ELECTED OFFICIALS, VIPS AND GRASSROOTS SLAM DRUG WAR ON 40TH ANNIVERSARY

June 17 will mark forty years since President Richard Nixon, citing
drug abuse as "public enemy No. 1," officially declared a "war on
drugs." A trillion dollars and millions of ruined lives later, the war
on drugs has proven to be a catastrophic failure.

The Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading organization promoting
drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human
rights, will host a press conference at 1pm on Thursday, June 16 at
the Newseum in Washington D.C.

Elected officials such as Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and
Congressmembers John Conyers of Michigan, Jared Polis of Colorado and
Maxine Waters of California, along with celebrities like Sonja Sohn
(The Wire), will speak at the event and call for an exit strategy from
the failed war on drugs.

The event is free to the public and you can RSVP on our facebook page.
If you can't make it to the event you can watch it live at the Newseum
website.

This meeting will set the stage for the following national day of
action. Dozens of events will be held throughout the country,
including major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San
Francisco and New Orleans.

These events come on the heels of the Global Commission on Drug
Policy, which released a groundbreaking report on June 2 calling for a
paradigm shift in how our society deals with drugs, including
decriminalization and allowing countries to experiment with models of
legal regulation. The commission is comprised of international
dignitaries including Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the
United Nations; Richard Branson, entrepreneur, founder of the Virgin
Group; and the former presidents of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and
Switzerland. George P. Shultz and Paul Volcker are U.S.
commissioners.

Day of Action events include:

Washington, DC: Leaders from African American and religious
communities, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and Dr. Ron Daniels, will
hold a forum at the National Press Club on June 17th to denounce
current drug war policies. Leaders will call for a new direction in
drug policy that reduces the role of the criminal justice system and
that addresses the devastating impact of drug policies on black
communities.

Chicago: Hundreds of Chicagoans will gather at the James R Thompson
Center to rally against the drug policies that have led to injustices
such as the extreme racial disparities in Illinois's prisons and jails.

Los Angeles: Grassroots organizations and students, including Students
for Sensible Drug Policy, Pico Youth and Family Center, Moms United to
End the War on Drugs, All of Us or None, Homies Unidos and other
criminal justice organizations, will stage a Day of Action to call for
an end to the war on drugs and mass incarceration. Also, the William C.
Velasquez Institute will host a forum in Los Angeles with top Latino
leaders to discuss the impact of the drug war on Latino communities. The
forum will be broadcast live on public radio.
New York City: Advocates, community leaders and elected officials will
attend a forum and silent vigil at the Harlem State Office Building to
highlight the impacts of the drug war on NY communities. The event is
being organized by Women on the Rise Telling HerStory (WORTH)

New Orleans: Local criminal justice organizations will commemorate the
40th anniversary of President Nixon's declaration of the war on drugs
with a Second Line March that is a "Funeral for the failed war on drugs."

Students for Sensible Drug Policy is coordinating candlelight vigils
in more than 20 cities in North America, including one in Mexico City.
The vigils will be held in remembrance of the victims of the war on
drugs, and will highlight the message that the war on drugs is a war
on all of us.

"Some anniversaries provide an occasion for celebration, others a time
for reflection, still others a time for action," said Ethan Nadelmann,
executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Forty years after
President Nixon declared his war on drugs, we're seizing upon this
anniversary to prompt both reflection and action. And we're asking
everyone who harbors reservations about the war on drugs -- to join us
in this enterprise.