MEDIA AWARENESS PROJECT & DRUGSENSE

Fighting Prohibition Online

Anyone interested in changing public policy is smart to employ major
media such as newspaper, radio and television as a vital component in
key strategies, just as most of the significant political movements
of years past have done. Changing any policy requires the attention
and support of mainstream journalists, reporters, and public
commentators. In a drug war based on misinformation and lies
generated by government propaganda, science and reason are powerful
tools for changing public perception.

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) began in 1996 when Matt Elrod of
British Columbia and Mark Greer of California decided to build the
world's most powerful online tool for reforming failed drug policies
(www.mapinc.org). MAP's mission is to promote accuracy and balanced
coverage of drug policy topics in the media. Citizen activists can
influence progressive change in media coverage of the drug war by
directing media to cover events and news stories and arranging
interviews with key individuals and drug policy reform organizations.
The easiest and most effective way for the average citizen to have a
stronger voice is by submitting Letters to the Editor (LTEs) and
Opinion Editorials (OPEDs) to newspapers. That's why MAP's efforts
to make the media more aware of drug policy starts with print and
newspaper media; as written coverage of important drug policy issues
increases a corresponding boost can be seen in radio and television
reporting. Increased reporting on these topics at local levels
expands to more attention at state and provincial levels, which gives
way to national and international discussion.

Perhaps MAP's greatest contribution to reform is our online Drug News
Archive, the largest such drug policy news web collection in the
world, overseen by MAP's Senior Editor, Richard Lake from Michigan.
Aided by hundreds of volunteers over the past ten years, the Drug
News Archive has to date collected over 175,000 news and opinion
clippings from across North America and around the world. While many
news-clipping services exist, MAP's is designed for LTE
writers. Each article has a contact line with an email address or
web-form link designed to allow activists to start with the simple
click of a mouse. The staff and volunteers at MAP have become experts
at getting LTEs in print, and our Media Activism Center contains the
most definitive collection of media activism resources on the
web. You can join online discussions through MAP's many state and
regional-level e-mail lists and forums, and participate in online
voice conferencing using the MAP-hosted TeamSpeak software
(www.mapinc.org/resource/teamspeak). Activists can also advertise and
promote radio and television drug policy interviews and news coverage
by visiting MAP's "On-Air Events" page. MAP also provides news
clipping feeds to more than 200 websites, including www.cannabisculture.com

Following the creation of the MAP website, we decided to establish
DrugSense, a more entry-level website for activism
(www.drugsense.org). DrugSense has since grown into a much broader
resource. In 2000, DrugSense launched Drug Policy Central web design,
hosting, and internet service provider to offer technical support and
web hosting to not-for-profit reform organizations
(www.drugpolicycentral.com). Drug Policy Central currently hosts 129
different reform websites and over 200 email lists and forums,
providing valuable information and essential tools for bringing the
media's attention to our cause.

Activists and friends of DrugSense and MAP have instigated drug
policy change across North America and the world for ten years - but
there is still much to be done! You can be part of our shared effort
to end this war on personal rights and freedoms. Join DrugSense and
MAP so we can work together for Drug Peace.

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ONLINE ACTIVISTS:

Welcome To Our Websites

If you want to increase your organization's most important drug
policy reform efforts and gain access to other powerful resources,
please explore the following MAP and DrugSense websites
(www.mapinc.org and www.drugsense.org).

By registering at the DrugSense web portal (its free!) you can access
all DrugSense services including video, blogs, handouts, and other
reform-focused items. To find the resources best suited for you and
your organization, check out our comprehensive "help" page
(www.drugsense.org/help/).

See how MAP empowers activists who make a difference with just a few
hours a month (www.mapinc.org/how2.htm). Learn how to write LTEs,
compose OPEDs, and learn from other like-minded activists at the MAP
Media Activism Center (www.mapinc.org/resource).

Each week for the past decade, DrugSense has published the online
DrugSense Weekly, a compendium of the week's most important drug
policy news and reform activities based on the Drug News Archive.
It's available on the website or by free email delivery
(www.drugsense.org/current.htm).

The Community Audits and Initiatives Project site contains the
language, media plans, and useful links for fifteen different city
ordinances and citizen-led initiatives that pertain to drug policy
reform (www.drugsense.org/caip), and includes the DrugSense
University and College Reform Section, which covers six different
college-based initiatives.

DrugSense is a 501 ( c )( 3 ) educational non-profit organization,
meaning our work is supported by the financial donations from people
like you. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent provided by
law. Checks can be made payable to DrugSense and mailed to:
DrugSense, 14252 Culver Dr #328, Irvine, CA 92604-0326. You can also
make online contributions at www.drugsense.org/donate . Thank you for
your support!