Press Release: Sarah Palin Offered $25,000 by Marijuana Policy Reform Advocates

MEDIA ADVISORY – For event on Tuesday, April 6, 2010, at 11 a.m. PDT                                                        

APRIL 5, 2010

Sarah Palin Offered $25,000 by Marijuana Policy Reform Advocates

Palin Addresses Alcohol Industry Gathering; MPP-Backed Campaign Offers Her $25,000 to Make Similar Speech to its Supporters

CONTACT: In Nevada: Dave Schwartz, campaign manager, Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws (702-727-1081 or [email protected]). In Washington: Steve Fox, director of state campaigns, Marijuana Policy Project (202-905-2042 or [email protected]).

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Tomorrow, at Caesar’s Palace, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will deliver the keynote address at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s national convention. Immediately following that speech, Dave Schwartz, the campaign manager for Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws (NSML), will offer Palin $25,000 to deliver a similar address to supporters of a regulated marijuana market in this country.

         In exchange for the $25,000, Palin will be asked to speak at one of NSML’s upcoming events, acknowledge the fact that marijuana is just as legitimate a recreational substance as the substance she is talking about at the WSWA convention (in fact, it is objectively much safer), and endorse taxing and regulating marijuana in Nevada and throughout the U.S.

         “There’s no reason why former governor Palin should reject our offer,” Schwartz said. “The health effects of the substance she is talking about at the WSWA convention cause 33,000 deaths in the U.S. annually. The comparable number for marijuana is zero. Alcohol is also associated with violent crime and other destructive acts, while marijuana is not. If Gov. Palin is comfortable endorsing that product, we are certain she will endorse ours. We look forward to negotiating with her team to find a time that works in her schedule.

         “Let me make one thing clear. In making this offer, we are not intending to attack the alcohol industry or alcohol users,” Schwartz continued. “Rather, we’re highlighting the fact that marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol. It makes no sense to keep marijuana in the criminal market while a former vice-presidential candidate celebrates the alcohol industry. We want legitimate businesspeople in Nevada to benefit from the sales of marijuana, and we want adults to be free to choose whichever substance they prefer —marijuana or alcohol — when they relax after work.”          

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

         Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws is a ballot advocacy group formed in Nevada to support a 2012 ballot initiative to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in the state. It receives significant funding and support from the Marijuana Policy Project.

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