| June 10 ,1998 #050 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
A DrugSense publication | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Book Review : Drug Crazy by Mike Gray | ||||||||||||||||
America's War on Drugs, declared originally by Richard Nixon and waged
with varying degrees of enthusiasm by every President since, has become
a nearly invulnerable monster, thriving on its own failures and
seemingly capable of destroying anyone reckless enough to speak out
against it. Its simplistic central premise- drugs pose unthinkable
dangers to our children, and therefore must be prohibited- has helped
elect legions of politicians who then cite the latest drug scare as
reason for tougher crack-downs, harsher laws, and more prisons. So
completely has this idea of "illicit drugs" become society's default
setting, and so beholden are politicians and others to it, the policy
itself receives no critical scrutiny from government or from academics
largely dependent of federal funding. "Legalization" is a deadly
brickbat hurled indiscriminately at all critics without thought that in
a society based on capitalism, it is the illegal markets which are
abnormal. | ||||||||||||||||
Although several scholarly, historically accurate books have pointed
out shortcomings of this policy since the late Sixties, not one author
has effectively attacked drug prohibition as a policy based on a
completely false premise, incapable of preventing substance abuse
problems; indeed, certain to make them worse. None, that is, until Mike
Gray. A professional from the film world, Gray may have written the
book no one else has yet been able to: a concise, readable,
historically accurate, and well documented indictment of our drug
policy. Very few reading his book all the way through will see the drug
war the same way they did before. A major question then becomes: how
many people will read it? Will it sink without a trace, overlooked like
so many earlier criticisms of official policy- or will it be discovered
by a public growing increasingly disillusioned by a perennial policy
failure which is jamming prisons, impoverishing schools and colleges
and effectively canceling many Constitutional guarantees of personal
freedom? Read by enough people, "Drug Crazy" could do for drug reform
what "Silent Spring" did for the environment in 1962. | ||||||||||||||||
Like the film maker he is, Gray opens with a tight close up: Chicago
police on a drug stake-out. The view quickly expands to the futility of
enforcement against Chicago's massive illegal market from the
perspectives of an elite narcotics detective and a dedicated public
defender. A comparison with Chicago seventy years ago during
Prohibition reveals that police and the courts were equally unable to
suppress the illegal liquor industry for exactly the same reason: the
overwhelming size and wealth of the criminal market created by
prohibition law. This beginning leaves the reader intrigued and eager
to learn more; he's not disappointed. | ||||||||||||||||
The rest of the book traces the history of our drug crusade from its idealistic populist origins, starting in 1901 when McKinley's assassination thrust a youthful TR into the White House. The 1914 Harrison Act, purportedly a regulatory and tax law, was transformed by enforcement practice into federal drug prohibition with the assistance of the Supreme Court. Drug prohibition not only survived the demise of Prohibition, but emerged with its bogus mandate strengthened. | ||||||||||||||||
Thirty years of determined and unscrupulous management by Harry
Anslinger, the J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics
shaped drug prohibition into what would eventually become a punitive
global policy. Anslinger was dismissed by JFK in 1960, but not before
politicians had discovered the power of the drug menace to garner both
votes and media attention. | ||||||||||||||||
Illegal drug markets have since thrived on the free advertising of
their products which inevitably accompanies intense press coverage of
the futile suppression effort and dire official warnings over the
latest drug scare. This expansion was accelerated when Nixon declared
the drug war in 1972. Gray covers that expansion beyond our borders in
Colombia ("River of Money"), in Mexico (Montezuma's Revenge"), and at
home ("Reefer Madness"). He also describes how some European countries
have blunted the most destructive effects of an American domestic
policy forced on them by the UN Single Convention Treaty ("Lessons from
the Old Country"). | ||||||||||||||||
In his final chapter, Gray opines that the push to legitimize marijuana
for medical use may have exposed a chink in the heretofore impregnable
armor of drug prohibition. Beyond that, he believes that the policy,
having thrived on relentless intensification, can't allow relaxation
without risking the sort of scrutiny which might reveal its intrinsic
lack of substance, therefore, any change must come from outside
government. He doesn't offer a detailed recipe for a regulatory policy
to replace drug prohibition; rather he suggests that it will be very
similar to that which replaced alcohol Prohibition after Repeal in
1933- a collection of state based programs, sensitive to local needs
and beliefs. | ||||||||||||||||
There is a desperate need for this book to be read and discussed by
hundreds of thousands of thinking citizens. The pied piper of drug
prohibition has beguiled our politicians and led us dangerously close
to the edge of an abyss. Mike Gray's warning has hopefully come just in
time and could itself be a major factor in initiating a much needed
change of direction toward sanity. | ||||||||||||||||
Thomas J. O'Connell, MD, | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
This week, an increased international flavor occasioned by events in
Mexico, the UN General Assembly special session on drugs, and a
relative dearth of important domestic news, has led us to abandon the
usual "Domestic" and " International" groupings in favor of lumping
the two news sources under various topics. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Drug Policy- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The House can usually be counted on for the most radical knee-jerk
response to drug-related news. Last week, oblivious to the
