Becoming An Activist

Do you bitch, moan or otherwise complain about drugs being illegal? Probably so, especially to your other drug using friends. But what have you done to change the laws? My guess is probably nothing. (If you have, I'm not talking to you. YET! Keep reading to learn other ways in which you can help.)
I understand your apathy. Drug laws in my country are so draconian it feels like change will never happen. But that isn't true. In the 1999 Gallup Poll, 74% of Americans were in favor of making marijuana available as medicine. That's an enormous shift in public opinion.
Medical marijuana may not seem like much to you. You probably won't ever benefit directly from it. But it's a start. A tiny crack in the American public's perception that drugs are bad.
Members of the media, notorious for exploiting drugs and drug issues to create sensationalism have begun to question the war. The Economist devoted an entire issue this fall to exposing the Drug War's many flaws.
Another victory here in my country, due entirely to activists, is John Walter's (the recently confirmed Drug Czar) promise to "encourage support for Congressional review of Federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws."
There is a long, hard battle ahead towards fair drug laws, or removal of the Prohibition altogether. But that battle will never be won if we don't get involved. And the more of us that rally around the Drug Law Reform banner, the sooner we win the war on the War on Drugs.
So how do you get started? There are a number of ways. Here are some of the most helpful.

• Visit The Lindesmith Organization. They are one of the most well equipped, pro drug law reform organizations in the world. Donate money to them if you have it, or become a member. Explore their web-site. It contains numerous resources, including an area that will help you find out what you can dolocally. Sign up for their newsletter as it will help you with the next step.
• Get informed. Learn about the issues, find out what's being voted on locally and nationally, and who stands where. A good place to start is the book Drug War Heresies by Robert MacCoun. He examines the issue from an agnostic standpoint, and presents all the evidence. It’s a good place to get armed for battle. Other resources are your local and national periodicals, and the many pro-drug sites on the internet. Now that you have your ammunition…
• Write. There are two places you need to get letters to in a hurry.
  The first is your political representatives. For Americans this means your state government, as well as the President, your Senators and your Congressmen. You can find out who these people are and how to contact them here: http://www.berkshire.net/7Eifas/activist/index1.html.
  When writing them, number your points (#1, #2, #3&#8230 , and request that they respond to each number in order. This can help your letter to be read by the actual recipient and not his or her assistant, and prevent you from getting back a form letter that doesn't address your issues. Be careful how you word things, and make sure that you can back up any of your claims with facts.
  The second, and maybe more important place to write is the editor of your local paper. The editorials are one of the most widely read parts of the paper, and can have a huge influence on the readers. You can write in response to a particular article, or just on the subject of the drug war, or a particular drug war issue. Try to use good grammar and keep it under two hundred words.
  Something to keep in mind when writing to the editor is that the preferred style is called pyramid. Basically, you want to make your main point in the first sentence and then let each sentence thereafter back it up. A good pyramid structured letter or article can be cut at any point and still make sense.
  The letters with the best chance of getting published are those that are short, pyramid, and well-written without bogus claims or attacking positions. Use facts not anger to make your point.
• And most importantly tell a friend, convince a parent, and help someone else get started being an activist. Drug law reform will be won by word of mouth and grassroots campaigning. The sooner we get started the sooner we'll be free. The movement that got the unfair racial discrimination laws changed began when one little lady decided she wouldn't get up for a white man.

[ 21 December 2001: Message edited by: PuristLove ]

very nice
another site: www.drcnet.org

Excellent.

Great!
Maybe this could be posted in the Life forum?
I feel sick to the stomach when I think of the disastrous civil wars happening/brewing in South America that have been partially caused by ramifications of anti-drug policy.

I really don't think most illegal drugs should be legalized with the exception of weed, and perhaps cocaine to ensure the level of quality control. Heroin should not be legalized if it was we'd in all probability have a nation of narcoleptically afflicted individuals nodding out in midsentence every five seconds. Cocaine possibly because it has several beneficial properties, number one it can enhance metabolic functioning by increasing the thermogenic effect, enabling weight loss easier for people who have slow metabolisms, (hypothyroidism)and endomorphic someotypes, and even then they shouldn't have it forced upon them only administered by voluntary choice because cocaine has other adversely effecting drawbacks physically if overabused.
And it can increase mental alertness which can increase productivity levels for people who utilize their cerebral faculties frequently in their occupation or personal projects.
Marajuana shoule probably be legalized cause I think a good euphoric pot high is relatively safe as long as you make sure its not adulterated with additional psychocative substances ie:
psychedelic hallucinogens which can be damging to your mental health. Or in some unique cases may precipitate an especially odd reaction like it does in some people who claim to have kundalini arousals, which is a weird bizarre form of spiritual emergence phenomena. Which incidentally happened to me once and I don't feel inclined to divulge too much info related to that.

