| October 29, 1997 #018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A DrugSense publication
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Table of Contents
| ||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Am I A Criminal?
| ||||||||||
On September 16th I went to the London, Ontario police station to be arrested. My medicine has become so important to my health and well being that I simply had to ask the court and government to give me the right to use it. The only way open to me was to be arrested for possession of my medicine, allowing me to challenge the existing law in court. | ||||||||||
Professor Alan Young of Osgoode Hall in Toronto is my lawyer. On October
14th I was remanded for trial. I should know soon when the trial will start,
probably early next year. | ||||||||||
Last Tuesday I went to listen to a lecture on my medicine sponsored by the
Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, the Drug Policy Foundation Harm
Reduction Network, the HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario, and the International
Harm Reduction Association. The lecture on medicinal marijuana was a great
inspiration. After listening to the speakers, Diana Riley of Toronto, a girl
from the buyers club in Calgary, Lynn Zimmer, and Dr. John Morgan, I
realized not even the professionals fully understand the benefits of this
herb for medical use. | ||||||||||
I know that this is a hard disease to understand but I also know that I need to be able to make a living and to do something with my life. I find that smoking marijuana along with taking Vitamin B12 shots bi-weekly and getting the proper exercise and rest allows me to lead a fairly normal life. | ||||||||||
It has taken me 18 years to get to this point. I can look at my self in the
mirror now knowing that I am doing everything I can to be productive and to
bring my situation to a point where I am satisfied to be alive. I am
waiting for the cure, but waiting is not as bad now that I have effective
medicines. | ||||||||||
I don't consider myself a criminal in any way and I don't care if anyone
else thinks of me as a criminal. My concerns are more about me and my
family. I want to be "normal." I have spent too many days laying in bed
unable to get up. I can't waste my life away like this. I need to fight
back. I can't stay home laying in bed wasting away from throwing up all the
time. | ||||||||||
Coming up on one year of self medicating I have gone from 79-lbs to 95-lbs.
This is a great accomplishment for me. Now my body is much more capable of
handling any recurrence of illness. | ||||||||||
This summer I spent time running, walking, riding a bike, and just enjoying life, which until now was hard for me to do. I have not been able to do these things since I was 18. It may be easy for people to take these things for granted, but I cherish every ache and pain I get from this exertion. | ||||||||||
I wonder what will happen to me if the laws are not changed? Will I be
forced to become the shadow of a person I am now? Will I be forced to
dwindle away without being heard? Will I be forced to abandon the work I
have done to bring my health back to "normal?"
| ||||||||||
I honestly hope not, for I have come so far. It isn't up to people to
understand why this helps. The point is it does! I am not hurting myself or
my family. I am not hurting anyone. Actually, if you think about it, I am
helping many people. I am trying to get off disability. I am trying to get
back into the real world with all the stress and stigma attached. I guess if
being productive, self dependent, self educated, and a good citizen is a
crime, then maybe I am a criminal?
| ||||||||||
A friend has kindly placed my story, including most of the media articles,
on his web site. If you would like more information about my case please
visit http://www.hempnation.com/med/lynnmain.html
| ||||||||||
Lynn Harichy
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Drug Czar
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
White House anti-drugs chief Gen. Barry McCaffrey on Wednesday said a bill
passed by the House setting a goal of ridding the United States of drug
abuse by 2001 was not achievable. | ||||||||||
"It is not believable to say that there will be a drug-free America by Jan.
1, 2001," McCaffrey said. | ||||||||||
Currently, 6 percent of Americans use illegal drugs and 1.5 percent are
addicts. | ||||||||||
The administration's target is to reduce drug abuse to approximately 2
percent by 2007. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is considering a veto of a House-passed bill that would require the administration to cut drug use by more than half within four years, said President Clinton's top drug policy adviser. | ||||||||||
The bill reauthorizing the Office of National Drug Control Policy would tie federal money to congressionally set goals, including reducing drug use from the current 6.1 percent of the population to 3 percent by the end of 2001. | ||||||||||
"As political rhetoric, that's OK," Barry McCaffrey, who heads the drug-control office, told reporters Wednesday. But cutting anti-drug money if the nation fails to reach an unreachable goal will hurt drug-fighting | ||||||||||
efforts, he said. | ||||||||||
"There was a debate over whether I should send over a threat of veto" over
the proposed bill, he said. "We didn't do it, yet."
