January 13, 2009

Dear NORML Supporters and Allies:
Netherlands For Nobel

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is
beginning the New Year by coordinating the nomination of the Netherlands for
a Nobel Prize for its achievements in minimizing drug use in its citizens,
while at the same time restricting imprisonment.

With few peers at the international level and despite tremendous pressure
from the United States, the Dutch government and its people have proven for
more than 30 years that it is more cost effective, humane, and practical to
be "smart on drugs" rather than "tough on drugs."

The following quotes from physician Stephen H. Frye¹s book 'Twenty-five
Reasons to Legalize Drugs - We Really Lost This War!'
(http://25reasons.org/) document the validity and appropriateness of this
nomination:

"The drug war, not the drugs, kills people.

This is now a real war. Although it started out as political rhetoric, it¹s
become a genuinely deadly conflict...It has caused hundreds of thousands of
unnecessary deaths and untold misery, especially to our children, teens,
women, and minorities. And like all wars, it¹s been hugely expensive and
wasteful; to date, it has cost more than a trillion dollars. And this is
just in the United States; the international devastation is
incomprehensible. Furthermore, like many wars, it¹s based on lies.

"The few deaths that are caused by the drugs are due to impurities, dosages
that are not standardized, and reluctance to call 911 when someone overdoses
out of fear of being arrested. Replacing prohibition with sensible
health-oriented alternatives, including legalizing currently illicit drugs,
can eliminate these drug-related deaths.

"The Dutch should be recognized for their remarkable human rights
achievement of regulating and decriminalizing drugs and equally important,
offering comprehensive treatment to its affected citizens. The number of
lives they have saved, as well as assaults, robberies, rapes, child abuse,
and other prohibition-related criminal activities that they¹ve prevented, is
a major humanitarian and public health accomplishment. Their success in
minimizing the catastrophic effects of the War on Drugs cannot be
overstated. For example, the U.S. has six times as many people in prisons as
the Netherlands per capita, and still we have four times their murder rate.
Compared to ours, the Dutch prison population is negligible and they
actually provide education and rehabilitation for their inmates.
Furthermore, their incidence of AIDS and hepatitis is a fraction of ours.

"Taken together, these groundbreaking medical, human rights and humanitarian
accomplishments are of unprecedented magnitude. They not only serve as an
inspiration to the rest of the world, they also demand emulation. Because of
this, it is recommended that Louk Hulsman, Professor Emeritus of Criminal
Law at the University of Rotterdam, who was originally responsible for
crafting the forward-thinking drug policy in the Netherlands and the Dutch
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, who administer their very successful
current drug policies, be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize."

The world owes a great debt of gratitude to them, along with many thousands
of activists, academics, and religious and business leaders, for
demonstrating that a scientifically-crafted harm reduction drug policy based
on researched public health models, not an unyielding prohibition, prison
oriented model, results in a healthier, safer, and less imprisoned
population
The deadline for submission is February 1, 2009, and according to the Nobel
Prize webpage, people from every country can nominate, but it is limited to
members of national assemblies, governments, and international courts of
law; university chancellors, professors of social science, history,
philosophy, law and theology; leaders of peace research institutes and
institutes of foreign affairs; Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of previous
years; board members of organizations that have received the Nobel Peace
Prize; present and past members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; and former
advisors of the Nobel Institute.

--Nobel Nomination Process Information--
All that is necessary is for a qualified nominator, as listed above, to send
a letter to Geir Lundestad, Ph.D., Director, Norwegian Nobel Institute,
Henrik Ibsens gate 51, NO-0255, Oslo, Norway, indicating the names of those
nominated and the reason for the nomination, and it must be received by
February 1, 2009.

Dr. Frye has also documented that not only is this very real War on Drugs
far more devastating and deadly than the drugs themselves, but prison is
also much more destructive, catastrophic and even more deadly than the
drugs.

The Dutch have shown us the path to peace and now is the time to recognize
their achievement.

While NORML is a cannabis-only reform organization, by nominating and
educating the world about the success of the Netherlands¹s drug policy, we
are committed to using this public campaign as the first high impact project
for worldwide drug policy reform in this New Year. This e-mail is being sent
to U.S. and international drug policy organizations, seeking the names and
contacts of qualified Nobel Prize nominators. The email is also being sent
to organizations for children, teens, women, minorities, and the
environment, as all these people and the environment are severely harmed and
actually killed by the drug war.

It is time to stimulate this crucially important worldwide conversation, and
this is a project all drug policy reform and civic-minded groups, regardless
of their mission statements, can support. The webpage and other promotional
campaigns in support of this nomination have been launched, but gathering
qualified nominators needs to be the first step as there is a short
deadline. Please ask nominators to send their letters directly to the Nobel
Institute, and also notify NORML at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it as we are coordinating
and tracking this campaign.

Also, please feel free to forward this email notice to all relevant
organizations and anyone you feel can assist this ONetherlands For Nobel¹
movement
It is truly time to end the drug war and start the peace process. Thank you
in advance and best wishes for an exciting 2009 pursuing the Nobel Peace
Prize for this most noble cause.

Cannabem liberemus,

-Allen St. Pierre
Executive Director
NORML/NORML Foundation
Washington, DC
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.norml.org
www.Netherlands4Nobel.org