaGoy, plaintiff and medical marijuana patient Daniel J. Pope, medical marijuana caregiver for LaGoy Brian Vicente, attorney and Sensible Colorado executive director Sean McAllister, co-counsel and criminal defense attorney # # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 2007 CONTACT: Joycelyn Woods, Executive Director, t: 212-595-6262, E: [email protected] or Roxanne Baker, President, T: 212-595-6262, E: [email protected] FOX Philadelphia News Story Stigmatizes Patients Receiving Methadone Treatment The FOX Philadelphia news story that aired on November 13, 2007 regarding the illegal sales of methadone in Camden, NJ is disappointing. Once again the news media is airing negative sensational stories about methadone and ignoring the thousands of positive ones. The vast majority of patients in the nation’s methadone treatment programs are not criminals. The National Alliance of Methadone Advocates (NAMA) urges you to appreciate that the great majority of patients receive their methadone from licensed accredited programs, are responsible in handling their medication, compliant with their treatment plans (including abstinence from illicit substances) and live lives that are virtually indistinguishable from your own. Methadone has provided a bridge to sustained recovery from chronic opiate addiction for hundreds of thousands of others during its forty-year history. This bridge has allowed us to leave the instability and chaos of active addiction in the past and to seek out challenges as professionals, business people, artists, students, family members and taxpayers. However, due to continued negative portrayal of methadone treatment in the media such as the Fox broadcast there is a tendency for the public to form distorted images of methadone patients. There are thousands of compliant patients who are grateful for methadone treatment and eager to see it accurately reported by the media but remain silent because they have families and other responsibilities to consider. They are well aware of the stigma and prejudice that methadone patients experience daily and are afraid that the sensationalized media such as a Fox Philadelphia story could harm their family and career. The media never acknowledges the successes because it is not exciting. Consequently, the negative perception goes unchallenged and it makes it that much more difficult for those of us who benefit from methadone treatment to present the true picture. Since its’ beginning over 40 years ago methadone maintenance has been the most effective treatment for narcotic addiction. In spite of its success, methadone maintenance is often disparaged as a "substitute drug" by those who ignore the positive benefits that it has clearly brought to society. Such attitudes negatively impact on methadone treatment in a variety of ways, but it is the methadone patients themselves who are particularly stigmatized and harmed. Patients are mistreated and misinformed and considered as social outcasts. They are victims of discrimination in health care, the job market, education, insurance and housing. The National Alliance of Methadone Advocates (NAMA) was organized as a formal mechanism for methadone patients to voice their own needs and to form a strong, unified public presence on their behalf. The primary objective of NAMA is to advocate for the patient in treatment by destigmatizing and empowering methadone patients. First and foremost, it can confront the negative stereotypes that impact on the self-esteem and worth of many methadone patients with a powerful affirmation of pride and unity. Website: http://www.methadone.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 19, 2007 CONTACT: Ed Hatcher, 301-656-0348 New Report Calls for Major Reforms to Reduce America’s Soaring Prison Population Leading criminologists recommend shorter length of stay in prison and elimination of prison time for technical parole and probation violations WASHINGTON, D.C. – Burdened by the world’s largest prison population, which has grown six-fold in the past 35 years, the United States should reform its criminal justice system by sending fewer people to prison and reducing the time they serve, a major new report concludes. “Unlocking America: Why and How to Reduce America’s Prison Population,” is co-authored by nine leading criminology and penal experts from around the country and relies on a thorough review of recent research into crime and incarceration. “The number of people incarcerated has skyrocketed over the past three decades and yet there is little if any scientific evidence of a causal relationship between crime rates and incarceration rates," said James Austin, president of the JFA Institute and report co-author. "A major reason for the rise in prison populations is longer prison terms. But there is no evidence that keeping people in prison longer makes us any safer. The report provides a practical roadmap for reducing prison populations and more effectively addressing crime by adopting sentencing policies that are now being used in a number of red and blue states." The report finds that putting more people in prison is financially wasteful, disproportionately burdens the poor and minorities, and has limited impact on recidivism and crime rates. In response, it calls for reducing prison sentences and eliminating prison terms for people who violate the terms of their probation or parole without committing new crimes. “People who break the law must be held accountable, but many of those currently incarcerated should receive alternative forms of punishment, and those who are sent to prison must spend a shorter period incarcerated before coming home to our communities,” the report says. Released by the JFA Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit organization focused on research-based solutions to criminal justice issues, the report also calls for decriminalizing the possession and sale of recreational drugs. The researchers say that widespread incarceration of people involved in the drug market has only fueled more violence and has not reduced the demand for drugs. “Unlocking America” also calls for improving prison conditions by reducing overcrowding and expanding access to health care, academic and vocational programs for incarcerated people to help them succeed in life after prison and increase public health and safety. A final recommendation calls on states to ease the transition from prison to free society by lifting barriers to employment and restoring voting rights so that people coming out of prison can be productive members of the workforce and society. The report’s recommendations, if implemented nationally, would gradually and safely reduce the nation’s prison and jail populations by half and generate annual savings of $20 billion, money that could be reinvested in more promising crime-prevention strategies. The authors of the report are convinced that the United States needs a different strategy for justice reform. Approximately 2.2 million people are now in jail or prison. The number serving sentences in state and federal prisons has grown from 196,000 in 1972 to more than 1.4 million today. An additional 750,000 people are in local jails awaiting trial or serving time for less-serious crimes. The number is growing and shows no signs of leveling off. “Our criminal laws and criminal justice policies and practices exacerbate the crime problem, unnecessarily damage the lives of millions of people, and worsen living conditions in low-income neighborhoods of American cities,” the report states. Under current sentencing policies, the state and federal prison populations will grow by another 192,000 prisoners over the next five years, according to the report. Such an increase will force the nation to spend an additional $27.5 billion in prison construction and operation costs over the five-year period, in addition to the $60 billion now spent annually on corrections. This growth in imprisonment is largely due not to rising crime rates but to changes in sentencing policy that led to dramatic increases in the numbers of felony convictions. This resulted in more prison sentences and increasing the length of the prison stays themselves. The report cites extensive research suggesting there is little relationship between fluctuations in crime rates and incarceration rates. The study highlights that minorities are more likely to be imprisoned than whites, noting that incarceration rates for blacks and Latinos are six times higher than for whites. If incarceration rates were race neutral, prison populations would drop by half. The report’s authors are: James Austin, president, the JFA Institute; Todd Clear, professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Troy Duster, professor, New York University; David F. Greenberg, professor, New York University; John Irwin, professor emeritus, San Francisco State University; Candace McCoy, professor, City University of New York; Alan Mobley, assistant professor, San Diego State University; Barbara Owen, professor, California State University, Fresno; and Joshua Page, assistant professor, University of Minnesota. For copies of the report, visit: www.jfa-associates.com/