September 17, 1997 #012 |
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A DrugSense publication
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http://www.drugsense.org
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- * Breaking News (01/09/25)
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- * Feature Article
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The Journey For Justice
- * Weekly News In Review
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Drugs And Our Youth
CASA School Survey
Teens and Marijuana: Scaring Them Straight Has Lost It's Edge
Hemp And The Law
Hawaiian Hemp Fan / Alabama's a Bummer
Thug Free Zone: Seattle Hemp Fest
Initiatives
FLA: Slow Start for Drive to Legalize Medical Marijuana
Medical Marijuana
Vote Bars Study Funds for Medical Marijuana
OPED: Marijuana Offers No Advantage Over Prescription THC
Supporter of Medical Marijuana Eyes CA Governorship
Militarization
Forest Service and Marines Join Forces to Hunt MJ
OP ED: Border Troops Fixation
Mexican Officials Debate Army's Role in Drug War
U.S. Troops Told to Stay Away From Ciudad Juarez
Needle Exchange
Needle Exchange Programs Get No Help in House Vote
Sentencing
Michigan: Prisoner Hopes for Drug Law Change
Motives in Battling Crack Cocaine
Juries Are the Citizen's Last Line of Defense
South America
Ex-army Chief Calls Colombia's Drug War "A Sham"
Columbian Drug Measures Seen Swelling Rebel Ranks
The War on Drugs
Solve America's Drug Problem? Kill all the Drug Addicts?
Drug Dogs at the New Mexico State Fair
Workplace Drug Test Positives on Downward Trend
Afghan Opium Growers Hold Ground
- * Hot Off The 'Net
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Lynn Harichy Launches Constitutional Challenge
MAPS Forum
DS Weekly On-Line Edition
- * DrugSense Tip of the Week
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Point by Point Response to the Dallas Morning News Article
"The Partnership: Hard Sell in the Drug War"
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FEATURE ARTICLE
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The Journey For Justice
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Mondovi, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin
September 11 - 19, 1997
Dedicated to William Wright, M.D.
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We are the patients who use marijuana. We have come from many places to
tell you who we are. We need your understanding. We tell you of our pain
so that you will know why we must treat ourselves with forbidden medicine.
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We are your neighbors, your friends, your family. We are no threat to you
or your children. Our illnesses are not a hoax, they are terribly real.
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Cannabis is an effective medicine for our conditions. We are not claiming
it is the best medicine for everybody, only that from our clinical
experience, it is the best medicine for us. To help you understand that
the prohibition against medical use of marijuana is cruel and un-American,
we are exposing ourselves to you. Unfortunately, we are also exposing
ourselves to the police who have the authority to arrest us, to search us,
to raid our homes, to take our children away from us, to take our property,
and to throw us in prison. We refuse to hide any longer!
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We would like you, and all Americans -- to realize that we are the people
who current policies would jail -- at your expense. We are Americans who
are denied access to medication that works for us, and thus we have to use
less effective, and often more expensive medications, and often you pay
those added costs as well.
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Irrationally, we are the target of laws that should apply only to those who
would hurt others. We are peaceful people who do not want to break the
law; we only want to improve the quality of our lives. Now on behalf of
all of those who are sick -- and who may become sick -- we have taken on
the burden of reducing the harm that bad laws -- based on misunderstanding,
fear and political cowardice -- have caused.
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Many of today's legislators don't know that over the past 25 years the
legislators in 35 states passed laws for medical marijuana -- often by
unanimous votes. Unfortunately those laws, though well-intentioned, have
been ineffectual.
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Thus, as you read this, many of us are already locked up. Under current
law, we all could be.
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The Wisconsin leg of the Journey for Justice is dedicated to William
Wright, M.D., of Mondovi, Wisconsin, who struggled through miles of
bureaucratic red tape to obtain permission for his patient, Jacki Rickert
of Mondovi, Wisc., to legally use cannabis to make her painful life much
more bearable.