This was never intended to open the debate on whether or not they SHOULD be legalized. Because such discussion is an obvious corrolary with this one I have opened a topic in Current Events and Politics for it: Should Drugs be Legalized?
[ 23 December 2001: Message edited by: PuristLove ]

Thanks for the info. I agree, alot of people bitch about drugs not being legal, (including myself), and don't do anything about it. If you believe in something get up, be heard, and do something about the situation. That also goes for politics.......if you don't like a law your voted in politician passed, then write them, email them, or somehow get ahold of them. I have done that but in never occured to me that I could do something legally about drugs. Thanks again. Peace-j
[ 23 December 2001: Message edited by: illuminati stylez ]

suppose you were to send a letter to a local government rep in regards to the drug laws. could they somehow discriminate against you in future legal situations, considering your involvement in the drug culture? i know this is a paranoid question, but i want to be aware of any potential bullshit because i want to help out.

Well first of all, there are a lot of people who are for legalization that do not use drugs and are not involved in any way with the drug culture. So they wouldn't automatically make that assumption.
Secondly, the Constitution should protect you from such travesties; however, recent history is replete with people's Constitutional Rights being trampled on in the name of the Drug War.
Third, ask a lawyer before taking me too seriously, they would know far better than I do. I have a feeling that if your letter was somehow used against you then you would be able to fight it in Court.
Pure

If you've never seen NARCO NEWS please please please check it out. (www.narconews.com)
If the powers-that-be had their way this site would be gone...
www.narconews.com
Oh, and much love to P. Love for raising the issues... remember people, while that sweet sweet cocaine is twirling up your nasal passages, somewhere, not so far away, a farmer is being shot.

Damn good post. I'm going to stop bitching about it on this website and start writing some letters to all my representatives.
I've already opened my parents' eyes on the situation of the drug war and why they are illegal, so I guess converting two conservative republicans is a start eh.
What about trying to gain support for political parties that support our cause. The Libertarian party for one is a party that is growing in strentgth and would with our support. Just a thought.

I am already fairly active in the fight for more sensible drug laws (personally I prefer laws which essentially make all drugs into amsterdam style coffeshops (decriminilization of use and tolerance of sale eliminating the violence) but not "feeling shitty, just do coke" commercials) and I have a couple comments.
Writing letters etc.. is of course a very good thing to do. No, writing a letter to your congressperson isn't going to get you on a FBI list. First of all if discovered this would be a sscandal of tremendous proportions secondly if the FBI kept a list of every college student who wanted drugs legalized it would be watching half the population. If you sent a letter saying you run a drug lab or wanted to assasinate the president it would be differnt.
Getting involved in further activism is great. Alot of you are probably college aged, look up your local SSDP (students for a sensible drug policy) group or if you aren't you could get involved in your local NORML chapter or whatever. However, what the movement certainly does not need are extremists. You might believe the liqour store should sell crack over the counter or that everyone should smoke marijuanna or that the DEA is worse than the taliban (yes they probably are in terms of total harm to US society). However, if you present these problems not only are you dismissed as a crack pot but people will dismiss any drug reformers.
What do you think happened to the hippies. They had great mobilization for marijuanna legalization but they came off (because they were) as crazy extremists who tied MJ to free love LSD to spiritual enlightenment and wanted to overthrow the government. They generated antipathy for their cause in the public rather than sympathy and ultimately lost.
Conversely George Soros and some of the more modren people behind MMJ presented a minor issue unconnected with extremists positions and are finally making some headway.
So if you want to get involved great...just please don't do more harm then good.
P.S. Whoever wanted to make cocaine legal while keeping heroin illegal you are a fucking idiot. History shows us that society can function even when morphine/heroin is readily availible (in every medicine cabinet as laundinum w/ a significant number of respectable people using) in usefull form. Many notable historical individuals have produced great works while being opiate addicts. While coke was availible for a great deal of time in this country (coca-cola) it wasn't ever greatly prevalent in powder form (eating it is a far cry from snorting lines). Moreover, while long term opiate use does not cause mental decline or nearly any harmful effects on the body cocaine addicts quickly deteriate into psychosis.
There is a reason there are Methadone maintenence programs for opiate users but their aren't any cocaine maintence programs

i think that "legalization" is the wrong focus just because of such debates this has raised here - which drugs are ok and which aren't? that is what the current hypocritical prohibition is all about - alcohol is ok, but marijauna lands you in jail.
the focus and issue should be decriminalization! nobody should say its ok to hit yourself in the head with a hammer, (well, honestly i think non-insanity self-abuse and suicide should be perfectly legal), but it shouldn't warrant a 20 year prison sentence! did it hurt someone else?