I want to thank everyone who donated last week to our crack/powder reform phone call campaign. Because of you we were able to raise more than $2,500, enough to call thousands of our supporters in ten states to urge them to phone their senators on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

I also want to thank everyone who called their senator. We've talked to Congressional staffers and we know their phones were ringing off the hook. When this issue comes up for a vote, we believe we have the votes to pass reform. We're not sure yet if there's enough support on the Committee to completely eliminate the crack/powder disparity--but we know there’s enough support to at least reduce it.

Many of you emailed me either to say how your call went or to thank DPA for keeping you updated. I can't express how good it makes me feel to hear from you. It's not always easy lobbying Congress.  Sometimes my co-workers and I feel overwhelmed and it can be hard to persevere.

Last year alone, there were more than 1.8 million drug arrests in the United States (nearly 700,000 for nothing more than marijuana possession). Those arrested were separated from their loved ones, branded criminals, denied jobs, and in many cases prohibited from voting for life. Because of the drug war, the U.S. now incarcerates more of its citizens on a per capita basis than any other country in the world--more than China, Iran, Mexico, or Russia.

Each year, tens of billions of taxpayer dollars are spent enforcing punitive drug war policies, yet illegal drugs are readily available in every community and the harms associated with them continue to mount. Each day policymakers call for further restrictions on our freedoms in the name of the drug war--warrantless searches, racial profiling, drug testing, "no knock" military-style raids on people's homes, confiscation of cars and other property without trials, searches of our trash cans and medical records, entrapment and long prison sentences.

Few people in Washington, DC are willing to stand up and say enough is enough. That's why I really appreciate your support. Your emails and contributions remind me that my colleagues and I are not fighting this struggle alone. You're with us. The drug policy reform movement is growing and it's getting stronger every day.

I don't know your individual reason for supporting the Drug Policy Alliance. Maybe you have a condition which is relieved by medical marijuana. Maybe you have a loved one who is incarcerated for a nonviolent drug law offense. Maybe someone you know died from a fatal drug overdose or contracted HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C from injection drug use, or is struggling right now with substance abuse problems but can't get access to treatment. Or maybe you're just tired of your tax money being wasted on failed policies. Whatever the reason, I thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance