| September 10, 1997 #011 | ||||
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A DrugSense publication
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||
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Mandatory Minimums Produce Least Bang for the Buck
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The verdict is in - mandatory minimum sentences produce the smallest bang
for the buck in achieving the national goal of reducing illicit drug use,
according to a new report from the RAND Drug Policy Research Center. The
comprehensive report titled "Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences: Throwing
Away the Key or the Taxpayer's Money?" provides the first qualitative
analysis of how successful these sentences are in reducing drug use and its
consequences. | ||||
Its authors compare the cost effectiveness of extended sentences in
reducing cocaine consumption and crime to conventional law enforcement
(such as more arrests, confiscations, prosecutions and standard-length
incarcerations) and treatment of heavy drug users. Mandatory minimums came
in last. | ||||
The RAND report found that most drug-related crime is economically motivated and associated with the amount of money flowing through the cocaine market. Treatment removes some users from the market altogether. In this way, the demand for drugs drops, along with drug spending and the money dealers earn from selling drugs. As drug dealing becomes less profitable, fewer people become dealers. And because drugs are less expensive, fewer thefts are committed to pay for drugs. | ||||
The study calculated that if $1 million more were spent on each drug strategy over 15 years, mandatory minimum sentences would produce the least bang for the buck and treatment would provide the biggest bang for the buck: mandatory minimums would reduce national cocaine consumption by 13 kilograms, conventional enforcement would cut it by 27 kilograms, and treatment of heavy users would slash it by more than 100 kilograms. | ||||
The authors concluded that the most cost-effective way to pursue drug policy is to provide treatment to heavy users. They also added that "we would make greater drug control progress by sentencing more dealers to standard prison terms than by sentencing fewer dealers to longer mandatory terms." They clearly found mandatory minimum sentences to be the least effective way to address the drug problem in this country. | ||||
This report, or its summary, should be in the hands of every Member of
Congress. To order a copy of "Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences; Throwing
Away the Key or Taxpayer's Money?" send $15.00 to:
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RAND Distribution Services
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or call (800) 462-6420
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Reprinted from Volume 7, Issue 1, January - July 1997 of FAMM-gram published
by the Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation. | ||||
1612 K Street NW
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||
Drug Czar | ||||
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The troubled reign of the nation's drug czar - The elusive quest for real
power and respect
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BY GORDON WITKIN
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The press release said the trip would allow drug czar Barry McCaffrey "to
examine firsthand how the federal government can respond to the drug
threat" along the United States--Mexico border. Overseeing the border
effort would seem a logical role for a "czar" who coordinates national
policy, and so last week the retired general traveled from El Paso to
Laredo, to Tucson and Nogales, and on to San Diego. | ||||
But in the halls of the Justice Department, the view was more cynical. Officials there said they considered the drug czar's efforts pointlessly duplicative of the Justice Department's own border enforcement efforts, which are coordinated by the U.S. attorney in San Diego. Some derisively referred to the trip as the "Barry McCaffrey Victory Tour." | ||||
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A HELPFUL ALLY?