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Dr. Wright wanted his patient to have the same access to a medication that
was useful and appropriate for her condition that a handful of other
doctors were able to get for their patients -- marijuana. At the time he
died, he was still trying to make the government give her the medical
marijuana they had promised him they would supply. Dr. William Wright was
what every doctor should be.
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We are making this somewhat slow and difficult journey to the State Capitol
in Madison to appeal to the compassion that resides in Wisconsin people,
and to the concern for the suffering of the People that motivates most
legislators we elect. We are walking to meet -- on the steps of the State
Capitol -- Rep. Frank Boyle, an honest and compassionate representative,
who will introduce medical marijuana legislation in the Wisconsin
legislature on September 18. His bill, if enacted, would offer peace to
those of us who need cannabis in our medical treatment.
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For updates on the Journey please visit
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http://norml.org/j4j/index.html
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
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Drugs And Our Youth
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WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The vast majority of U.S. high school students report
illegal drugs are kept, used or sold on school grounds, a new survey found
Monday.
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In a survey timed to coincide with the start of the new school year, the
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) found that 76
percent of high school students and 46 percent of middle school students
said drugs were present at their schools.
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More than a quarter of high school students, 29 percent, said a student in
their school died in the past year from a drug- or alcohol-related
incident, and 28 percent of high school teachers said students who appear
to be drunk or high on drugs show up in their classes at least once a month.
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More than a third of teen-agers, or 35 percent, said drugs are the most
important problem they face, up slightly from 31 percent in 1996 and 32
percent in 1995, the survey found.
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Only 26 percent of parents, 18 percent of teachers and 15 percent of school
principals thought drugs were teens' most important concern, according to
the survey. The survey of students had a margin of error of plus or minus
2.9 percent; the survey of teachers had an error margin of plus or minus
3.5 percent and the survey of principals had an error margin of plus or
minus 4.9 percent.
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CASA, based at Columbia University in New York, is a non-profit,
non-partisan organization aimed at combatting substance abuse.
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Subj: | Teens and Marijuana: Scaring Them Straight Has Lost It's Edge
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Pubdate: | Sun, 14 Sep 1997
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The quarrel gets played out daily in thousands of families. Stay away from
marijuana, the exasperated parent warns; it will mess up your future. The
teen-ager retorts: But you tried it and it didn't hurt you.
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At home or school, when the conversation turns to illegal drugs the subject
is usually marijuana. As many as 70 million Americans, including many of
today's parents, have smoked it. And as their children can be quick to
point out, the vast majority did not go on to be addicted to cocaine or
heroin.
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So how do parents persuade a skeptical 14-year-old not to try marijuana,
when the teen-ager can see across the dinner table that their lives weren't
ruined?
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Hemp And the Law
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Subj: | Hawaiian Hemp Fan / Alabama's a Bummer
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Pubdate: | Mon, 08 Sep 1997
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SOURCE: | Atlanta Journal / Constitution
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Sure, Alabama is used to its share of criticism, but from across an ocean?
The war of words broke out last month after police arrested two Hoover shop
owners for selling hemp products, citing the state's strict marijuana laws.
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When Hawaiian legislator Cynthia Thielen, a Republican, found out about the
arrest via the Internet, she called for a statewide boycott of the Cotton
State. "If the district attorney there in Birmingham is going to equate
hemp with marijuana, then Alabama should be avoided like the plague," says
Thielen, a fan of the clothing made from the stalks of cannabis plants.
Thielen credits the hemp industry for helping Hawaii find "alternative
economic industries" after sugar plantations bottomed out.
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Told of Thielen's clothing of choice, Jefferson County District Attorney
David Barber replied, "She'd have a problem" if she visited Alabama.
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Subj: | Thug Free Zone: Seattle Hemp Fest
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Source: | The Stranger, Seattle's alternative newspaper
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First the disclaimer: I don't like pot. I've never tried it. I've never
even had an alcoholic beverage (which is sorta like saying I was once
abducted by aliens, but I swear it's true). I'm not exactly the target for
Hempfest '97, held a couple of weeks ago at Myrtle Edwards Park.
