Opinions - An Activists Guide

[Heretic.Ape.]

AN ACTIVIST'S GUIDE
When Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was run out of town for raising questions about the drug war, Dave Borden decided it was time to get involved. A Princeton graduate with a degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, Borden had no interest in drugs but he was appalled by the social havoc the drug laws were wreaking. Skillfully working the Internet, he developed a network of local activists, students, and drug policy critics who began exchanging ideas and action alerts with a rapidly growing membership list. Borden's Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) quickly became an international clearinghouse.
One of his earliest supporters was Clifford Schaffer, a California businessman who felt the nexus of the problem was information. If people knew the facts, said Schaffer, they would demand a change in course. Schaffer's contribution was a burgeoning electronic library, a vast searchable database of original drug war documents and statistics where you can find links to the House Hearings on the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 or the Swiss report on Medical Prescription of Narcotics. It would be impossible to estimate the impact of DRCNet, but these days when a politician makes a wild statement about the drug war, he s likely to be called out in print by several well-informed letter writers who probably got their facts from the Internet. This easy access to scientific and historic data is beginning to have an impact on the press as well. Now, when headlines announce the fall of the latest drug lord, the sub-head usually admits that it's expected to have no impact whatsoever on the flow of drugs.
For those who agree with Borden that it's time to join the fray, here's a list of organizations on all sides of this issue, from the Drug Enforcement Administration to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Drug Policy Libraries
http://www.drcnet.org/
Web site of the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet). Includes articles on prohibition, harm reduction, needle exchange, sentencing, asset forfeiture, medical marijuana, chronic pain treatment, international drug policies, and methadone maintenance, as well a calendar of events, action alerts and a weekly news bulletin -- subscribe here.
http://www.druglibrary.org/
World's largest online drug policy library, sponsored by DRCNet. Information on a wide range of drug policy topics, including the full textof major reports. Front page includes links to a number of substantial online collections.
http://www.drugtext.nl/
Drugtext Europe, web site of the International Foundation for Drug Policy and Human Rights. One of the largest online library collections on drug policy. U.S. mirror site at http://www.drugtext.org/.
http://www.drugpolicy.org/
The Drug Policy Alliance is a NY/DC-based drug policy research institute. Its site features full-text articles from the academic and popular press focusing on drug policy from economic, criminal justice, and public health perspectives. Recent "focal point" topics include drug maintenance programs and medical marijuana.
http://www.drugsense.org/
Web site of DrugSense. Includes a searchable library of news articles related to all aspects of drug policy. Provides a weekly newsletter and a daily news reporting service, both for no charge over the Internet.
Government Sites
http://www.ncjrs.org/
National Criminal Justice Reference Service.
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
http://www.ncjrs.org/drgshome.htm
NCJRS Drugs & Crime Clearinghouse.
http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Bureau of Justice Statistics.
http://www.fedstats.gov/
Fedstats.
http://www.health.org/
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.
http://www.nida.nih.gov/
National Institute on Drug Abuse.
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
http://www.fda.gov/
Food and Drug Administration.
Other Drug Policy Information Sites
http://www.prdi.org/
The Partnership for Responsible Drug Information holds public forums on drug policy and provides extensive informational resources for parents and the media.
http://www.vcl.org/