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General Barry McCaffrey, the drug policy head for the federal government,
has just returned from touring the U.S./Mexico border. He discusses the
efforts of the American and Mexican governments to combat drug production
and delivery with Eduardo Ibarolla, Mexico's deputy attorney general, and
Charles Krause. | ||||
CHARLES KRAUSE: The U.S.-Mexico border stretches for 2,000 miles from Texas to California, providing an entry point for an estimated 50 to 70 percent of all the illegal drugs imported into the United States. It's an enormous business worth $25 to $35 billion a year, about twice as much as the U.S. and Mexican governments together spend on trying to stop it. | ||||
International News | ||||
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Police Helicopter Forced to Land
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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Leftist rebels opened fire on a police helicopter
that was helping to spray drug crops Wednesday, forcing it to make an
emergency landing that injured two crew members. | ||||
The American-built UH-1H helicopter, which was accompanying crop-spraying airplanes used to destroy coca fields, was hit several times, said Col. Leonardo Gallego, Colombia's anti-narcotics police director. | ||||
Police returned fire, but there was no word on rebel casualties. Two crew
members were injured in the emergency landing. | ||||
Gallego blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the nation's largest and oldest rebel group, for the attack. Rebels are often paid by drug traffickers to guard crops such as coca, which is used to make cocaine. | ||||
The UH-1H was one of several Vietnam-era helicopters the United States donated to Colombia earlier this year to help fight drug trafficking. | ||||
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Dutch plan to give addicts free heroin
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ELS BORST, the Dutch Health Minister, faces parliament today with a controversial plan to give free heroin to 750 addicts. If approved, the scheme will run for two years and aims to integrate users back into society. | ||||
A similar scheme in Switzerland has virtually eliminated crime among addicts, but the Dutch version will be on a bigger scale. Its opponents in parliament will argue that 750 is too many to be experimenting with, but Dr Borst believes a large group is needed to provide credible results. | ||||
The liberal approach to soft drugs worries European neighbours, especially
France and Belgium, which claim Dutch tolerance of cannabis poses serious
problems in the absence of border controls. International pressure recently
prompted the Government to cut the amount of cannabis on sale in coffee
shops. Such cafes now number 1,290.
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Mexican agents accused of using plane to smuggle cocaine 18 jailed in first case alleging officers' use of counter narcotics aircraft | ||||
By Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News
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MEXICO CITY - Anti-drug agents used a counter narcotics plane to smuggle 130 pounds of cocaine from the Mexico-Guatemala border to Mexico City, but they were arrested when they landed at the airport, authorities said Thursday. | ||||
Eighteen people have been jailed in connection with the case, which marks
the first time agents have been arrested for using an anti-narcotics
aircraft to smuggle drugs. | ||||
Mexican Attorney General Jorge Madrazo said Thursday that the arrests
should serve as a warning to others. | ||||
Medical Marijuana | ||||
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TIME IS NOW FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE, GROUP SAYS
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SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER : The Citizens for Drug Policy Reform, a coalition of doctors, patients, educators and public health specialists, said yesterday that the ``war on drugs'' is failing and that marijuana, as well as other illegal drugs, should be made legal for medicinal uses. | ||||
The group is backing Initiative 685, known as the Drug Medicalization and Prevention Act of 1997, a measure that not only would legalize the medical use of marijuana and other drugs but would prescribe treatment and education programs instead of incarceration for people convicted of simple drug-possession charges. Similar initiatives have passed in California and Arizona, and another half-dozen states plan initiative drives next year. | ||||
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A campaign to legalize pot for medical use
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By TOM FIEDLER
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Florida physicians would be allowed to prescribe marijuana in treating such
ailments as cancer, AIDS or glaucoma if a constitutional amendment campaign
opening today succeeds in getting on the 1998 ballot and winning voter
approval. | ||||
Floridians for Medical Rights are expected to announce a statewide petition
drive at a news conference this morning at the Broward County Sheriff's
Office in Fort Lauderdale. The group claims backing from a variety of
mainstream medical and political groups, including the Florida Medical
Association, the Governor's Red Ribbon Commission on AIDS, the Dade County
Medical Association, the Libertarian Party of Florida and the American
Civil Liberties Union of Florida, among others. | ||||
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"I'd give him a small amount in the evenings...I'm guilty of that and I'm
sorry."