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But I think its organizers should sue the asses off the City of Seattle.
Hempfest, for those who've never seen it, is a street fair for hippies, a
smaller-scale Fremont Fair or Gay Pride scene, with booths selling hemp
stuff, a few community groups, bands, and people lying around on blankets.
Since these are hippies, there's a fair amount of drumming and a mellow (if
not catatonic) vibe. The city tried to destroy Hempfest '97. Not because of
the size of the type of event (street fairs are a staple of Seattle's
summer weekends), but because of the political content: the demand to
legalize hemp production and marijuana use. Advocating the repeal of a law,
in case our chuckleheaded public servants have forgotten, is called
"freedom of speech". And it's legal. It's not a threat to society. But
trying to quash free speech through heavy-handed intimidation is. How bad
was it? The next day's P-I article (August 25) called the police presence
"overwhelming". To get in through Myrtle Edwards' one open entrance,
attendees walked a quarter mile gauntlet with enough visible cops and cop
toys to overthrow a mid-sized African nation. Once past the city-mandated
security, checking all backpacks and bags (for a free public event!), armed
cops in packs roved the grounds--not as a friendly street fair beat, but as
an occupying army.
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Behind the scenes, after months of permit hassles, organizers claim that
the previous night--when the stage, generators, and booths were already
up--the park sprinklers "accidentally" went off, causing thousand of dollars
in damage.
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Initiatives
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Subj: | FLA: Slow Start for Drive to Legalize Medical Marijuana
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Pubdate: | Thu, 11 Sep 1997
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MILTON -- (AP) -- Two days in the conservative Panhandle produced 40
signatures on a petition to legalize medical marijuana in Florida. That
leaves 435,033 to go before the issue can be placed on the ballot.
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Most visitors to the Santa Rosa County Courthouse declined to sign as they
rushed past a six-member petition-gathering group that had set up a table
on the lawn Tuesday.
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"It's just another illegal drug, as far as I'm concerned," said Betty
Brock, 60, of Navarre. "And as far as I'm concerned it should stay that way."
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The Fort Lauderdale-based Coalition Advocating Medical Marijuana is
pressing ahead with plans to visit each of the state's 67 counties.
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The group collected 30 signatures outside the Escambia County Courthouse in
Pensacola on Monday and added 10 Tuesday in Santa Rosa County, which
annually produces one of the state's largest crops of illegally grown
marijuana.
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Medical Marijuana
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Subj: | Vote Bars Study Funds for Medical Marijuana
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Source: | Orange County Register
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Legislation appropriating $1 million for a study of marijuana's medical
benefits failed on a late-night vote Wednes The final vote was 48-21, six
votes shy of passage.Supporters asked for another vote before this year's
legislative session ends Friday.
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The bill by Sen. John Vasconcellos,D-Santa Clara,calls for a three-year
study by University of California scientists.
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Subj: | OPED: Marijuana Offers No Advantage Over Prescription THC
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Voth EA, Schwartz RH Medicinal appilcations of delta-9-
tetrahydro-cannabinol and marijuana. Ann Intern Med (May 15) 1997;126:791-8
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Although its active ingredient, THC, can be useful for treating
chemotherapy-induced nausea and in stimulating appetite, marijuana should
not be reclassified as a prescription drug, according to Voth and Schwartz.
They reviewed studies published between 1975 and '96 on the medicinal use
of crude marijuana and THC.
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CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED NAUSEA. THC was found to be an effective anti-emetic
in 12 of 13 analyzable trials. In one trial, metoclopramide (Reglan et al)
was more effective than THC In a study comparing pure THC with smoked
marijuana, THC was more effective in quelling nausea in 35% of patients.
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Subj: | Supporter of Medical Marijuana Eyes CA Governorship
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Pubdate: | Sun, 14 Sep 1997
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SACRAMENTO -- Veteran Santa Clara County legislator John Vasconcellos will
launch an exploratory bid to become the Democratic nominee for governor
this week, hoping to trade on his high-tech connections while selling his
offbeat brand of politics to voters who probably know him best from the
comics.
