Support UsThere are a number of ways to help support our cause. It's not just monetary support, but the actual mental and physical support for this cause that we hope to raise. With the money we raise we will first use it to pay the necessary services to keep our website & forum operating smoothly. With additional money we plan to get actively organized to make our voice heard. Some of this money may be used for educational purposes, but educating people and awareness efforts only go so far; things will change at a snails pace, if at all, with education alone. The time has come for us to unite and show our support in attempt to end this horrible war. So, while the exact direction of where any extra money will go is uncertain - you can count on it being put to good use.
SDP has no desire to just be another small anti-drug war website with a handful of members wanting to "educate people," but never going anywhere. Awareness & education efforts are definitely important, but we need to get actively organized & take a stand NOW. Please support this effort anyway you can & we WILL make a difference!
We are working on a number of different ways to support SDP in the future
For now:
1) Donate Money! Of course donations are the most helpful way of supporting us. They'll help keep us stay afloat & enable us to expand our efforts, growing into a formidable organization of advocates. We're extremely frugal with every dollar we receive. We utilize our funds in the most effective & efficient way possible, down to the very last detail of every expenditure.
2) Donate Items! If you have a valuable lying around that won't be missed or that you're willing to donate to a good cause, we can use it! We will have an auction account to auction off items & use the proceeds to fund us. Some items SDP may be able to use itself, such as such as office supply gift cards. Others items will be auctioned off to the public. While we appreciate ALL offers, please contact us for details; many items - even high dollar valuables just don't do well in an auction setting & should be held on to.
3) Another way to help us is to tell your friends or family members who are interested in this issue about this website. The more support we have the better! Also additional members will often lead to additional donations. Referring strong advocates & supporters to our website can often be as much help as a monetary donation.
4) Be willing to physically support us at local events! While we are a very new organization if we happen to hold an event near your hometown join us! To grow into a respectable organization we need two things : money & support. As a newer organization money is more important as we need it to expand and get our name out there. However, as time goes on physical support becomes more & more important. Without the support of a member base we are literally nothing. While money is always helpful at any stage, eventually it will take a backseat to our need for physical support & will mean virtually nothing. If we have 20 million members but they aren't willing to speak out or too lazy to join a protest then all the money in the world serves us no purpose. So, when the time comes be willing to support us! Subsequently, others who are afraid to speak out on the issue will see that the support on the issue that no one dares talk about really IS there.
5) Post in the forum & work on helping it grow by answering others questions. Getting a forum started up can be a very difficult task. Getting it rolling is an exponential help in numerous ways. Referring others not just to the website but to sign up up and engage in discussion in the forum is a great way to help us grow. Remember to be respectful & helpful to others & you will likely get back what you put in.
We ask 3 things of all members.
1) Donate if you can
2) Have a true desire for change & a willingnes to educate yourself. Those who are knowledgable about the drug war and the various aspects surrounding it are the most valuable members. Remember to discuss issues with logic & let those foolish enough to speak only with unfounded emotion make a fool of themselves, but don't join them.
3) Have a backbone. There are MANY more people out there who think the drug war is wrong. Many more would be receptive if only they had an intelligent individual open their eyes to it. There are even many politicians out there who believe it, but will never say it. They can't speak about it because the supporters of drug reform seldomly will show public support for fear of others seeing them.This is because hardly anyone talks about it to others, even those who strongly believe it's a horribly destructive policy. So don't just talk about how you support drug policy change, PROVE IT.
We need to start talking about this issue. When supporters start talking about the issue they'll find out many more who had also kept it a secret. In turn, many more who don't know any better but are objective & intelligent will learn the truths behind the drug war & not the propoganda our government, anti-drug groups (sponsored by tobacco, alcohol, & pharmaceutical companies) have pumped into everyones heads.
Eventually people will talk objectively about change and show public support for politcians who are in favor of reform. Then those who support an end to these harmful policies can speak up without fear of losing all hope of election.