YOU DOWN WITH MPP?

The Marijuana Policy Project Leads A New Wave Of Local And National Drug
Policy Reform Organizations Looking To Mainstream The Image Of The
Anti-Prohibition Movement

For 10 years or so I have had the privilege of being closely involved with
the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCANN), the local chapter
of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML). I
have volunteered as both producer of the Boston Common Freedom Rally and
served as chair of the local chapter. Recently, I have had to curtail my
involvement with MassCANN due to the demands of this paper and also due to
a realization of the limitations that often plague non-profit,
volunteer-based, grassroots organizations. Most anyone who has spent time
involved with grassroots lobbying efforts is familiar with how a lack of
funds, permanent management and full-time employees can hamper the efforts
of dedicated people trying to affect local and national policy.

It's a shame that I have had to step back in these last few years, because
there is currently more effort being put into changing drug policy in this
country than there has been in the 33 years since NORML, the first national
drug policy reform organization, set up camp in DC.

This year alone, according to NORML, over a half-dozen states have filed
medical marijuana legislation, with many activists claiming that at least
three of these states have a good shot at passing them. The government's
high-profile anti-pot ads, some seen during the Superbowl last month, have
become a laughingstock and have turned out to be a monstrously expensive,
ineffective boondoggle (see sidebar). The arrest of Ed Rosenthal in
Oakland, a medical marijuana grower licensed and sanctioned by California
state law to grow pot for sick patients, and his conviction in federal
court as a common drug dealer have generated such an outrage by
compassionate California citizens that some activists believe this may be
the spark that turns even the average American against the feds' incredibly
restrictive policies towards pot.

Motivating the average American to react to the government's current policy
of total prohibition of marijuana is something that the awesome efforts of
so many activists haven't yet fully accomplished. Despite NORML's
tremendous work over the years keeping the fight to decriminalize marijuana
alive, there has been little change in marijuana policy at the national
level. As a result, over the last few years, a number of new organizations
dedicated to marijuana legalization and reform of all US drug policy have
been formed. "The founders of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) felt there
was a need to have an organization based in DC that focused very
specifically and narrowly on lobbying and advocacy around marijuana policy
and didn't do anything else," explained Bruce Mirken, communications
director for MPP. "Not legal support, not dealing with other drugs, not
dealing with many of the things that people may be sympathetic to. MPP was
to, instead, just focus, very specifically, on lobbying and advocacy around
changing marijuana policy; and to be frankly mainstream in our dealings
with politicians and policy makers."

MPP? Never heard of them? Well then it's time you got down with MPP.

In the Beginning, There Was NORML

The founders of MPP, Rob Kampia and Chuck Thomas, had worked for NORML
until 1995 when they realized "there was a need to do more work along the
lines of direct lobbying and advocacy," Mirken explained. "Initially MPP
was a barebones operation that operated out of Rob's apartment."

According to Mirken, a small grant from one of George Soros' philanthropic
foundations (Soros is the international billionaire who helped fund the
successful Proposition 215 campaign that legalized medical marijuana in
California) along with aggressive membership drives helped get MPP off the
ground.

Their early efforts attracted the attention of Peter Lewis, an insurance
magnate who, along with Soros, has funded several marijuana initiatives.
"The largest single donor to MPP is Peter Lewis, and thank god for people
like him, since we can't use the taxpayers' dollars," Mirken joked,
referring to claims made by folks like Drug Czar John Walters, who have
warned the American public against the "well-funded" marijuana movement.

Mirken explains that even with the help of wealthy philanthropists like
Lewis, MPP is hardly the fat cat that some have claimed. "Our annual budget
for 2003 is going to be about $1.4 million," a budget that, according to
Mirken, is generated through member donations. Some members pay the minimum
annual dues of $25/year; other members like Lewis, donate far more.
Regardless, explained Mirken, it's a drop in the bucket compared to what
the federal government spends opposing the message of MPP and organizations
like them. "Unfortunately, MPP's entire annual operating budget for
salaries, rent, electricity, phone bills, etc. would about cover the Drug
Czar's advertising budget ($180 million annually) for about three days --
maybe three and a half. I'll make an offer to John Walters: anytime he
wants, we'll trade budgets." Eight years since their inception, MPP can now
boast over 11,000 dues-paying members and manages to dole out about one
million dollars a year beyond its operating budget in the form of grants to
smaller local and other national (and international) reform organizations.