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The bachelor father of California's self-esteem movement, for which he was
once lampooned in Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury," says he'll spend the next
45 days assessing "whether I can ignite or spark enthusiasm in enough people."
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The announcement -- to be made formally Wednesday, when he sends video and
audio tapes to television and radio stations -- caps several months of
speculation in the media and soul-searching by the man who in 1979 wrote "A
Liberating Vision: Politics for Growing Humans."
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Militarization
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Subj: | Forest Service and Marines Join Forces to Hunt MJ
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Pubdate: | Sun, 07 Sep 1997
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MEDFORD-- After a two-year hiatus, the U.S. Marine Corps will join with the
U.S. Forest Service to fly over southwestern Oregon looking for marijuana
patches.
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The Forest Service first used military training flights to help with its
marijuana eradication program in the late 1980's. Despite decreases in the
number of outdoor growing operations, the program was discontinued because
of budget cuts.
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Four helicopters-- Two AH-1W Super Cobras and two UH-1N helicopters,
commonly known as "Hueys"-- will fly unarmed over public and private lands
during the next month. They will cover Jackson, Josephine, Coos,
Douglas,and Curry counties and part of California.
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Subj: | OP ED: Border Troops Fixation
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Pubdate: | Wed, 10 Sep 1997
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Source: | Waco Tribune-Herald
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Congress is getting into a nasty habit of trying to foist things onto the
Pentagon it doesn't want. And we're not talking about the kind of needed
austerity measures that no bureaucracy wants.
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We're talking about things that drain resources unnecessarily and hurt
readiness. One good example is Congress' insistence on the production of
$18 billion worth of new B-2 stealth bombers. That would add nine. The
Pentagon wants none.
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A more alarming example of this tendency, however, came Friday when the
House, for the second time, voted to allow deployment of up to 10,000
troops at the Mexican border to assist in drug interdiction and enforce
immigration laws.
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Subj: | Mexican Officials Debate Army's Role in Drug War
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Source: | Dallas Morning News
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Pubdate: | Fri, 12 Sep 1997
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MEXICO CITY - As a scandalous drug trial against a top general nears an
end, some lawmakers question whether the Mexican army should take a lead
role in the counternarcotics effort.
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Ordering soldiers to fight drug traffickers "is like inviting a criminal
into a casino. He'll rob it," Sen.-elect Francisco Molina Ruiz said.
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"I'm not saying the army is full of delinquents." But soldiers earn only a
few hundred dollars a month and so they're vulnerable to drug bribes, Mr.
Molina said.
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Subj: | U.S. Troops Told to Stay Away From Ciudad Juarez
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Pubdate: | Fri, 12 Sep 1997
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EL PASO, Texas, Sept 12 (Reuter) - U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss in
Texas have been ordered to stay away from the Mexican border city of Ciudad
Juarez because of a rash of drug-related killings there, officials said on
Friday.
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Ciudad Juarez, which lies just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, is a
popular night-time stomping ground for soldiers based at Fort Bliss, but it
has been rocked by about 20 drug murders in recent weeks.
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Maj. Gen. John Costello, the senior military officer at Fort Bliss, ordered
the 13,000 active duty troops on the post to stay away from Ciudad Juarez
until things calm down. Anyone violating the ban, which went into effect
late on Thursday, will be court-martialed.
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"This order will not be rescinded until the general feels there is a
certain level of stability down there," Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt
said.
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Ciudad Juarez pulls in soldiers attracted by its many bars, restaurants and
strip clubs. Offutt said she did not know how many soldiers regularly cross
the border for a night out.
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Needle Exchange
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Subj: | Needle Exchange Programs Get No Help in House Vote
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Pubdate: | Friday, September 12, 1997
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Source: | San Francisco Chronicle
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The House of Representatives voted yesterday to prohibit the use of federal
funds for needle exchanges programs to prevent the spread of HIV, a move
immediately denounced by advocacy groups.
