Political Advocacy Groups

"Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is a national legal-action organization solely devoted to the many problems of smoking. For more than 40 years ASH has served as the legal-action arm of the antismoking community. ASH's mission is to: protect nonsmokers from the clearly-established dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke; reduce the deadly toll of smoking by banning the advertising and promotion of cigarettes, and by keeping them out of the hands of children; force those who use or profit from tobacco to pay the enormous costs of smoking which are now borne largely by nonsmokers; end all government support of the tobacco industry; serve as a clearinghouse of information and ideas for all people concerned about smoking, both here and abroad." (http://ash.org/mission.html)

"Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights is the leading national lobbying organization (501 (c) 4), dedicated to nonsmokers' rights, taking on the tobacco industry at all levels of government, protecting nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, and preventing tobacco addiction among youth. ANR pursues an action-oriented program of policy and legislation." (http://www.no-smoke.org/aboutus.php?id=436)

"The mission of Americans for Safe Access is to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis (marijuana) for therapeutic uses and research." (http://americansforsafeaccess.org/)

"CRRH's Cannabis Tax Acts (CTA) would comprehensively reform marijuana laws by regulating and taxing adult sales; licensing the cultivation of the drug for sale in state-run package stores and adults-only businesses; allowing adults to grow their own and farmers to grow industrial hemp without license; and letting doctors prescribe untaxed cannabis to patients suffering from a variety of illnesses and injuries." (http://www.crrh.org/crrh/index2.html)

"The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leader in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences in the United States and around the world. By changing public attitudes and public policies on tobacco, we strive to prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke." (http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/organization/)

"Our mission is to advance those policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug misuse and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies." (http://www.drugpolicy.org/about/mission/)

"Mission Statement: 1. Increase public support for non-punitive, non-coercive marijuana policies. 2. Identify and activate supporters of non-punitive, non-coercive marijuana policies. 3. Change state laws to reduce or eliminate penalties for the medical and non-medical use of marijuana. 4. Gain influence in Congress. Vision Statement: MPP and MPP Foundation envision a nation where marijuana is legally regulated similarly to alcohol, marijuana education is honest and realistic, and treatment for problem marijuana users is non-coercive and geared toward reducing harm." (http://www.mpp.org/about/mission-statement.html)

"The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.” (http://www.madd.org/about-us/mission/)

"NORML's mission is to move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty." (http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3414)

"Stop the Drug War (DRCNet) calls for an end to drug prohibition (e.g. some form of legalization) worldwide and its replacement with a sensible regime of control through regulation. In the interim, DRCNet supports philosophically compatible policy reforms and programs to reduce the excesses of the drug war and its attendant harms. DRCNet works for these objectives through a range of educational programs that are global in their impact; through lobbying efforts focused primarily on the US; through a philosophy of providing support infused within all our programs to our allies in the cause; and to some degree with programs that seek directly to reduce the harms of current policies and of addiction, which indirectly serve our educational and advocacy efforts." (http://stopthedrugwar.org/about/mission)