At the time of Kampia's and Thomas' departure (Kampia was fired by Richard
Cowan, former executive director of NORML who now runs Marijuananews.com, a
website devoted to updates on marijuana reform the world over), the
creation of another national marijuana reform organization was not
necessarily looked upon favorably by all activists, and MPP's initial
success with their fundraising efforts also created some conflict. "There
tends to be competition for resources," explained current NORML executive
director and co-founder, Keith Stroup. Bill Downing, president of MassCANN,
added, "It seems MPP founders, who had worked for NORML, kick started MPP
by using NORML member lists in an inappropriate manner." But, Downing was
also quick to remark, "Their work since has won them respect."

They have worked hard to develop a presence on Capitol Hill and in the
media, with admirable success." Stroup also acknowledged that despite a
bumpy start, animosity between the two organizations is water under the
bridge. "There was some bad blood at first. Kampia was fired by a
predecessor of mine -- they were angry at each other, and for years it was
difficult to cooperate, but I think we have moved beyond that."

Despite MPP's somewhat auspicious beginnings, they can claim an impressive
array of accomplishments in the eight years they have been working on
marijuana policy reform.

"One of the very first things that MPP did was a campaign to persuade the
US sentencing commission to change federal marijuana sentencing policies
back in October of 1995, which resulted in the early release of hundreds of
federal marijuana prisoners," Mirken said. This is better than releasing
violent criminals, something that has had to be done in other states due to
budget crunches. "It's crazy," Mirken agreed. "I think Kentucky was one,
releasing people who had been in on domestic violence charges -- that makes
me uneasy -- that we have prison space for people who are smoking a joint,
but not for violent criminals? Something's wrong with this picture."

Early MPP efforts also involved helping to pass asset forfeiture reform
legislation in Congress, limiting the ability of the federal government to
seize property in drug cases.

The MPP also insured that the voices of patients and physicians were heard
loud and clear when former Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey called for a review of
all known science on medical marijuana. "We put considerable effort into
bringing patients' and physicians' perspective to the committee that was
putting together that report. To make sure the committee heard their side
of the story -- the real world impact of sick people and the physicians who
care for them."

Another success MPP had came in Hawaii. "We played a big role in the Hawaii
medical marijuana laws adopted in 2000," Mirken said proudly. "This was the
first such law passed through a state legislature rather than a ballot
initiative. The law that they passed was based on our model medical
marijuana law. We assisted in the lobbying with local people who worked
very hard on it."

Sentencing reform, asset forfeiture reform and medical marijuana efforts on
federal and state levels are just some of the very important pieces of work
being done by MPP to create a more rational drug policy in the US. But many
readers are probably far more familiar with MPP's recent efforts this past
election cycle to outright legalize and regulate marijuana in the state of
Nevada. One of the most controversial ballot initiatives ever proposed in
any state called for state regulation of the sale of marijuana to adults in
Nevada. High ranking police officials supported the measure despite
official resistance. And tourism officials even commented that the state
that legalized prostitution and gambling had little to fear from regulation
of recreational marijuana sales.

But Drug Czar John Walters waged a ferocious campaign against the
legislation, traveling from DC to Nevada numerous times during last year's
election cycle. "We spent about $1.3 million including getting the
initiative qualified and a pretty massive get out the vote effort. As far
as what the other side spent, we really don't know because it was done with
your tax money," Mirken explained. "[Drug Czar] John Walters has absolutely
refused to even admit that he was campaigning although he was doing it
quite overtly and he refused to report his expenditures as required under
Nevada campaign finance law."

Walter's tactics had impact. The ballot initiative failed by a 60/40
margin, but, as Mirken pointed out, "Obviously we were disappointed that we
lost, nevertheless, four out of ten voters were willing to dispense with
marijuana prohibition entirely despite the massive scare campaign." And the
MPP hasn't quit the fight.

Walter's refusal to disclose just how much of the taxpayers' money he used
in fighting the initiative was brought to the attention of Nevada's
secretary of state by the MPP. "The state responded by asking Mr. Walters
and his office to explain their actions and they responded with this
amazingly dismissive attitude: We don't have to obey your laws -- we're the
federal government!" Mirken, exasperated, told me. "Badges, we don't need
no stinking badges!"

The fact is that Walters is wrong. The Supreme Court has addressed the
issue of when federal officials are subject to state regulations. What
they've said is that the test is whether or not the regulations in question
interfere with the official in doing his job. Apparently Walters believes
that telling the public how much of our tax money he spent opposing this
initiative would interfere with doing his job -- that's mind boggling." At
this moment, Nevada's attorney general is reviewing the situation. "To the
best of my knowledge they are still looking at it. Unfortunately, the
Nevada AG is a conservative republican, so some worry about whether or not
he'll want to cross a republican administration. I hope that his devotion
to the law and the right of Nevada to have [the spending] info will
transcend politics."

