UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs June 8-10, 1998 Common Sense for Drug Policy 703-354-5694 (phone) * 703-354-5695 (fax) csdp@drugsense.org (email) Robert E. Field Chairman Kevin B. Zeese President Sunday, 7 June 1998 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WHITE HOUSE LEGAL DEMAND THAT ISSUE ADVERTISEMENT BE PULLED IS EMPHATICALLY REJECTED BY DRUG POLICY REFORM GROUP Washington, D.C. - Stating that their publicly televised education messages now airing on CNN and other outlets "will run, and we will not be intimidated. Common Sense for Drug Policy has "emphatically rejected" a White House demand that the organization pull its public education message off the air. We do not believe that our President should ever seek to curtail the First Amendment right of any American or any organization to express political views plainly protected under the Constitution," said Common Sense President Kevin Zeese. The ad, produced by Zimmerman and Markman, the team that managed and did the media for the successful Medical Marijuana Initiative in California, is part of a comprehensive effort to open the debate on drug policy in advance of this week's UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs. Common Sense for Drug Policy, a Virginia-based public policy organization that opposes US and UN drug policies, began an issue advertisement campaign on Thursday, June 4th, involving the purchase of $60,000 in commercial time on CNN and other outlets. The advertisement expresses the organization's policy belief that the drug war is a failure. While the advertisement contains actual film footage of President Clinton addressing the UN, it also features an audio track with an actor's voice imitating the President as well as an explicit visual disclaimer making it clear to viewers that it is not President Clinton giving an address urging a change in drug policy. The ad can be viewed at www.drugsense.org ; video copies in Beta, VHS and PAL formats are available on request. An attorney representing the White House Office of Legal Counsel demanded an allied organization withdraw the advertisements and threatened the possibility of legal action. A copy of Meredith Cabe's letter is attached. Kevin Zeese, President of Common Sense for Drug Policy, has responded with a letter to Ms. Cabe "emphatically" rejecting the White House demand. A copy of the Zeese letter is also attached. Mr. Zeese writes: "The White House should not be engaged in an effort to prevent us from expressing political views through the assertion of bogus legal rights or remedies. Throughout history, governments incapable of defending their policies on the merits stifle speech that expresses opposition to their failed ideas. It is a great sadness to us that our President, rather than engaging us in debate, would instead act to try and prevent us from debating at all." Saturday, over 500 global statesmen, including former UN General Secretary Javier Perez de Cuellar and former Secretary of State George Shultz, Walter Cronkite, former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler, former Attorney General Katzenbach and others wrote UN General Secretary Kofi Annan urging that the UN's existing drug policy be reexamined and the debate be opened. THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON 06/05/98 FRI 14.10 FAX June 5, 1998 VIA FACSIMILE Mr. Mark Greer DrugSense P.O. Box 651 Porterville, CA 93258 Dear Mr. Greer: The Office of Counsel to the President has become aware that your organization is running a television advertisement featuring video footage of President Clinton, along with his name, but with a voice-over of an impersonator's voice. While the video shows President Clinton speaking, the words the viewer hears are not the President's words. As you are no doubt aware, the commercial also completely misstates the President's position on the problem of illegal drugs in this country. That advertisement violates a long standing White House policy against the use of the image of the President in advertising or promotional materials in any way that suggests a linkage between the President and the product, service, or enterprise being advertised. Superimposing someone else's words over videotape of the President speaking is confusing, if not deceptive, and is potentially actionable. Your organizations advertisement distorts the President's views and threatens to create precisely the kind of false perception on behalf of the viewing public the White House policy exists to avoid. We therefore insist that your organization discontinue that advertisement, and any other promotional material in which the name, likeness, words, or activities of the President, his family or the White House is used. Sincerely, Meredith E. Cabe Associate Counsel to the President Common Sense For Drug Policy Washington, D.C. 703-354-5694 (phone) 703-354-5695 (fax) csdp@drugsense.org (email) Robert E. Field - Chairman Kevin B. Zeese - President June 7, 1998 Meredith E. Cabe Associate Counsel to the President The White House Washington, D.C. Dear Ms. Cabe: Last Thursday, my organization, Common Sense for Drug Policy, began airing a public education message as part of a $60,000 purchase of advertising time on CNN and other outlets. Our message expresses our strongly held policy belief that the drug war is a failure, and was run coincident with the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Special Session known as "The Drug Summit." While the message contains actual film footage of President Clinton addressing the UN, it also features an audio track with an actor's voice imitating the President as well as explicit audio and visual disclaimers making it clear to viewers that it is not President Clinton giving an address urging a change in drug policy. On Friday, we received your startling letter demanding that the public education message be withdrawn. Your letter asserts that our use of the President's image violates White House policy. You have threatened us with legal action, as a means, I suppose, of intimidating us into suspending further broadcast of the advertisement. Because we believe the advertisement embodies precisely the kind of political speech that is protected under the First Amendment, we consulted legal counsel to determine whether our rights as Americans to address a policy issue in an advocacy advertisement would prevail against an assertion of White House policy, stated without citing a single statute or legal precedent. This weekend, we received an opinion letter from legal counsel which gives us even more confidence in our right to run the public education message. Our counsel was able to find several examples of commercial and political speech which were published or presented over the objections of the political figures whose names or images were depicted in the ads. Most recently, for example, Mayor Giuliani was stopped by Federal District and Federal Appellate Courts, when he sought to end a bus advertisement by New York Magazine which used his name. A similar case involving a picture of Vice President Mondale in 1984 led to the same result; namely the protection of speech and the free expression of ideas. On this basis, we emphatically reject your demand that we pull the ads. The ad will run and we will not be intimated. We do not believe that our President should ever seek to curtail the First Amendment right of any American or any organization to express political views plainly protected under the Constitution. My organization believes that the drug war is a failure and effective alternatives exist. We will continue to express those views as we see fit. The White House should not be engaged in an effort to prevent us from expressing political views through the assertion of bogus legal rights or remedies. Throughout history, governments incapable of defending their policies on the merits always try to stifle speech that expresses opposition to their failed ideas. It is a great sadness that our President rather than engage us in debate would instead act to prevent us from debating at all. I am making my letter and your letter publicly available on Sunday. Sincerely, Kevin Zeese UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs June 8-10, 1998