Monday, October 25, 2010

Join the drug policy reform movement at Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity this Saturday 10.30.10

Are you coming to Washington, DC for The Daily Show's Rally to Restore Sanity or The Colbert Report's March to Keep Fear Alive this Saturday 10/30/10?

SSDP is involved in organizing events before, during, and after the rally to mobilize supporters of marijuana and other drug law reform. With the support of the Drug Policy Alliance, the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet), and other allies, we can unite as a powerful movement for drug policy sanity in Washington, DC on October 30th. Less than 72 hours before California voters will go to the polls and decide the fate of Proposition 19, a potentially monumental step forward toward ending marijuana prohibition. We must take this incredibly appropriate opportunity to be a voice for sensible drug policy, join us in Washington, DC...

BEFORE: Sign Making/Distribution Party

RSVP on Facebook

For those who will be in town the night before the rally, we'll be at an SSDP satellite home/office welcoming people into town, networking, and preparing materials. We'll have some already made 'Legalize Pot' signs courtesy of DPA, and a some 'Yes on 19' signs courtesy of the Yes on 19. Tax Cannabis 2010 campaign.

DURING: Rally to Restore (Drug Policy) Sanity
RSVP on Facebook
Meet us at the Rally! We'll be the enormous group dressed in suits and holding "Legalize Pot" signs (similar to the event logo) standing at in the center of the National Mall at 4th St.

AFTER: Phonebanking to Restore Sanity
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Immediately following the rally, join us in our DC headquarters office for a phonebanking party to call voters in support of Proposition 19. There will be pizza! If you can, please bring a laptop & your phone.

In a recent piece on Alternet, Yair Tygiel of the Drug Policy Alliance outlines the powerful ways in which our drug policies are lacking sanity:

  • As long as parents believe that prohibition -- rather than education and regulation -- keeps their kids safe, our country is not sane.
  • As long as over 750,000 people are arrested for marijuana possession in the U.S. every year – most of them Black and Latino men who use and sell marijuana at the same rate as Whites -- our country is not sane.
  • As long as foreign-born residents of the U.S. can be deported for a marijuana law violation – no matter how long they have lived in this country – our country is not sane.
  • As long as millions of people on parole and probation are thrown back through the revolving prison doors for failing a drug test, our country is not sane.
  • As long as the U.S. black market for marijuana fuels rampant violence in Mexico, our country is not sane.

Please visit rally.ssdp.org for details and updates. Hope to see you in DC this Saturday!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Regulation Works. Prohibition Fails.



This great 30sec PSA shows how the legal and regulated market for alcohol makes it difficult for young people to purchase the substance. On the other hand, marijuana prohibition makes it easy for kids to buy pot from the local dealer who doesn't care how old customers are, as long as they have money.

If you have a parent, family member or friend on the fence about regulating marijuana like alcohol, send them this video.