USE YOUR FREEDOMS WHILE YOU HAVE THEM

IN a powerful victory recently, the ACLU, the Drug Policy Alliance and
other groups defeated the Bush administration in federal court. Our freedom
of speech and our right to tell the truth were at stake -- in the face of a
federal law that banned, from certain public areas, advertisements that
question any aspect of the federal policy of prohibition of marijuana. The
law that was struck down had even banned paid ads on public transit
facilities regarding the legalization of medical cannabis.

In other words, even though the voters of California legalized cannabis for
medical use in 1996, the federal government would prevent information about
it from reaching the public.

Thanks to the advocates, we have won the right to tell the truth. Now, we
must make sure to take full advantage of our freedoms while we have them.

Since Richard Nixon launched his "war on marijuana," hundreds of millions
of taxpayer dollars have been spent to prosecute and imprison non-violent
people, primarily young people of color, while our schools, libraries, and
public health facilities suffer for lack of funding.

Attorney General John Ashcroft has said that he considers the medical use
of marijuana to be the same as non-medical use, even if the voters of a
state explicitly pass a law legalizing medical use -- and he insists on
treating marijuana more strictly than cocaine.

The federal government has ignored its own findings, including those from
the marijuana study commissioned by Richard Nixon, that: "Most users, young
and old, demonstrate an average or above-average degree of social
functioning, academic achievement, and job performance. ... marijuana does
not cause violent or aggressive behavior; if anything marijuana serves to
inhibit the expression of such behavior. ... Neither the marijuana user nor
the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety" (The
Shafer Commission Report, 1972).

When the public questions the wisdom of the expensive policy of prohibition
and imprisonment, the government tries to ban speech.

Once again, the administration is trying to continue an expensive and
wasteful war even in the face of mounting evidence that this war destroys
lives and is also a miserable failure.

There is a better way. We don't need to put up with the endless violations
of our civil rights, civil liberties, financial health and human dignity
that the war on cannabis has become.

The Oakland Cannabis Initiative seeks to promote a more sensible, less
war-oriented policy toward cannabis while advancing the national debate.
The initiative calls for policies that tax and regulate cannabis for adults
to keep it off the streets, away from kids, and to raise funds for vital
local services.

To learn more or to get involved, please visit www.taxandregulate.org or
call the Oakland Cannabis Initiative 268-3227.