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Deborah Hawkins, Hoyt Axton's wife, pleading guilty in Montana on Wednesday to possessing dangerous drugs, on how she'd ration marijuana to the singer-songwriter after he quit smoking tobacco on his doctor's orders. | ||||
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The Medicolegal Muddle of Medicinal Marijuana
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BY NICHOLAS K. ZITTELL
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Dec. 30, 1996, was a day that may not necessarily live in infamy, but
certainly one that lives on in the minds and hearts of the legislators,
law-enforcement officials, physicians and patients who are at painful odds
over the value of medicinal marijuana. | ||||
In a press conference that became the flash point over the national media dialogue over proposition 215, the government 'drug czar' Gen. Barry McCaffrey, reaffirmed Drug Enforcement Administration policy to revoke the registration of any physician who "prescribes" marijuana to any patient. | ||||
At the time, the American Medical Association exhorted on the administration directive, advising doctors to stick to "effective, legal medications available to compassionately treat disease and relieve pain." | ||||
Needle Exchange | ||||
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If the Clinton administration does not lift a federal ban on funding of
needle exchange programs on its own hook, Congress should move on
legislation forcing it to do so. | ||||
Needle exchange programs are designed to slow the spread of AIDS among intravenous drug abusers by dispensing free, sterile syringes for infected ones. Transmission of HIV - the virus that causes AIDS - by infected needles has long been one of the big risk factors for contracting AIDS, and is growing as a proportion of the epidemic's new population. The risk is a compound one. Shared infected needles transmit the virus directly. In addition, almost by definition intravenous drug abusers are both young and sexually active. Thus, they may contract the disease from their drug-taking partners, then spread it to their sexual partners. If the risk is heightened, so would the benefit of ideas to reduce it. | ||||
Another premise is that while intravenous drug abusers may be compelled by
their addiction, many understand the risk of HIV infection and are willing
to take steps to reduce it if the opportunity to do so is available and
simple. | ||||
Because a number of states - including California - ban needle exchange programs and because of long-standing political opposition, there has been an executive order banning federal funding for such programs. | ||||
But growing experience with such programs from around the world and extensive epidemiological studies indicate the benefits. | ||||
Science Notes | ||||
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Studies shed light on marijuana-like chemicals
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By Mari N. Jensen / The Dallas Morning News
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Scientists may someday be able to create medicines that can supply the
medicinally useful effects of marijuana without the mind-altering ones, new
studies suggest. | ||||
Writing last week in the journal Science, researchers reported that they
have figured out how the brain disposes of anandamide, a marijuana-like
brain chemical. And in separate research, appearing in the journal Nature,
scientists reported that the brain produces a second natural marijuana-like
chemical. | ||||
The War on Drugs | ||||
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U.S. experts urge alternative in drug war
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By Deborah Zabarenko
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WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Neither the American war on drugs nor the push for legalization have worked, according to scientists who Tuesday called for a "third way" to deal with the problem of drug and alcohol abuse. | ||||
"The current drug policy debate is marked by polarization into two
positions stereotyped as 'drug warrior' and 'legalizer'," a panel of
experts gathered by the Federation of American Scientists said in a
statement on drug policy. | ||||
In this climate, the experts said, "propositions of dubious value achieve the status of loyalty oaths" and the problem of drug abuse remains unsolved. | ||||
Shunning specific positions on such controversial topics as the medical
uses of marijuana and the expansion of methadone programs to ease addiction
to heroin, at least one signer of the FAS statement questioned the
usefulness of the U.S. policy of certifying foreign countries as allies in
the global drug war. | ||||
"Even if you're a drug warrior, the drug certification process has little
to offer," said Peter Reuter, a professor of public affairs and criminology
at the University of Maryland, at a news conference announcing the
federation guidelines. | ||||
A science-based approach designed to minimize overall damage, including
damage caused by drug control measures such as lengthy prison terms, might
work better than the current polarized methods, the experts said in
explaining the "third way."