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"Numerous federally funded studies and organizations all agree that needle
exchange saves lives," said Regina Aragon, director of public policy at the
San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "Congress has put politics before health,
and as a result, thousands more will become infected with HIV."
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Sentencing
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Subj: | Michigan: Prisoner Hopes for Drug Law Change
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Source: | Los Angeles Times
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Drugs: | Boyfriend's heroin in car meant maximum sentence. But legislative
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mood may be turning toward less harsh penalty.
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PLYMOUTH, Mich. (AP) - Nearly 20 years later, JeDonna Young still remembers
her stomach churning, queasy with fear, that night the police stopped her
and asked the question.
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It was the first hint she was doomed.
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She was just four blocks from home, on a crisp October night in 1978,
driving her boyfriend in the bronze Cadillac he had given her. Unbeknown to
them, the Detroit police were following. The officers stopped them, ordered
them out and searched the car. On the front seat was a brown paper bag
secured with rubber bands. It contained heroin. In the trunk was a plastic
bag filled with envelopes containing 33 cellophane packets of tan powder.
That, too, was heroin.
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"Whose drugs are those?" the police officer asked.
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Subj: | Motives in Battling Crack Cocaine
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Source: | The San Diego Union-Tribune-North County
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"When you're up to your hips in alligators, it's hard to remember that your
initial objective was to drain the swamp."
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I think that's an old Cajun expression, and I'm not sure that its most
accurate rendering includes the word "hip." But it does seem an apt way to
think about the bitter controversy over the disparate sentencing for
"crack" and powder cocaine.
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The most troublesome of the alligators in the analogy is the fact that
users and sellers of "crack" - overwhelmingly black - are far more likely
to go to prison and to serve longer (mandatory) terms than are users and
sellers of cocaine in its powder form - a group far likelier to comprise
whites.
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Subj: | Juries Are the Citizen's Last Line of Defense
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Pubdate: | Sat, 13 Sep 1997
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Source: | Boulder Daily Camera
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It is with some trepidation that I write about my case. The last letter I
wrote (Daily Camera, 4/20/96, "Scare tactics killed hemp bill") was used as
evidence against me at my trial for contempt of court stemming from my
service as a juror in Gilpin County.
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It is necessary to put my apprehension aside in order to share my
experience with others in the hope of educating and protecting other
potential jurors.
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South America
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Subj: | Ex-army Chief Calls Colombia's Drug War "A Sham"
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Pubdate: | Fri, 12 Sep 1997
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BOGOTA, Sept 12 (Reuter) - The hardline general recently ousted as
Colombia's military chief called the government a disgrace and described
its war against drugs as "a sham" during an explosive television interview.
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Gen. Harold Bedoya, who has embarked on a grass-roots campaign for the
presidency, also vowed to press drug corruption charges against President
Ernesto Samper if he wins election.
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The interview, with CBS-Telenoticias, was broadcast on Thursday night, on
the eve of a ceremony in the capital where Bedoya was to be retired from
active service with full honors.
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Coming from a man who served on the frontline of the drug war, he was
guaranteed to stir controversy by calling it a fraud. But he put the blame
squarely on Samper, who he said should have resigned amid the scandal over
his allegedly drug-financed election campaign.
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Subj: | Columbian Drug Measures Seen Swelling Rebel Ranks
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Pubdate: | September 12, 1997
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BOGOTA, Reuters [WS] : Colombia's crackdown on illegal drug plantations is
forcing peasants to flee their land and join the ranks of Marxist
guerrillas, a U.S.-based human rights group says.
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The independent Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) says Colombia's
U.S.-backed drug eradication policy -- going hand-in-hand with
counterinsurgency operations and widespread violation of human rights -- is
doing ``more harm than good.''
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The police and army, which share a drug enforcement role, have long accused
leftist rebels, especially the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), of drug trafficking. They also accuse the guerrillas of whipping up
social unrest in the main coca-growing regions, including last year's
peasant marches in southern Colombia to protest government programs to
eradicate coca leaf crops -- the raw material for cocaine.
