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Prosecution: No More Crack Pipe Felonies for Houston

Finally, some sanity in Houston! The Harris County District Attorney has announced that beginning January 1, people caught with trace amounts of drugs or drug paraphernalia with drug traces will no longer be charged with felonies.
Chronicle
Chronicle

Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy

"Good Stuff to Read," "Washington Post Writer Gets Tricked by the Drug Czar, Refuses to Accept Responsibility," "10 Rules for Dealing With Police (Film Preview)," "Deputy Drug Czar: I hate This job'," "No Marijuana Smoking at the Dog-Sled Races," "A Magical Day in Mexico," "No Drug Bust is Worth the Life of a Good Cop."
Chronicle

Latin America: Mexico Drug War Update

Amnesty International accuses the Mexican military of human rights violations in the drug war -- a problem for US funding. Meanwhile, this year's south of the border prohibition-related death toll passed 7,000 this week.
Chronicle
Chronicle

Latin America: Mexico Drug War Update

The Mexican government scored a victory this week with the killing of Beltran Leyva cartel head Arturo Beltran Leyva, but will it turn out to be a pyrrhic victory? Knocking off cartel heads in the past has typically led to renewed infighting as rivals vie to replace them.
In The Trenches

Congress Does Good - At Last

You Can Make a Difference

 

Dear friends,

Tell the drug czar to get rid of drug policies that don't work. 

Take Action
Sign the Petition

Wow.  Because of your hard work, Congress is on the verge of ending two disastrous drug war policies that we’ve been fighting for years.

In the next few weeks, Congress will likely repeal restrictions preventing Washington, DC from implementing a medical marijuana law that we helped pass.  Legislators are also close to eliminating the federal syringe funding ban, a policy responsible for tens of thousands of Americans contracting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C.

Let’s keep up this momentum and call for an end to more failed policies!

These changes come at a time when President Obama’s drug czar is finishing his blueprint for U.S. drug policy.  You've endorsed our first two recommendations for drug czar Gil Kerlikowske to create an exit strategy for the war on drugs.

Join me in sharing one last big idea with the drug czar:

Eliminate drug policies that are proven failures.

You know the ones.  Those stupid government anti-marijuana ads. DARE drug education built on scare tactics. Crop spraying in Colombia that hurts farmers and harms the environment but does nothing to reduce cocaine exports.

It's clear from your overwhelming endorsement of the first two recommendations that you and I agree: We need to get the federal government out of the way so states can try new policies, and we need to stop using the criminal justice system to deal with drug issues.

By adding your signature to this third recommendation, you can make sure the drug czar has the information he needs to create smarter, more effective drug policies.

Sincerely,

 

 

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance Network

 

In The Trenches

The calls to Congress are working -- keep it up!

Friends:

The calls to Congress are working, and I've been getting great feedback from ASA activists.  Will you help?

Step by step, Congress is learning about the Truth in Trials Act. 

A good example is U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, who got a number of calls, emails, and letters from ASA activists in his Southern California district.   One such email came from ASA activist Joshua Lewis, who is Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Cannabis Journal. 

Congressman Issa sent the following response to Joshua:

-----
From: Congressman Darrell Issa
Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 10:29 AM
To: Joshua Lewis
Subject: Re: your recent message

Dear Mr. Lewis:

Thank you for taking the time to write to me to request my co sponsorship of the Truth in Trials Act

I have forwarded your letter to my Legislative Assistant who will investigate the possibility of cosponsoring this bill.

Thank you again for taking the time to bring your interest in this bill to my attention.

Sincerely,

Darrell Issa
Member of Congress
-----

Elected officials are starting to pay attention to what we are asking for.  Medical marijuana patients need protection from federal prosecution.  The Truth in Trials Act can help.

Will you call your Member of Congress?

Here's a reminder of the basic steps:

1. Find out who your Rep is.  Go to http://www.house.gov and type in your zip code in the upper left corner.  If it asks for your full "Zip+4", just look at your last piece of junk mail.

2. Dial 202-224-3121.  Ask the operator to transfer you to your Member of Congress.

3. Tell your Rep ... "I'm calling from ______ and I want you to cosponsor HR 3939, the Truth in Trials Act."

4. Reply to this email and tell me who you called.

Thanks!

- Sanjeev, ASA
Event

ASA's 2009 Holiday Party

Americans for Safe Access 2009 Holiday Party Live Music with Brass Liberation Orchestra, DJs, Entertainment by Shamanic Cheerleaders, Silent Auction, Appetizers & Champagne.