Intrepid
Founder
106 posts
Oct 22, 2009
3:37 AM
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It's been said that there's nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Our discussion about marijuana in CA this week, and the research I've done because of the discussion, has convinced me that the time is ripe to begin to find a way to unravel the mess known as the "war-on-drugs."
This bill won't be the end of the war, but it will represent a beginning of the end.
Here's the bill, S.714, that Sen Jim Webb (D-VA) has introduced.
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Whereas, the overall situation regarding the use of drugs in our society and the crime and misery that accompany it has continued to deteriorate for several decades; and
Whereas, our society has continued to attempt, at enormous financial cost and loss of civil liberties, to resolve drug abuse problems through the criminal justice system, with the accompanying increase of prisons and numbers of inmates; and
Whereas, the huge untaxed revenues generated by the illicit drug trade are undermining legitimate governments world-wide; and
Whereas, the present system has spawned a cycle of hostility by the incarceration of disproportionate numbers of African-Americans, Hispanics, and other minority groups; and
Whereas, the number of people who have contracted AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases from contaminated hypodermic needles is epidemic under our present system; and
Whereas, in our society's zeal to pursue our criminal approach, legitimate medical uses for the relief of pain and suffering of patients have been suppressed;
Therefore be it resolved that our society must recognize drug use and abuse as the medical and social problems that they are, and that they must be treated with medical and social solutions; and
Further be it resolved that an objective commission be immediately empowered by the President and by Congress to recommend revisions of the drug laws of these United States in order to reduce the harm our current policies are causing.
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Here is the current list of 34 current co-sponsors:
Sen. Mark Begich [D, AK]
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D, NM]
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D, OH]
Sen. Roland Burris [D, IL]
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D, MD]
Sen. Thomas Carper [D, DE]
Sen. Robert Casey [D, PA]
Sen. Richard Durbin [D, IL]
Sen. Al Franken [D, MN]
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D, NY]
Sen. Lindsey Graham [R, SC]
Sen. Kay Hagan [D, NC]
Sen. Thomas Harkin [D, IA]
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R, UT]
Sen. John Kerry [D, MA]
Sen. Mary Landrieu [D, LA]
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D, NJ]
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT]
Sen. Carl Levin [D, MI]
Sen. Blanche Lincoln [D, AR]
Sen. Claire McCaskill [D, MO]
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D, OR]
Sen. Patty Murray [D, WA]
Sen. Bill Nelson [D, FL]
Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV]
Sen. Bernard Sanders [I, VT]
Sen. Charles Schumer [D, NY]
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME]
Sen. Arlen Specter [D, PA]
Sen. Jon Tester [D, MT]
Sen. Mark Udall [D, CO]
Sen. Mark Warner [D, VA]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D, RI]
Sen. Ron Wyden [D, OR]
That's more than a third of the Senate (Kennedy was also a co-sponsor) and the bill has its first consideration by the judiciary committee today at 10 AM.
What can you do? You can write your Senator stating your support of the bill. If your Senator is a co-sponsor thank him, or her, for their support. If your Senator isn't a sponsor ask them to support it and give your reasons. Print out your letter and make copies available to all your friends and family. Ask them to reach out in a widening network of people who agree. If it's not too great an expense, provide them with a pre-addressed envelope for your Senator.
You can get addresses at this site: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
If you collect so many letters that sending them one at at a time is too great an expense, send them in a batch.
Here's a form you can use for Senators not yet on-board. Feel free to change it in any way you think is right.
Dear Senator _____________:
I'm writing you to ask your support or co-sponsorship of S.714. In over 30 years, we've spent over a trillion dollars in a well intentioned effort to eradicate the illegal use of drugs and their effects on society. As a result of this effort we have a higher percentage of citizens incarcerated in this country than any other. After all the effort and expense we still have a drug problem, and more prisoners than we can afford to support.
It's time to recognize that more money and more programs won't fix the problem. S.714 represents a way to re-examine the issue, something I feel must be done at this time.
Thank you for your consideration,
(signed)
Name
Address
You'll get a very nice letter from your Senator(s) thanking you for your input and assuring you that he/she shares your concern.
This relatively small community is spread across many states. If you get involved we CAN make a difference. If each of us causes 10 letters to be sent we can have a big impact. Some of the people we contact will "catch fire" and cause more letters to be written. My previous experience tells me that I'll easily cause over 100 people to write.
{I}
Last Edited on 26-Oct-2009 9:33 AM
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