A special thanks to those of you who donated last week in response to my appeal for funds for the first US-based coalition taking on broad, international drug policy reform -- as the UN and US prepare for the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) -- the biggest opportunity since 1998 to advance treaty reform (reconciling the UN drug conventions with the reality of legalization), human rights in the drug war, public-health focused drug policies, development for third world countries instead of crop eradication, global access to controlled substances for medicine, more. A copy of that email is online here. [image:1 align:left]

If you are able to support this campaign but haven't yet done so, I hope you'll consider making a generous donation, providing activist help by involving your own organization, or both.

The reason I'm writing again today is that things are at an important and time-sensitive point. The government of Jamaica has announced they intend to seek drug treaty reform, an historic development to which our work has direct relevance. The coalition's statement launched this month and has 57 organizational signatories, some major. On May 7 another UN session will take place, this time in New York, pressed for by Mexico's UN delegation to have a forum for "open discussion" -- we want to get the total number of signatories of our statement up to 100 by then, to keep the momentum. On June 26 is the global "Support Don't Punish" campaign, coinciding with the UN's annual International Day Against Drug Abuse and release of the World Drug Report -- we need your help to ensure a major US component. And over the next few months, Congress will deal with the annual Foreign Operations Appropriations legislation, a process our coalition should weigh in on, and the last before UNGASS.

To make as forceful a showing as we can, we need media support and additional in-house staff, but at a minimum we need to increase the time spent by current staff on the project. We need to continue building our coalition and organizing to get our message out that the Obama administration's stance on international drug policy is good but not good enough, and that it doesn't make sense to not at least start a discussion of treaty reform at the UN, at a time when legalization is progressing.

Thank you for reading our emails and for your support for drug policy reform. Donations to our tax-deductible nonprofit, DRCNet Foundation, and our non-deductible lobbying nonprofit, Drug Reform Coordination Network, both can be put toward this project and support the needs of this campaign. Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org/donate to donate by credit card or PayPal, or send your check or money order (made out to one of the two names listed above) to P.O. 9853, Washington, DC 20016.

We can also accept donations of stock; the information to give your brokerage is Ameritrade, (800) 669-3900), DTC #0188, and account number 781926492 for tax-deductible gifts to DRCNet Foundation or 864663500 for non-deductible gifts to Drug Reform Coordination Network -- please contact us if you are donating this way.

If your organization can endorse our statement (linked above), or you would like to consider it but need more information, please let us know by replying to this email or writing to [email protected]. I would also be happy to speak with potential endorsers or coalition supporters by phone as well.

Thank you for being a part of drug policy reform and for your support of our work. With your help we will succeed -- time, and the truth, are on our side!

Sincerely,

David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
P.O. Box 9853
Washington, DC 20016
http://stopthedrugwar.org