ramifications of further insulting Mexico, they responded to Operation
Casablanca with a flourish. | ||||||||||||||||
The complaint of the outgoing commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard is eminently predictable and typical those who have become addicted to the annual largesse bestowed on newly conscripted drug warriors. | ||||||||||||||||
Finally, a sad note; Steve Michael, AIDS activist and campaigner for
medical marijuana passed away recently. He remained contentious, even
in death, as the third news article in this cluster attests. He will
definitely be missed. | ||||||||||||||||
HOUSE PANEL APPROVES BILL EXTENDING REACH OF U.S. AUTHORITIES | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON ( AP) Seeking to stem the global growth of money
laundering, a House panel approved legislation Friday that would
extend the reach of U.S. law enforcement authorities fighting drug
traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||
The bill whisked through the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime
by voice vote, sending it to the full Judiciary panel. | ||||||||||||||||
The move came about a week after U.S. authorities carried out a
major money-laundering sting. They arrested 160 people, including
about two dozen Mexican bankers, and seized $87 million, two tons
of cocaine and four tons of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
COAST GUARD "WE NEED MORE MONEY FOR DRUG WAR" | ||||||||||||||||
Drug War Leader Is Frustrated Kramek Says Politics Hamper Coast
Guard | ||||||||||||||||
As commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard for the last four years, Adm.
Robert E. Kramek played a key role in the war on drugs, serving as
coordinator for U.S. interdiction efforts. | ||||||||||||||||
But in leaving the post last week after 41 years in the service,
the 58-year-old admiral could not hide a sense of frustration and
dismay about what he described as partisan bickering and
pork-barrel politics that have hamstrung the United States in its
fight against illegal narcotics. | ||||||||||||||||
"If we want to win the war on drugs, we've got to have the will to
win," Kramek said in an interview before turning over his command
Friday to Adm. James M. Loy. "I don't think we have the will yet.
We don't have the will, between the administration and Congress, to
win this thing." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
AIDS ACTIVISTS HOLD PROTEST FUNERAL | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON ( AP) - Friends of a local AIDS activist marched his
body along Pennsylvania Avenue on Thursday before coming to a stop
outside the White House to accuse President Clinton of being a
`murdering liar.'' | ||||||||||||||||
About 100 people participated in the half-mile procession for Steve
Michael, founder of the Washington chapter of ACT UP, the AIDS
Coalition To Unleash Power. Organizers said Michael, who died May
25 of AIDS, requested the ``political funeral'' to protest the
Clinton administration's AIDS-related policies. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
United Nations- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The UN General Assembly session on drug problems had been targeted by
reform groups as an opportunity to voice opposition to drug
prohibition as policy. It's interesting to compare the more complete
and intelligent coverage of this effort in Canada with the sketchy
wire story published by most American dailies. | ||||||||||||||||
The other aspect of the UN session which received media attention was the hare-brained scheme of UN drug czar Pino Arlacchi to resurrect the idea of crop substitution in producer nations. This proved a tough concept for the US to endorse, even though they might approve of Arlacchi's gung-ho general approach to drug enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||
LEADERS ATTACK UN WAR ON DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||
Host Of Dignitaries Hope To Nip Campaign In Bud | ||||||||||||||||
Days before the United Nations is to announce its most ambitious
anti-drug program ever, hundreds of world leaders, including 80
Canadians, have signed a ground-breaking petition asking the UN to
support the liberalization of drug laws instead. | ||||||||||||||||
The petition, a rough draft of which has been obtained by the Citizen,
will be presented to the UN General Assembly when it convenes Monday
for what are expected to be hard-nosed discussions on how to crack down
on trade in illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The petition is just the latest volley in what has become an increasingly spectacular debate on whether drugs should be decriminalized. Proponents of decriminalization point to the excessive costs of policing and punishing drug offenders, and the crime cartels that thrive on the prohibited drug trade. Opponents of drug decriminalization argue that easier access to drugs would lead to greater rates of addiction and to the erosion of society's morals. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LEADERS ASK UN FOR NEW DRUG POLICY | ||||||||||||||||
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Saying the drug war has caused more harm than
drug abuse itself, prominent world figures are calling for ``a truly
open dialogue'' to shift drug control policies from punishment to
public health issues. | ||||||||||||||||
The call is being made in a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan
from the Lindesmith Center, a private institute which conducts drug
research, in advance of the U.N. General Assembly special session
on drugs, which opens Monday. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
U.N. WANTS WORLDWIDE EFFORT TO ERADICATE DRUG CROPS | ||||||||||||||||
The United Nations plans to seek new international backing for the most
ambitious counter-narcotics effort in its history. | ||||||||||||||||
But the United States and other wealthy nations are resisting pleas to fund the program partly because it would spend billions of dollars in some of the world's most corrupt or repressive nations, such as Afghanistan, Myanmar and Colombia, according to U.S. and U.N. officials. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But President Clinton's top drug-policy aides have advised U.N.
