Dear Readers,

A short while ago I posted an editorial which was printed in the Miami
Herald on Tuesday, 22 June, titled "Dazed And Confused - On Medical
Marijuana. It is posted at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n665.a02.html

Within the hour of my posting I saw the first LTE sent to the Miami Herald
in response to this most interesting editorial as a copy was posted to our
MAP discussion list, MAPTALK. I am sure there will be many more.

But what has me dazed and confused is how we had to find the editorial for
posting. It was posted to a popular discussion list, one of many I follow.
I know that the regular readers of the list are well aware of the volunteer
effort at MAP to secure items like the editorial and redistribute them to
many thousands, easily more than ten times the number who would see it on
even the largest discussion list.

But, it seems, for reasons I find hard to understand, people post good news
and opinion items to discussion lists without even sending a copy to
editor@mapinc.org

Just, at a minimum, send a copy to editor@mapinc.org - it requires nothing
else, nothing to join, no special OK. Just send it! Your email address will
not be used in any post (unless YOU carefully follow the instructions
required to make it appear.)

Yes, it would be nice if the posts contained a little more info, and are
set up as well as can be as shown in the instructions at:

http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm

But we, the volunteer editing/posting team, will do the best we can with
what we receive at editor@mapinc.org

It sure would be nice to know why we sometimes see important articles,
editorials, OPEDs, and so on from the press floating around on discussions
lists when we have not received copies. Why would anyone not want the large
number of activist MAP readers who respond with LTEs and OPEDs to see an
editorial?

Have we done something to offend? Do folks think we are some well financed
organization with a paid staff that can track down the items on their own
(instead of just a large bunch of volunteers trying to do something of
value for change)?

Please, clue me in! Or if I am the problem, and you do not want to say it,
send a note to our Volunteer Coordinator, Jo-D, jo-d@mapinc.org

Please understand, we all very much appreciate all that you who are
volunteer newshawks, editors, LTE writers, FOCUS Alert writers, webmasters,
listmasters, and so on, do! MAP/DrugSense is seen as important by our Drug
Czar not because we have some huge stash of cash, but because we have
gathered together a dedicated group of internet activists, you!

Ok, end of rant. Other subjects:

Noticed that there are new webpages and a discussion list for Florida
folks: See:
http://drugsense.org/dpffl/

And that the much discussed "Drug Bust: The Longest War," Geraldo Rivera
Reports, NBC News; 6/20/99 is online as a realvideo, thanks to the Campaign
for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp, at:
http://www.crrh.org/hemptv/docs_nbc699.html

Richard Lake
Senior Editor; MAPnews, MAPnews-Digest and DrugNews-Digest
Over 23,000 Drug-Related News Clippings in a searchable archive!
http://www.DrugSense.org/drugnews/
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http://www.MAPinc.org/lists/
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