Dear Timothy Redfern:

After MPP passed the medical marijuana ballot initiative in Michigan and the marijuana decriminalization ballot initiative in Massachusetts — both on November 4 — I thought the MPP staff might get a little downtime to regroup for the 2009-2010 election cycle. Not so.

In the last four months, the MPP staff and our allies have been working almost nonstop to respond to — and take advantage of — the many opportunities that have been presenting themselves across the country. I've never seen so much evidence of positive change in such a short amount of time ...

1.  MARIJUANA THE BIGGEST ISSUE:  Two huge surveys of citizen activists across the country — one on Change.gov on December 12, and one on Change.org on January 15 — showed that the number-one issue on people's minds is ending the government's war on marijuana users.

2.  BONG HIT SEEN AROUND THE WORLD:  On February 1, the world learned that Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps had used marijuana a few months before, demonstrating yet again that using marijuana is compatible with being wildly successful in our society. When Kellogg's dropped its endorsement contract with Phelps — and MPP and other organizations responded by calling for a boycott of Kellogg's — the public's perception of Kellogg's took a nose dive.

3.  EL PASO RESPONDS TO MEXICAN VIOLENCE:  Responding to the prohibition-caused violence just over the border in Mexico, on January 6 the El Paso City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for "an honest, open national debate on ending the prohibition of narcotics," which drew the ire of some Texas politicians but also sparked a great deal of positive media coverage nationwide

4.  NATIONAL POLLING HIGHEST EVER:  Between January 11 and February 14, three different national polls indicated that either 40%, 41%, or 44% of the American people now support ending marijuana prohibition.  This is the highest level of support since marijuana was first prohibited in 1937, with support having risen by 1% a year since 1995.

5.  REVOLT IN LATIN AMERICA:  On February 12, a commission led by three former presidents from Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico released a long-awaited report that blasted the U.S. drug war and called for the decriminalization of marijuana.

6.  ENDING THE DEA's RAIDS IN CALIFORNIA:  On February 25, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the DEA would no longer be raiding medical marijuana clinics in California and the 12 other states where medical marijuana is legal.

7.  MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILLS MOVING:  MPP's medical marijuana bills are moving through the Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New York Legislatures, and the Drug Policy Alliance's similar legislation is moving in New Jersey. We have a real chance of making medical marijuana legal in four of these six states this year and — in the meantime — it's very possible that Montana and Rhode Island will expand their existing medical marijuana laws, too.

8.  BROADER MARIJUANA BILLS MOVING:  California shook the nation when a bill to tax and regulate marijuana was introduced on February 23. And even before that happened, the Hawaii, Montana, Vermont, and Washington Legislatures had already begun considering bills to decriminalize marijuana.

(There are also twin bills, in the House and the Senate, in Tennessee~~~ ~~~{Tim})

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Thank you for anything and everything you've done to help bring all this attention and success to our movement. If you'd like to help even more, please make a donation today so that we may continue with the onslaught of work that continues to pile up on our plates.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

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Such fantastic news, Tim!

Let's get more people to join this group here on Care2!

I was just about to post this, from the ACLU! so, will add it to this thread:

Where We Won {ACLU, Nationally};

MARIJUANA REFORM

Massachusetts -- Voters de-criminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana by a hefty 70-30 percent margin.

Michigan -- The state joined 12 others in allowing the use of pot for medical purposes, 63-37 percent.

From the ACLU in the State of Washington {my State}:

"Marijuana Re-classification -- HB 1177, SB 5615

Support

In 2007, enforcement of Washington laws for possession of marijuana resulted in over 11,000 arrests, 3,600 convictions {with an average sentence of four days in jail}, and cost an estimated $7.5 million dollars. These mis-placed resources are part of our nation's failed War on Drugs.

We need to get smarter with marijuana laws. The ACLU supports legislation sponsored by Sen. Jenne Kohl-Welles and Rep. Dave Upthegrove that would re-classify low-level marijuana possession as a finable, civil offense -- as Massachusetts did in last fall's election. Re-classifying marijuana would free up police to attend to more important matters, and the collected fines could be earmarked for drug treatment."

I should also add here, that an extremely popular TV personality, Rick Steves, who lives in Washington State and hosts a travel show on TV, has also hosted a "debate on marijuana laws" video, together with the ACLU; a tape which is widely available and distributed to any group that wants to show it {altho the TV station reneged on its promise to show it!}. The video is called, I think, "A Conversation about Marijuana".

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Kuso or Okuso is waste or garbage.   In this case, it refers to the waste created in the production of hemp yarn: this kimono was woven from the detritus and crude materials left over from hemp yarn making.   This waste, or okuso, was spun into yarn and woven by rural people to make their garments.   Most likely the better quality yarn they created from hemp plants was sold to those that could afford it, probably urbanites.

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Just wanted to bump this thread to the top! This picture is from the other Legalize Cannabis group I co-host, Hopeful Hempsters. You might if you're not already a member, consider joining that also. This shows a traditional use of Hemp in clothing. Believe it or not, this antique garment is selling for a very high price in a very fancy store! People love and respond to the worn-ness, the care put into this "ordinary person's" garment -- and so do I!

Use of Cannabis in Medicine, for Industrial purposes, and just plain to get temporarily zonked out of your mind, is ALL banned by the same sick, superstitious, Puritanical, privacy-invading social mindset. There will continue to be restrictive laws on all the uses across the board, until the basic Big Lie is dealt with.  

This picture emphasizes how traditional, not "innovative" at all, use of the Wonder Plant Cannabis, has been all over the world thruout all of its history!

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