Currently, according to Mirken, the MPP expects to place a great deal of
effort in helping several states, including Maryland, Vermont, and New
York, pass proposed medical marijuana legislation, adding to the eight
states that currently have medical marijuana law in place.

Hometown Heroes

If the MPP represents aggressive legal and political work on the national
level, then organizations like the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts (DPF
MA) represent a similar effort and zeal on the local level. Formed by
former and current members of MassCANN, the DPF MA differs from the local
NORML chapter in both structure and goals. Michael Cutler, a board member
of the DPF MA, explained, "We felt that there needed to be another
organization that would be more friendly to professionals who are involved
in drug policy."

While MassCANN has been keeping the issue alive over the past decade, it
did not have a sufficient level of funding or the reputation to attract
academic and other professionals." Part of DPF MA's mission is to attract
prominent advisors from the fields of law, academia and politics. Current
advisors include former judges, college professors, city councilors, nurses
and lawyers. While organizations like MassCANN work locally with volunteers
and launch grassroots efforts to generate attention for marijuana policy
reform, the DPF MA is not concerned with developing a vast membership base
but instead focusing the efforts of experts on specific topics.

The DPF MA's first project was a report released last year analyzing what
effect decriminalizing marijuana might have in Massachusetts. "The Effect
of Marijuana Decriminalization on the Budgets of Massachusetts Governments,
With a Discussion of Decriminalization's Effect on Marijuana Use," is an
11-page report by BU economics professor Jeffrey Miron. In the report,
Miron reaches the conclusion that decriminalization would save the State of
Massachusetts some $24 million a year while likely creating no more crime
or drug use in the state. The report cost the DPF MA somewhere between
$3,000 and $6,000, and was funded in part by a grant the DPF MA received
from the MPP last year.

Cutler is proud of the report but also complained: "I would have been
happier to have seen more publicity about the report. There has been a fair
amount of publicity but not enough. The report answers the two most often
raised concerns about marijuana prohibition: how much does it cost and how
much of a threat to society does limiting the enforcement of prohibition
create?"

Cutler is no stranger to working on marijuana law reform. A career lawyer,
he has worked as a staff attorney for the Department of Corrections and as
a public defender. Early in his career he was an intern for the parole
board and even while running his own private practice he spent time
overseeing a DYS facility. "I've been in prison all my professional
career," Cutler joked, but his breadth of first-hand experience in seeing
the devastating effects the drug war has on citizens is no laughing matter.

Cutler's credentials also include a stint with national NORML as co-chair
of their legal subcommittee on amicus brief writing ("I submitted court
briefs in the Washington State Supreme Court case on medical marijuana and
the US Supreme Court case involving the Oakland Cannabis Club.") and he was
a board member of MassCANN for several years in the '90s.

"We have two different roles," Cutler said, discussing his experiences with
both local organizations. "MassCANN is a grassroots membership
organization; DPF MA is more of a research and educational organization
that is not membership controlled, although we invite volunteers to assist
in our mission." Cutler also wanted to make sure it's understood that he
sees the necessity for both types of organizations to work together if
policy is going to be changed. "MassCANN has been the primary fundamental
organization that has carried this issue for the last 20 years in
Massachusetts. Without MassCANN, there would have been no presence in the
public media around this issue, and they continue to have a role in keeping
this issue in public discourse."

Unlike the grumbling between national NORML and the MPP when the MPP first
hit the scene, MassCANN and the DPF MA have a far more cooperative
relationship. MassCANN president, Bill Downing, agrees with Cutler. "The
DPF MA is run by friends as well as former and one present board member of
MassCANN/NORML. MassCANN/NORML has always depended on sister organizations,
comprised largely of its own activists, to run purely political efforts."

Nowhere has this been more evident than last November when a joint effort
by MassCANN/NORML and the DPF MA, using some of that grant money from the
MPP, placed non-binding public policy questions on the ballot in 21
different representative districts asking voters their opinion on
decriminalization. Aggressive efforts by both organizations resulted in a
60/40 win for advocates of decriminalization in every district where the
question appeared.

"The DPF MA won a grant from MPP. Their application of some of those funds
to our mutual initiative effort this past November was crucial to the
success and subsequent impact those initiatives have had," Downing
commented appreciatively. "In particular, their paid petitioners helped
finish off some of the districts where volunteers had been petitioning, and
the study they commissioned from Prof. Jeffrey Miron has helped tremendously."

