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Safe Streets Arts Foundation: Our Director to perform at ACLU awards dinner

Can't wait for our director Dennis Sobin to perform his classical-jazz guitar music again at the Kennedy Center? Got $150 to spend on a very worthwhile cause (ACLU awards dinner) at Washington's prestigious Omni Shoreham Hotel on March 18?

 

As many fans of our director's classical and jazz guitar playing know, when he is not engaged in his regular performances at the Kennedy Center, he appears at colleges, festivals and (his favorite) nonprofit fundraisers. Coming up on his busy early spring performance schedule is the annual Nation's Capital ACLU Bill of Rights Awards Dinner on March 18, 2010, 6:30 pm at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC. Presenting the awards this year is Gregory B. Craig, President Obama's first White Counsel Counsel. Mr. Craig led the Administration's effort to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp and fought for President Obama's "civil liberties campaign" to correct many of President Bush's harsh policies.

For more information about the ACLU awards dinner, please click here. For free listening/downloads of Dennis Sobin's ten guitar music CDs, please click here. Thank you.

 


 
All art on this page created by imprisoned artists and available at our Prison Art Gallery or online at http://prisonsfoundation.org/art.htmt

 

"The Safe Streets Arts Foundation, incorporating both the Prisons Foundation and the Victims Foundation, is proud to sponsor the annual From-Prison-to-The-Stage Show at the Kennedy Center and the Prison Art Gallery at 1600 K Street. NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC, three blocks from the White House."

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In The Trenches

European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies -- March 2010 Bulletin

ENCOD BULLETIN ON DRUG POLICIES IN EUROPE MARCH 2010 "CLOSER TO THE TRUTH" From March 8th to 12th, 2010, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs will hold its annual meeting in Vienna, to evaluate the results of the current drug control strategy. The stated goal of this strategy is to reduce the production, trade and demand for illegal drugs. The truth is, that there are no positive results of this strategy at all. On February 23, 2010, during the Public Hearing on EU Drug Policies that Encod co-organised in the European Parliament, Carel Edwards, the Head of the Drugs Coordination Unit of the European Commission stated that: "Repression does not work. We know enough now to draw this conclusion." Since March 2009, the European Commission has had in its possession a report on the impact of drug policies on the Global Market of Illicit Drugs from 1998 to 2007. This report draws the following conclusion: current drug policies, based on prohibition, fail to diminish drug supply and demand and are causing harm to individuals and society at large. An ENCOD delegation will also be present at the coming meeting in Vienna, to remind government delegates that they are there to protect their people against dangers, not to expose them to these dangers. On March 4, Encod members will organise a protest at the Embassy of Malaysia both in Paris and London. The same day a public letter to the Malaysian government will be published in the Malaysian press in order to ask for an immediate end to the death penalty for drug offenders. The truth of the statement we have made for many years, that prohibition is the real menace for society, is becoming as evident as the fact that the sun rises every day. Drug prohibition results in immense illegal profits, perturbing the economy, corrupting authorities and fueling armed groups. It causes and increases social exclusion and individual stress. The total public expenditure needed to maintain drug prohibition just in the EU is estimated (conservatively) at 40 billion Euros, or 80 Euros per citizen per year. In times of economic crisis we can no longer allow such an amount to be wasted on a policy that clearly has no benefit whatsoever, and at the same time generates problems and harm for millions of individuals. The Reuter Trautmann report also exposes these truths. Those who accept scientific evidence can no longer deny that drug prohibition has been proved a false theory. A framework for the legal production and distribution of drugs is the only reasonable and effective way to reduce drug related problems, reduce organised crime and raise tax revenues to invest in health, education and social programmes. The question is not if, but when. To accelerate the end of prohibition, we must continue with determination to fulfill two objectives: discredit the prohibitionist regime, ensuring it has no way to rejuvenate itself, and encourage people who want another policy to speak up and demand change. When will common sense start to rule the world of drug policy, and the world in general? Read all about it in the next Encod bulletin. By Joep Oomen, with the help of Peter Webster
In The Trenches

Take A Moment To Support Compassion And Common Sense

Take A Moment To Support Compassion And Common Sense

Please take a moment to support compassion and common sense by making a donation to DrugSense. Whether we realize it or not, public policies affect our everyday lives. When policies fail us, we often take notice only after its too late. Compassion and common sense may be the first casualties.

