HOW TO MAKE DRUGSENSE WORK FOR YOU

Many people know about some of DrugSense's resources. Perhaps you read
articles about drug policy on our site or visited one of the Web sites that
we host. Among others, our most used resources include the Media Awareness
Project (MAP) (http://www.mapinc.org) and Drug Policy Central (DPC)
(http://www.drugpolicycentral.com).

But do you know how to use these valuable tools? Say, search for the
Congressional voting record on the Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment, or locate
all pro-reform newspapers in the Washington, DC area? If it pertains to
drug policy, DrugSense has it.

That's what this series is about. How to use the tools offered by DrugSense
to change drug policy worldwide. We'll be sending this tutorial to you
approximately every month. You may want to save these messages in a
special place for future reference.

In addition, each DrugSense "How Do You??" will be archived in the
Tutorials forum at DrugSense, which is available to registered members at
http://drugsense.org/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=27

Our first edition will overview all of our services. In addition, we
encourage you to explore these possibilities further by visiting
http://drugsense.org/. Our next edition in this series will focus on a
specific tool in detail.

TOOLS FROM DRUGSENSE/MAP -- #1 -- INTRODUCTION

DrugSense integrates a number of projects and services to encourage online
media activism with respect to drug policy. These include the DrugNews
Archive, the DrugSense Weekly newsletter, Focus Alerts, MAP OnAir, the MAP
Contact Database, the Drug Policy Links Database, and the Drug Policy
Central Web hosting service.

The DrugNews Archive. The Media Awareness Project has been electronically
collecting, cataloging, and archiving news articles about drug policy from
various publications since 1996. The archive now tops 125,000 fully
searchable newspaper, magazine, and Web articles on all aspects of drug
policy regardless of spin. You can read articles on line at the MAP website
or have them delivered to you by e-mail. http://www.drugnews.org/

DrugSense Weekly Newsletter. Each week, approximately twenty articles are
selected from the hundreds submitted to form the DrugSense Weekly
newsletter. By providing a synopsis of the most important developments in
the drug policy arena through the lens of these articles, DrugSense Weekly
may represent the finest overview and analysis of drug policy
developments. http://drugsense.org/html/modules.php?name=DSW

Focus Alerts. Approximately once every other week, one article is chosen
as a Focus Alert. Focus Alerts exert a particularly concentrated
letter-writing effort on a specific newspaper article or editorial usually
in a high profile publication with a relatively large
circulation. http://drugsense.org/html/modules.php?name=Alerts

MAP OnAir. (http://mapinc.org/onair) In addition to text-based media
sources, MAP archives broadcast media appearances and events. Groups can
list and archive both their current and past media events

The MAP Contact Database. (http://www.mapinc.org/contact/) This online
database contains over 25,000 contacts in media, government, and
business. Fully searchable on a number of parameters, it may represent one
of the most extensive contact resources available to drug policy reform
organizations.

Drug Policy Links Database. (http://www.mapinc.org/dpr.htm) This database
combines the power of the Google search engine with depth of the DrugSense
and MAP databases to comb more than 400 Web sites on either side of this issue.

Drug Policy Central. (http://www.drugpolicycentral.com/) DrugSense
provides Web hosting, e-mail discussion lists, newsfeeds, web design,
graphics, programming, and technical support to more than 150 organizations
that also strive to reform drug policy. Services are offered for free or on
a reasonably priced, fee-for-service basis using sliding scale that
reflects the ability of each group to pay.

W H A T'S N E W

DrugSense just launched a new look for its site at
http://www.DrugSense.org/, making it a premier "Web portal" for drug
policy. Now all of the resources mentioned above are together in one
convenient location. By registering at our new site, you'll be able to get
the most out of these existing services, as well as access our new premium
services, all for free. Here's how:

Bring up the new DrugSense site by clicking on this link:
http://www.DrugSense.org. The heading on the box at the top right corner
of your screen should say "Login." If you have already created a Nickname
(also sometimes called a "username") and Password, you enter them here. If
not, click on "Create One Here." On the "User Registration/Login" page,
you'll need to supply a Nickname, your E-mail address, and your Zip/Postal
code. You'll also need to create a password. Because some services are
personalized, "Cookies" should be enabled on your Web browser. Please check
your browser's Help section for information on "Cookies" and how to
activate them.

After you have entered your information and have clicked the "New User"
button, you will receive an E-mail message notifying you of the account's
registration and verifying your Nickname and Password. Clicking on the
supplied link in the message activates your account. When you next visit
the DrugSense site, you may use your Nickname and Password to "Login" and
gain full access to all DrugSense resources including our new blog, forums,
and audio/visual library. These will be covered in future "How Do You??"
messages. Please note that some systems "remember" your Nickname and
Password so you don't have to enter them again.

W H A T'S N E X T

Do you ever wonder how to find a specific piece of information in the vast
MAP archive? For our next edition, we will review the MAP search engine at
http://www.mapinc.org/find/. Look for a message entitled, "How Do You?? --
Tools from DrugSense/MAP -- #2 -- Searching."

M A I N T E N A N C E

If you know of additional ways to encourage sensible drug policies or if
you would like us to cover a particular topic in our "How Do You??" series,
please place your ideas in the Suggestion Box on our Forums section at
http://drugsense.org/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f&

D O N A T E - Help Promote Sensible Drug Policy

DrugSense is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides accurate
information about drug policy to heighten awareness about the expensive,
ineffective, and destructive "War on Drugs."

Did you know that, since we began to promote sensible drug policies in
1996, DrugSense's has spent only 0.5% of what taxpayers paid to support
just the 2003 National Anti-Drug Media Campaign sponsored by the Office of
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)? In spite of being outspent by almost
$800/$1, DrugSense-sponsored sites have been as much as four times more
popular than opponent sites. Now that's effective!

Your contributions make this happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web
server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards. If
you'd prefer, you can mail your check or money or order to DrugSense, 14252
Culver Drive #328, Irvine, CA 92604-0326.

Remember, DrugSense Makes Sense. Thank you!

Mary Jane Borden is a writer, artist, and activist in drug policy from
Westerville, Ohio. She holds an MBA from the University of Dayton and the
APR certification from the Public Relations Society of America. She is a
past president of the Columbus Chapter of the Association for Women in
Communications and its affiliated Columbus Matrix Foundation. Borden is
co-founder of the Ohio Patient Network (http://www.ohiopatient.net) and
currently holds the position of Fund Raising Specialist/Business Manager
with DrugSense/MAP.