Click here to register to attend.

If you haven’t, you should soon. Booking your travel a month out will save you money. And you won’t want to miss what former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and current California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom have to say at the Opening Plenary!

The rest of the conference program is packed full with trainings, roundtable discussions addressing controversies within the movement, and panels exploring and sharing innovative approaches to reform challenges. Thursday evening you can stand up for justice at the No More Drug War rally at nearby MacArthur Park, hosted by dozens of local California organizations and emceed by KPFK radio personality Lalo Alcaraz.

And the activities and highlights don’t stop there…

Very soon we’ll be announcing three special Mobile Workshops – learning sessions that will take a select group of conference-goers out of the hotel and into the local community.

You’re also invited to host informal Community Meetings of your own during the conference. These meetings are meant to be your opportunity to organize reformers around action plans. They take place in open session rooms in the mornings, evenings and at lunch.

What do these Mobile Workshops and Community Meetings have in common? They’re only available to registered conference attendees – and they’ll be limited by space availability!

So register now…and I’ll see you in Los Angeles!

Stefanie Jones
Event Manager
Drug Policy Alliance

On November 2, tens of millions of voters will enter the voting booth and decide ‘yes’ on Proposition 19 — which re-legalizes the adult, non-medical possession, use, and cultivation of cannabis in California. For the first time in 97 years, marijuana will be legal under state law to possess, use, and grow in California. This will be the vote heard around the world.

If you live in California, imagine waking up Wednesday morning and knowing, for the first time since 1913, that marijuana (when possessed or grown within limited quantities) is legal under state law.

That is why it is so important that you and your like-minded friends take to the polls tomorrow. According to the latest Survey USA poll, which sampled voter’s sentiment through Sunday, October 31, Proposition 19 is in a statistical dead heat: 44 percent ‘for’ versus 46 percent ‘opposed’, with ten percent of voters undecided! In short, we are within striking distance, and victory is achievable — but only if you act on Tuesday.

I realize that some of you may still have lingering questions regarding Proposition 19 — how it will, and how it won’t change the marijuana laws in California. That is why NORML has posted a word-by-word analysis of Prop. 19 here. Or you can read specific sections of the measure here, along with detailed replies to frequently asked questions here. Finally, you can watch the latest ad in support of Prop. 19 here.

Proposition 19 is endorsed by an unparalleled coalition of social justice, law enforcement, civil rights, and drug policy reform organizations, including: NORML, The Drug Policy Alliance, The Marijuana Policy Project, DrugSense, StoptheDrugWar.org, the ACLU of Northern and Southern California, the California Libertarian Party, the California Green Party, the National Black Police Association, the National Latino Officers Association, the California Council of Churches IMPACT, the California National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the California League of United Latin American Citizens, the Latino Voters League, the Progressive Jewish Alliance, and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Western States Council. These organizations, and many others, believe that November 3 will mark a new beginning in California — and around the globe.

Help make history on November 2 — support Proposition 19.

Speaking in Vienna this week, Costa commented on his brief appearance with this ad hominem attack:

“I attended the meeting of the Drug Alliance [DPA] in New Orleans last December, 1200 participants, 1000 lunatics, 200 good people to talk to. The other ones obviously on drugs.” 

Of course, the idea of Mr. Costa — who just yesterday told the New York Times that pot use poses a greater danger to society than the use of cocaine or heroin — calling us crazy would be ironic if it wasn’t so insulting.

That said, unlike Mr. Costa, I’ve chosen not to articulate my thoughts with epithets. Rather, I’ve decided to simply post some of Mr. Costa’s previous statements and let the readers decide who is “obviously on drugs.”

“Today the harmful characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin.”
Quoted in the London Telegraph, June 27, 2006

“Governments and societies must keep their nerve and avoid being swayed by misguided notions of tolerance. … Amid all the libertarian talk about the right of individuals to engage in dangerous practices provided no one else gets hurt, certain key facts are easily forgotten. First, cannabis is a dangerous drug — not just to the individuals who use it. … Evidence of the damage to mental health caused by cannabis use — from loss of concentration to paranoia, aggressiveness and outright psychosis — is mounting and cannot be ignored.”
Commentary in the Independent on Sunday, March 27, 2007

“The links between organised crime, drug trafficking, drug consumption, drug money, arms trafficking and terrorism become clearer every day. We know that even the occasional marijuana smoker is a link in a much longer and more dangerous chain.”
Quoted by Australian Broadcasting, June 27, 2005

“Think also of the fact that more and more people are voluntarily seeking treatment for cannabis abuse problems and that evidence is fast mounting that even casual abuse of ecstasy can lead to long term brain damage. So ‘recreational’ drug abuse can’t be safe, can it?”
Speech given June 26, 2003