I've published many letters to the editor on various subjects and find it a satisfactory method of reaching local people who tend to vote. The letter below was published by a city newspaper with a circulation of about 14,000 subscribers. We'll never see an end to marijuana prohibition by sheltering ourselves and our writings in specialized online communities. Public letters to the editor are influential! Voters and politicians read them. This letter below is short enough to fit length restrictions and succinct enough to be read easily. If you don't like writing or if you think you are no good at it, than please, steal this letter to the editor - add your own thoughts, put your own name to it and send the damn thing off ASAP. For all users in your community, be brave and expose yourself as a marijuana advocate. Editor, (your local newspaper) To the editor, If the government trusts us to use alcohol responsibly, it is ridiculous to assume that citizens are incapable of using marijuana responsibly. Marijuana poses nowhere near the health and welfare danger that goes with alcohol. Freedom from the tyranny of prohibition of this widely used product is desperately needed. Police agents at all levels trample on our Bill of Rights by conducting illegal car searches, phone and email taps, garbage scrounging, and door busting night raids upon harmless people. According a study by Harvard economist Jeffery Miron, legalization could save 7.7 billion a year in enforcement savings, while producing 6.2 billion a year in tax revenues alone. In 13 states further liberty is granted where the possession of marijuana is no longer criminalized. In a Gallup poll of 2005, 55% say possession of personal amounts of marijuana should not be criminal. In a Rasmussen poll, 51% say alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana while only 19% say the opposite. The American Medical Association has recently called for a new policy to review marijuana's status as a Schedule I drug in the federal Controlled Substances Act. In the end of prohibition millions taking anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication may find that marijuana fulfills the need for these prescription drugs. Cancer patients, Glaucoma patients, and persons with chronic pain find marijuana to be an irreplaceable product. In many situations the calming effect of marijuana could prevent domestic violence. The psychoactive properties of marijuana can readily replace far more harmful substances. Today hundreds to thousands of individuals will be arrested for possession of a personal amount of marijuana. Tonight, to relieve stress, at least a million Americans will sit on their couches and light-up a joint. Tomorrow they will return to work rested and ready to perform without a hangover or a physical addiction. James G. Mason (town/city)
I dig it, letter is short, sweet and to the point - exactly how it should be for a letter to the editor! Even if people don't agree, it still raises awareness, let's people know that there is discontent about prohibition etc.
Im writing this down on paper and sending it to a local newspaper or something! We have to do something about this.