High Times' Steve Bloom: Help NORML's Media Efforts! Dear NORML Supporter, As Senior Editor for High Times Magazine, I know how important and difficult it is to get marijuana-related news items covered in the mainstream media. For over 30 years, NORML has been the media's most trusted source for accurate information about marijuana and marijuana policy. NORML's staff, directors, and affiliates remain the most widely quoted and published experts on marijuana law reform today - often answering dozens of media requests every week. Will you please consider making a timely donation to support NORML's efforts to keep marijuana reform issues in the media? http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5481 For example, just this week, NORML's senior policy analyst, Paul Armentano, in a syndicated column commissioned by the Ludwig Von Mises Institute revealed how the federally funded D.A.R.E. program has become its own special interest group – aggressively lobbying state and federal governments to maintain its swelling budget – despite two decades of abysmal results. Read the full story at: http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1188 Even now, we can not forget about "America's longest running war," the war on marijuana smokers. Despite these difficult times for championing a public-interest cause in the mainstream media, NORML still manages to make headlines on a regular basis. That's because the information we provide is trustworthy and timely. Journalists continually rely on NORML to provide important facts, statements, and referrals. Some of NORML's recent coverage includes: March 25, 2003: Missouri NORML head Dan Viets speaks in favor of Proposition 1 to decriminalize marijuana possession in Columbia Daily Tribune. Read the full story at: http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2003/mar/20030324news004.asp March 19: Mother Jones runs commentary applauding NORML's expose of the Drug Czar's bogus budget in "The War on Drug Money." Read the full story at: http://www.motherjones.com/news/dbriefing/2003/12/we_330_03.html#two March 13, 2003: NORML's Executive Director Keith Stroup touts this year as the busiest ever for marijuana reform legislation in the Austin Chronicle. Read more at: http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-03-14/pols_feature8.html March 4, 2003: NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano deconstructs the drug czar's "fuzzy math" for the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Read the commentary at: http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1173 February 25, 2003: NORML Foundation's Executive Director Allen St. Pierre explains the conflict between state and federal laws in the wake of the Ed Rosenthal verdict in the Christian Science Monitor. Read the full article at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n306/a02.html?1437 February 24, 2003: NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup responds to the DEA's confiscation of drug paraphernalia in Business Week. Read this article at: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15552.shtml February 22, 2003: NORML Advisory Board member and former NFL star Mark Stepnoski "comes out" to the Associated Press in support of marijuana law reform. Read coverage of this story at: http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20030121-42597348.htm February 6, 2003: NORML Senior Policy Analyst exposes the myths behind marijuana and "addiction" in syndicated UPI column "Outside view: Putting pot in perspective," for United Press International. Read it at: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030204-080853-4520r And these are just some of the appearances NORML has made within the past few months. Many of you have probably also seen NORML representatives recently appear on several influential television shows, such as ESPN's "Outside the Lines", CNN's "Crossfire", and Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (all of which can be found in NORML's transcripts section http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5483). This coverage would not have been possible if it weren't for your support and the support of our members. - Please help if you can - A donation of $50 would greatly help to ensure that NORML's message - Stop Arresting Responsible Marijuana Smokers - continues to get adequate coverage in the mainstream media. Please consider making a donation, of any amount, now at http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5481 to help us spread this important message. And don't forget to frequently visit the "NORML in the Media" section of the organization's website to see how your contribution is making a difference. Thanks in advance for supporting NORML in its efforts to help people like you and me. Sincerely, Steve Bloom Senior Editor High Times Magazine www.hightimes.com