Fundraising Appeal

APPEAL: Rising to the Challenge -- Seizing the Opportunity

Legalization is an important battle to fight for the country, but victory is not a foregone conclusion. Which way things go depends on the actions that YOU take at this point in time -- the future depends on you.

Rising to the Challenge -- Seizing the Opportunity

Tommy Chong: It's my birthday!

Hey man,

Today's my birthday!

To celebrate, I want to do something really special, and I'm going to need your help. What I want is to see marijuana legal in my lifetime.

I know what you're thinking. "Tommy, after 74 years of marijuana being illegal and 100,000s of marijuana arrests every year, how could we possibly forget your birthday?" I know, right? You can make it up to me by helping turn my dream into a reality.

If you make a $25 donation in my honor to the Marijuana Policy Project, they can start work on numerous medical marijuana ballot initiatives this year. Namely in Arkansas, Idaho, Missouri, and North Dakota.

And if you're feeling really bad about forgetting my birthday, you could sign up to make a monthly credit card donation to support MPP’s plan to legalize medical marijuana in 27 states by 2014. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

These ballots aren't going to initiate themselves! Please help make my birthday wish come true and support the work of the Marijuana Policy Project. Thanks, man.

Tommy Chong

PS: I’m proud to announce that I’m joining MPP’s VIP advisory board. I spent nine months in federal prison because of the government’s ‘war on drugs’. We need to change marijuana laws and MPP is doing just that.

Help us meet our mission

Raised in 2011:$869,697
Goal in 2011: $2,850,000

MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in our 2011 Plan if you help us meet this challenge.

Rising to the Challenge -- Seizing the Opportunity for Drug Policy Reform

A Brighter Future Lies Ahead... With Your Help

Last week we wrote you to explain some of the reasons we at StoptheDrugWar.org believe a brighter future beyond prohibition is ahead of us. But we need your help to make that brighter future happen. Donate and you can receive up to three new membership premiums we are offering that reflect the optimism of this special time.

2011: Fighting Hard for Our Rights!

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) started the new year strong. We are working in statehouses, city halls, courtrooms, and communities nationwide with one common goal – to protect and expand safe access for medical cannabis patients. ASA needs your support right now to keep the momentum and keep making a difference.

Can you take a minute to make a special contribution to help ASA keep fighting?

January was a busy month for ASA. In Washington, DC, our staff welcomed each of the new members of the Congressional delegation. This is an important step in building needed capacity in Congress. We also worked with the Mayor’s office in the ongoing effort to implement the District’s medical cannabis law.

Your support in January helped ASA do all this and more:

In California, Senator Mark Leno (D-san Francisco) introduced ASA-sponsored legislation that will protect patients from employment discrimination.
We also filed an appeal on behalf of Jovan Jackson, a medical cannabis provider facing prosecution in San Diego. This strategic appeal will help stop the ongoing prosecutions in the state!
And as part of our 2011 effort to re-energize and retrain our grassroots base, ASA kicked off the first of many “Putting Patients First” trainings for medical cannabis professionals in Oakland.
In Michigan and Nevada, ASA Chapters organized high-profile rallies to oppose federal interference and intimidation, including new DEA raids and threats to patients’ privacy – a top priority for ASA nationwide.
ASA filed an amicus brief in Michigan to stop the federal government from confiscating patient records.
ASA provided suggested improvements to correct troubling provisions in Colorado’s law.
I published an op-ed on patient privacy in the Huffington Post and elsewhere, reaching millions of readers.

These are all important steps in fulfilling our goal of ensuring safe access to medical cannabis for everyone who needs it. That is exactly what the nation’s largest medical cannabis advocacy organization should be doing – and you can help make it happen! ASA needs your help today to make sure we can take advantage of opportunities and overcome challenges every month in 2011.

Thank you in advance for helping us help medical cannabis patients nationwide. Your support has brought us this far, and I know you can help us win this fight once and for all.

