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MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                                                                               

MARCH 23, 2010

Free Premiere of ‘10 Rules for Dealing With Police’ to be held in Washington, D.C. Wednesday

New Film Teaches Viewers How to Make Smart Decisions When Dealing With Police; Speakers To Follow

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP assistant director of communications …… 202-905-2030 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 24, the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., will host a free premiere of the new film “10 Rules for Dealing with Police.” Produced by the nonprofit group Flex Your Rights and funded in part by the Marijuana Policy Project, the new documentary discusses the constitutional rights of citizens and the proper protocol for dealing with police.

         The screening will be followed by comments from Baltimore trial lawyer William “Billy” Murphy, who narrates the film, and retired police detective Neill Franklin, now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Tim Lynch, the director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice, will moderate.   

         WHAT: Free premiere screening of documentary film “10 Rules for Dealing with Police.”

         WHERE: Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.

         WHEN: Wednesday, March 24, at noon.

WHO: Flex Your Rights filmmakers, Baltimore trial lawyer William “Billy” Murphy, LEAP representative Neill Franklin, and Tim Lynch of the Cato Institute. 

To watch a 10-minute trailer of “10 Rules,” go to http://flexyourrights.org/

         To register for the event, call 202-789-5229. News media can call Cato at 202-289-5200.

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mppp.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

MARCH 23, 2010

MPP Urges Discussion on Marijuana Prohibition at Secy. Clinton’s Summit in Mexico Today

Secretary of State Expected To Ignore Only Rational Solution

CONTACT: Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations …… 202-420-1031 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is leading a cabinet-level delegation, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, to Mexico City for a two-day conference that will focus on ways the United States and Mexico can “break the power” of drug-trafficking organizations. The talks come just one week after the execution-style killing of three people, including two American citizens and their unborn baby, linked to a U.S. Consulate in Mexico. Since Dec. 2006, there have been 18,000 killings in Mexico, with no end in sight. According to the Justice Department, Mexican cartels now operate in 230 American cities. 

         “Officials have already shown they are not serious about breaking the power of Mexican drug cartels, since they have refused to acknowledge the unrivaled role marijuana prohibition has played in lining the pockets of these murderous gangs who are now—by all indications—targeting Americans for assassination,” said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project. “The only way to ‘break the power’ of these gangs is to regulate marijuana and remove it from the criminal market. According to our own government, the cartels make 70 percent of their profits from marijuana sales in the U.S.  It is unconscionable that officials continue to support a policy that funnels billions of dollars to groups who are now murdering Americans.”

         During a visit to Mexico City in March 2009, Secretary Clinton said the United States has a “co-responsibility” to confront Mexico’s growing violence because “our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade.” Former leaders of Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia have all called for an end to prohibition in order to stem the violence. In December 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that growing numbers of U.S. and Mexican officials say privately that regulating marijuana may be the only solution to the current crisis.

         “No policy will ever extinguish the demand for marijuana,” Houston said. “Officials need to do the right thing by acknowledging prohibition’s role in this horrific carnage, and finally ending this failed policy.”   

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

MARCH 19, 2010

Colorado Health Department Lobbies Against Access to Medical Marijuana For Veterans

CDPHE rushes to legislature to oppose compassionate amendment for Colorado veterans; ignores example set in New Mexico

CONTACT: Steve Fox, MPP director of state campaigns …………… 202-905-2042 or 202-905-2030

DENVER, COLORADO — On Monday, March 22, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee will consider HB 1284, a bill to regulate the distribution of medical marijuana in the state. Rep. Sal Pace will offer an amendment to allow individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder to have access to medical marijuana, if they have a recommendation from a psychiatrist. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is actively lobbying members of the legislature to oppose this amendment.

         The actions of the Colorado Health Department stand in stark contrast to the thoughtful process followed by its counterpart in New Mexico, which added PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana patients in that state in February 2009. The New Mexico Department of Health’s decision followed a recommendation of approval from an advisory board of eight medical practitioners, who examined the evidence and determined that the use of marijuana by patients with PTSD could be a beneficial treatment option, if used in accordance with a recommendation from a psychiatrist.

         “We are frankly disgusted by the actions of the Colorado Health Department,” said Steve Fox, director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project. “After a review of the evidence, health professionals in New Mexico agreed that medical marijuana could be beneficial for patients suffering with PTSD. By contrast, health officials in Colorado are attempting to deny veterans and other individuals with PTSD a legitimate treatment alternative based on nothing more than fear mongering and misinformation. We demand that officials in the department publicly release the studies they have reviewed to determine that the risks of using marijuana for PTSD patients outweigh the potential benefits.

         “We are further outraged by reports that Colorado Health Department officials are telling state legislators that allowing psychiatrists to recommend medical marijuana to PTSD patients is like giving alcohol to an alcoholic,” Fox continued. “The sad irony is that many PTSD patients have serious alcohol problems that worsen their overall state of health. As we have seen in New Mexico, the psychiatrist-advised use of medical marijuana can actually help PTSD patients reduce their alcohol intake, dramatically increasing their quality of life. Moreover, it is widely known that both alcohol and many of the pharmaceutical drugs given to PTSD patients increase the risk of suicide. Marijuana use does not. The Department officials’ callous disregard of this fact alone should make them ashamed of their actions.”

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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