| ||||||||||
Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., chief sponsor of the bill, said the goal "is a
virtual drug-free America by the year 2001." The measure passed by voice
vote Tuesday. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
International News
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Why the law is an ass
| ||||||||||
AT THE age of 20, Amanda Sperritt was diagnosed with a rare and crippling
disease known as Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which causes muscle spasms, nerve
pain and arthritic inflammation. Eight years later she was convicted for
possession of cannabis, the only drug she found that could alleviate the
crippling pain she was experiencing. | ||||||||||
"I was grassed up last October," she said. "Eight police officers turned up in flak jackets and searched my flat for five hours. They found 60 plants and I was charged with intent to supply. I was absolutely furious. I always knew it was a possibility, but it was such a shock to actually see them turn up. Some of the plants didn't even have roots, but the forensic team calculated that I could have produced nine ounces. Luckily, one drug squad officer was sympathetic. He made sure the charge to supply was dropped." | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
MADRID, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Spanish marijuana growers staged their first-ever contest on Saturday to choose the best cannabis crop, but judges who had to smoke 10 different samples were in no condition to pick a winner. | ||||||||||
Defying Spain's drug laws, which are among the most lenient in Europe, 51 marijuana lovers who cultivate cannabis illegally for their own use gathered at a private club to compete for the first annual "Madrid Marijuana Cup." | ||||||||||
The growers, acting as their own judges, wasted no time in dividing up the
samples, rolling joints and lighting up. Clouds of aromatic smoke wafted
across the room. One woman passed out and had to be taken outside for some
fresh air. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
MANAGUA, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. government opened a Drug Enforcement
Administration office in Nicaragua on Tuesday promising not to trample on
the country's sovereignty in its fight against drugs bound for the United
States. | ||||||||||
"We're not talking about James Bond or Robocop," U.S. Ambassador to
Nicaragua Lino Gutierrez told a news conference. "Nothing will be done
without the support and cooperation of the National Police and Nicaraguan
authorities."
| ||||||||||
Gutierrez introduced Joseph A. Petrauskas, a pilot whose DEA resume includes
six years in Colombia, as the embassy's newest member in charge of its
anti-drug effort. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela welcomes outside help in the fight against
drug trafficking but will not relinquish its sovereignty, a top government
official said. | ||||||||||
Drugs Minister Carlos Tablante told Reuters the international drug trade was
increasingly using Venezuela as a smuggling route and that "we need to have
our alarm on."
| ||||||||||
But, in an interview late Tuesday, he said Venezuela would jealously prevent "any foreign police forces to operate on our territory, in our airspace." | ||||||||||
He said Western countries, including the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands were providing vital intelligence help to the recently created National Anti-Drugs Commission (CNA) that he heads. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States should pay Mexico compensation for
the damage that drug trafficking has done instead of standing in judgment on
the country's anti-narcotics performance, Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo
said in remarks published Wednesday. | ||||||||||
"They still want to certify us. They should reimburse us for the mess they
have left us," Zedillo told a small group of reporters late Tuesday in the
western Mexican city of Guadalajara. | ||||||||||
Reflecting a widespread view in Latin America that consumer countries such
as the United States are mainly to blame for the drug problem, Zedillo said
Mexico was squeezed between consumer demand for drugs and narcotics
production by poor South American countries. | ||||||||||
"That's the cruelty of this phenomenon," he said. "They make a sandwich of
us. Fortunately we are not consumers (of drugs)."
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Medical Marijuana
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Editor note: Mr. Olsen maintains a website on the issue in Iowa at:
http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/MEDICAL/IOWA/
| ||||||||||
Marijuana as medicine presents a peculiar problem in Iowa. Some say it's OK. Some say it's bad. But this is not a debate between hippies and cops, parents and kids, good and evil. It's between state law and federal law. The state says medical marijuana is OK. The feds say medical marijuana is bad. | ||||||||||
Who's right? It isn't clear. But it is clear the conflict is causing
problems. It is clear the law ought to be fixed. Iowa law made medical
marijuana legal in 1979, around the time when the federal government set up
a program to provide the drug to qualified applicants with serious medical
disorders. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Phone (415) 476-2557 | ||||||||||
NEW ORLEANS-- (BW HealthWire) -- Oct. 26, 1997-- Pain relief may be provided by marijuana-like drugs that exert their influence on brain cells in the same way as the active component of the illegal weed, according to researchers from the University of California San Francisco. | ||||||||||
Ian Meng, PhD, and Barton Manning, PhD, both postdoctoral fellows, and
Howard Fields, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology with the Keck Center for
Integrative Neurosciences at UCSF, report that a synthetic marijuana-like
drug called WIN 55212 enhances the brain's ability to suppress pain in rats,
and probably in humans as well. | ||||||||||
WIN 55212 dulls pain by acting on the same pain-suppressing nerve circuits
as morphine and other opioid drugs, the most powerful painkillers known, the
researchers say, and such drugs may one day be used in combination with
opioids or other painkillers to provide better treatment for certain kinds
of pain. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Also fax, e-mail, mail and phone support would be very helpful. Contact the
Ukiah Cannabis Buyer's Club at:
| ||||||||||
A marijuana grower described as the main broker for Ukiah's Cannabis Buyers Club was arrested late Friday afternoon by Lake County sheriff's deputies. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
The sponsors of Initiative 685 have a comprehensive vision of drug policy reform for Washington state. The jam-packed ballot question says it all: | ||||||||||
"Shall penalties for drug possession and drug-related violent crime be
revised, medical use of Schedule I controlled substances be permitted, and a
drug prevention commission established?"
