Dear Reformer:

Your support has made our work possible for 24 years. Thanks to contributions from our members, StoptheDrugWar.org has pressed for reform, grown the movement, and advanced the legalization debate. But the challenges we're facing are more urgent today than ever.

Our organization continues to play a unique role for drug policy reform, in both the US and international arenas, and our staff make up some of the movement's most experienced human capital. Your generous donation will help us advance our programs and do our part to hold the line on policy. This year we've done the following:

• Organized an event at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs on extrajudicial killings in the drug war, which featured a video from the vice president of the Philippines that generated enormous attention in her country, throughout Asia, and in western outlets like TIME (two pieces) and Reuters.
• Presented at the UN on the ways drug prohibition undermines international development efforts, and on the progress of US marijuana legalization.
• Organized a global sign-on statement on the Philippines situation with nearly 300 signatories including leading NGOs and political and other leaders, and provided critical support to other groups' letters on drug testing, DEA prosecutions and other issues.
• Kept advocates at numerous organizations around the world informed on the full range of drug reform issues, by publishing the Drug War Chronicle newsletter. Issue 1,000 comes out this week!

We couldn't have done this without you, and we need your support to continue it in 2018. I hope you'll take a moment to renew your support or become a new member of our organization at this dangerous and critical, but still promising time in the issue.

Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org/donate to donate by credit card or PayPal, or visit our About page for info on donating by mail or contributing stocks, or to read more about our programs. We accept tax-deductible donations for our 501(c)(3) nonprofit, as well as non-deductible donations for our 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

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

The wolves are at the door! Donald Trump's nominations to his Cabinet and other key positions include many, many drug warriors. They are likely to take apart much of the progress we've made on marijuana legalization, sentencing reform and other critical issues, if our movement doesn't present a strong enough resistance to them.

The threat is very real. Trump's attorney general pick, Jeff Sessions, blocked modest bipartisan sentencing reform in the Senate and claims that "marijuana users are bad people." His HHS pick, Tom Price, is one of the most consistently anti-marijuana figures in the House of Representatives. His pick for EPA chief is the Oklahoma attorney general who sued Colorado over its legalization initiative. His reported pick for drug czar is Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, who campaigned against the state's medical marijuana initiative. And there are more.

Trump's reported nominee for the FDA, Jim O'Neill, is a prominent supporter of marijuana legalization, which is good, but one person at the table isn't going to be enough. Trump himself said he would respect state's marijuana laws – but Trump has said a lot of things, and personnel are policy. Trump apparently praised Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte for his murderous drug war, in which 6,000 people have already been killed without trial by police or vigilantes at Duterte's urging. Reportedly he offered to have Duterte over at the White House too, an obscene invitation that would stain the nation's honor and set back human rights efforts.

If I sound alarmed, it's because I am. But I don't think all is lost -- not by any means -- and we don't know for sure what the new administration or Congress will do. What I do know is we need every good drug policy group to be in as strong shape as possible, starting now. That's why I hope you will make a generous end-of-2016 donation or sign up for a recurring donation to continue in 2017.

Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org/donating to donate by credit card or PayPal (note the new URL), or visit our About page for info on donating by mail or contributing stocks, or to read more about our programs. We accept tax-deductible donations for our 501(c)(3) nonprofit, as well as non-deductible donations for our 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit.

Thank you for supporting drug policy reform and for standing with us at this challenging time.

Sincerely,

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

P.S. Please write your senators and ask them to oppose the Sessions nomination.

Please take our survey on how we should navigate the Trump presidency, online here.

Dear reformer,

I am writing to update you on StoptheDrugWar.org's current mission, and to ask your help with a tax-deductible or other donation during 2015.

Things have evolved since we first set up shop in the '90s, and they've evolved in our favor. Back then, people were just starting to talk about drug policy. As one of a handful of national organizations, we led the way getting the word out and organizing people online for legalization, sentencing reform, medical marijuana, stopping the international drug war and other issues. We built a platform, and used it to build the movement and empower the people working in it.

Today we are winning marijuana legalization. Reform of drug sentencing is one of the few bipartisan issues in Congress -- what a change! More people are talking about the big picture of drug prohibition, not just of marijuana, and about prohibition's ills than ever did before.

When looking at the current needs of the issue and the movement, and our own organization's position in it, we saw three particular ways we could continue to make a special difference. Those are:

• Organizing a US coalition to work for changes at the UN and in US foreign policy, including but not limited to reforming the UN drug treaties;
• Carrying out that effort in a way that moves the debate on broader drug legalization forward, while supporting current marijuana legalization efforts; and
• Making sure our newsletter focuses on the most unique role it still plays -- providing advocates with comprehensive tracking of all the different of areas of drug policy that affect their work.

Our work this year has matched those needs. We launched that coalition, getting its message to high-level US officials, to news media, and to hundreds of diplomats. We recruited major, mainstream organizations onto our sign-on statement, calling for the right of countries to experiment with legalization and for other reforms like ending the death penalty for drug offenses. And we published nearly 50 issues of Drug War Chronicle, bringing over 430 articles to our readers including our comprehensive daily roundups on all things drug policy, our in-depth articles on selected topics, and our ongoing features like the medical marijuana update, police corruption reports and drug war deaths series.

Our ability to move these campaigns forward depends on the generosity of our donors. We don't receive government funding, and large foundations have barely started to look at the issue. Most importantly, the movement's success means that there are more needs to be funded. Whether we can seize the opportunities that success has presented us with, depends on the generosity of supporters like you. Will you take this challenge with us as we move into the historic year ahead?

Thank you if you have read this far and are considering making a donation for our work. Donations to our tax-deductible nonprofit, DRCNet Foundation, and our non-deductible lobbying nonprofit, Drug Reform Coordination Network, both can be put toward these uses that I've described. 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.

2016 is going to be an historic year -- with your help. Thank you for being a part of changing drug policy – together we are getting it done.

Sincerely,

David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
P.O. Box 9853
Washington, DC 20016
http://stopthedrugwar.org
"U.S. and U.N. Drug Policy Reform"

Our ongoing educational publishing work also continues to play an important role, and is relied on by advocates around the world. There is no other source besides our web site where one can find a comprehensive rundown on all the news stories of interest in all the different areas of drug policy reform. Because there is so much more going on now than there used to be, many of those stories now only get links. But that's our way of getting the this needed job done, and it's a good problem to have. Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle to read the latest in our Drug War Chronicle newsletter if you haven't lately.

If you were planning to donate to our organization at some point, but weren't sure when, or if you've been thinking about it but just haven't gotten to it yet, I hope you'll make this the time. June, unfortunately, is a "dry season" for donations to organizations, despite our having had rain here in Washington the last few days. Your gift today or this week -- whether it's a large one, or a small one together with those made by others -- could be what makes the difference in our being able to press forward full speed at this important moment.

Donations to our tax-deductible nonprofit, DRCNet Foundation, and our non-deductible lobbying nonprofit, Drug Reform Coordination Network, both can be put toward these uses that I've described. 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.

Thank you for your support and for taking the time to read this message. With your help, we will change things for the better -- 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