Sincerely,

Steph Sherer

Executive Director

PS – Don't forget to register for our "National Call to Action: Activist Boot Camp" February 19-20 in cities nationwide!

Our chance to win!

For too long the medical marijuana movement has been forced into a defensive position, constantly pushing back against law enforcement and unjust legislation. Our movement has been so busy fighting what we don’t want, we haven’t had the time to fight for what we need. That ends today.

Our movement has come to a crossroads. For the first time we have a political climate that is ripe for this victory, but without your support we’ll miss this historic opportunity. We will be forced back to treading water, back to spending our time and resources fighting state-by-state, city-by-city, and case-by-case. This is our chance to end all of that. This is our chance to win.

ASA has always known that the best way to win—the only way to win—is with you at the helm. When we have your voice, your story, your fervent commitment to safe access with us in Washington, DC, we stand 400,000 strong against our opponents - and we stand to win!.

We have always tried to make membership easy for you, and today we’re going to try and make it fun. If you donate $50 in January, we’ll send you an ASA t-shirt. Donate $100 and we’ll send you that t-shirt and a DVD of the groundbreaking documentary, Waiting to Inhale. Contribute $150 and we’ll send you an ASA hoodie, the DVD and our unending gratitude.

We need your membership to win, plain and simple. We know that, so we’re giving some incentives for joining this month only. We know that $150 is a lot of money for you, but it’s a lot of money for us too. If you can agree to donate it, I promise we’ll put it to good use right away.

As always, we couldn’t do this work without you!

Steph Sherer

PS
To check out these exciting incentives, click here to donate, and then click here to see the t-shirts and hoodies.

Americans for Safe Access

Please support ASA!

On The Web:

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"Gear up" for medical cannabis activism with ASA's new T-shirts, hats, stickers, bags and more! All proceeds go to ASA advocacy

re:Form -- Art Auction and Cocktail Reception

An art auction and cocktail party is being held in Los Angeles to benefit the Drug Policy Alliance. For more information and to register, please see http://www.reformartauction.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/.

re:Form -- Art Auction and Cocktail Reception

An art auction and cocktail party is being held in Los Angeles to benefit the Drug Policy Alliance. For more information and to register, see: http://www.reformartauction.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

A Personal Plea from Sensible Colorado

FROM THE DESK OF SENSIBLE COLORADO

Dear Friends,

As we begin 2011, I wanted to ask you to join me in becoming a monthly donor to Sensible Colorado. I, like many people across Colorado and the nation, have a monthly contribution deducted from my credit card-- even $5, $10, or $50 a month makes a huge impact. This allows me to benefit from a tax deduction and, more importantly, to support one of the strongest and most effective advocacy groups in the country.

I often receive calls from media members and friends who are astounded by the progress Colorado has made in terms of marijuana and medical marijuana reform. They are amazed that our state licensing board safely regulates over 1200 medical marijuana businesses, or the fact that over 2% of our state population (over 116K people!) now hold medical marijuana cards protecting them from criminal prosecution.

Let me assure you this amazing progress would not have been accomplished without the work of Sensible Colorado. Since 2004, Sensible has served as the primary resource for the state's medical marijuana patients-- fighting in the courtroom, the state house, and the streets. In that time, Sensible has achieved unparalleled success in fostering patent's rights and protecting safe access to medicine. We've also run successful campaigns to rewrite local marijuana laws for adults in Breckenridge and beyond, and our work has been highlighted in virtually every mainstream media outlet in America, including last month in Time Magazine! In addition to our medical marijuana advocacy, over the next two years we are gearing up for our biggest challenge yet-- putting a measure on the Colorado ballot to regulate and tax marijuana for adults over 21 statewide. We've already begun putting a stellar team together to push-- AND WIN-- this fight and forever end the disastrous policy of marijuana prohibition.

Please lend a hand in this crucial fight by donating, forwarding this email, and volunteering today.

In solidarity,

Brian Vicente

Executive Director

Sensible Colorado

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