Marijuana Policy Project

Break-Out Recording Artist Rocco DeLuca Announced to Perform Along with Special Musical Performances from Nine-time Grammy Winner Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel

Los Angeles, Calif.- The Marijuana Policy Project, the largest marijuana reform organization in the U.S., is pleased to announce that Hugh Hefner will accept the Pioneer Award for his efforts to kick-start marijuana reform in the 1970's. The award will be presented to Hef at the MPP celebrity fundraising bash at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles on March 30, 2006. The party will celebrate MPP's recent medical marijuana victory in Rhode Island, as well as raise funds to continue MPP's political lobbying efforts, including its Nevada campaign to tax and regulate marijuana.

Hosted by comedian Rick Overton, MPP just announced that the evening will now include a special musical performance from the newest artist on Kiefer Sutherland's Ironworks record label, Rocco DeLuca and the Burden. In addition, nine-time Grammy winner Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel will perform with several special guests, and Native Wayne of Indie 103.1 will be spinning reggae gems. Tickets were $650, but the event is currently sold out.

Break-out recording artist Rocco DeLuca just released his critically acclaimed album, I Trust You To Kill Me, on Kiefer Sutherland's Ironworks record label. Rocco's blues-infused indie rock has landed him recent performances on Jimmy Kimmel, Extra, the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and the famed LA radio show Jonesey's Jukebox, hosted by the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones. Emcee Rick Overton most recently appeared in the film The Aristocrats. In addition to his numerous TV and film credits, Overton is an acclaimed comedy writer with an Emmy award for his work on HBO's Dennis Miller Live. Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel is a Texas music icon with nine Grammy awards to his name.

MPP is also offering up several items for auction, including a Tenacious D/Jack Black package that will include tickets to the premiere of Jack Black's latest film, along with limousine transportation and a signed poster. Also up for auction is an actual canister from one of the seven federal medical marijuana patients. The canister was sent to the patient's pharmacist by the federal government with 300 marijuana cigarettes, a month's supply. The historical canister is now empty. There will also be a silent auction with artwork from the likes of Dali, Picasso and Chagall, among others, courtesy of the Andrew Weiss gallery of Beverly Hills.

With over 20,000 members and 100,000 email subscribers nationwide, MPP is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For years, MPP has worked to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail, and the group's efforts were directly responsible for the passage of our country's three newest medical marijuana laws in Montana, Vermont, and Rhode Island. MPP recently kicked off a historic campaign to tax and regulate marijuana in the state of Nevada, where MPP's initiative will appear on the November ballot. For more information about MPP, see www.mpp.org.

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