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The War on Drugs
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Subj: | Solve America's Drug Problem? Kill all the Drug Addicts?
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Pubdate: | September 8, 1997
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Source: | Los Angeles Times Book Review
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NEW YORK--This is the premise of RISING PHOENIX (HarperCollins Publishers),
Kyle Mills' gripping thriller that Tom Clancy calls "an explosive thriller
that launches a new genius for taut, compulsive adventure writing into some
of the most complex and morally ambiguous subjects of the day."
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Maybe you think solving America's drug problem through tainted drugs is too
fantastic to be believed? Maybe not. Take a look at these all-too-real
headlines.
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Bad Batch of Crack Sends 25 to the Hospital "Crack cocaine poisoning has
sent at least 25 people to area hospitals, and authorities warned Saturday
that the drug had been laced with a chemical...Some suffered seizures and
others were frothing at the mouth..." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - May 5,
1997.
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Subj: | Drug Dogs at the New Mexico State Fair
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ALBUQUERQUE -- American Civil Liberties Union activists are keeping a
watchful eye on the use of drug dogs at the New Mexico State Fair.
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ACLU of New Mexico Executive Director Jennie Lusk spoke with fair manager
John Garcia to express the ACLU's concerns about the use of drug dogs, and
to get specific information about the fair's plans to use them to search
fairgoers.
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Reports have circulated that the dogs would be used at state fair gates or
be allowed to roam fairgrounds searching and sniffing for drugs.
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"The State Fair manager has guaranteed me that reports of the use of drug
sniffing dogs are exaggerated, and that all use of the drug dogs will be
individualized," Lusk said.
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Subj: | Workplace Drug Test Positives on Downward Trend
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Pubdate: | September 12, 1997
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COLLEGEVILLE, Pa., /PRNewswire/ -- The SmithKline Beecham Drug Testing
Index(C), released today, disclosed that 5.4 percent of the more than 2.2
million tests performed in the first six months of 1997 by
SmithKlineBeecham Clinical Laboratories were positive for drugs. The
positive rate for all of 1996 was 5.8 percent.
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"The continued decline in workplace positive drug tests is encouraging for
U.S. employers," said John B. Okkerse, Jr., Ph.D., President, SBCL. "In the
general workforce, marijuana continues to be detected most frequently.
Nearly 60 percent of positive test results in the first six months of 1997
were positive for marijuana, as compared to 52 percent for the same time
period in 1996.
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"The percentage of those testing positive for cocaine, which historically
has been approximately 24 percent of all positive test results, declined to
less than 18 percent over the first six months of the year."
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Subj: | Afghan Opium Growers Hold Ground
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Pubdate: | Fri, 12 Sep 1997
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SHINWAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Pulling on the wispy strands of his gray beard,
the wizened farmer mutters the only English word he knows - opium - and
vows that no one, not Afghanistan's Taliban religious rulers, not the
United Nations, will stop him from growing it.
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Haji Saif Rahman says his father and his grandfather harvested the
blood-red poppies that make heroin before him, and his grandchildren surely
will do the same.
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"What else should we do?" he asked, pointing his trembling hand in
emphasis. "There's no work. There's no business. There's not enough water
and there's not enough land. It's our duty to grow it."
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After months of pressure by the United Nations and Western countries, the
Taliban have prohibited the cultivation of opium poppies, which are grown
by 200,000 families in this war-shattered country.
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HOT OFF THE 'NET
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Lynn Harichy Launches Constitutional Challenge
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Lynn Harichy, multiple sclerosis victim and mother of two has become the
latest crusader in the battle to legalize marijuana in Canada.
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Lynn was arrested yesterday morning in front of the London, Ont., police
station, where she planned to smoke a joint. She was issued a summons to
appear in court Oct. 14 on a charge of possession of a narcotic.
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Keep an eye on Hemp Nation http://www.hempnation.com/med/lynn.html
and coming issues of DS Weekly for updates on Lynn's case.