Public policies toward legal and illegal substances have far reaching consequences. They are costly, they are nonsensical, and they are often cruel. Organizations like DrugSense that bring these injustices to the fore deserve adequate funding. A donation to DrugSense is a "vote" for compassion and common sense.

Donating is quick, easy, and secure. http://www.DrugSense.org/donate

You can also make your check or money order payable to DrugSense and mail it to:

DrugSense
14252 Culver Dr #328
Irvine, CA 92604-0326

Or you can donate toll free by calling 1-800-266-5759.

*SPECIAL NOTE!* Due to the generosity of a long time DrugSense funder, we have secured a large matching funds grant! This means that anything you contribute right NOW to DrugSense will be matched 100%, thus doubling the effective amount of your contribution.

Also, you can easily repeat your donation every month, quarter, or half year to provide DrugSense with automatic, recurring support. (www.drugsense.org/donate/) Please sign up for whatever you can afford. Recurring donations count against the matching funds grant.

STILL NOT CONVINCED? Here are a few good reasons to donate to DrugSense:

  • DrugSense is popular. Our collection of websites rank among the most popular drug policy-focused sites in the world as judged by independent web monitoring services. They consistently trump websites for which the government has spent billions.
  • DrugSense is comprehensive. Our news bot, http://www.drugnewsbot.org processes more than 1,000 drug policy-focused articles 24/7, while our 210,000+ DrugNews Archive http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/ holds the most important clippings, correctly attributed and regardless of spin.
  • DrugSense is worldwide. We maintain parallel efforts in the Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, and France, while our archive contains clippings from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
  • DrugSense is technical. We provide first rate Internet services to well more than 130 drug policy organizations. This includes Web hosting, e-mail lists, forums, blogs, and newsfeeds. http://www.drugpolicycentral.com.

This is only a partial list of the services we provide to promote compassionate, common sense, and cost effective drug policies and to stop this war on our rights and freedoms. Please donate what you can. Make a difference RIGHT NOW! http://www.drugsense.org/donate.

Thank you!

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Afghanistan The real Deal

All over America, every time you pull up at a Stop and Go for a pit stop, depending on the neighborhood, outside a few feet away from the door someone is hanging out. That person is dealing crack from Columbia, or heroin, from opium poppy grown in Afghanistan. Control of that opium poppy inspires and funds the Taliban. The opium / heroin sold in America, one million $2 bags a day, funds the Taliban. They pay their troops $250 - $300 per month. Jihad has little to do with the fighting - opium and heroin smuggling is what the war is about!
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In The Trenches

