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"One of the attractive things about programmers is that you cannot tell whether or not they are working simply by looking at them. Very often they're sitting there seemingly drinking coffee and gossiping, or just staring into space. What the programmer is trying to do is get a handle on all the individual and unrelated ideas that are scampering around in his head." -- Charles M. Strauss
Matthew M. Elrod

Matt
Webmaster Matt has been a computer enthusiast since he purchased his first TRS-80 PC with 16 kilobytes of ram and a cassette tape drive.

A strong proponent of bandwidth conservation, Matt is a self-taught web page designer and fledgling PERL and PHP programmer.

Matthew is a library cataloguer and president of his family's business Special Libraries Cataloguing, Inc.

Matt became interested in reforming drug laws after becoming a father in 1987. "The drug war did not protect me, my siblings or my friends from drugs and I do not expect it to protect my children."

In 1996, his interest in drug policy led him to the drug-related Usenet groups and from there to the Drug Reform Coordination Network. Inspired and encouraged by the effective efforts of Mark Greer and what was then DRCNet's Media Awareness Project, Matt founded the Canadian Media Awareness Project. For more history see Matt's Introduction to Drug Policy Reform and Dr. Tom O'Connell's History of Drugsense.

Matt has contributed articles to Cannabis Culture Magazine, such as:

And Cannabis Health Magazine such as an article on GW Pharmaceuticals and their effort to bring a cannabis-based medicine to market, which won Matt the award of "Best Freelance Writer."

Matt has made some television, radio and personal appearances such as:

Matt's letters have been published in a number of newspapers.

In addition to maintaining the web sites of the Media Awareness Project and DrugSense, Matt provides internet services to a number of other drug policy reform organizations, most of which are listed at http://www.drugsense.org/sitemap.htm#hosted.

Matt is a co-recipient of the The Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action, a Patronage of the Student Movement Award and a High Times Freedom Fighter of the Month.

Matt lives in Metchosin, B.C., Canada, one of the western communities of Victoria on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in a log home of his own design.

Join Matt on Facebook and/or follow Matt on Twitter.

Friends of SSDP Award Best Viewed With Robert C. Randall Award
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