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Reaching beyond N. America, DTN radio show Cultural Baggage begins broadcasting in Australia this week! - Nimbin, New South Wales, Australia, 102.3 FM, "Nim FM" Drug Truth Network Update: 4:20 Drug War NEWS from 90.1 FM in Houston and dozens of radio affiliates in the US and Canada & on the web at www.kpft.org. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US and Canada. 4:20 Drug War NEWS 06/16/08 to 06/22/08 now online (3:00 ea:) Select online at www.drugtruth.net Mon - Drug War Facts with Doug McVay + "Heroin in adult diaper" Tue - Terry Nelson reports for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Wed - Olbermann on Opium + Drugs & Terror, World Wars Forever Thu - Ray Hill, the Patriarch of KPFT Houston discusses war on gays, war on drugs Fri - Ray Hill 2 Sat - Ray Hill 3 Sun - Ray Hill 4 Next - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed (Now With Transcripts): - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: TBD - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: Sylvester Salcedo running for rep in Connecticutt Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker: Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net

And Senator Hagel+ makes 16,427: Networking produces relationships. This concept brought me to the CATO Institute on Thursday, as Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel (R) spoke to a packed house. The program started at noon & as it has been blistering hot in DC, I rode my motorcycle to the Metro station. Although, I had on good blue jeans, good buckle, good hat & and my new, black LEAP t-shirt, this is a faux pas (coat and tie is THE uniform of DC) but the shirt attracts many & I end up talking about prohibition = success in networking. CATO always serves a sandwich lunch after each presentation & Senator Hagel sold books in the same lobby. As he was walking out the door, he shook hands with those in his path. As he shook my hand, he leaned back and read out loud, “Cops say legalize drugs. Ask me why?” He tilted his head to indicate he wanted an answer. “Cut crime. No drug dealers.” I responded. He grinned and left the building. It was a crown & chocolate night.

Dear friends, Today, the case in appeal against the conviction of the Cannabis Social Club Trekt Uw Plant and 5 of its members because of possessing 1 cannabis plant per person has taken a strange direction today. The Prosecutors Office has requested the Court of Appeal to acquit us because of the fact that too much time has passed since the date of the facts (12 december 2006). According to the prosecutor we can only be accused of growing cannabis for personal use, which is not considered a crime but an offense, which can only be punished by so-called police convictions (fines or community work) and because this offense has been committed more than 1,5 years ago he requests to acquit us. This seems to be a childish trick in order not to have to deal with the principle matter: the Prosecutors Office itself had requested in January 2008 to postpone the case until June, possibly in order to be able to request acquittance and in this way dismiss the case. But in fact it means that the possession of 1 plant by adult citizens is tolerated also by the highest echelons of the legal system. On June 26th we will have the final sentence, but due to the fact that the court of appeal has not even heard our defense lawyer (who made his extensive preparation - referring to the legality principle included in the European Convention on Human Rights - for nothing) it is quite sure that we will be acquitted. The next step is to find out what this means concretely for our club. But today is a happy day :-) best wishes Joep / Philippe / Kris www.trektuwplant.be -- EUROPEAN COALITION FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES Lange Lozanastraat 14 - 2018 Antwerpen - Belgium Tel. + 32 (0)3 293 0886 - Mob. + 32 (0)495 122644 E-mail: [email protected]

Dear friends:

If you take only one action to help reform our nation's marijuana laws this year, it should be this one.

Please take one minute to ask your U.S. House member to vote for the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment, which would stop the federal government from arresting patients who are using medical marijuana legally under state law.

The full U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the amendment in just a few weeks — and there will probably be earlier committee action on medical marijuana legislation any day now — so it's crucial that your U.S. representative hear from constituents like you.

MPP's online action system makes it easy. Just fill in your name and address and we'll do the rest.

Take action here.

Twelve states have passed laws protecting medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail. However, the federal government continues to ignore those state laws. For instance, just last month, DEA agents conducted a series of raids on California medical marijuana dispensaries that were operating legally under state law.

It's outrageous that the federal government is overturning the will of the people in these 12 states.

It's outrageous that the federal government is kicking in the doors and breaking the windows of medical marijuana dispensaries, stealing cash and marijuana from the proprietors of these establishments, and racing off in their black SUVs before TV news cameras arrive to document these governmental assaults.

I know you feel strongly that this is wrong. Would you please use your voice to deliver that message to Congress?

If we stand together, we will persuade Congress to change federal law.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2008. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

Rhode Island: The Payoffs of Voting, Education Andres Idarraga has been accepted to Yale Law School - ten years after the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institution accepted him into its system for a cocaine conviction. Idarraga, who graduated this year from Brown University, has since become a prominent advocate for restoring the right to vote to thousands of persons disenfranchised in Rhode Island because of a felony conviction. As a result of his and others' efforts, Rhode Island law was reformed in 2006 and now allows individuals with felony convictions to vote immediately after being released from prison. Now, Idarraga will further hone his legal talents at Yale. "I ... realized that the odds against an ex-offender can be very high, particularly if he or she is reaching for the stars," said Yale graduate and Corrections Director A.T. Wall, who personally drove Idarraga to New Haven for an interview with the law school's dean. "There was no doubt in my mind that Andres had the ability, the intellect and the drive to succeed in law school." Mississippi: Giving Reenfranchisement a "More Serious Look" Mississippi should reconsider its current disenfranchisement policies and reenfranchisement procedures, according to an opinion editorial written by the publisher of the Greenwood Commonwealth. Though Tim Kalich states that overall voter participation of all state residents should be the main concern, he writes that for the 150,000 formerly incarcerated individuals who want to vote, the process should be made less time- consuming and cumbersome. "While most of these former felons don't care, a segment does feel that it is being punished in perpetuity by being barred from the voting booth," he stated. National: "Unfairly Punished Twice" Numerous elections in the nation could have had different outcomes if citizens with felony convictions had the opportunity to vote, according to an opinion editorial written by Sonata Lee. Published in the Huffington Post, Lee's op-ed questions the policy of disenfranchisement and the dramatic variation of disenfranchisement laws across the nation. She further states that formerly incarcerated individuals are "punished twice." "America is a country that prides itself on being a democracy yet we allow millions of our citizens -- those who could benefit the most from being active in our political process -- to be disenfranchised," she stated. "Overly punitive legislation and a devastating war on drugs have resulted in the disenfranchisement of 5.3 million people who are unable to vote in this country because of a felony conviction." - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information -- e-mail: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

The Unvarnished Truth About the Drug War From the Drug Truth Network: (To downlad these 29:00 files, click on links below. To simply listen, go to www.drugtruth.net and select the arrow below the shows description.) Cultural Baggage for 06/11/08 Ray Hill one of the founders of Pacifica's KPFT compares the war on gays to the war on drugs + Terry Nelson of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition & Drug War Facts with Doug McVay MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=audio/download/1924/FDBCB_061108.mp3 TRANSCRIPT: (To be posted by Friday) Century of Lies for 06/10/08 Patients from around North America discuss their use of medical marijuana for numerous maladies and how it cuts down on their use of more dangerous and deadly pharmaceutical medicines. MP3 Link: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=audio/download/1923/COL_061008.mp3 TRANSCRIPT: (Tramscript on Saturday) Chief Clarence Bradford: "We can't possibly hire enough officers to effectively deal with the drug problem in Houston, Harris County...". - Cultural Baggage 050708 PLEASE NOTE: We now have transcripts, potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. Next - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed, listen online at www.kpft.org: - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: TBD - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: TBD Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US and Canada. Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston. www.kpft.org Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker: More than 55 Drug Policy Videos online) Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net