Tell MTV to "Get Real" on Marijuana

Since 1992, MTV has produced and aired programs like "The Real World," which feature young people consuming large quantities of alcohol and then engaging in reckless, violent, destructive, and oftentimes illegal behavior. Yet it has never once shown a cast member consuming marijuana, which the network almost surely prohibits and undoubtedly discourages. Please visit http://tinyurl.com/y8elkmn and take just a few seconds to sign SAFER's on-line petition calling on MTV to stop driving its cast members to drink and "start getting real." In the real world, millions of people use marijuana and every objective study on it has concluded it is far safer than alcohol for them and society. Yet in "The Real World" and other reality shows like "Jersey Shore," MTV makes sure alcohol is always available in abundance -- and that cast members never make the safer choice to use marijuana instead. Recently, things have gotten more out of control than ever. On this week's episode of "The Real World," an extremely drunken cast member shoved another off the tall ledge of the staircase outside their house, resulting in him being taken away on a backboard by paramedics. And just a couple a months ago MTV's new reality show, "Jersey Shore," received worldwide attention when a drunken young man at a bar punched one of the female cast members hard in the face after she accused him of stealing some drinks purchased by a fellow castmate.* You can help us draw much-needed attention to MTV's dangerous "alcohol only" reality programming by visiting http://tinyurl.com/ y8elkmn today and taking just a few seconds to sign: --- A petition in support of SAFER MTV programming --- Future cast members of "The Real World," "Jersey Shore," and other MTV reality shows should be allowed to use marijuana as a safer recreational alternative to alcohol. In the real world, millions of adults enjoy using marijuana responsibly, and every objective study on it has concluded it is far safer than alcohol both for them and society. Yet MTV embraces -- and often encourages -- the use of alcohol by its cast members, and it prohibits them from making the rational choice to use a less harmful substance instead. "The Real World," "Jersey Shore," and MTV's other reality shows should stop driving cast members to drink and "start getting real."
In The Trenches

Medical Marijuana Bill Gets Hearing Today in Annapolis

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                                                                               

february 26, 2010

Medical Marijuana Bill Gets Hearing Today in Annapolis

HB 712 Would Allow Seriously Ill Patients to Use Medical Marijuana With Doctor’s Recommendation

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP assistant director of communications …………… 202-905-2030

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND— Today, the Maryland House Judiciary and Health and Government Operations committees will hold a hearing to receive testimony on HB 712, a bill introduced by Del. Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore County) that would make Maryland the 15th state in the nation to have a medical marijuana law. The bill would allow pharmacies or other state-regulated outlets to dispense medical marijuana to patients who receive a recommendation from their doctor.

         WHAT: Hearing on HB 712, a medical marijuana bill in Maryland

         WHERE: Maryland Legislative Services Building—across from the statehouse—in the hearing room

         WHEN: Friday, February 26, 1 p.m.

         WHO: House Judiciary and Health and Government Operations committees

         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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Colorado Congressman Fights Back Against DEA's Medical Marijuana Raids

The DEA's recent tough-guy tactics in Colorado aren't winning them any friends in the press, the public, or even in politics. Colorado Congressman Jared Polis sent a scathing letter to Attorney General Holder and President Obama demanding that DEA be required to uphold the administration's policy of respecting medical marijuana laws. Here it is in part:

Despite these formal guidelines, Friday, February 12, 2010, agents from the U.S. Department of Justice's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided the home of medical marijuana caregiver Chris Bartkowicz in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. In a news article in the Denver Post the next day, the lead DEA agent in the raid, Jeffrey Sweetin, claimed "We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest people...Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law," he said. "The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment."

Agent Sweetin's comment that "we arrest everybody" is of great concern to me and to the people of Colorado, who overwhelmingly voted to allow medical marijuana. Coloradans suffering from debilitating medical conditions, many of them disabled, elderly, veterans, or otherwise vulnerable people, have expressed their concern to me that the DEA will come into medical marijuana dispensaries, which are legal under Colorado law, and "arrest everybody" present. Although Agent Sweetin reportedly has backed away from his comments, he has yet to issue a written clarification or resign, thus the widespread panic in Colorado continues.

On May 14, 2009, Mr. Kerlikowske told the Wall Street Journal: "Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he said. "We're not at war with people in this country." The actions and commentary of Mr. Sweetin are inconsistent with the idea of not waging war against the people of the State of Colorado and are a contradiction to your agency's laudable policies. [Westword]

Right on. We're witnessing a conspicuous disruption of the White House's carefully crafted effort to reduce controversy in the war on drugs, and it's clear that the silence must soon be broken in Washington. It's easy to say "we're not at war," but until you order the soldiers under your command to lay down their arms, it won't be possible to sugarcoat any of this.