| ||||||||||
This ambitious proposal does too much, too fast. Voter caution is advised:
The highly-publicized medicalization of marijuana is a very small part of
what this measure aims to accomplish. | ||||||||||
It would permit seriously or terminally ill patients to use any so-called
Schedule I drug for pain relief with the recommendation of a licensed
physician. The doctor would be required to document supporting medical
research, get the written consent of the patient and the written
recommendation of a second physician. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Police marijuana-dispensary schemes in The City and San Mateo may sound
good, but citizens shouldn't give cops joint powers
| ||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO has added itself to the list of local governments studying
whether they should let cops distribute marijuana to patients under the
compassionate use law approved by California voters a year ago. The City's
Board of Supervisors on Monday approved a request by Supervisor Sue Bierman
to hold a hearing on setting up a police dispensary. San Mateo County and
San Jose are looking into similar proposals. | ||||||||||
Under Proposition 215, it's legal for someone who is seriously ill to use
marijuana, with a doctor's OK, for the relief of pain and other symptoms.
But the measure leaves murky who can cultivate and distribute the drug.
Local governments have considered numerous enforcement schemes, including
licensing distributors and licensing users. San Mateo County slapped a
moratorium on dispensaries in unincorporated areas while officials figure
out what to do. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
People who suffer from debilitating diseases should be able to legally
obtain any drug that has been proven effective in treating their condition.
And people who are convicted for possessing drugs should be given the
opportunity to be treated for their addiction before they are locked up.
Voters should seize the chance to approve those reasonable and long-overdue
changes in state law by voting "yes" on Initiative 685. Critics rightly
point out that the measure has flaws. Most laws do - especially those that
are revolutionary. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Needle Exchange
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Hundreds of people plan to march in Trenton today to show support for the legalization of needle-exchange programs, organizers of the march said. | ||||||||||
Mothers and grandmothers of intravenous drug users infected with H.I.V., the
virus that causes AIDS, will lead the march to protest a state ban on
syringe distribution, said Diana McTeague, a member of the Chai Project, a
New Brunswick needle-exchange program. | ||||||||||
The majority of new AIDS cases in the state are caused by contaminated
needles or sex with drug users, Ms. McTeague said.
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Trials & Sentencing
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Twelve years after a U.S. drug agent was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in
Mexico, evidence has emerged that federal prosecutors relied on perjured
testimony and false information, casting a cloud over the convictions of
three men now serving life sentences. | ||||||||||
The evidence suggests that the U.S. government, in its zeal to solve the heinous killing of Enrique Camarena, induced corrupt former Mexican police to implicate top officials there in a conspiracy to plan his kidnapping. | ||||||||||
Their statements not only were critical to winning convictions against the
three, including the brother-in-law of a former president, they also have
tarnished the reputations of Mexican political figures and strained
relations between the two countries. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
MIAMI (Reuters) - One of the biggest U.S. prosecutions against Colombia's Cali drug cartel ended in a near stalemate Monday as jurors failed to reach verdicts on most of the charges against the two lead defendants. | ||||||||||
After a four-year investigation and a five-month trial, the federal jury returned a not guilty verdict on one racketeering charge against two former U.S. prosecutors who became lawyers for the cartel, but failed to reach verdicts on drug trafficking and other charges against the two lawyers. | ||||||||||
The jury deliberated for more than 11 days before delivering the partial
verdict. | ||||||||||
"We have spent a lot of time on this, but we are hung," the panel said in a note sent to presiding U.S. District Judge C. Clyde Atkins. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
War on Drugs
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
STANTON - An Orange County group formed to curb the birth of crack babies
will make its first $200 payment to a drug addict who has agreed to have her
tubes tied, the group announced Wednesday. | ||||||||||
The 28-year-old Los Angeles woman, identified only as Sheila H. has given
birth to five crack babies. She will attend a Nov. 7 news conference in
Monterey Park, where she will receive her check and talk to reporters about
why she is volunteering to become the first woman to get a tubal ligation
under a program created by Barbara Harris of Stanton. | ||||||||||
"We have to solve this terrible problem," Harris said in a telephone
answering machine message at the headquarters of the nonprofit group she
formed, Children Requiring A Caring Kommunity - CRACK. | ||||||||||
The program, which has drawn about 200 supporters, seeks to stem the birth
of crack babies by offering female drug addicts $200 for tubal ligation, $50
to get a contraceptive implant that lasts about five years or $20 to get an
injectable contraceptive. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Contrary to the wholesome image marketed by the National Basketball Association, 60 to 70 percent of its 350-plus players smoke marijuana and drink excessively, according to conversations with more than two dozen players, former players, agents and basketball executives. | ||||||||||
"If they tested for pot, there would be no league," said Richard Dumas, the
former Phoenix Suns guard who was banned from the league for drug and
alcohol use and is now playing in Europe. "Weed is something guys grow up
doing, and there's no reason for them to stop. Because almost everyone does
it, no one wants to test for it. They're afraid to."
