Congress Censoring Drug Policy Reform

[Sophree]

First the Moveon.org ad, now this. What is happening to the 1st Amendment???? I guess it only applies to the "right" kind of citizens now. Anyone know who this Rep. Ernest Istook (R) Oklahoma is? Okies?

This madness they call the "Drug War" will never end until and unless we demand it too. Are you tired of having your tax dollars spent on this wastefulness? Are you tired of being conned/scammed/royally screwed??? Please write a quick note to your Senators about this important 1st Amendment issue, and you'll also have a chance to voice your displeasure with the "Drug War."

Thanks all!

From the Drug Policy Alliance:

Congressional Censorship Update

The Alliance is preparing to go to battle against the government. In December we warned you about a provision that will censor marijuana reform efforts. Rep. Ernest Istook, an Oklahoma Republican, snuck language into a federal spending bill that will effectively ban private advertising on buses, subways, or trains in support of marijuana law reform - including campaign ads in support of medical marijuana ballot measures. Worse still, the same bill also spends $145 million in taxpayer money on anti-marijuana government propaganda. This federal spending bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives late last year, and the U.S. Senate will most likely vote on it next week.

If you haven't faxed your Senators yet, please do so today. While there is only a small chance that we can stop this bill from passing (the reason why drug war extremists snuck this censorship provision into it), we need to show Congress that voters are outraged. This will give the Alliance leverage to work on removing the censorship provisions from the spending bills when they are voted on again at the end of the year. We need to show that we have your support and the support of the American people.

In addition to this legislative strategy that can repeal the ban if it passes, the Drug Policy Alliance is preparing to sue the federal government to have the ban overturned in court. We will keep you updated as our plans develop - we will definitely need your help!

ACTIONS TO TAKE

1) Fax your Senators and tell them to protect free speech. You can fax them for free at

2) Forward this alert to your friends, family, and co-workers. We need thousands of Americans to fax Congress.

MORE INFORMATION

Every year Congress passes 13 federal spending bills providing money to various federal agencies. Sometimes the House passes a spending bill that is different from a bill the Senate passes. When that is the case, Congress appoints what is called a "conference committee" to reconcile differences between the two bills. This conference committee then sends a final version of the bill to both the House and Senate for one final up and down vote, with no chance for amendments. Members of the conference committee frequently add controversial things to the spending bill at the last minute, knowing that their colleagues won't vote against an entire spending bill just because one thing in it is controversial.

This year Congressional leadership decided to reconcile multiple spending bills within one conference committee, producing a single federal spending bill (known as an "omnibus" spending bill) to send to the House and Senate floor for a final vote. This tactic allowed them to slip in all sorts of controversial things they could not otherwise pass into law. They know that Members of Congress are unlikely to vote against such an omnibus funding bill just because they don't like some of its parts.

During conference, House and Senate leaders loaded up the omnibus bill (HR 2673) with dozens of controversial provisions. One such provision, added by Rep. Ernest Istook Jr. (R-OK), would prohibit any transit system that receives federal funds from running advertising for groups that want to decriminalize or legalize marijuana. If enacted, it would prevent groups like Change the Climate and the Drug Policy Alliance from buying ad space on buses, trains, and subways around the country. It would prevent drug policy reformers from getting our reform message directly to the American people.

At the same time, the omnibus bill gives the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) $145 million to run anti-marijuana ads next year. (This provision was already a part of one of the federal spending bills that Congress considered earlier this year and was not added by the conference committee. The amount of taxpayer money spent on government anti-marijuana ads would have been significantly higher had the Drug Policy Alliance and other groups not worked to cut the budget.). ONDCP has already spent taxpayer money on television commercials comparing drug users to terrorists and claiming that smoking marijuana will make you a pregnant rape victim, make you shoot your neighbor, or make you run over little kids with your car. This year's ads could be even more outrageous.

The omnibus spending bill was approved by the House last year and the Senate will likely vote on the bill sometime during the week of January 19. Because the bill cannot be amended to remove the controversial provisions, the only way to prevent them from becoming law is if a majority of the Senate votes against the entire omnibus bill. While this is very unlikely, it is possible.

The Drug Policy Alliance is urging voters to contact their Senators and tell them to vote against the omnibus spending bill (HR 2673) because it was put together in an undemocratic manner and contains provisions that suppress free speech.

You can fax your Members of Congress for free.
Read the Washington Post news story on the controversial provision.
The full text of the very large omnibus bill can be viewed by going to Thomas and clicking on HR2673.
The relevant provision can be viewed here.
Excerpts from the conference report can be viewed here.
Read Drug Policy Alliance's press release on this issue.



Learn More




Contact the Drug Policy Alliance:

Drug Policy Alliance
70 West 36th Street, 16th Floor
New York, NY 10018

For subscription problems please contact
Jeanette Irwin, Director, Internet Communications
[e-mail] | 202.216.0035

[tom_paine]

1. Just more Soviet behavior from the Soviet-style Imperial Party

They don't like Free Speech unless it's of the kind they like.

So shut your pie-hole, Traitor.

</sarcasm off>

[Sophree]

5. I heard Tweety say last night

That they used to throw people who said un-PC things into insane asylums in the Soviet Union. I can't count all the times I've heard "the insane/looney left," but lately the slur seems especially vicious and malicious. Their way really is the ONLY way, in their minds, and I can easily imagine them rationalizing the wrong type of person being "disappeared." They rationalize all the other anti-liberty tactics going on now, for pete's sake!!

[bobbieinok]

2. Istook is a Mormon, I think

and how did he get elected in southern baptist/pentecostal OK????

Mormons and so bapts and pentecostals agree on lots of social issues

[cthrumatrix]

3. we have no idea how they "repackage initiatives" -- just like the FBI

like the FBI expansion of powers signed on 12/13/03..same day as SH capture ..shrub signed on a saturday.

patriot act II was "repackaged"...did you know this?

[Sophree]

4. Yes, I did know that.

But I wouldn't have if I had not read that Truthout article. It completely flew under my radar, and I really do try to pay attention.

I also passed it on to the other drug policy reform activists I know locally, but the number of people who know about that is even less than the number of people who know about PATRIOT Act II.