officials that Washington is unwilling to commit substantial new money
to the effort because the program remains unformed, has yet to attract
support from key European and Middle Eastern donors and would probably
provoke political opposition at home from human-rights activists and
critics of the United Nations. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Mexico | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Mexico remains very much on the front burner, thanks to still-increasing Mexican outrage over Operation Casablanca. | ||||||||||||||||
Beyond that, Mexico's announcement of a major Methamphetamine bust
could be regarded by cynics as an attempt to improve its image at the
UN drug summit. The article on heroin indicates that the
Colombian-Mexican cooperation in the marketing of cocaine has been
extended to heroin. | ||||||||||||||||
UNDERCOVER ANTI-DRUG OPERATION STRAINS U.S. TIES WITH MEXICO | ||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY -- A flap over an undercover money-laundering operation by
American customs agents has escalated into a full-scale diplomatic
altercation that has strained the close ties between the United States
and Mexico. | ||||||||||||||||
snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The feud took a new turn Friday with the publication here of a letter
from Sen. Trent Lott, the Senate majority leader, to President Ernesto
Zedillo. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Top Mexican officials were infuriated by the letter. Jesus Reyes Heroles, Mexico's ambassador in Washington, blasted back on May 29 with a five-page response defending Mexico's anti-drug record and renewing the attack on the undercover operation, which was code-named Casablanca. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
THE U.S. AT ODDS WITH ITSELF ON MEXICO | ||||||||||||||||
Mexican government officials weren't the only ones caught by surprise
by the recent announcement of a massive sting operation ("Casablanca")
against Mexican bank officials for money laundering. Most of the
American government, at the highest levels, also was in the dark about
the operation. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The lesson of Casablanca is that when American foreign policy toward
Mexico is dictated by law enforcement, the consequences cascade
throughout the whole bilateral relationship in a dangerously accidental
way. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DRUG CARTEL SMASHED, MEXICANS SAY | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY--Mexican authorities said Tuesday that they had smashed
the country's main synthetic drug cartel, dealing a powerful blow
to methamphetamine trafficking into California and other American
states. | ||||||||||||||||
Mexico's top anti-drug official, Mariano Herran Salvatti, told
reporters that police arrested the suspected cartel leaders, Luis
and Jesus Amezcua-Contreras, and seized 125 properties and
businesses that were being used to smuggle the drugs and launder
the profits. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MEXICAN HEROIN ON RISE IN U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
Mexican drug cartels, long regarded as peddlers of cheap, low-grade heroin that accounted for only a tiny portion of the U.S. market, are now producing some of the world's most potent heroin and are seizing control of a rapidly growing share of the U.S. heroin business, according to Mexican and U.S. law enforcement officials. | ||||||||||||||||
Mexico has become the second-largest source of heroin used in the
United States, and the purity of the Mexican-produced drug has
increased sixfold in the past two years in what U.S. law enforcement
and health authorities describe as alarming trends. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
In a dramatic shift in global heroin trafficking patterns, Colombian
and Mexican drug cartels largely have taken over distribution in the
United States from Asian organizations, whose share of the American
market-- based on seizures by law enforcement authorities -- has
plunged from 90 percent to 28 percent since 1992. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Latin America | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere in the Hemisphere, the US remained true to its commitment to all-out drug war by underwriting further militarization in two nations with serious internal problems of corruption and armed resistance. | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. TO INCREASE SUPPORT FOR COLOMBIAN ARMY | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Concerned about the growing power of leftist rebels in
Colombia, the Clinton administration is expanding its support for
government forces fighting in the hemisphere's longest-running
guerrilla war. | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. officials say the aid is aimed at stanching the flow of illegal drugs from Colombia, and will target the insurgents only where they protect the production of heroin and cocaine. The officials say they have no intention of getting mired in Colombia's internal conflict. | ||||||||||||||||
But government documents and interviews with dozens of officials here
indicate that the separation Washington has tried to make between those
