NORML NEEDS YOUR HELP

I am writing at this time to ask you to please make NORML or the NORML
Foundation a top priority this year as your and your family make your
end-of-the-year contributions. Contributions can be made online
(https://banqa.uaqa.com/norml/join/) or by calling our toll-free number
(888-67-NORML) with your credit card. Your financial support is
especially
important to the organization at this time.

In many ways, the old saying -- the darkest part of the night is just
before the light -- epitomizes the period we are going through. Even as
we continue to win important political battles, the drug war rages on,
resulting in the highest number of Americans ever arrested on marijuana
charges last year -- 735,000 people!

Marijuana arrests now exceed the total arrests for all violent crimes
combines, and account for nearly half of all drug arrests in the country.

Yet we are gradually winning the hearts and minds of the American public.
A recent Zogby national poll, commissioned by the NORML Foundation, found
that 61% of the public now say, in light of the increased concern over
terrorism since the tragic events of September 11, we should stop
arresting and jailing marijuana smokers. Six out of 10 Americans now
agree
with our basic position that we should stop arresting responsible
marijuana smokers.

Over the past ten years, NORML has advanced the concept of "responsible
marijuana smoking." We must overcome the negative stereotype that has
built up over so many years as the marijuana smoker as a down-and-out
loser. And the best way to accomplish that is to focus attention on the
tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly.

Let's come out of the closet and let our elected officials see that we
exist as a political constituency, and let's make it clear that we will
no longer vote for any elected official who wants to treat us like
criminals.

A number of developments indicate major reform of the marijuana
policies in this country are imminent. Nevada recently joined eleven
other states that have adopted a fine-only approach for possession of
a small amount of marijuana; until this new law was enacted, Nevada
treated marijuana possession as a felony offense carrying a possible
four-year prison sentence.

Most of the western world is moving toward outright decriminalization
of marijuana, with several countries taking a serious look at the
Dutch "coffee shop" model. Countries such as Canada, Switzerland,
Belgium, Germany, Spain, Portugal and England are leading the way.

And more and more politicians in the US and abroad are endorsing
NORML's longstanding position that removing criminal penalties for
minor marijuana offenses is sound public policy. At the 2001 NORML
conference in Washington, DC in April, New Mexico Governor Gary
Johnson (R) proclaimed, "It's time we legalized marijuana and stopped
arresting responsible smokers."

NORML needs your strong financial backing now to keep up with the
increasing pace of marijuana law reform and to see these reforms through
to the end. Whether it is expanded public advertising, state and federal
lobbying, more effective grassroots organizing, or communicating our
message more aggressively to the media, we need your financial support to
maintain and expand our professional program.

Please include NORML in your giving plans this holiday season, and hasten
the day we win this struggle.

Because we lobby state and federal legislators, donations to NORML are
not tax-deductible. However, lobbying and other related work is an
extremely important part of our task, and we greatly appreciate those who
can make their donations to NORML.

For those who need a tax-deduction, please make your donations to the
NORML Foundation, and we will use your gift for educational purposes.

Those who contribute $35 or more will receive a free NORML t-shirt;
please indicate size when you make your contribution.

Regards,

Keith Stroup
NORML

https://banqa.uaqa.com/norml/join/