Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
2009 presents unprecedented opportunities for drug policy reform. The drug war has always been part of a larger culture war, with grassroots activists on the frontlines. Now is the time to step it up. The economic downturn is putting tremendous pressure on state and local governments. Faced with the prospect of cutting police forces and reducing education funding, legislators are going to think twice before adding to what is already the highest incarceration rate in the world. The drug war as it is waged today is not sustainable. Following are three things you can do to speed up its inevitable end:
1. Write letters to the editor -- This especially applies to small community newspapers. According to a 2008 University of Missouri study, in towns served by community newspapers of 25,000 circulation or less, 86 percent of the population read a community newspaper each week. This is a critical prohibitionist audience that, before the Media Awareness Project came along, had little, if any, exposure to reform arguments.
Don't forget the major dailies. While readership has declined and their business model is suffering due to online ad competition, 2008 Pew Research suggests impressive newspaper readership, ranging from a low of 33 percent weekly readers among 18-24 year olds to a high of a 66 percent among those over 65. Until someone gives me $100 million to place ads on television, I'll continue to make use of the most cost-effective means of reaching large segments of the population with a reform message.
The newspaper vs. internet debate is a false dichotomy. Published LTEs appear online and reverberate in blogs throughout the internet. Pew research suggests that consumers who abandon hard copy newspapers turn to tradition media sources online. For local news, increasingly relevant during an economic decline, this means online newspapers.
2. Write your local elected officials - This is an area the reform movement has long overlooked. I don't get paid for drug policy activism. My day job is in a small local government. You'd be surprised at how easy it is for a handful of engaged citizens to sway a County Board. We're talking responsive government, not Congress members skeptical of e-activism with staff who respond with non-committal form letters when they respond at all.
When you write a local elected official, it's highly likely that he or she will personally read your letter. So if you want to kill DARE in your community because you don't want your school-age kids exposed to a counterproductive program, don't write your Senator, write your County Board member. Get a handful of like-minded citizens to do the same, throw in some credible research findings, and you might be surprised at the results.
I challenge all grassroots activists to do the following. Write your local elected officials and ask them three questions. How many drug offenders are currently incarcerated in the County jail? What does it cost to incarcerate someone for one day? How much does it cost to incarcerate someone for an entire year? Don't use a Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ) request for this. You won't get good results. FOIA requests are considered obnoxious. Unless a document already exists that directly relates to your concerns, you won't get a response. Write as a concerned citizen. Be polite, keep it short, and avoid long-winded policy prescriptions.
Your question will come at a time when elected officials are agonizing over the prospect of laying off dozens if not hundreds of local government employees. You'll definitely get them thinking. You may well inspire a new reform advocate. This is important. Elected officials become state legislators, who go on to become Congress members. Sow the seeds of reform.
If you get a written response that answers your questions - and there is a very good chance you will - put a press release cover page on it filled with reform arguments and send it to your local community newspaper as a citizen activist. Again, you might be surprised at the results. Starting a heated community debate during desperate economic times is easier done than you might think.
MapInc
1. Write letters to the editor -- This especially applies to small community newspapers. According to a 2008 University of Missouri study, in towns served by community newspapers of 25,000 circulation or less, 86 percent of the population read a community newspaper each week. This is a critical prohibitionist audience that, before the Media Awareness Project came along, had little, if any, exposure to reform arguments.
Don't forget the major dailies. While readership has declined and their business model is suffering due to online ad competition, 2008 Pew Research suggests impressive newspaper readership, ranging from a low of 33 percent weekly readers among 18-24 year olds to a high of a 66 percent among those over 65. Until someone gives me $100 million to place ads on television, I'll continue to make use of the most cost-effective means of reaching large segments of the population with a reform message.
The newspaper vs. internet debate is a false dichotomy. Published LTEs appear online and reverberate in blogs throughout the internet. Pew research suggests that consumers who abandon hard copy newspapers turn to tradition media sources online. For local news, increasingly relevant during an economic decline, this means online newspapers.
2. Write your local elected officials - This is an area the reform movement has long overlooked. I don't get paid for drug policy activism. My day job is in a small local government. You'd be surprised at how easy it is for a handful of engaged citizens to sway a County Board. We're talking responsive government, not Congress members skeptical of e-activism with staff who respond with non-committal form letters when they respond at all.
When you write a local elected official, it's highly likely that he or she will personally read your letter. So if you want to kill DARE in your community because you don't want your school-age kids exposed to a counterproductive program, don't write your Senator, write your County Board member. Get a handful of like-minded citizens to do the same, throw in some credible research findings, and you might be surprised at the results.
I challenge all grassroots activists to do the following. Write your local elected officials and ask them three questions. How many drug offenders are currently incarcerated in the County jail? What does it cost to incarcerate someone for one day? How much does it cost to incarcerate someone for an entire year? Don't use a Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ) request for this. You won't get good results. FOIA requests are considered obnoxious. Unless a document already exists that directly relates to your concerns, you won't get a response. Write as a concerned citizen. Be polite, keep it short, and avoid long-winded policy prescriptions.
Your question will come at a time when elected officials are agonizing over the prospect of laying off dozens if not hundreds of local government employees. You'll definitely get them thinking. You may well inspire a new reform advocate. This is important. Elected officials become state legislators, who go on to become Congress members. Sow the seeds of reform.
If you get a written response that answers your questions - and there is a very good chance you will - put a press release cover page on it filled with reform arguments and send it to your local community newspaper as a citizen activist. Again, you might be surprised at the results. Starting a heated community debate during desperate economic times is easier done than you might think.
MapInc
