Help the Nevada Marijuana Initiative Pass

a notice from the Marijuana Policy Project

Opponents of the Nevada marijuana initiative have been using the power
of their taxpayer-funded offices to spread misinformation to the
voters. As a result, the latest statewide poll shows that we are now
behind ... with only nine weeks left until Election Day.

I am sick and tired of government officials lying to the American
people about marijuana in order to keep it illegal. And when these
lies are perpetuated by those we hire to enforce the law ... well, if
I didn't know any better, I would think they were just trying to
protect their jobs.

According to our records, you have not yet weighed in on this
campaign. Would you please visit http://www.NRLE.org to see what our
opponents have been saying about the initiative -- and to donate $10
or more to our forthcoming TV ad campaign in Las Vegas and Reno?

As you know, the Marijuana Policy Project's ballot initiative would
remove the threat of arrest and all other penalties for three ounces
of marijuana. A handful of prosecutors, sheriffs, and detectives have
been screaming in the news for weeks that three ounces of marijuana
is too much for personal use ... that anyone who possesses three
ounces must be a dealer ... that three ounces is enough to get entire
cities high.

How much is three ounces? It's the equivalent of about 84 cigarettes
-- or about four packs.

And our opponents have been spewing forth other inaccuracies and
misinformation over the past month, too, claiming that our initiative
would (1) allow adults to give marijuana away for free to adolescents
and (2) make it legal to drive dangerously while under the influence
of marijuana -- and even to smoke marijuana while driving.

A plain reading of our initiative shows that our opponents are lying
about all of the above. Quite simply, our initiative removes all
penalties for the responsible use and possession of up to three ounces
of marijuana; and the initiative also directs the legislature to
devise a system so that adults can obtain marijuana through a legally
regulated market, rather than from the criminal market.

Our polling shows that Nevada voters support this common-sense
approach to marijuana policy, so our opponents can only prevail if
they lie to the voters about what the initiative would actually do.

The bad news is that this escalation of scare tactics by our
law-enforcement opponents in Nevada is causing support for our
initiative to drop. The good news is that we can prevail in the end if
we can afford to explain the initiative in TV ads -- in truthful terms
-- between now and November 5.

Would you please join the campaign team by visiting
http://www.NRLE.org to make a donation of $10 or more? If you and most
of the other subscribers on this list would each donate at least $10,
this will generate all of the money we need for the TV ad campaign
late next month.

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On August 4, a statewide poll showed our initiative in a dead heat at
48% to 48%.

Unfortunately, two days ago, the Las Vegas Review-Journal released a
new statewide survey showing that our initiative is polling at 40% for
and 55% against, with 5% undecided.

In truth, these results are skewed against us because the pollster
only interviewed people who are likely to vote in the September
primary; that means mostly elderly voters were interviewed, and
elderly voters are less supportive of our initiative than the
population at large.

While there is no way we are 15 percentage points down, it's safe to
say that we are at least a few points down because of the steady
barrage of misinformation that the hostile police and prosecutors are
feeding the voters through the major newspapers of the state.

There is only one way to combat this misinformation and prevail on
Election Day. We need to run persuasive TV ads in Las Vegas and Reno
towards the end of the campaign -- ads that tell the truth about what
the initiative would do.

We have a good chance of passing this initiative on November 5 if we
have the $100,000's that are needed to purchase hard-hitting TV
commercials at the end of the campaign. Alternatively, we will not be
able to win this election without the money to run the ads.

Would you please visit http://www.NRLE.org to donate $10 or more
right away?

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This initiative to end the arrest of all marijuana users -- which
Nevadans will vote on in only 63 days -- is by far the best
opportunity we have ever had to end marijuana prohibition anywhere in
the country.

Since this bold campaign was publicly announced:

* 2,433 subscribers on this e-mail list have donated a total of
$99,281, including one donation for $2,000 and eight for $1,000

* 492 subscribers said they cannot afford to donate

* 237 people unsubscribed from this e-mail list

Unfortunately, 27,194 subscribers have not yet responded, and our
records show that you are in this group. Would you please go to
http://www.NRLE.org or the bottom of this message to choose one of the
three options above for how you want to participate (or not
participate) in the Nevada campaign?

If you and most of the other subscribers on this list would each
donate $10 or more between now and Election Day, this will generate
all of the money we need to run hard-hitting TV ads in Nevada at the
end of the campaign ... which will catapult our initiative to an
historic victory on November 5.

Thank you for anything you can do to help.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. With only 63 days until November 5, we don't have much time to
raise the substantial sum of money that is needed to run
hard-hitting TV ads at the end of the campaign. Please visit
http://www.NRLE.org right away to donate $10 or more. Thank you!

P.P.S. By donating $250 or more now, you will receive a videotape of
all of the campaign's hard-hitting TV ads in October, as well
as all of the TV news coverage of the Nevada campaign. Better
yet, we are making a special offer whereby donations of $250 or
more can be tax-deductible.

P.P.P.S. Our first-ever national conference will begin two days after
Election Day in Anaheim, California. To join us for what will
hopefully be a victory celebration, please register at
http://www.mpp.org/conference.

P.P.P.P.S. To donate through the mail, please send your check to
MPP's Nevada Campaign, P.O. Box 77492, Capitol Hill,
Washington, DC 20013.