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"Drug policies should be based on the best available knowledge and analysis
and should be judged by the results they produce rather than by the
intentions they embody," the experts said. | ||||
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Mich. revisits tough drug law
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DETROIT -- Michigan legislators are considering changing the nation's
harshest drug law, which in 20 years has been used to send 240 people, most
of them first-time offenders, to prison for life without possibility of
parole. | ||||
The leader of the reform effort, Republican state Sen. William Van
Regenmorter, one of the state's most conservative senators, has complained
that drug offenders occupy so many cells in the state's prisons that there
is no room for more serious criminals. | ||||
"I hope this is seen as neither soft nor tough but smart," says Van Regenmorter. "I don't want to spend cell space on these people for 40 or 50 years at $50,000 a year when we haven't got room for child torturers." | ||||
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Young Blacks Entangled in Legal System
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By Cheryl W. Thompson
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Nearly half of the black men 18 to 35 years old in the District were
incarcerated, on parole or probation, awaiting trial or being sought on an
arrest warrant on any given day in the first quarter of 1997, according to
a report to be released today by an organization that supports alternatives
to incarceration. | ||||
The report by the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives said 24,377 black men 18 to 35 -- or nearly 50 percent of the city's black male population in that age range -- were in the District's criminal justice system from January through April. Based on U.S. Census Bureau data, the center estimated that 48,856 black males of that age live in Washington. | ||||
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By TERI SFORZA
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Judge James P. Gray was soundly cursed-and accused of trying to murder children-when he committed political blasphemy in 1992. | ||||
He declared that America had lost the war on drugs,and desperately needed a
new battle plan. | ||||
Now the controversial Orange County judge may take the law into his own
hands: He is "very seriously considering" a run for Congress in the
Republican primary next year. | ||||
He would be vying for the 46th District seat against Anaheim City
Councilman Bob Zemel, another man known for rocking the boat, and Orange
family attorney Lisa Hughes. | ||||
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Teacher fired over pot case eyes House
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BY PHILIP FRANCHINE
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Michael Maynard, the Bloom High School substitute teacher bounced from his
job last year because of a 1974 marijuana conviction, plans to run for
state representative. | ||||
Maynard, 43, of unincorporated Crete Township, said this week that he would
challenge incumbent George Scully (D-Flossmoor) in the March primary in the
80th House District. Maynard's campaign will stress education funding
issues and reform of drug-sentencing laws. | ||||
Maynard said he also may run as a write-in candidate for the Crete-Monee
School District U-201 board, but won't decide until after a Sept. 20 block
party where he will gauge neighborhood support. | ||||
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Michigan's drug lifer law has been the subject of political debate, public
hearings and legal battles that have been fought all the way up to the U.S.
Supreme Court. | ||||
The law, enacted in 1978, was designed to punish major drug dealers, but
defense lawyers and even some prosecutors and judges claim it has instead
caught low-level couriers, mules and addicts, many of them young, some of
them first-time offenders. | ||||
"When the law was originally passed, it was hoped we would get the kingpins and have a real impact on drug activity," said John O'Hair, prosecutor in Wayne County, which includes Detroit. "The reality is we didn't stop it at all. We probably missed a greater percentage of those who are the kingpins." | ||||
"We did catch some people," he added, "who don't deserve to spend the rest
of their lives in prison."
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WASHINGTON - Two months after the US House voted to allow the deployment of
up to 10,000 troops along the Southwest border, lawmakers reaffirmed their
support Friday.
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On a 261-150 vote, the House endorsed an effort by Rep. Jim Traficant,
D-Ohio, to ensure that the negotiators hammering out the final version of
next year's defense bill in a House-Senate conference committee include the
troops measure.
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The Senate didn't include a similar troops measure in its bill. Opponents
said if more manpower is needed, Congress should find the funds for new
Border Patrol agents instead of using troops untrained in law enforcement
techniques. | ||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||
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Mark Greer, founder of the Media Awareness Project, which has been expanded to DrugSense, appeared on C-Net's "The Web" last Sunday on the Sci-Fi Channel. | ||||
The show focused on how the Internet is effecting drug policy. Mark was the perfect person to make this point because the focus of his work has been to have an impact. Mark's slogan - "Just Do It" exemplifies his attitude. | ||||
If you missed the show last Sunday you can still see visit C-Net's web
site, http://www.cnet.com/Content/Tv/Web/
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Washington, D.C. is going to have two important demonstrations on drug issues in the next two weeks. Both have websites you may want to visit. | ||||
Families Against Mandatory Minimums will be having a demonstration on September 10th from noon to 1:00 on Capitol Hill on behalf of Kemba Woods, a 24 year old women who is serving a 24 year sentence for a crack offense. You can find out more on their web site at http://www.famm.org/kemba2.html | ||||
The National Coalition to Save Lives Now is organizing a major demonstration on September 17 beginning at noon at the headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services. The demonstration will feature a 12 foot spine to be presented to Donna Shalala. The demonstration is demanding the ban be lifted on federal funding for needle exchange. Their web site is located at: http://www.safeworks.org/savelivesnow/ | ||||
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DRUGSENSE TIP OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||
Journey for Justice Wheelchair Trek
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On Thursday, Sept. 11th a 210 mile Journey for Justice wheelchair trek will
leave from the small town of Mondovi, Wisconsin for the state capitol
building in Madison. Participants will be leaving from Dr. Wright's grave,
in the Oak Park Cemetery on W. Washington Street.
