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On Friday, July 6, a pair of common sense Opinion items hit North American newspapers, with one being reprinted in numerous newspapers across the country. This creates an excellent opportunity for those who endorse smarter public policies for dealing with marijuana in the 21st century. Gone should be the days of Reefer Madness - the late 1930s attitudes which have remained entrenched in federal government marijuana policies for over 70 years now. Friday's Los Angeles Times featured an OPED authored by Tony Newman of the Drug Policy Alliance. He emphasized the need to either offer help and appropriate treatment options for Americans with true drug problems. And he also noted that we should not waste criminal justice or valuable treatment resources on Americans who are only casual drug users without a problem. Newman also illustrated the disparity in our society where certain people of note receive easy access for alternatives to jail - using Al Gore III, Noelle Bush and Patrick Kennedy as prime examples. Read Newman's LA Times piece here: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n802/a04.html Also on Friday, Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post Writers Group released her latest column in which she aptly notes that the younger Gore's high-profile arrest offers Americans an opportunity to get real about drug prohibition, especially about marijuana laws. MAP has over a dozen placements of Parker's column. A continually updating link to her columns may be seen here: http://www.mapinc.org/author/Kathleen+Parker Please consider sending a Letter to the Editor to the Los Angeles Times sharing your personal support for Newman's OPED. And please consider also creating a letter in response to Kathleen Parker's column and then direct it to the newspaper closest to your hometown. If you elect to write to more than one newspaper, we strongly suggest at least some modification of your message so that each newspaper receives a unique letter. MAP has archived numerous clippings on the arrest and pending prosecution of Mr. Gore III. They may be easily be viewed here: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Al+Gore Letters of 200 words or less have the best chance of print unless otherwise noted in MAP headers. Thanks for your effort and support. It's not what others do it's what YOU do ********************************************************************** Contact: The Lost Angeles Times http://www.dailynews.com/writealetter Contact links for sending letters on Parker's column are displayed in the header for each of the MAP clippings. Learn more about how you can help deliver the messages of The Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicy.org ********************************************************************** Additional suggestions for writing LTEs are at our Media Activism Center: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides Or contact MAP's Media Activism Facilitator for personal tips on how to write LTEs that get printed. [email protected] ********************************************************************** PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent letter list ([email protected] ) if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others can learn from your efforts. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ( [email protected] ) will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form ********************************************************************** Prepared by: The MAP Media Activism Team www.mapinc.org/resource === . DrugSense provides many services at no charge, but they are not free to produce. Your contributions make DrugSense and its Media Awareness Project (MAP) happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards. Or, mail your check or money order to: . DrugSense 14252 Culver Drive #328 Irvine, CA 92604-0326. (800) 266 5759 . DrugSense is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the expensive, ineffective, and destructive "War on Drugs." Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage + Century of Lies + 4:20 Drug War NEWS Half Hour Programs, Live Fridays... at 90.1 FM in Houston & on the web at www.kpft.org. Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US and Canada., Cultural Baggage for 07/06/07 Voices from US Social Forum, panel "How to end the drug war, today" Pt.2 + Aaron Dixon of Center House, Poppygate, Black Perspective & Drug War Facts MP3 MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/FDBCB_070607.mp3 Century of Lies for 07/06/07 Voices from US Social Forum, panel "How to end the drug war, today" Pt.1 MP3MP3 Link: http://www.drugtruth.net/007DTNaudio/COL_070607.mp3 4:20 Drug War NEWS 07/09/07 to 07/15/07 now online (3:00 ea.): Monday 07/09/07 DTN Editorial: Drug War Is TREASON! Tuesday 07/10/07 Voices from US Social Forum: End the Drug War Today I of III Wednesday 07/11/07 Voices from US Social Forum: End the Drug War Today II of III Thursday 07/12/07 Voices from US Social Forum: End the Drug War Today III of III Friday 07/13/07 Poppygate + Saturday 07/14/07 Drug War Facts + "Legalize" Sunday 07/15/07 Black Perspective on the Drug War w/Phil Jackson NEXT Friday: ) - Cultural Baggage 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT. TBD - Century of Lies 2 PM ET, 1 PM CT, Noon MT & 11 AM PT. TBD Check out our latest videos on YouTube from US Social Forum via www.drugtruth.net/dtnvideo.htm Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Once we remove these charlatans from positions of power, other social changes will become much easier." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net

[Dutch News link: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2007/07/smoking_in_coffee_shops_will_b.php] Health minister Ab Klink announced late last night in parliament that coffee shops, where cannabis can be sold legally, will not be threatened by the smoking ban which takes effect on July 1, 2008, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday. 'If we want to stop our policy of toleration, we should just do so, and not use the ban as an excuse,' he told MPs. However, despite the urging of Labour, centre-left D66 and the Green Left party, coffee shops will not be entirely exempt from the ban. Klink insists that the counters where cannabis is sold must be smoke free. But as long as they are divided from the rest of the room, smoking on the premises will be allowed. Klink also wants health insurers to include nicotine patches and courses on how to stop smoking in the basic health care package, according to the NOS news site. And he is also considering allowing insurers to offer people with a healthy lifestyle a lower premium. The minister will present a full package of ideas for preventative healthcare after the summer recess.

People convicted of marijuana offenses — even minor ones — may face punishments that go far beyond whatever fines or jail sentences the court imposes, according to a new study. These "collateral sanctions" can haunt offenders for their whole lives and, in some cases, be worse than those faced by violent criminals. The report, issued by the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, was funded by MPP's grants program and is the first report to analyze the extra punishments faced by marijuana offenders. Some key findings of the report include: Sanctions triggered by a marijuana conviction can include loss of access to food stamps, public housing, and student financial aid, as well as driver's license suspensions, loss of or ineligibility for professional licenses, other barriers to employment or promotion, and bars to adoption, voting, and jury service. Sanctions triggered by felony marijuana convictions can be more severe than those for a violent crime — and a felony can be as little as growing one marijuana plant or possessing over 20 grams of marijuana. Marijuana offenders are subject to the most severe collateral sanctions in Florida, Delaware, Alabama, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Utah. Marijuana offenders are subject to the least severe collateral sanctions in New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Maine. Please click here http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/rpts/col_sanctions.htm to see the ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These types of reports are important because they systematically highlight the injustices caused by marijuana prohibition. Indeed, the issue of collateral sanctions is getting attention from officials: A story on June 24 in the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey described Mayor Cory Booker as incensed about laws that keep people with minor drug convictions from having a driver's license or getting many types of jobs, saying, "The drug war is causing crime. It's just chewing up young black men." The laws that create a kind of "double jeopardy" for marijuana offenders are too often a "feel-good" way for legislators to appear tough on drugs. But the results can be devastating to people's lives.