DRCNet Update
DRCNet UPDATE -- 2/25/95
Contents:
- New issue of The Activist Guide (with online locations)
- DRCNet gets funding
- Membership options
Issue #5 of The Activist Guide has been completed, and
it's the best one yet. Copies are going in the mail today to our hardcopy
subscribers, and have already been sent by e-mail to those who have requested
it. The rapid- response-team and the newsletters are separate mailing lists;
if you have not received
The Activist Guide by e-mail yet then you are not on that list. E-mail
subscriptions are free but not automatic; to get The Activist Guide by
e-mail please contact me ([email protected]),
and I will send you a copy and place you on that mailing list. The Activist
Guide can also be found currently on the talk.politics.drugs Usenet newsgroup.
It can be retrieved by anonymous ftp from the host "hemp.uwec.edu",
directory "/pub/drugs/drcnet"; the files are named "guide.2-20-95.x",
with x ranging from 1 to 9. (If they are not there yet, they will be soon.)
The site can also be accessed by gopher to hemp.uwec.edu, or on the WWW,
using "gopher://hemp.uwec.edu/11/drugs"
as the URL Document. Some DRCNet materials can also be found at host "hyperreal.com",
in directory "/drugs/politics/drcnet".
There is now a preliminary DRCNet world-wide-web homepage: "http:/yar.cs.wisc.edu/~jack/drcnhome.html",
which contains most DRCNet bulletins. (It may or may not have The Activist
Guide at this stage, but will eventually). Thanks to Jack Burris ([email protected])
for taking the initiative to set up and maintain this site.
DRCNet bulletins are also archived at The BBS News, 334-567-9310 (Alabama),
e-mail: [email protected]. (Has a
fidonet echo, among other things.)
The good news is that DRCNet has been awarded a grant of nearly $6000 from
the Drug Policy Foundation, for a membership drive. In this project we
will be trying to increase our paying membership who receive The Activist
Guide in print and the rapid-response-team bulletins by whatever medium
they choose (mail, fax or e-mail). We have also received about $1400 from
the Foundation for Drug Policy and Human Rights, for a computer upgrade.
Composing and distributing these bulletins, and creating our newsletters,
has become much easier since the upgrade. Thanks to our e-mail participants
(almost 500 now) for helping to make this project a success.
In preparation for our upcoming subscription drive, we have begun recruiting
for an advisory board. This process is far from complete, but the following
individuals have already accepted our invitation: Rick Doblin, President
of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies; Attorney
Richard Evans, a member of the new NORML board; Mike Gray, a prominent
author and screenwriter in Los Angeles (his credits include The China Syndrome);
Jon Holmes, Chairman of the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts Drug
Policy Task Force; Mario Lap, Director of the Foundation for Drug Policy
and Human Rights (author of the cannabis legalization legislation currently
before the Dutch parliament); Cliff Schaffer, co-author of the "Hoover
Resolution"; Eric Sterling, President of the Criminal Justice Policy
Foundation; and Don Topping, Director of the Social Science Research Institute
of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The bad news (well not bad, but realistic) is that while this funding is
substantial and will do a lot of good, it will be spent as is planned and
will then be gone, soon. DRCNet's revenue needs will then continue unabated.
We have very high phone bills and other costs, plus a tremendous amount
of personal time spent on the project, and have a continuing need to raise
funding. Quite a few e-mail members have contributed financially to the
organization; if you find this service valuable, I hope you will consider
becoming a paying member. DRCNet will only be able to continue working
at the current pace if many more people join and contribute.
Full membership is $25/year, which includes 12 issues of The Activist Guide
(printed version, if you want it), and membership in the rapid-response-
team. To encourage e-mail participants to contribute, we are now offering
a new membership option: virtual. Virtual membership is $10/year, which
approximates the $25 full membership less the cost of printing and postage
needed to send materials offline; virtual members receive the same e-mail
material they have been, but have the additional satisfaction of knowing
they're helping to keep the organization afloat. A membership form is attached:
SIGN ME UP/SIGN ME ON!
____ Yes! I want to join the Drug Reform Coordination Network.
Enclosed is $25 for full, one year membership
(includes The Activist Guide and rapid-response team announcements).
____ Please send me just The Activist Guide.
Enclosed is $18.
____ Make me a "virtual member" and just send me e-mail.
Enclosed is $10 for a one-year "virtual membership."
I am enclosing an additional donation of: ____
Please make checks payable to: DRCNet.
Name:
Street/P.O. Box:
City, State, Zip:
Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Return to: DRCNet, P.O. Box 381813, Cambridge, MA 02238-1813
Because DRCNet is an explicitly political organization, we do not qualify
for 501(c)3 status. Your contributions are therefore not tax-deductible.
We are working on setting up an affiliated educational wing, which may
qualify, so next year some portion of your contributions may be deductible.
Want to do more? DRCNet is looking for local chapter organizers and individual
volunteers for its educational outreach programs. Call or write for info.
If you like what you see here and want to get these bulletins by e-mail,
please fill out our quick signup form at http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html.
