DrugSense Directors and Staff

Board of Directors ( Staff )

Don E Wirtshafter, J.D., Chair
Don Wirtshafter is an environmental advocate and practicing attorney in Athens County, Ohio. He is best known for his 1990 launch of the Ohio Hempery, America’s first hemp products merchant. The Hempery was Don’s creative solution to the environmental and criminal justice problems that frequented his small-town law office. Don serves on the Board of Editors for the Journal of the International Hemp Association, the only peer reviewed journal of hemp research. He is founder and former director of the Hemp Industries Association.

Mark Greer, President and Executive Director,
Mark Greer co-founded and manages DrugSense, the highly-successful 501(c)(3) Internet-based non-profit dedicated to providing honest and accurate information about drug policy issues to the media, policy makers, corporations, and the public. The DrugSense suite of innovative resources is among the Internet’s most popular and effective means of influencing the media, educating the public, and giving a voice to drug policy reform. Please see Mark Greer’s resume.

Mary Jane Borden, MBA, APR, Secretary and DrugSense Business Manager,
Mary Jane Borden is a writer, artist, and activist in drug policy from Westerville, Ohio, where the foundation for alcohol prohibition was laid 100 years ago. Borden holds a B.A. from Westerville’s Otterbein College, an MBA from the University of Dayton, and the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) certification from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She is also the Editor of Drug War Facts (www.DrugWarFacts.org).

Matt Elrod, Webmaster, developer, and Senior Tech Support,
A co-founder of DrugSense with Mark Greer, Matt Elrod is one of the most highly recognized and acclaimed Internet professionals in drug policy reform. In addition to maintaining the Websites of DrugSense and its Media Awareness Project Inc., Elrod oversees the Internet services and technical support provided by Drug Policy Central to over 120 drug policy reform organizations. He is a former library cataloguer and director of his family’s business, Special Libraries Cataloguing, Inc.

Tom Angell
Tom Angell serves as the Media Relations Director for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a top-notch group of more than 10,000 former law enforcement officers who oppose the "War on Drugs." He is the former Government Relations Director at Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and founder of the University of Rhode Island SSDP chapter. Angell also co-founded the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC), a grassroots network that successfully worked to pass medical marijuana legislation in Rhode Island.

Kris Krane
Kris Krane is the former Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the leading organization working to mobilize students to change punitive drug policies. A magna cum laude graduate of American University with an honors degree in political science, Krane has been featured on such news programs as Fox News Weekend Live, Today in New York, National Public Radio, Court TV Radio, The WWRL Morning Show with Armstrong Williams, and dozens of local radio shows nationwide.

The diverse and impressive backgrounds of the highly experienced individuals that make up the DrugSense Board offer a powerful combination of talent, knowledge, contacts, and expertise. All board members are in constant communication and are engaged in formulating plans for the future of the DrugSense/MAP organization which will allow significant expansion of our existing projects.

We are implementing plans to broaden and improve our inroads into other avenues of media outreach. One of the aims of DrugSense will be to offer a helping hand to the various media efforts of organizations throughout the reform movement and to help coordinate and improve our overall media strategy.

We launched our subsiduary, Drug Policy Central, which offers support, web design, hosting and numerous internet services. Many reform organizations gain and maintain an internet presence thanks to this essential service.

STAFF (alphabetically)

Mary Jane Borden, MBA, APR, Secretary and DrugSense Business Manager,: Details in Board of Directors' Section
Matt Elrod, Webmaster, developer, and Senior Tech Support,: Details in Board of Directors' Section
Debra Harper, Assistant Webmaster,: Deb has a wide range of experience in drug policy reform and is the Mac component of the web support team for the ever expanding clientele of Drug Policy Central. She developed a resource site, CannabisLink.ca and is actively involved in other projects. Deb has also acted as Hemp and Cannabis section editor for our DSW.
Jo-D Harrison, Membership Coordinator and Assistant Webmaster,: Jo-D has wide ranging responsibilities. Contacting and working with the DrugSense membership of more than 15,000 volunteers is key among these. She also serves as Assistant Webmaster.
Steve Heath, Media Activism Facilitator,: Steve is a trainer, coach, and liaison to the media for individuals and groups who are working to reform current national and state drug policies. He is a long-time, dedicated MAP Editor and one of our top letter writers. Steve has received several Weekly and Monthly LTE awards and achieved our Silver LTE award for his 100+ published letters.
Richard Lake, Senior Editor,: Richard is a retired U.S. Army Officer and has been a key factor in the generation of the DrugSense news archive. He works with hundreds of volunteer "NewsHawks" and the entire volunteer staff of editors. His feedback and training has made the news archive what it is.
Philippe G. Lucas, Director of Communications,: Based in Victoria, B.C., Philippe networks with activists and organizations in both Canada and the U.S. in order to maximize resources, efforts and impact. He has introduced media and social reform organizations to the many resources and services provided by MAP/Drugsense and its staff, and has been an active international media contact on drug policy reform, cannabis policy, and prohibition. Philippe also produced the editorial comment and news items in the Hemp and Cannabis section of the DSW for several years.
Doug Snead; Programmer and Editor of International Issues of the DSW,: Doug Snead is a programmer and writer. His duties include writing the International section of the Drugsense Weekly Newsletter. Doug is assisting with the creation of a new Media Database. He has just completed a study of contemporary prohibitionist rhetoric, a book entitled "Drug War Propaganda".
http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/
Stephen Young, Editor, DrugSense Weekly,: Stephen Young is a freelance writer who stumbled across the Media Awareness Project while working on a book about the drug war called Maximizing Harm . He quickly became a volunteer newshawk and letter writer for MAP and later went on to help produce Focus Alerts.