DrugSense Email Fundraiser (index)

Date: May 13, 2005
Subject: A new war on marijuana?

Can you believe it? Our government is waging a NEW war on marijuana. On May 4, 2005, the Washington Post reported that a recent study by the Sentencing Project had concluded that the "War on Drugs" has transformed into a "War on Marijuana." Marijuana arrests now represent 45% of all drug arrests nationwide at a cost of nearly $4 billion annually. That same day, the Washington Times reported that the Drug Czar's office has re-invigorated its specious claim that cannabis is a major mental health concern.

How do we know this? We are the Media Awareness Project of DrugSense, and that's what we do. We heighten awareness of the extreme damage being caused by the flawed and failed system of drug prohibition, commonly known as the "War on Drugs." We inform the public about rational alternatives to the drug war and help organize citizens to take actions that will help bring about needed reforms.

How do we do this? Over the last ten years, we have archived nearly 150,000 drug policy news articles; encouraged 19,000 published Letters-to-the Editor; Web-hosted and provided support to 100+ drug policy organizations; issued more than 300 Focus Alerts; and generated 398 consecutive DrugSense Weekly Newsletters. And, these represent just the highlights of our accomplishments.

Unfortunately, as our services have grown, so have our costs. Programming, server space, bandwidth, computer equipment - it all adds up. For example, just this past April, we came perilously close to a fiscal crisis. We found ourselves almost unable to meet our monthly financial obligations, which include support for all of the websites and activities mentioned above. Financial constraints like this place us in serious jeopardy of closing our doors. It's difficult to imagine the ripple effect that the demise of DrugSense/MAP might have on the drug policy reform movement and its vital mission of reforming worldwide drug policy.

I mention this because I'm hoping that you will consider making a generous contribution to DrugSense. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your donation is tax-deductible to the extent provided by law. Please make your check payable to DrugSense and mail to:

DrugSense
14242 Culver Drive #328
Irvine, CA 92604-0326

If you'd prefer, you may contribute online by credit card through our secure server at www.DrugSense.org/donate.htm. This site accommodates PayPal contributions and can set up automatic recurring donations if you would like to commit on a regular monthly or quarterly basis.

Thank you in advance for considering this request, and please contact me with any questions or feedback. Together, we will win this new war on marijuana and change drug policy for the better.

Sincerely,

Mark Greer