Support Nevada Police Who Endorse Initiative PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 249 August 13, 2002 Last week the largest police association in the state of Nevada, NCOPS, issued a press release in which they endorsed the upcoming Nevada marijuana initiative with a vote of 9-0. Following three days of outcry from surprised opponents of the proposed measure, including a number of high ranking police officials, the association's president Andy Anderson resigned and the group reversed their public stance. Five of the other eight officers who supported the endorsement then backpedaled, claiming they had been confused when Anderson polled them via telephone and thought he was referring to a 'medical marijuana question', etc. For these officers, who have been on the job prior to Nevada's passage of a medical marijuana initiative in 1998/2000, to issue such a limp retraction displays not only questionable integrity, but also an embarrassing indictment of how much the War on Marijuana has provoked officers nationwide to compromise their common sense and actual street experience; all in the name of supporting the Blue Line. Please write a letter to the various Nevada newspapers listed below and let them know how you feel about the NCOPS original endorsement and also their subsequent reversal. In addition, please consider an extra letter to your local newspaper(s) either thanking them for their coverage of the Nevada marijuana initiative, or asking them why they have not had any coverage for this potentially ground breaking initiative. 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 sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list () will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one very effective way of gauging our impact and effectiveness. CONTACT INFO Go here for the most up to date links on archived news and opinion items for the Nevada marijuana initiative. All articles will provide an E-mail address for easy transmittal of your LTE. http://www.mapinc.org/find?162 Note that a number of the articles are from newspapers outside Nevada. These papers really need to hear from you as well as the Nevada wraps. the MAP contract database provided this list of email addresses for Nevada newspapers (NOTE:We are currently updating and fine tuning the MAP contact database so some of these addresses could be out of date) Nevada Newspapers: , , , , , , , , , , , , , For current newspaper Email contact info for any other newspaper see: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/email.htm Here are the two key articles which create the framework for this discussion. US NV: Marijuana Ballot Issue - Police Back Legalization URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1463/a09.html AND: (thanks to our friends atcannabisnews.com for this complete version) US NV: Police Group Retracts Support Of Marijuana http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread13704.shtml SAMPLE LETTER To the Editor: The dual news stories last week of the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs first endorsing the proposed Nevada ballot initiative to amend current marijuana laws and then reversing their stance following NCOPS President Andy Anderson's resignation made for a sad commentary. In the past 30 years, stringent and harsh criminal sanctions against responsible adult marijuana use have done nothing to reduce use. Rather they have helped create the largest criminal black market in the nation outside of arms and weapons. This criminal market helps fund more dangerous and violent activities which endanger not only police, but the public they serve. Smart, street-wise police know full well the drag that enforcing marijuana prohibition laws have on their primary mission of protecting and serving the public. As the departing Anderson stated in his original endorsement of the initiative, "....a single (marijuana) arrest would take anywhere from a couple of hours to about half my shift....time that could have been better spent on the streets addressing violent crime." More questions need to be asked of the eight NCOPS board members who backpedaled Friday, claiming 'confusion' as to what Anderson was asking them during his telephone survey earlier in the week. Further, close scrutiny should be used against any and all law officers who campaign against the initiative on taxpayer time. Police should be using their job hours to enforce the law, not lobby for or against proposed changes. Respectfully submitted, Stephen Heath (contact info) 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. TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm 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 Heath http://www.flcan.org Focus Alert Specialist

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