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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 4, 2007 CONTACT: Lorenzo Jones (860) 270-9586 or Gabriel Sayegh (646) 335-2264 Connecticut Set to Become 13th State to Legalize Use of Medical Marijuana Compassionate Use Bill Passes Legislature by Wide Margins, Heads to Governor’s Desk Patients, Doctors, Caregivers Call Upon Gov. Rell to Have Compassion, Support Patients by Signing HB 6715 HARTFORD, CT—Connecticut is on the verge of becoming the thirteenth state to allow the use of medical marijuana. The Connecticut State Senate passed HB 6715, the Compassionate Use Act late last Friday. The bill passed by a 23-13 margin after clearing the House of Representatives by an 89-58 margin weeks earlier. The bill now goes to Gov. M. Jodi Rell for her signature. If Rell neither signs nor vetoes the bill, it will automatically become law. Thousands of Connecticut residents live with crippling pain, are suffering with cancer and HIV/AIDS, or other debilitating ailments. HB 6715 allows Connecticut residents with certain debilitating medical conditions to cultivate and use marijuana for medical purposes when recommended by a practicing physician. “This bill will help alleviate the feelings of helplessness that families face when their loved ones suffer,” said Lorenzo Jones, executive director of A Better Way Foundation. “We’ve believed all along that compassion and fairness would bring this bill to final passage. Now we need the Governor to sign the bill so families and patients can have some relief. We know she’ll do the right thing.” By passing HB 6715, the Legislature ended a five-year Legislative battle to win medical marijuana in a state that has overwhelming public support for the issue. A 2004 University of Connecticut poll found that 84 percent of Connecticut residents support the medical use of marijuana. Dozens of community organizations, including the CT Nurses Association, support medical marijuana. “Allowing for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is the right thing to do for the State of Connecticut,” said bill sponsor, Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-District 52. “This issue is not about legalizing drugs. It's about keeping those who seek compassionate care for treating crippling diseases out of jail.” Currently, there are 12 states with medical marijuana laws. New Mexico passed its medical marijuana bill in March. Last month, the Rhode Island legislature voted to make their state law permanent, and last week Vermont’s legislature voted to expand their medical marijuana law. Other medical marijuana bills are currently under consideration in New Jersey, New York and Alabama. “I am just 32 years old and yet due to my medical condition I feel as if, at times, I am 92,” said Joshua Warren, a patient in Wilton, CT, who suffers from chronic neurological Lyme disease. “I did not ask for this condition nor would I wish any of my pain and other symptoms on anyone else. I hope Gov. Rell will have compassion for me and for others and signs this bill.” ###

[Courtesy of the Prison Art Gallery] We are pleased to announce that the first edition of the Prison Art Gallery art catalog is here! It has been published as a special full-color insert in Street Sense, the nationally recognized periodical published in Washington, DC for socially conscious people. Get your copy of Street Sense from the more than 50 Street Sense vendors in Washington wearing the bright-colored Street Sense vests. To view the prison art section online, please visit www.PrisonsFoundation.org/ project2_newsletter.html. All of the art pieces on display can be seen and purchased at the Prison Art Gallery. You can also have the art shipped to you by ordering online at www.PrisonsFoundation.org/ project2_newsletter.html or by phone at 202-393-1511 using PayPal or a major credit card. Thank you for your interest in these superb, reasonably-priced works. We look forward to assisting you in acquiring your favorite pieces for home or office at prices that fit your budget.

News & Opinion This Week 1. The Abstinence Gluttons 2. Poland Probes Gay Teletubies 3. United States Among Least Peaceful Nations In The World 4. AIDS In Eastern Europe And Central Asia At Crisis Levels 5. United Nations' AIDS Program Under Fire (Two new books are forcing the United Nations' AIDS program to defend itself) 6. Robert Zoellick to Replace Wolfowitz As Head of World Bank 7. Gay Men Who Use Methamphetamine Have Greater Risk Of HIV Seroconversion 8. HIV-Negative Serosorters May Increase Their Risk for HIV, Study Says 9. Czech Republic: Time Bomb For Roma B Upcoming Conferences and Events C Quotes D How To Help E About HRP F Subscription Information ----- I. The Abstinence Gluttons by MICHAEL REYNOLDS June 18, 2007 ~ The Nation Over the past six years George W. Bush's faith-based Administration and a conservative Republican Congress transformed the small-time abstinence-only business into a billion-dollar industry. These dangerously ineffective sexual health enterprises flourish not because they spread "family values" but because of generous helpings of the same pork-heavy gumbo Bush & Co. brought to war-blighted Iraq and Katrina-hammered New Orleans--a mix of back-scratching cronyism, hefty partisan campaign donations, high-dollar lobbyists, a revolving door for political appointees and a lack of concern for results. One of the chief cooks is a media-shy 63-year-old Catholic multimillionaire, welfare privatizer and Republican donor named Raymond Ruddy. With close ties to the White House, federal health officials and Republican power brokers that date back to W.'s days as Texas governor, Ruddy has leveraged his generous wallet and insider muscle to push an ultraconservative social agenda, enrich a preferred network of abstinence-only and antiabortion groups, boost profits for his company and line the pockets of his cronies--all with taxpayer dollars. Following the money swirling around Ruddy offers an eye-opening glimpse into the squalor at the heart of the abstinence-only project. One top Bush adviser left to take a job at Ruddy's charity, Gerard Health Foundation, and a senior officer at Ruddy's for-profit company, Maximus, left to take a top-level position at the Department of Health and Human Services. Leaders of Christian-right organizations that are Gerard grantees have gained advisory HHS positions--and their organizations have in turn received AIDS and abstinence grants to the tune of at least $25 million. Maximus itself has raked in more than $100 million in federal contracts during the Bush era. As for Ruddy's abstinence-only policy, recent reports, including one contracted by Bush's HHS, show that after more than $1 billion has been poured into the enterprise, it simply doesn't work. Already nine states have opted out from federal funds for this faith-based boondoggle in favor of more comprehensive and effective programs of sex education for their youth. "I can't think of another federal program where so much money was spent without any oversight and to such little effect," said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a national organization that promotes comprehensive sexual health policies. "It wasn't that policy-makers didn't know that abstinence-only didn't work. In 2000 the Institute of Medicine issued a scathing report on these programs. But they went full steam ahead despite the warning. It's beyond naïve. It's immoral."