lickmymonster

*** BREAKING NEWS
*** URGENT ACTION NEEDED

In a last minute effort to keep money and power flowing through the Drug
Czar's office, House Republican leadership are playing political games to
push a bill that would re-authorize funding for failed 'drug war' programs.
Just scheduled for tomorrow (September 30th), the vote is clearly designed
to keep opponents from voicing alarm. They're also trying to bring the bill
up under a process known as "suspension of the rules" which limits debate
to less than an hour and prohibits Representatives from offering amendments
to improve the bill.

The drug war bill (HR 2086), known as the Office of National Drug Control
Policy Reauthorization Act, provides five more years of funding for the
Drug Czar's office and its campaign to arrest drugs users. Already, the
Drug Policy Alliance has worked with a number of groups to remove as many
of the extreme provisions from the bill as we could. But the bill still
authorizes the White House to spend over a billion dollars on anti-drug
television ads - the same ads ridiculed by the public and shown to be
ineffective by the government's own studies. It also contains no
protections to ensure that the drug czar cannot use taxpayer money to
campaign against state medical marijuana ballot measures he personally
doesn't like.

If only 146 (out of 435) Representatives vote against the bill the House
Republican leadership will be forced to bring the bill up under a more
democratic process that will allow amendments to improve it.

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE, TUESDAY

1) Call before 6pm (EST) on Tuesday. Tell the receptionist, "I'm calling
to urge my Representative to vote against HR 2086 when it comes up under
suspension of the rules. Among other things, HR 2086 allows the drug czar
to spend taxpayer money to influence local and state elections. By voting
no, the Representative can ensure that the bill will be brought up under a
process that allows amendments to improve it." Please tell us at
[email protected] when you complete the call.

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard for free at 1-800-839-5276. (They can
also tell you who your Representative is if you're not sure.You can also
find out who your Representative is at
http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/c...?u=5652&l=5663)

***Please call before 6:00pm Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, September
30th****

2) Forward this alert to your friends and family.

We regret that some of our supporters may not get this e-mail in time to
act. This is precisely why drug war advocates scheduled the vote on this
bill at the last minute. This is urgent so please call on Tuesday and tell
others to do the same.

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TO: Opponents of the federal government's current anti-drug media
campaign

FROM: Steve Fox, director of government relations

DATE: Monday, September 29, 2003

SUBJECT: Immediate action is needed to prevent the U.S. House of
Representatives from approving $1 billion for the drug czar's
media campaign

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Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 30, the U.S. House of Representatives is
scheduled to vote on the Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP) Reauthorization Act of 2003. This bill authorizes the drug
czar to spend more than $1 billion dollars over the next five years
for the continued funding of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media
Campaign. If you do not call your U.S. representative immediately,
this bill -- along with the media campaign funding -- will almost
certainly be approved.

Please call your U.S. representative toll-free by using the Capitol
Switchboard at 800-839-5276. This switchboard operates 24 hours a day.
So if you are inspired to call after normal business hours in D.C.,
the operator will transfer you to your representative's office and you
can leave a voice mail message. Of course, calling during business
hours would be preferable, if possible.

Here is a sample script for you to use when you call:

"Hello, my name is ________________ and I live in ________________.
I am calling to urge Representative __________________ to oppose
the ONDCP Reauthorization Act. I do not believe that the federal
government should be spending an additional one billion dollars on
the anti-drug media campaign when it is actually causing an
increase in teen drug use. I will be watching to see how
Representative __________________ votes on H.R. 2086. Thank you."

If you are not certain who your U.S. representative is, go to
http://www.house.gov/writerep , enter your state and zip code (your
five-digit zip should work), and click the "Contact My Representative"
button. The name of your representative should appear on the next
page.

The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has been a staggering
failure. Not only is it ineffective, but it is actually leading to
increased drug use among teens. The most recent PRIDE Survey, which
measures youth illegal drug use and was released on September 3,
reported a dramatic (51%) rise in past-month marijuana use among
junior high students and a slight increase in past-month marijuana use
by senior high students. More distressingly, the PRIDE Survey also
reported similar increases in past-month cocaine and heroin use among
all students surveyed (up 40% and 50%, respectively).

Until our government is prepared to produce serious ads that provide
honest information about harm reduction, this media campaign must be
ended. Thank you for taking action to help accomplish this goal.

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Help stop Ashaha

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Lickmymonster