Recent press coverage about synthetic marijuana products (commonly known as Spice and K2) is unsurprisingly leading more people to try them. Interestingly, the drug is catching on with sick people in Kansas, where medical marijuana remains illegal:
Spice is designed to produce profoundly similar effects to herbal cannabis, so it makes sense that patients are finding it helpful. There's still a lot we don't know about it, but cannabinoid research is generally associated with a number of promising medical applications and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that the drug has something to offer.
At the very least, I'd give more weight to the claims from sick people who say it's helping them than to the claims from police and politicians that say it's potentially deadly.
Update: Uh-oh, it looks like the prohibition effort in Kansas is moving faster than I thought:
Topeka â The Senate on Thursday approved a bill that makes illegal the substances in K2 that law officials say produce a marijuana-like high. The legislation now goes to Gov. Mark Parkinson, who has said he supports the ban. [LJWorld.com]
I suppose you can make something illegal pretty fast if you don't waste time on scientific research or rational discussion.
Dear friends:
When it comes to changing bad marijuana laws, I donât want to let anything stand in the Marijuana Policy Projectâs (MPPâs) way. Especially not money! Donate Now, and your gift will be doubled.
In our short 15-year history, the number of medical marijuana states has increased from zero to 14, weâve helped lay the groundwork for a change in federal law, and set the stage for the first state to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol, because of your generous support.
As we move closer to achieving our goal â no more marijuana arrests â our budget is straining to keep up with our needs.
This means that your donation today will be doubled. It also means full steam ahead for our projects. Here's where and how we are spending your donations:
California Your donations have made a huge impact here, where MPP worked closely with California NORML, DPA, and other advocates to ensure successful hearings and advocacy for A.B. 390, which would legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana. MPP will be working hard to build upon the success of A.B. 390 and to gain further support for taxing and regulating marijuana in the state as citizens prepare to vote on the âTax Cannabisâ initiative. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Arizona  MPP, with your support, is about to successfully finish our signature drive to place a medical marijuana initiative on the November 2010 ballot, which would make the signature drive one of the earliest to be completed in the history of the state.  Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Nevada With your support, MPP submitted finalized initiative language to the Secretary of State. Three weeks later, we emerged from the 15-day challenge period unchallenged. This is an indication that opposition to the initiative is not strong within the political establishment. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
South Dakota Donations from you and other supporters allowed MPP to help draft a medical marijuana initiative for the November 2010 ballot and has been providing guidance to activists on the ground throughout their just-completed signature drive. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Illinois MPP donors' support helped get Illinois' medical marijuana bill on the House floor, but we have a lot more work to get the 60 votes it needs. The Senate already passed the bill last year, so this could be the year it heads to the governor, who has publicly said he's open to signing it. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
New York After seven years of lobbying, and thanks to our donors who have stood by us all these years, this may finally be the year that medical marijuana becomes law. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Colorado MPP put your donations to good use by drafting a constitutional amendment ballot initiative on behalf of local stakeholders, which would guarantee Coloradans the right to cultivate marijuana for patients and to distribute it at dispensaries. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
New Hampshire Your support helped a bipartisan, MPP-drafted bill to tax and regulate marijuana come very close to passing committee last month -- 8-10, with a ninth supporter not in the room. Rather than killing the bill, the full House approved the committee's plan to study it, 272-76. Working closely with local partners and other supporters, MPP has led the advocacy both for that bill and for a bill to decriminalize possession of up to one quarter ounce of marijuana, which passed committee 16-2 on February 11.  Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Iowa As a result of a lawsuit filed by an Iowa advocate, the state Board of Pharmacy held a series of hearings on whether to reschedule marijuanaâs legal classification. With your support, MPP helped mobilize patients, physicians, researchers, and local advocates to speak out, and just last week the board recommended rescheduling marijuana and setting up a task force to recommend a medical marijuana access program. Help us keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Massachusetts Our team used your donations wisely to build support for medical marijuana legislation in the health and medical community, securing support from four sheriffs, and building support among key legislators. MPP is working closely with patients, physicians, and local advocates to show legislators how strong support is for the issue. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Rhode Island MPP has invested your donations wisely to educate a study commission on marijuana prohibition about what a miserable failure prohibition has been. MPP and local allies are hopeful about the prospects of a bill to decriminalize up to an ounce of marijuana. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Washington, D.C. Whatever happens in the nationâs capital is highly visible across the nation and to our lawmakers, so any donations we invest in our work here is reflected across the nation. MPP has been working with other allied organizations and the D.C. City Council to make sure D.C.'s medical marijuana law is implemented responsibly and in a manner that is true to voters' intent. