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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 12, 2009 CONTACT: Benjamin Droz at 412-805-0087 or [email protected], Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671 or [email protected] Hemp Seizure in Capitol Underscores Confusion Over Cannabis Hemp Industry Seeks Beer Summit with Capitol Police WASHINGTON, DC – Vote Hemp legislative assistant Ben Droz was shocked when Capitol Police seized his samples of industrial hemp fiber that he needed for a scheduled presentation to congressional staffers. Police refused to release the fiber after the search, while saying they knew it had no drug value and was “just hemp.” The group of officers decided they needed to confiscate all the hemp seeds because no food was allowed, but the hemp fiber was also seized even though it is not food. “I just want to throw this out,” said one officer, who ultimately did. Mr. Droz explained to police that the items were being used to illustrate the environmental properties of hemp. “This is just another example of the confusion between Industrial Hemp, an important crop for farmers across the country, and marijuana, a distant cousin also from the Cannabis family.” The United States is the only developed country that does not recognize the distinction between the two varieties. Mr. Droz admits, “I gave up the hemp to police, fearing arrest at the time, and now feel compelled to raise this issue so it does happen again because I carry hemp every time I visit the U.S. Capitol.” “The fact that this level of confusion among law enforcement still exists today is exactly why federal policy on hemp needs to change,” says Vote Hemp President Eric Steenstra. “We hope for the return of Vote Hemp’s property, an apology, and perhaps, a Capitol Hill beer summit or Congressional hearings to discuss our differences with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).” Hemp products have been subject to confusion in the past. In 2002, the DEA attempted to ban imports on hemp foods, despite the growing recognition of its value to farmers and consumers. Vote Hemp, the Hemp Industries Association, and several U.S. and Canadian companies, successfully challenged the DEA in a lawsuit calling the ban unwarranted and illegal. Since this ban was lifted, the hemp industry has grown substantially every year. Last year alone, grocery store sales of hemp food products grew over 40%. Since 2005, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (H.R. 1866) and its predecessors have waiting for a hearing in the House, but it’s been tabled the entire time. The bill has a dozen bi-partisan cosponsors, and allows states like Oregon (as of Jan. 2010), Maine, Vermont, North Dakota, Montana (and many others) to grow hemp based on State laws. Sixteen states have already passed legislation, and many, like the ones listed above, are simply waiting for the federal ban to be lifted once again. Mr. Droz has been working with Vote Hemp in order to raise congressional awareness about this marginalized issue. The growing market proves the case of hemp. Food sales have grown every year since the ban was lifted. Other parts of the hemp plant, such as those confiscated from Droz, can be used to make any number of consumer products, while all jobs generate from the industry could be as green collar jobs. Despite a growing global industry, U.S. farmers are still unable to grow hemp. All hemp in the U.S. must be imported from other countries to be either processed or sold here. “It’s ironic that the very items I was using to clear up confusion, became the subject of contraband and were confiscated,” Mr. Droz comments after the incident. # # # Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow this agricultural crop. More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses may be found at www.VoteHemp.com or www.HempIndustries.org. BETA SP or DVD Video News Releases featuring footage of hemp farming in other countries are available upon request from Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671.