The MPP's Bruce Mirken said of the joint effort, "That was one of the
relatively few rays of light in the last election." A little money from the
MPP seems to have gone a long way and Cutler insists that Miron's report
hasn't even begun to be fully utilized.

Despite Cutler's disappointment with the initial reaction to the report by
the press, he feels strongly that the state legislature, facing a potential
$3 billion budget gap next year, will be hard pressed to ignore the $24
million savings decriminalization can provide. "The report has been, or
will be shortly, distributed to the entire statehouse," Cutler said. The
State House only named new committee members last week. "The report shows
there is a savings. Common sense tells us that shifting police resources to
more violent crime is bound to have a beneficial effect. Currently, the
rule of thumb at the State House is that anything that costs money is
doomed to oblivion and anything that saves money is going to be looked at
twice."

We're a Happy Family, We're a Happy Family

The joint efforts of MassCANN and the DPF MA are indicative of how the war
against the war on drugs has heated up. New ideas and approaches are being
used side by side with tried and true grassroots volunteerism, and the
cumulative effect is being felt all over the country as more attention is
now being placed on the issue of marijuana decriminalization than any other
time since the demon weed was first prohibited in the 1930s.

"MassCANN can't afford to view MPP, DPF MA or any other supporters of our
cause as competitors," Bill Downing firmly stated. "We are, as our name
states, a 'coalition'. In fact, we are anxious to lend support to
cooperative efforts and I know just about everyone in DPF MA is anxious to
help MAassCANN in our efforts as well."

The DPF MA, which hopes to hire, by year's end, the first full-time drug
policy reform advocate in the state, agrees.

Cutler, through his involvements with national NORML and the MPP, is both
optimistic about the future and complimentary to all involved in current
reform efforts. "In much the same way that MassCANN has kept the light on
in Massachusetts, NORML has done it nationally and all of these
organizations come back to Keith Stroup. None of us would be here today
without Stroup."

NORML's executive director, Stroup, also assured that any negative energies
in DC have long since been dispelled. "In the '70s when we first started
NORML, almost all drug work was done under one banner and there was an
advantage to that. People recognized and benefited from each other's work.
I think the goal now needs to be that we all learn to work in a more
cooperative manner. I honestly think we're beginning to do that. Recently
we had a conference call of all the DC based groups and we are holding
these on a regular basis. The purpose of these (started at my request) is
that I felt the need to get over the problems. It's silly when we're
working on the same stuff and we're not sharing info. I am guardedly
optimistic; there is more cooperation now and with luck it's only going to
increase."

The MPP's Bruce Mirken also acknowledges that previous competitive
attitudes are now giving way to far more cooperative efforts as the
potential for real reform looks to be an obtainable goal after decades of
struggling. "We work with other orgs on a case-by-case basis. One example
is working with Americans for Safe Access (ASA). We joined with a group
here in DC that put together a couple of supportive actions back in last
June when ASA did a day of actions all over the country to protest the DEA.
I was arrested in front of the Justice Department along with Kevin Zeese
from Common Sense Drug Policy (CDSP), someone from DRCNET (The Drug Reform
Coordination Network), kids from the local Students for Sensible Drug
Policy and others. So as situations come up we certainly want to be in
communication and know what each other are doing and not inadvertently
undermine each other. But also I think we accept and respect that every org
will have its priorities and unique way of doing things."

The MPP and DPF MA are hardly the only two new drug policy reform
organizations to sprout up over the last few years.

Organizations like the CDSP, Green Aid, ASA and other DPFs in states all
over the country are part of a new wave of drug policy reform advocacy
groups. They recognize the aforementioned limitations of grass-roots
volunteerism and wish to add their resources to the fight against a federal
government hell-bent on arresting more citizens for using marijuana each
and every year, despite the fact that drug use has not been lowered with
such a policy.

The cost of the drug war is astronomical, (approximately $20 billion this
year), ever growing, and seemingly a massive waste of resources
particularly in these iffy economic times.

These new organizations tend to specialize their efforts, focusing on one
or a few very related issues rather than the broad efforts of NORML and its
state chapters.

But it could accurately be said that NORML, like any good weed, managed to
set roots and grow tall in the infertile soil and climate of the '70s and
'80s. Now, its seeds have spread and as the national mood has softened over
the last decade or so -- even if the political climate in DC is still harsh
indeed -- new organizations are budding, each with similarities to its
progenitor, but each also with its own unique flavors.