DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 136 November 17,1999 Renee Boje Case Could Bring Scrutiny to American Marijuana Policy TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE SEE THE INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS FOCUS ALERT PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 136 November 17,1999 NOTE: Glamour Magazine has a circulation of 2.2 million demographically important readers. If your letter is published it will have an equivalent advertising value of $1,320 fore every inch of text published! Go for it! --- The publicity surrounding Renee Boje was pushed up a notch last week as Glamour Magazine published an in-depth and sympathetic report on her case. Renee is the American woman who is now seeking asylum in Canada after being charged in the same federal marijuana "conspiracy" case that involves activists/medical marijuana users Todd McCormick and Peter McWilliams. The Glamour article (below) offers an excellent summary of Renee's story, and Renee offers some priceless wisdom to all who are fighting against the cruelty of the drug war: "At first I was just in total shock. Then suddenly I lost my fear a few months ago. I was sitting on the beach and meditating, and felt myself change from victim to warrior. I thought, You vote on a law, and it passes, and then the government just ignores it?" (To learn more about Renee and her case, visit her website at http://www.thecompassionclub.org/renee/ or use the MAP shortcut to articles about Renee at http://www.mapinc.org/renee.htm) Please write a letter to Glamour expressing support for Renee and amazement that the federal government would use so many resources to persecute a person who has hurt no one. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the MAPTalk list if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. CONTACT INFO Source: Glamour Magazine (US) Contact: NOTE: This is an exceptionally long article. An excerpt has been provided below giving the basic details. Those interested in reading the entire article are welcome to visit the URL below: URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1226.a03.html Pubdate: Dec 1999 Source: Glamour Magazine (US) Copyright: 1999 Conde' Nast Publications, Inc. Contact: Address: 350 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10017 Fax: (212) 880-6922 Author: David France Cited: Renee's website: http://www.thecompassionclub.org/renee/ MAP's: shortcut to articles about Renee is: http://www.mapinc.org/renee.htm Drug Queenpin or Innocent Victim? When Illustrator Renee Boje Naively Agreed To Help A Friend Prepare A Book About Medical Marijuana, She Never Dreamed She's Become A Fugitive. Glamour Caught Up With Her In Canada To Find Out Why She's Facing And Fighting A 10-Year-To Life Sentence. Nearly two years have passed since Renee Boje kissed her kitten, Yoda-the-Zen-Master, good-bye and told her friends and family a lie - that she was walking away from her life as a Los Angeles - based freelance illustrator to embark on a mystical journey to find herself. "I didn't want to let them know that I was going to leave the country," says the 30-year-old redhead, a shy beauty who wears a dusting of glitter around her spirited eyes. "I didn't want to endanger anyone." Nobody suspected a thing. "If you know Renee, she's - a unique spirit," Jason Boje, 23, says about his sister. "It wasn't weird to me that she wanted to travel around." But the truth was beyond weird. She was on the run from federal drug authorities, and to tell her loved ones that she was heading to Canada could have put them in an awkward position if U.S. Marshals came questioning. This spring, they found her anyway. Now, in a test case that has gained international attention, Boje finds herself at the center of a bitter, high-profile legal feud that pits the state of California against the U.S. Government over the legality of smoking pot for medicinal purposes. She has been charged with growing and possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute it - and she faces a possible prison term of l0 years to life as a medical-marijuana queen pin. But Boje contends she was just helping a friend illustrate a book called How to Grow Medical Marijuana and hanging out at his Los Angeles house, where, after the passage of a new California law, he was growing pot - legally, he believed - for his own medicinal use. Federal authorities are demanding that Canada return Boje to California so that she can stand trial, and have begun extradition proceedings against her. "I thought that his growing marijuana was all perfectly legal," Boje says one August day during an exclusive Glamour interview at the isolated house she calls Zen Central, tucked in the woods on the coast of British Columbia. "I can't even think about serving time." [snip] SAMPLE LETTER (sent) I just read David France's excellent story on Renee Boje ("Drug Queenpin or Innocent Victim?" December), but I am still baffled. Why is the federal government spending such enormous resources to hunt down a woman who has victimized no one? Average citizens are being protected from nothing. Instead a message is being sent to average citizens that if they challenge the federal government, even with the support of a majority of voters, the government will exact a price. Renee's bravery should be a wake-up call to all Americans who still believe government exists to serve the people, and not the other way around. Stephen Young IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Prepared by Stephen Young - http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus Alert Specialist

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