Dear friends: LEAP's speakers deliver our message to audiences all over the world through a variety of avenues, and one of the most gratifying is attending conferences. In July, LEAP Executive Director Jack Cole and retired Chief of Police Tim Datig attended the National Conference of State Legislators in Philadelphia. The NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves all United States legislators and their staffs, and holds an annual summit which about twenty percent of the nation's state legislators attend. Speakers at the 2009 conference included Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, economist David Wyss, and our own Jack Cole, who spoke on the panel "Drug Demand and Diversion," where he emphasized the need to end prohibition. The LEAP booth, staffed by Jack, Tim, new LEAP Speakers Bureau Director Shaleen Aghi Title, and volunteer Project Coordinator Ethel Rowland, was one of the busiest, talking to dozens of legislators each day and signing up over one hundred new members. And, as usual, well over seventy percent of those who talked to the booth staffers stated that they agreed with LEAP's mission. A few days before the NCSL, LEAP attended DemocracyFest in Burlington, Vermont, where Department of Corrections Superintendent Richard Van Wickler and retired Deputy Chief of Police Joseph Brooks staffed the LEAP booth. Rick also gave a presentation, which was chosen as one of the sessions to be taped by CCTV Channel 17. Speaking of conferences, LEAP is co-sponsoring the 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conference November 12-14… so save the date! Here are just a few of the issues our speakers addressed in July. We hope you'll share "Dispatches from the Front Line…" with a friend. -LEAP Staff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Walter Cronkite Recognized the Drug War Failure and the Ending Prohibition Solution Walter Cronkite, America's trusted broadcaster and father figure to a nation for decades, died in New York at the age of 92 on July 17. To the last, Cronkite was perceptive and engaged in the well-being of his country and the world. In the final four years of his life, he publicly recognized what is perhaps America's greatest and most perverse, if as yet unclaimed, nemesis - the failed war on drugs. Cronkite on LEAP's End Prohibition Now DVD: "Anyone concerned about the failure of our $69 billion-a-year War on Drugs should watch this 12-minute program. You will meet front line, ranking police officers who give us a devastating report on why it cannot work. It is a must-see for any journalist or public official dealing with this issue." For more on Walter Cronkite, please view the complete article by James Gierach, and Jim Doherty's letter to the Seattle Times. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Tobacco Precedent Any law disobeyed by more than 100 million Americans, the number who've tried marijuana at least once, is bad public policy. As a 34-year police veteran, I've seen how marijuana prohibition breeds disrespect for the law, and contempt for those who enforce it. Let's examine arguments against legalizing marijuana: use and abuse would skyrocket; the increased potency of today's marijuana would exacerbate social and medical problems; and legalization would send the wrong message to our children. It's reasonable to expect a certain percentage of adults, respectful or fearful of the current prohibition, would give pot a first try if it were made legal. But, given that the U.S. is already the world's leading per capita marijuana consumer (despite our relatively harsh penalties), it's hard to imagine a large and lasting surge in consumption. Further, under a system of regulated legalization and taxation, the government would be in a position to offer both prevention programs and medical treatment and counseling for those currently abusing the drug. It's even possible we'd see an actual reduction in use and abuse, just as we've halved tobacco consumption through public education - without a single arrest… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEAP Speakers in the News Our speakers were especially busy with radio, television and print interviews in July, helping to shape the emerging national debate about drug policy. Neill Franklin was on the air in Utah, Judge Jim Gray on NBC4 in Los Angeles, Mike Gilbert spoke on the radio in El Paso, Texas and Ann Arbor, Michigan, James Anthony in Santa Cruz, California, Tony Ryan (pictured) and LEAP were the main focus of a TV story in Missouri, Peter Christ was all over the radio in Houston, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas, and Jack Cole and Jerry Paradis also contributed some radio in Houston. LEAP is certainly gaining interest among talk radio hosts, due in large part to great work by Whitney Garlinghouse, a volunteer of the highest regard who pursues the producers of these shows and doggedly gets LEAP speakers on the air. With Norm Stamper now a guest columnist on "The Huffington Post", which is read by media around the world, we're getting numerous Stamper interview requests - at least 8 interviews in July alone! Norm also appeared in The Economist, the Washington Post, NYTimes.com, and CBSNews.com (with fellow LEAP speaker Carol Ruth Silver, former director of prison legal services for the San Francisco Sheriff's Department). This month we made presentations in fourteen states, two countries and were featured in at least four national stories including the Associated Press. Want to make a difference? Help book these presentations or support, financially, our efforts to do this. Contact Shaleen Title, speakers bureau director, to participate in this vital effort to book presentations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Harm Reduction and the War on Drugs A report released on September 15, 2008 by U.N. special envoy on extra-judicial killings, Philip