SAFER

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Tell President Obama:

STOP driving Americans -- and White House guests --

to drink!

At a press conference in California last week, President Obama's new drug czar claimed, "Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit." Meanwhile, the President was at the White House, trying to defuse the situation surrounding the controversial and highly publicized arrest of his friend, Harvard Professor Henry Lewis Gates, by inviting him and the arresting officer to the White House... for a beer!

Yes, that's right. Just after President Obama's top drug policy official declared marijuana "dangerous," the President himself was touting the calming and beneficial effect of consuming alcohol, a far more dangerous substance that -- unlike marijuana -- actually contributes to violent and aggressive behavior.

Use the form below to send a quick message to President Obama, letting him know you are appalled by the anti-marijuana, pro-alcohol message his administration is sending to Americans of all ages, and urging him to stop driving Americans -- and his White House guests -- to drink. Then forward this alert to anyone you know who might be interested in doing so, as well.

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February 09, 2010

Subject:

Dear President Obama

As someone who has openly admitted to using marijuana and has first-hand knowledge of its effects, you are aware of its calming and relaxing effect on the user. And, if you have read any of the objective studies that have been conducted on marijuana, you surely agree with their conclusion that it does NOT contribute to violent or aggressive behavior.

On the other hand, you must be aware of the significant scientific evidence linking the use of alcohol to aggressive behavior and violent crime, including assaults, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and rioting. And, of course, you must know that alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death in our country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, killing more than 35,000 Americans each year, including several hundred purely from overdose. On the other hand, the CDC does not attribute any deaths to the use of marijuana each year, and there has never been a single marijuana overdose death in history.

Despite this information, your drug czar appeared in the media last week calling marijuana "dangerous," followed shortly by your appearance in the media inviting Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cambridge Police Sgt. Jim Crowley to visit you at the White House to consume a far more harmful substance -- alcohol.

Paired with the drug czar's comments, your administration is sending an incredibly dangerous message to the American people that they should be using alcohol rather than making the rational choice to use a less harmful substance instead. To make matters worse, it is threatening those who prefer to make the safer choice to use marijuana with arrest and other serious punishments. Why on earth would you prefer Americans -- and your visitors -- use the more harmful substance when they relax and recreate?

If your administration's policies are truly guided by science rather than ideology, please order the drug czar to inform Americans of the far greater harms associated with alcohol prior to making such claims about the harm of marijuana. I also hope you will address the nation's dangerous pro-alcohol, anti-marijuana policy, which is steering countless Americans -- including you and your visitors -- toward using alcohol and away from making the safer choice.

Please stop driving our nation -- and White House guests -- to drink.

Sincerely,

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SAFER - P.O. Box 40332 - Denver, Colorado 80204 - Phone: 303-861-0033 - Fax: 303-861-0915