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The more than a dozen patients who have strong recommendations from their doctors to use medical marijuana, along with a few support folks and caregivers, plan to meet the public and media every mile of the way. Their goal is to put a personal face on the medical marijuana issue, showing that they are humans with real medical requirements, not criminals. | ||||
The Journey will culminate with a media conference in the capitol where
Rep. Frank Boyle, D-Superior, Wisconsin and his co-sponsor, Rep. Tammy
Baldwin, D-Madison, will introduce a medical marijuana bill in the
Wisconsin State Legislature. The participants will then fan out to talk
with their representatives. | ||||
More details are available on the Journey web page at:
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Already the media is taking note, with an AP wire story, local newspaper
articles and the patients participating in several talk shows. Now a top
rated PR firm is working with the patients to magnify their media impact,
thanks to NORML. | ||||
This represents an opportunity for DrugSense members in several ways. You are encouraged to inform your media contacts about the Journey. Media persons are invited to contact patients at their motels during the trek. | ||||
NewsHawks should be watching for stories to post to | ||||
And every letter sent to an editor as a result of an article increases the
impact, showing editors that there is broad based support for medical
marijuana. | ||||
Before the Journey starts Thursday morning, contact may be made with Kay
Lee, Journey organizer, and caregiver, and patient at (715) 926-4950. Then
contact may be made in the evenings, between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m Central
Daylight Time normally, at the motels as follows. Ask for Kay Lee or any
participants in their group of rooms. | ||||
ITINERARY FOR JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE - Wisconsin
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date, motel, phone, city
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SEPT. 11, PARK MOTEL (OSSEO), 715-597-3175, FAIRCHILD
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SEPT. 12, FALLS MOTEL, 715-284-9919, BLACK RIVER FALLS
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SEPT. 13, RED OAKS INN, 608-562-3420, TOMAH
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SEPT. 14, CITY CENTER, 608-847-5634, ELROY
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SEPT. 15, SOUTHERN COMFORT, 608-253-4193, WISCONSIN DELLS
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SEPT. 16, GANZERS, 608-643-8551, SAUK CITY
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SEPT. 17, FAIRFIELD INN, 608-831-1400, MIDDLETON
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SEPT. 18, ECONO LODGE, 608-241-4171, MADISON
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The media is invited! Talk show calls accepted!
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Wisconsin newspapers with email addresses and/or web sites (for checking
for stories, NewsHawks) include:
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Ashland Daily Press
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Beloit Daily News http://www.bossnt.com/bdn.html and
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Capital Times (Madison) http://www.madison.com/
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Clintonville Tribune-Gazette http://www.clintonville-online.com/
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Door County Advocate (Sturgeon Bay) http://www.doorcountyadvocate.com/
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Isthmus (Madison) http://www.thedailypage.com/ | ||||
La Crosse Tribune http://www.lacrossetribune.com/ or
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Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, WI) | ||||
Marshfield News-Herald http://www.oweb.com/News-Herald | ||||
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel http://www.onwis.com/ and
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The Progressive (Madison, WI)
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Shepherd Express (Milwaukee) http://www.shepherd-express.com/
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The Chippewa Herald (Chippewa Falls) http://www.chippewa.com/
publisher@chippewa
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The Green Bay News-Chronicle http://www.greenbaynewschron.com/
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Wisconsin State Journal (Madison ) http://www.madison.com/ | ||||
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We appeal to all citizens to educate themselves about this issue. We encourage you to support the Journey by writing to your state representatives and state senators (and if you have time, to your representatives and senators in Washington) to support the Wisconsin Medical Marijuana Bill. | ||||
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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. | ||||
Senior Editor: Mark Greer,
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We wish to thank each and every one of our contributors. | ||||
Mark Greer
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