Alston, shows that Brazilian police carried out a significant proportion of the 48,000 murders that swept Brazil in 2007. According to the report, police murder three people a day on average in Rio de Janeiro, making them responsible for one in five killings in the city, which is plagued by drug-gang violence and roving militias of off-duty police. I live in Rio de Janeiro, and I worked here as a judge for almost twenty years. I can say that unfortunately these tragic data are not something exceptional that happened only in 2007. In fact, at least in the last ten years, 20% of all murders in Rio de Janeiro have been summary executions that happen during police operations against drug dealers in the "favelas". This is Brazil's own war on drugs… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police Officer Supports Drug Legalization Darcey McLaughlin made a strong argument in favour of legalizing marijuana in his July 1 column, but he didn't go far enough. I'm a Canadian police officer who supports gradually legalizing and regulating all drugs. This includes marijuana as well as ecstasy, heroin and other substances. The argument in favour of legalizing these drugs is not that they are beneficial or fun, but rather that drugs are so dangerous they need to be regulated and controlled by the government. Under prohibition the government has no control. It is the drug dealer who chooses price, purity, cutting agents as well as business location and operating hours. And these dealers certainly are not asking minors for ID, nor are they encouraging their customers to get addiction treatment. As a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, I recognize that Canadian drug laws consume enormous police resources while paying few, if any, dividends… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A special thanks to LEAP volunteer Bill Dake, organizer of the annual Freedom Road 5k and Jefferson Mile to benefit Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Held on July 4 in San Francisco, 2009 marked the race's third year, and it was so well-organized and well-attended that it brought in $850 for LEAP. Bill is an excellent example of how valuable the contributions of our volunteers are. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All of this work happens because of generous donations from our supporters. Your gift to LEAP is tax-deductible. Donate now to show your commitment to ending the war on drugs. 121 Mystic Ave. Suites 8&9 Medford, MA 01255 (781) 393-6985 [email protected] Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is an ever-expanding group of criminal justice professionals and civilian supporters calling for an end to the war on drugs. Trained criminal justice professionals are available to speak to your club or association about their experiences in the drug war and the need to create drug policies that stand the test of reason. Invite a speaker to your town today.

Monthly Public Meeting Agenda Held at the Lawrence Township Library Tuesday, August 11, 2009; 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM 7:00 PM: Call meeting to order. Approve minutes. Discuss: ? Multiple sclerosis (MS) patient John Wilson, who faces 20 years in prison for growing marijuana to treat his disease, was forbidden by the judge to even mention his medical condition during the upcoming trial. Attend a rally to support John Wilson at the court house in Somerville on Fri., 8/21 from 11AM to 2PM. ? CMMNJ will appear at the following upcoming events: • Wed., 8/19 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM; Northeast Regional Library, 2228 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA; • Fri., 8/21, 11 AM to 2 PM; Somerset Co. Court House rally for John Wilson, 20 N. Bridge Street, Somerville, NJ; • Wed., 8/26, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, Levittown Regional Library, 7311 New Falls Road, Levittown, PA; • “Vasagrass” Music Festival; 8/29, 1:00 to 9:30 PM in Hackettstown, NJ; http://tickets.createavibe.com/; • Boston Freedom Rally, Sept. 19, 2009 & NORML Conference, San Francisco, Sept. 24-26, 2009. ? The NJ Assembly Health Committee passed along the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act to the full Assembly for a vote this fall. The committee inserted last minute "substitutions" making significant changes to the bill, such as eliminating home cultivation, restricting physicians who can recommend marijuana, and nearly eliminating Chronic Pain as a qualifying condition. Tell your legislators that you want the Senate version of the bill that does not contain these restrictions, to pass into law. See CMMNJ’s recent Op Ed for talking points—but tell your story in your own words. Speak out now! Don’t let an overly restrictive and possibly unworkable bill pass into law. ? CMMNJ has new photos, etc. on Facebook and Facebook Friends of CMMNJ. ? Treasury report: Current account balances: Checking: $4129.89; PayPal: $133.23. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) organization. All funds received go towards public education about medical marijuana. Donations may be made securely through Paypal or checks made out to “CMMNJ” and sent to corporate headquarters at the address below. Get a free t-shirt for a donation above $15—specify size. Thank you for your support. 9:00 PM Adjourn meeting. Scheduled meetings are August 11, Sept. 8, & Oct. 13, 2009. CMMNJ meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Lawrence Twp. Library from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM. All are welcome. Snacks are served. The library is at 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246. (Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement of our issue.) For more info, contact: Ken Wolski, RN, MPA Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org 844 Spruce St., Trenton, NJ 08648 (609) 394-2137 [email protected]