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Delaware Now that the legislature has reconvened, MPP's medical marijuana bill, which includes nonprofit dispensaries, will pick up where we left off in June -- on the Senate floor after having passed committee in a 4-0 vote. We've also picked up a new Republican cosponsor. Your support made this possible. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Maryland Your donations are financing our efforts, combined with MD Safe Access, and other allies, at encouraging the legislature to improve Maryland's medical marijuana law, which currently only reduces the penalty for possession to a $100 fine in case of medical necessity, and does not protect from arrest or criminal conviction, or provide for access. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Vermont MPP's lobbyist and organizer are using your support to build support for twin decriminalization bills that carried over from 2009. MPPâs team qualified a non-binding referendum on decriminalization for the March 2 town meeting day in Montpelier, the state capital. At the same time, our team is working with patients, physicians, and pharmacists to enact a bill adding dispensaries to the stateâs medical marijuana law. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Minnesota  After a lobbying effort backed by your support helped MPP guide a medical marijuana bill through the legislature last year, it was vetoed by Gov. Pawlenty. MPP is now launching a campaign to make sure the next governor signs a bill. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Pennsylvania Thanks to your generous support, MPP was able to travel to Harrisburg to testify, along with a strong lineup of witnesses, on the first medical marijuana bill to be introduced there in recent memory. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Federal Because your support finances lobbying, the best way to change laws, our lobbying team can focus on building a coalition of participants from across the political spectrum who will urge Congress to end marijuana prohibition. We're also working to follow up on our victory with the Justice Department guidelines by pushing for legislation that would protect patients in all 50 states. Keep up the momentum. Donate Now.
Getting the best results from every dollar â thatâs how we treat your donations.
Wonât you please help us raise $13,000 by Friday by donating now? Your donation will keep our projects on track and bring us closer to the day we can proclaim, No More Marijuana Arrests. And, your donation will be matched by a wealthy philanthropist who promised to match the first $2.4 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2010.Â
Sincerely,
You Can Make a Difference |
Dear friends,
President Obama is saying all the right things when it comes to drug policy reform, but not enough has changed since he took office. You and I need to show President Obama that we won't stand for the status quo on drug policy. After a promising start on drug policy issues, the Obama administration has gone astray. The presidentâs proposed drug war budget looks a whole lot like the Bush administrationâs drug war budget, with funding for failed enforcement policies far outweighing funding for treatment. Last month, President Obama nominated an anti-reform Bush holdover to head the DEA. Under the Bush administration, nominee Michele Leonhart coordinated numerous medical marijuana raids and stood in the way of scientific research. A new drug policy requires new leadership, especially when the nominee was so closely associated with the failed policies of the past. The president has repeatedly said that science, not politics, should guide drug policy, and his drug czar called for an end to the war on drugs. The Obama administration isnât spouting drug war rhetoric, but it hasnât abandoned drug war policies either. Write to the president and urge him to deliver on his promise to improve U.S. drug policy. Sincerely, Bill Piper  |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
FEBRUARY 25, 2010
U.S.-Mexico Drug Summit Fails to Acknowledge Obvious Solution to Violent Drug Cartels
Ending Marijuana Prohibition Would Deal Crucial Blow to Mexican Drug Cartels, Drastically Reduce Border Violence
CONTACT: Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 202-420-1031
WASHINGTON, DC â Today, high-ranking officials from the United States and Mexico concluded a three-day conference meant to outline ways the two nations could reduce the illicit drug trade-associated violence that continues to plague the U.S.-Mexican border. Unfortunately, officials concluded their talks without making any reference to the most sensible and guaranteed strategy for reducing that violence: removing marijuana from the criminal market, and depriving drug cartels of their main source of income and strife.
        âThe only solution to the current crisis is to tax and regulate marijuana,â said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project. âOnce again, Mexican and U.S. officials are ignoring the fact that the cartels get 70 percent of their profits from marijuana. Itâs time to face the reality that the U.S.âs marijuana prohibition is fueling a bloodbath in Mexico and the United States.âÂ
        The Obama administration has said it will provide the Mexican government with a $1.4 billion aid package to combat the Mexican drug cartels, in addition to seeking $310 million in its 2011 budget for drug enforcement aid to Mexico.Â
        âIt is illogical, at best, to continue throwing money at this failed policy,â Houston said. âThe government will never eliminate the demand for marijuana, but it can put an end to the monopoly drug cartels currently hold on Americaâs largest cash crop. Lifting marijuana prohibition would take away the cartelsâ largest source of income and the main reason for the horrifically brutal violence perpetrated by rival drug groups.â Â
        Last year, the Mexican border city Juarez recorded 2,670 homicides. Among the growing numbers of voices calling for an end to marijuana prohibition in order to stem the violence are former Mexican presidents Vicente Fox and Ernesto Zedillo, as well as the former leaders of Brazil and Colombia.
        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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Locations for Statewide Trainings-- this Week!
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