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NAACP Endorses Marijuana Legalization in California

This is encouraging:


Saying that prohibition takes a heavy toll on minorities, leaders of the NAACP's California chapter announced Monday that they are backing passage of a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot.

The war on drugs is a failure and disproportionately targets young men and women of color, particularly African-American males, said Alice Huffman, president of the NAACP's state conference.

The group cited statistics from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice showing that in 2009, 62% of the state's marijuana arrests were of nonwhite suspects and that 42% were under 20. [LA Times]

Finding support for reform within communities of color has been a continuing challenge for our movement, and NAACP deserves credit for stepping up and taking the right stance for the right reasons.

Another Cover Story Ruined by Stupid Pot Jokes

Paul Waldman points out the latest example of incredibly dumb marijuana reporting, courtesy of a cover story in National Journal:

The matter at hand is typically dearer to the stoner minds of the Grateful Dead "Truckin'" crowd: marijuana legalization -- as in the blissful freedom to light up a bowl in one's own home, purely for one's own pleasure (crank up the stereo and pass the chips, giggle, giggle), and to grow small amounts of the weed on one's own property, too. Says one dazed pot-head to another: Is this a great country, or what?
 

It's an unbelievable mouthful of lame clichés and stereotypes, rendered self-evidently frivolous by the fact that National Journal decided to run a cover story about this in the first place. If only a few wasted hippies cared about the issue, we wouldn’t be talking about it, would we? The modern debate over marijuana policy in America bears no resemblance to these ignorant characterizations, and anyone who still views the issue through that lens has nothing to add to the conversation.

If having to read such thoughtless crap is our punishment for driving this issue into the political mainstream, I suppose it's a small price to pay.

Sign the Vienna Declaration

The Vienna Declaration is a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. We are inviting scientists, health practitioners and the public to endorse this document in order to bring these issues to the attention of governments and international agencies, and to illustrate that drug policy reform is a matter of urgent international significance. We also welcome organizational endorsements. To sign, see http://www.viennadeclaration.com/.

New Compendium of Recidivism Studies Unveiled

Special Message

June 28, 2010

 

Dear Friends,

The Sentencing Project is pleased to announce the publication of a first-of-its-kind comprehensive database, "State Recidivism Studies." The database provides references for 99 recidivism studies conducted between 1995-2009 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

These studies have been produced by a variety of agencies, including departments of corrections, sentencing commissions, statistical analysis centers, and universities. The studies address issues including juvenile/adult status, race, gender, offense type, program intervention, and many others, and thus offer insights into the variety of factors that affect recidivism outcomes.

Because of the diversity among the studies in methodology and definitions of recidivism, the measurements of recidivism rates are not necessarily comparable across jurisdictions. Overall, though, the studies provide insight into the factors that affect program success for people sentenced to incarceration or community supervision.

We hope you find this database useful in your work, and please keep us posted regarding new research in this area.






Marc Mauer
Executive Director

 

Send an email to The Sentencing Project. » CONTACT

The Sentencing Project
1705 DeSales Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20036, 202.628.0871

 

 

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The Sentencing Project is a national organization working for a fair and effective criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing law and practice, and alternatives to incarceration.

Drug Truth 06/28/10

Cultural Baggage * Century of Lies * 4:20 Drug War NEWS Cultural Baggage for 06/27/10 29:00 Jodie Emery, wife of Canadian Marc discusses his incarceration in US prison for selling cannabis seeds + Former servicemen Michael Krawitz and Josh Fenton discuss PTSD, medical cannabis and the Veterans Administration LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2963 TRANSCRIPT: Wed Century of Lies for 06/27/10 29:00 Charles Bowden author: Murder City - Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing FieldLINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2964 TRANSCRIPT: Thu 4:20 Drug War NEWS, 06/28 to 07/04/10 Link at www.drugtruth.net on the right margin - Sun - Sound medical advice regarding drug use for users and their parents from Dr. Joel Hochman Sat - Former servicemen Michael Krawitz and Josh Fenton discuss PTSD, medical cannabis and the Veterans Administration Fri - Charles Bowden author: Murder City 2/2 Thu - Charles Bowden author: Murder City - Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Field 1/2 Wed - Jodie Emery, wife of Canadian Marc discusses his incarceration in US prison for selling cannabis seeds. Tue - Mary Jane Borden with Drug War Facts on Afghanistan + Opium Mon - Comedian Robert Klein sings praises of marijuana on HBO Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston, 90.1 FM. You can Listen Live Online at www.kpft.org - Cultural Baggage Sun, 7:30 PM ET, 6:30 PM CT, 5:30 PM MT, 4:30 PM PT - Century of Lies, SUN, 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT Who's Next?": TBD Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and now at James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. http://www.bakerinstitute.org We have potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates. You can tune into both our 1/2 hour programs, live, at 6:30 central time on Pacifica's KPFT at http://www.kpft.org and call in your questions and concerns toll free at 1-877-9-420 420. The two, 29:00 shows appear along with the seven, daily, 3:00 "4:20 Drug War NEWS" reports each Monday morning at http://www.drugtruth.net . We currently have 74 affiliated, yet independent broadcast stations. With a simple email request to [email protected] , your station can join the Drug Truth Network, free of charge. 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, DTN Producer, 713-462-7981, www.drugtruth.net

Press Release: Rhode Island to Hold Hearings on Medical Marijuana Compassion Center Applications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

JUNE 28, 2010

Rhode Island to Hold Hearings on Medical Marijuana Compassion Center Applications

Rhode Island Moves to Expand Patient Access Through Non-Profit Distribution Centers, While Patients in Nearby States Continue to Suffer Without Effective Relief

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or [email protected]

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Rhode Island’s department of health will hold public hearings tomorrow to review and receive comments on 15 applicants to open the state’s first medical marijuana compassion centers, which will operate as nonprofit entities to safely and securely distribute medical marijuana to qualified patients in the state. According to recently released figures, Rhode Island has 1,562 medical marijuana patients who are currently required to grow their own medicine or have caregivers grow it for them. State officials plan to open up to three compassion centers to dispense medicine to qualified patients and improve their access.   

         WHAT: Public hearings on applicants to operate compassion centers in Rhode Island

         WHEN: Tuesday, June 29, at 10 a.m.

         WHERE: Department of Health auditorium, 3 Capitol Hill, Providence, Rhode Island

         If necessary, a continuation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 30, at the same time and location. Any applicants who are granted a compassion center license will be required to pay a $2,500 licensing fee. The health department is expected to announce the first grant recipients in about a month. Once applicants are approved, Rhode Island will join New Mexico and Colorado as medical marijuana states that have state-licensed dispensary systems. Similar regulated dispensary programs are planned to be implemented soon in Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.  A bill that would create a dispensary system in Vermont passed through three committees this legislative session, but didn’t receive a floor vote.

         Since 1996, 14 states and the District of Columbia passed medical marijuana laws. New medical marijuana legislation was introduced in more than a dozen additional states this year, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Delaware. 

            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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