Named after an organization of attorneys that played a critical role in bringing about the repeal of Alcohol Prohibition, the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers works with lawyers, law professors, law students and others associated with the legal profession to foster an open, honest, and constructive discussion about the drug war and what it is doing for and to our nation and legal system.
Think Tanks
http://www.rand.org/multi/dprc/DPRCpubindex.html
The Rand Corporation's Drug Policy Research Center includes a subject index and abstracts for all publications on their site. Topics include drug policy and trends, state and local drug policy, national drug policy, international drug policy, prevention, treatment, enforcement, data systems and analysis, and modeling and policy gaming. Reports can be ordered online.
http://www.sentencingproject.org/
The Sentencing Project, a think tank that researches the impact of criminal justice policies and advocates alternatives.
http://www.ncianet.org/ncia/
National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA) web site.
http://www.cato.org/
Well-known libertarian think tank.
Asset Forfeiture
http://www.fear.org/
Forfeiture Endangers American Rights (FEAR), national organization opposing the rampant abuses of asset forfeiture. Site features victims' stories and federal and state forfeiture legislation.
Harm Reduction/Needle Exchange
http://www.harmreduction.org/
Web site of the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC), a national organization promoting strategies for reducing the harm related to substance abuse and sexual behavior.
http://www.drcnet.org/gateway/nep.html
"Needle Exchange: A Form of Harm Reduction," DRCNet's "topics in depth" page on needle exchange.
http://www.nasen.org/
North American Syringe Exchange Network (NASEN) home page.
Law Enforcement Perspectives
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/
Drug Enforcement Administration web site.
http://members.aol.com/deawatch/
"The Voice of America's Front-line Drug Warriors" is sponsored by the American Law Enforcement Electronic Library rather than the DrugEnforcement Administration (DEA).
http://www.drcnet.org/cops/
"Cops Against the Drug War," from DRCNet's "Topics in Depth" section, contains materials on the the Hoover Law Enforcement Summit wriiten by Dr. Joseph McNamara, a former police chief of San Jose and Kansas City.
Mandatory Minimums and Sentencing
http://www.famm.org/
Web site of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a national organization advocating repeal of mandatory minimum sentencing and reform of the federal sentencing guidelines. Features victims cases and links to further information.
http://www.november.org/
The November Coalition, an organization focusing on drug war prisoners.
http://www.pkdata.com/cure/
Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) home page, national organization advocating for rehabilitation and alternatives to incarceration.
http://www.ussc.gov/
United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) web site.
http://www.fjc.gov/
The Federal Judicial Center (FJC) web site.
Medical Marijuana
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/medical_mj.htm
Medical marijuana master reference, an extensive directory of medical marijuana information available on the net.
http://www.marijuana.org/
Web site of the San Francisco Cannabis Cultivators' Club (formerly the Cannabis Buyers' Club).
http://www.drugsense.org/mcwilliams/...om/index19.htm
"The Medical Marijuana Magazine," an interesting medical marijuana magazine by best-selling author Peter McWilliams.
Methadone Maintenance
http://www.methadone.org/
Home page of the National Alliance of Methadone Advocates (NAMA).
Human Rights/Latin America
http://www.wola.org/
Washington Office on Latin America.
http://www.igc.org/csn/
Colombia Support Network.
http://www.hrw.org/about/initiatives/drugs.html
Human Rights Watch Drugs and Human Rights project (international and domestic).
News about Drug Issues
http://www.mapinc.org
The Media Awareness Project publishes a daily digest of drug war news items from around the world with links to the full text.
http://www.ndsn.org/
"News Briefs," the monthly newsletter of the National Drug Strategy Network (NDSN). News about all aspects of the drug problem -- American and international -- with detailed coverage going back to 1993. Non-advocacy.
http://www.marijuananews.com/
News web site maintained by former NORML national director Dick Cowan.
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/
