NOTE: This Alert is being forwarded to our Focus Alert volunteers in a cooperative effort with the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). While it is not our usual approach of encouraging letters to the editor, MPP has developed an excellent and easy way for you to take action below. Let's all work together to turn up the heat on the DEA for its egregious attempts to undermine the will of the people. Please forward this alert widely to your family and friends in the United States, or tell them to visit http://www.mpp.org/USA Dear Friend: On October 25, with our nation still focused on the war against terrorism, 30 DEA agents raided the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center, which distributed medical marijuana to nearly 1,000 seriously ill people, most of whom have AIDS. The DEA seized all of the center's computers, files, bank account, plants, and medicine. The clinic, which had been the largest and most well run medical marijuana distribution center in southern California, is now out of business, and its patients are now combing the streets to buy marijuana from street dealers. In response to the raid, a U.S. Justice Department spokesperson said, "The recent enforcement is indicative that we have not lost our priorities in other areas since Sept. 11," according to The New York Times on October 31. This is an outrageous statement, and it's time for us to fight back. Please visit http://www.mpp.org/USA to send a pre-written letter of protest to your U.S. representative. H.R. 2592, the states' rights medical marijuana bill currently pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, would change federal law so that the DEA would no longer be able to prosecute patients in states that authorize medical marijuana. MPP's Web site will determine whether your U.S. representative (1) has never taken action to change federal medical marijuana policy, (2) has previously supported medical marijuana in Congress but has not yet co- sponsored H.R. 2592, or (3) is already a co-sponsor of H.R. 2592. Regardless of how supportive or hostile your U.S. representative is, MPP has developed a series of pre-written letters that you can choose from, with different letters tailored to each of the three groups of House members mentioned above. Please visit http://www.mpp.org/USA to send a pre-written letter. THE WHOLE PROCESS TAKES LESS THAN TWO MINUTES. Amazingly, the DEA has not yet arrested anyone associated with the L.A. center, because the DEA knows that a California jury would not convict anyone associated with the operation. Instead, the DEA meekly claimed that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in May proves that the DEA is authorized to enforce federal laws against marijuana, even in the eight states that permit medical marijuana use. The DEA is correct in its legal assessment of the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Congress did, in fact, declare in 1970 that marijuana has no medical use whatsoever, and the Court ruled that the DEA can enforce this law. The Court also said, however, that the people can change this law by persuading Congress to do so. So that is what we must do. Please visit http://www.mpp.org/USA to tell your U.S. representative to change federal law. Members of Congress can no longer say that medical marijuana "isn't a priority" of the federal government. During our nation's darkest hours since September 11, the federal government has raided not one, but three medical marijuana operations -- the L.A. center on October 25, a medical marijuana garden in Ventura County, California, and a medical marijuana clinic in Cool, California. If we are going to convince Congress that medical marijuana really is an issue they should deal with -- because, after all, it really is an issue that the DEA is dealing with -- then now is the time to take action. It is shocking that the U.S. Justice Department is claiming it needs more taxpayer money to fight terrorism, while an agency within the Department is planning and executing raids against the LEAST DANGEROUS people in our society -- cancer patients, people in wheelchairs, and those suffering from AIDS and MS. Please visit http://www.mpp.org/USA right now. Thank you, Rob Kampia Executive Director Marijuana Policy Project P.S. There is not yet a medical marijuana bill in the U.S. Senate. I will send you a separate alert if and when a bill is finally introduced. HOW TO SUPPORT THE MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT MPP is funded entirely by the contributions of its dues-paying members nationwide. To support MPP's work and receive the quarterly newsletter "Marijuana Policy Report," please send $25.00 annual dues to: Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) P.O. Box 77492 Capitol Hill Washington, D.C. 20013 202-232-0442 FAX Because MPP devotes 100% of its efforts toward influencing public policy, contributions are not tax-deductible. However, donations to MPP Foundation, MPP's educational branch, are tax-deductible and can be made on-line at http://www.mpp.org/join-mpp.html = Please help us help reform.

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