DownsizeDC.org has a new campaign to End Drug Prohibition..
For years we have called for an end to the Drug War. However, our previous campaign (“End the Mexican Civil War”) was too narrowly focused on one aspect of this abomination.
On our new campaign page, we list PLENTY of reasons to end drug prohibition.
Today, we are telling Congress to end drug prohibition, because the War on Drugs is a War on Free Speech.
Yes, you read that right.
Wait until you read why I sent this letter to my Representative and two Senators. It will knock your socks off, even if you think some drug laws are a good idea! You may borrow from or copy it when you write your letter…
The War on Drugs has cancerous effects on a range of basic human rights, some of which aren’t immediately obvious. My body belongs to me, not the Feds. But today I’m writing because…
My SPEECH belongs to me.
Yet in December, the House approved bill HR 313 that would CRIMINALIZE even personal speech that merely _anticipates_ the use of drugs…
…in another country!
* The House Judiciary Committee defeated an amendment that would exempt speech that applied to drug use in nations where it is legal.
* It even defeated an amendment that would make the law enforceable only against real conspiracies among drug kingpins. (http://1.usa.gov/x4Hpxy)
* In an act of gutlessness, the House let the measure “pass” without even a voice vote.
* And author Rep. Lamar Smith boasted that the bill was “bipartisan” and had the support of the Obama Administration. (http://cs.pn/y2gi8E)This means, if your own son says, “Next month, I’m going to Amsterdam, and I plan to get high,” then you and your colleagues would sentence him to a federal prison.
AND BOTH PARTIES ENDORSED THIS?
It is pathetic that I even have to ask: What is the crime in merely talking about future drug use? How do we even know if it’s true? And why would it matter to the U.S. government what one of its residents does while visiting a foreign country, when that something is LEGAL?
Are we your children?
Under this bill… (http://huff.to/qu0MHb)
* A U.S. doctor who works with overseas doctors or government officials on needle exchange programs could be subject to criminal prosecution.
* A U.S. resident who advises someone in another country about how to run a medical marijuana dispensary would also be in violation of the new law, even if medical marijuana is legal in the country where the recipient of the advice resides.I may or may not think some now-illegal drugs are unhealthy. I may or may not think using them are immoral.
But I will NOT sacrifice basic human rights, such as freedom of speech, just because I don’t like where my neighbor takes his vacation.
HR 313 demonstrates how Drug Warriors are devoid of reason, disrespectful of the Constitution, and lacking in basic empathy and compassion. They show themselves to be brutal, backward, and fanatical by outlawing mere words about things they dislike.
I urge the entire Senate to oppose this atrocious bill. Kill HR 313 in committee, and if it or a similar bill comes to the floor, use all your parliamentary tricks, including filibuster, to defeat it.
Your oath to defend the Constitution, an oath the House willfully ignored, obliges you to do so.
And end ALL federal drug laws so that no more insane measures come up in the future.
END LETTER
You can send your letter through DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.
Please share this new campaign with friends who are likely to agree with you. We need as many people sending messages as possible.
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
NOTE: Lots of things compete for your support. How do you manage them all?
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