DRCNet bulletins, including "The Week Online" news service.
Prevention and Drug Education
http://www.drugfreeamerica.org/
The Partnership for a Drug Free America (PDFA) is a nonprofit coalition of media and advertising agencies using national television and print advertising to stigmatize drug users and warn against drug abuse.
http://www.dare-america.com/
"How to Raise Drug-Free Kids" is sponsored by Reader's Digest.
http://www.drcnet.org/DARE/
"A Different Look at DARE" is featured in DRCNet's "Topics in Depth" section.
http://www.jointogether.org/
Join Together, a national network of prevention organizations. Includes an extensive directory of links to sites on prevention, treatment, self-help, and education.
Prohibition Advocacy
http://www.wctu.org/
Web site of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the organization that won and subsequently lost the fight to prohibit alcohol.
http://www.casacolumbia.org/
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) is a nonprofit advocacy organization which produces non-peer-reviewed reports on the harm to individuals and society caused by drug abuse.
http://www.drugwatch.org/
Drug Watch International (DWI) is a nonprofit coalition advocating much stronger law enforcement.
http://www.emory.edu/NFIA/
National Families In Action (NFIA) is a nonprofit grassroots antidrug organization that works to set up community drug abuse prevention programs but primarily disseminates anti-legalization literature.
Reform Advocacy Groups
http://www.dpf.org/
The Drug Policy Foundation (DPF) is the largest drug policy reform organization, with a major annual conference, grants program, newsletter, and a wide array of services to policy-makers and the media who are interested in drug policy issues.
http://www.cjpf.org/
The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation (CJPF) assists public health,criminal justice, and other public officials in finding innovativesolutions to criminal justice and drug policy problems.
http://www.aclu.org/
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is heavily involved inConstitutional law aspects of drug policy reform.
http://www.wps.com.au/druglawreform/
Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform, Australian organization for people who have lost loved ones to drug abuse.
http://www.maps.org/
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) focuses on research into medical uses of marijuana and psychedelics. Raises funds and helps researchers overcome regulatory obstacles.
http://www.mpp.org/
The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) lobbies for reform of the marijuana laws and is currently focusing on medical marijuana.
http://www.norml.org/
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is the oldest and largest marijuana reform organization and advocates the legalization of marijuana for adults.
http://www.drugsense.org/
Web site of DrugSense. DrugSense and its Media Awareness Project get reform volunteers working together toward a common objective of influencing the media through weekly focus alerts and Internet reports on drug-related news.
Treatment and SelfHelp
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) pioneered the "twelve-step" self-treatment program for people with severe drinking problems.
http://www.ca.org/
Cocaine Anonymous (CA) is a self-treatment program for people with cocaine problems, modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous.
http://comnet.org/mm/
Moderation Management (MM) is a moderation-oriented treatment program which emphasizes self-management, moderation, and a balanced lifestyle. It is "not intended for alcoholics or those severely dependent on alcohol."
http://www.peele.net/
The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site contains a library of materials on the addiction experience.
http://www.ncadd.org/
National Center of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) is a federal drug abuse treatment and prevention advocacy agency which focuses largely on alcoholism.
http://www.samhsa.gov/csat/csat.htm
The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) works to expand Federal drug abuse treatment efforts.
http://www.wsoinc.com/
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a self-treatment program for people with narcotics problems, modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous.