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MAPS Forum
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The MAPS forum is the electronic discussion group of the Multidisciplinary
Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Currently numbering 1400
members, MAPS focuses on the development of beneficial, socially-sanctioned
uses of psychedelic drugs and marijuana. MAPS pursues its mission by
helping scientific researchers design, obtain governmental approval for,
fund, conduct and report on psychedelic research in human volunteers.
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For more information about MAPS, please visit http://www.maps.org
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DS Weekly On-Line Edition
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You can now read DS Weekly on-line at
http://www.drugsense.org/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/drugsense/current
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DRUGSENSE TIP OF THE WEEK
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Point by Point Response to the Dallas Morning News Article
"The Partnership: Hard Sell in the Drug War"
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MAPer Alan Bryan responds point by point to the Dallas Morning News
showing how to use the Internet to provide solid references. Countering
such propaganda with factual information is one of the highest goals of
our organization and Alan sets a good example for all.
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DMN editor's comments preceded by
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Drug use among adults in America has declined nearly 50 percent since
1985. So why aren't we celebrating?
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What is your point here? Most of these adults DID experiment with drugs in
their youth. They simply quit doing them as they grew older.
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Because more young people than ever are snorting, sniffing, smoking,
shooting and ingesting every kind of illicit drug imaginable.
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Can you substantiate this statement? Was it researched? It appears that
such was not the case. It is amazing that with all of the information that
is available at your fingertips, that you did not even bother reading the
"Monitoring the Future Survey". It's even online at:
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http://www.isr.umich.edu/src/mtf/mtf95t02.html
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Had you read this, you would have found that teen drug use reached a high
of 65.6% in 1981 and a low of 40.7% in 1992. Cocaine use was at its
all-time high in 1985 (16.1%) and a low in 1994 (5.9%). Of course, these
numbers are insignificant when compared to alcohol and tobacco. Amazing
enough, the numbers of alcohol and tobacco users have shown a steady
decline since 1975 and their distribution is controlled, unlike illicit drugs.
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Now, you should also realize these surveys may have a significant margin of
error since they are all self-reporting. During the just say no years,
the kids were saying no to the surveyors, whether they said no to drugs or
not. Just ask anyone who was in high school in the mid-80's how prevalant
drugs were in school.
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Among eighth- and 10th-graders, illegal drug use has doubled since 1992,
according to a study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
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There was no data gathered on 8th and 10th graders prior to 1992, so we
have nothing with which to compare. One should always be very dubious of
PFDA surveys. I find it interesting that they lay-off the tobacco and
alcohol industries. They only recently quit accepting contributions from
these industries. Don't you find that a bit hypocritical?
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At least 20 percent of this nation's 45 million children under age 12 have
been offered illicit drugs.
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Well, what do you expect? The current distribution system is comprised of
teenagers. It's an easy way for them to make money. The more customers they
get, the more money they make. If illicit drugs were sold on the cereal
shelves in grocery stores, they'd be less available than they are now. Most
kids don't have their cereal delivered. There would also be no incentive in
getting others addicted.
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Seven Plano youths have died from heroin
overdoes since December, according to police.
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I'm curious, have you read the autopsy reports? Weren't there combinations
of alcohol and other drugs involved in some of these deaths? Wasn't there a
delay in seeking medical assistance for some of these victims because in
others involved were afraid of arrest? FYI, Narcan will stop a heroin
overdose in its tracks (no pun intended).
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If you are interested in REALLY learning the causes of what has been
labeled heroin overdose, perhaps you should read Chpater 12 of "The
Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs" by Edward M. Brecher and
the Editors of Consumer Reports Magazine, 1972 .
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This, too, is available online at:
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http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm
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After reading this chapter, I want you to tell me that all these youths
died of a true heroin overdose.
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At this rate, America will face another drug epidemic by the end of this
century - unless Congress and the American people are willing to support
an unprecedented media campaign to convince young people not to fall
into the trap.