| ||||||||||
Two decades ago, the league nearly collapsed under a perception that its athletes were high on cocaine. Now, many people are saying the NBA's 14-year-old drug policy is so antiquated and ineffective that it protects players despite behavior that is illegal and commonplace. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
$195,000 from contribution-swap that illegally aided Carey re-election,
court records show
| ||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Last year's drive in California to legalize marijuana for
medical use received a $195,000 boost from the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters. | ||||||||||
The money came from a contribution-swap scheme that illegally bolstered union President Ron Carey's re-election campaign, according to government documents and interviews with people familiar with the case. | ||||||||||
Carey's December 1996 victory over James P. Hoffa was annulled and a federal
grand jury probe is continuing after three former Carey campaign advisors
confessed to the conspiracy Sept. 18.
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Virtuocracy -- which may be defined as the bureaucratization
of personal morality -- is on the move again. We have just seen public
hatred of tobacco companies whipped to a fever pitch with some dubious
arguments. | ||||||||||
Now it is the turn of the liquor industry. Before we succumb once more, it
would be well to examine the social science and raise some questions that
social science cannot answer. | ||||||||||
William J. Bennett recently noted that a high density of liquor stores and a
high rate of crime often coincide. For that reason, he argues, the number of
liquor stores and the amount of liquor advertising in poor neighborhoods
should be limited by law. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
At a time when many politicians and law enforcement officials are saying
their innovative police tactics are responsible for the sharp drop in
homicide rates over the past five years, a new Justice Department study has
found that the most important reason for the decline may be the waning of
the crack cocaine epidemic. | ||||||||||
The Justice Department report, commissioned by Attorney General Janet Reno,
acknowledges that improved police work, along with longer prison sentences
and improved emergency medical care, have all contributed to the lower
homicide rate. But the report suggests that the close link between crack and
homicide may be a fundamental dynamic that explains why homicide rates have
declined not only in cities like New York, which have instituted aggressive
police strategies, but also in cities like Los Angeles, where the police
have been demoralized or have not adopted new methods. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
CASTLING Goes International
| ||||||||||
CASTLING, Rand Clifford's moving and educational story of the power of hemp, has long been a favorite in the United States. Soon German readers will be able to enjoy Castling, too. Translation is nearly complete and distribution of the German language edition is just around the corner. | ||||||||||
Experience the startling truth about marijuana prohibition and the power of hemp, including a virtual tour of the "Castle" and a sneak preview of the first few chapters of the novel at http://www.ior.com/~randc/ | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
DRUGSENSE TIP OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
$100 PRIZE FOR BEST ANTI-DRUG WAR LTE
| ||||||||||
Announcing Rob Ryan's LTE Contest featuring a $100 Prize for the best
anti-drug war editorial. | ||||||||||
This contest is Robert's way of fighting against the drug war that is
currently going on in our country. | ||||||||||
The goal is to increase the level of dialog surrounding this terrible effort on our government's part called the War on Drugs. Robert personally believes this is the social equivalent of the Vietnam War, where our children, including his own, are the victims of our government's actions. | ||||||||||
Robert also believes that most politicians lack the courage to stand up and
say what they really think about this war. His hope is that this contest
will spur at least one or two politicians to think seriously about this
endless war on our own people. | ||||||||||
See http://www.mapinc.org/prize.htm for all the details. | ||||||||||
Submit your LTEs published during the month of November and go for the
glory. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
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. | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
We wish to thank each and every one of our contributors. | ||||||||||
Mark Greer
| ||||||||||
|