Taken from:
http://www.drugcrazy.com/activist.htm

[grandbaby]

This is a truly awesome list, HA. Thank you. Mods, should this thread be merged with this one?

[Heretic.Ape.]

^ Yeah, probably should have posted it there in the first place. Perhaps move this as well as this thread into above mentioned thread to have a nice centralized (and stickied) resource for activism?
(and maybe it's time to start a thread on putting together a large scale civil disobedience movement, discussing the methodology of Gandhi, Dr. King, and others, or, fuck it, an armed uprising thread mwhahahaha!)
h.a.

[Heretic.Ape.]

another nice activism guide by Common Sense for Drug Policy. Taken from their site: http://www.csdp.org/whattodo.htm
h.a.

[top] Getting Active

[top] What Can I Do?

[top] Get Informed -- Get Motivated -- Get Active

The following are ways in which you can start getting active on drug policy issues.

• Get educated -- visit the Common Sense for Drug Policy site at http://www.csdp.org/, Drug War Facts at http://www.drugwarfacts.org/, the MAP-DrugSense News archive at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/, and the Online Drug Library at http://www.druglibrary.org/.
• Stay informed via e-newsletter -- sign up through DrugSense at www.DrugSense.org; the Drug Reform Coordination Network at www.drcnet.org; and the Drug Policy Alliance at www.drugpolicy.org, among others. There are also local sources available. A meta-list of reform organizations, including several state drug policy forums, is available at http://www.csdp.org/links.htm .
• Find out which reform organizations are working on issues about which you care most -- use the form at http://www.csdp.org/active.htm to get in contact with them. Find where you can most effectively spend some time and effort and do it. There is also a meta-list of reform organizations available at http://www.csdp.org/links.htm .
• Get Active on reform issues. We have a number of materials available online to help, including:
  • Getting Started, by Denele Campbell, Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas
  • New -- 10 Steps to Getting Press: A tip sheet by Tony Newman and Shayna Samuels, Drug Policy Alliance
  • Tips On Writing Letters To The Editor, by Richard Lake, MAPINC
  • Considerations When Forming A Nonprofit, by Suzy Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas
  • Twelve Rules of Fundraising
  • Building A Speakers Bureau, by Mike Smithson, ReconsiDer Forum on Drug Policy
  • Legislative Strategies & Coalition Building, by Kevin Zeese, Common Sense for Drug Policy
  • Checklist for Successful Event Organizing, by Robert E. Field, Co-Chair, Common Sense for Drug Policy
  Americans for Safe Access have an Organizing Manual on their website. Also, the November Coalition website has a lot of great materials in their online Guide to Community Activism.
• Know who your politicians are, their email addresses and phone numbers. Write to them, call them as often as needed. Remember, federal officials don't read your mail, their aides do. Also with federal officials contact them in their district home office as well as their DC office. Whenever your elected official speaks publicly attend and ask reform questions. Use zingy one liners, plant ideas into the heads of the aides and make them think.
• Meet with your state representative and state senator. Except when the legislature is in session, it is not difficult to schedule a 15-30 minute meeting. Even if your representative is a die-hard drug warrior, meet with him/her and get how you feel off your chest. Medical marijuana is a great nail to use and drive it with the hammer that millions of people don't have health insurance, thus they cannot afford to go to the pharmacy. For more information on working with legislators, download this piece by CSDP President Kevin Zeese, "Legislative Strategies & Coalition Building.
• Inform your clergy, urge them to devote a sermon to drug use/abuse and the need to end the war on drugs.
• Be alert for local or regional community events. You can set up a booth and attract attention and support. CSDP maintains a calendar of upcoming conferences at http://www.csdp.org/news/news/conferences.htm . Also be sure to check out the Drug Policy Alliance event calendar for more info.
• Write letters to the editor. Download this excellent "how-to" piece by Richard Lake, Editor at MAPINC, "Tips On Writing Letters To The Editor". Send them to your local paper, national magazines, the student paper of your alma mater, etc. Even if not published, the editors will continue to get a sense of what is important to people. If someone outside the organization writes a good letter, find out their phone number, call them and let them know we exist and they can join. Get weekly focus alerts on media targets at www.drugsense.org.
• Speak up against prohibition/war on drugs. When discussing other social problems show how they are connected to our failed drug policy -- e.g., no money for education – the US spends more on prison building than on college building, and hires more prison guards than teachers.
• For those who wish to wear their message and engage the public, a custom t-shirt can be made by any custom shirt shop. Ask Howard Wooldridge at scout201@charter.net for details.
• Talk Radio -- know which stations have talk shows, and share that information with fellow reformers in your area. Let everyone know when the topic of drugs is coming up so they can call in also. Think of and distribute great one-liners and sound bites for talk shows, i.e.
  A. Prohibition guarantees the existence of drug dealers.
  B. Prohibition hasn't worked since Adam & Eve bit on the apple.
  C. Studies show that every drug dealer arrested, shot or killed has been quickly replaced. How can arresting more drug dealers help keep drug dealers and drugs away from my kids?
• Write to the columnists of your local paper. Many now include their email addresses under their picture or somewhere in the paper. Urge them to do a piece on Prohibition, tying it to their area of expertise.
• Buy an extra copy of an especially good reform book and donate it to a local public, school or church library. If the school or library refuses to accept it, alert the media. For a list of great books on drug policy reform, check out CSDP's Recommended Reading List.
• Start a local reform group, work with others of a like mind and coordinate your efforts. Download some the materials listed above, look over the websites, and dive in. If you want to learn more, contact us and we’ll help: info@csdp.org.