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If illicit drugs and marijuana are the terrible menace that you describe,
how do you think our country survived the 60's and 70's? Have you checked
into the whereabouts of those who grew up during this time? I have. Guess
what they are? They are the heads of Fortune 500 companies, members of
congress, police officers, PTA presidents, respected members of society and
even valued employees of your newspaper.
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Pending in Congress is a $16 billion federal drug budget that commits
$175 million to purchase prime-time media exposure for anti-drug
advertising geared to children.
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Would you mind telling me how the billions and billions of dollars spent on
the drug war have done any good? Why do you support a policy that has lead
some states to spend more on prisons than education? Have you ever
SERIOUSLY considered this?
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The time for this kind of hard-hitting national campaign against drugs
is long overdue. A decade ago, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
helped curtail drug use among youngsters with a wave of effective ads.
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Those commericials did little, if anything, to reduce illicit drug use and
they totally ignored alcohol and tobacco. You owe it to yourself to read:
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The Partnership: Hard Sell in the Drug War
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by CYNTHIA COTTS, The Nation Magazine
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http://www.televar.com/~thawkins/friedegg.html
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Remember the 1987 TV ad depicting the brain wave of a l4 year-old smoking
pot. It was actually the brain wave of a coma patient.
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I had always been under the impression that the Dallas Morning News sought
out the truth. It appears that you have been neglectful in searching for
this truth. Had you done so, you would not have tooted PFDA horn so loudly.
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But with the networks in a tough struggle with cable channels over
advertising, time available for public service announcements has all but
dried up. And, unfortunately, the number of news stories on TV about
illegal drugs also has declined.
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Can you substantiate your claim of the decline in drug stories? The Dallas
Morning News failed to report one of the greatest drug program success
stories of all time. I am referring to the Swiss heroin distribution
program. Read my letter that was submitted last week for a few details or
go to: http://www.lindesmith.org for the complete report.
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Members of Congress must realize that it costs money to get the message
out. McDonald's spends nearly $600 million a year to sell hamburgers. It
isn't too much to invest $175 million to save kids.
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An unhealthy diet kills more people each year than drugs. Perhaps we should
spend that money on teaching people healthy eating habits. I don't think
McDonalds would support this idea. :)
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Ads would not be geared solely to youngsters. There also will be strong
messages about the role parents can play in helping their children make
right choices.
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I don't think we need to spend money advertising to accomplish this. As
long as you and others continue to support teenage drug dealers, there will
be no significant changes in drug consumption patterns among our youth.
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This won't be the "Just Say No" kind of advertising from the Reagan
administration. One ad shows a beautiful model talking about her drug
use. While talking, she removes her makeup, false eyelashes and finally
false teeth to show the ravages of her addiction.
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And the kids will laugh. Do you realize that many people who use opiates do
not fit the sterotype? Did you realize that one of the founders of Johns
Hopkins Medical Center, Dr. William Halstead, was a daily user of morphine?
I don't know whether he wore false teeth or not. ;)
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Many movies today have let teenagers think taking drugs is all right.
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The same was said of "Cheech and Chong" movies and the country did not go
to hell in that proverbial handbasket. One of my favorite books that I read
in high school (1971) was "Dealing--or the Boston to Berkley Forty Brick
Lost Bag Blues". It was all about drug dealing and the like. Guess what? I
did not use, much less sell drugs while I was in high school (graduated '73).
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We need to give them the other side of the story.
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You mean the side of the story that marijuana is not nearly as harmful as
alcohol and tobacco? I DARE ya.
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That's what this ambitious advertising assault on a looming crisis will do.
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Spoken in my best Texan:
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"It ain't gonna do squat, 'cept waste mo'uv my tax dollars."
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Hope this has been informative as well as a little entertaining.
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Alan Bryan
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DS Weekly is just another of the many free services DrugSense offers our
members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you.
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Senior Editor: Mark Greer,
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We wish to thank each and every one of our contributors.
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Mark Greer
Media Awareness Project (MAP) inc.
d/b/a DrugSense
http://www.DrugSense.org/
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