two campaigns -- one against drug trafficking, the other against the
guerrillas - -- is increasingly breaking down. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
PERU, U.S. BUILDING ANTI-DRUG MILITARY TRAINING CENTER | ||||||||||||||||
LIMA ( May 29) XINHUA - Peru and the United States are building an anti-drug military training center in northwestern Peru to combat drug traffickers using jungle waterways, press reports said Friday. | ||||||||||||||||
Located in the Amazon jungle of Iquitos, Loreto Department, the center
will offer training to Peruvian police forces and marine infantry
troops. | ||||||||||||||||
Training will focus on controlling waterways as more drug traffickers resort to the use of a complicated network of jungle rivers after effective interdiction in the air by the Peruvian Air Force. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Medical Marijuana | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Two news articles highlight differing attitudes toward medical use of marijuana; a jury in England, where medical use isn't recognized by law, acquitted a man who openly admitted such use. In California, a man who went to the police to avoid harassment was arrested. | ||||||||||||||||
The comments of authorities in the California case show clearly that they don't recognize any uncontested right of patients to use marijuana for medical purposes, an attitude which is almost universal within the State. The California man will be arraigned next month. | ||||||||||||||||
The editorial comment in the Independent on Sunday raises hope that Britain, where the medical establishment has gone on record with more courage than the AMA, may represent the best hope for national reclassification of marijuana as a useful therapeutic agent. | ||||||||||||||||
JURY CLEARS MAN WHO USED CANNABIS AS PAIN KILLER | ||||||||||||||||
Verdict 'brings closer' legalisation of drug for medical purposes
By David Ward | ||||||||||||||||
A man who smoked four cannabis joints a day to relieve pain caused
by a broken back vowed yesterday to continue rolling them after a
jury cleared him of drugs charges brought following a police raid
on his home. | ||||||||||||||||
"I will carry on smoking cannabis," said Colin Davies, of
Stockport, Greater Manchester. "It helps the terrible pain I get
from my injuries. I feel vindicated that the jury has listened to
me." | ||||||||||||||||
The eight women and four men at Manchester Crown Court took just 40
minutes to clear Mr Davies of cultivating cannabis contrary to the
1971 Misuse of Drugs Act | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
PATIENT MAY SUE POLICE FOR POT ARREST | ||||||||||||||||
Law; Military veteran with doctor's prescription for medical marijuana
says he was within his Prop. 215 rights in growing cannabis plants for
own use. | ||||||||||||||||
SIMI VALLEY--The latest test of California's medical marijuana law is
shaping up in Simi Valley, where a man arrested last month for
cultivating more than a dozen pot plants said he will sue police for
violating his rights as a patient. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Despite Jones' prescription and official card that identifies him a
user of medicinal marijuana, authorities maintain that in this instance
he does not qualify for the exemption. | ||||||||||||||||
"There are a lot of questionable issues involved with this particular
case and one of those deals with quantity," Rein said. "The law allows
for personal use and we understand that, but, again, there are some
questions in that regard." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
CANNABIS CAMPAIGN - HOPE FOR THOSE IN PAIN | ||||||||||||||||
THE growing consensus about the merits of cannabis in the alleviation
of pain was strengthened last week when it emerged that a
government-commissioned report backs its therapeutic use, writes
Vanessa Thorpe. | ||||||||||||||||
The Independent on Sunday campaign to decriminalise cannabis won a
second significant boost last week when a jury in the north of
England cleared a man who admitted to smoking the drug to alleviate
his chronic back pain. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Tobacco | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Senate, at cross purposes from the beginning, became more bogged
down than ever in its debate over pending tobacco legislation. As this
newsletter is being prepared, Trent Lott has stated that the bill is
dead and Tom Daschle is claiming it can be saved. | ||||||||||||||||
With the Big Tobacco under the gun, some of the best editorials
attacking the logic of drug prohibition are being written by
apologists for the tobacco industry. No need to ask where they were
when legal tobacco was an accepted fact. | ||||||||||||||||
SENATE TOBACCO BILL YANKED IN ALL DIRECTIONS | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The Senate tobacco bill has been pulled
to the left, yanked to the right, and dragged into parliamentary
quicksand. | ||||||||||||||||
After two weeks of meandering but acrimonious debate, the only thing
certain is that the Senate is stuck and a lot of people are mad at each
other. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
TOBACCO TAX TALK BRINGS CHEERS TO THE BLACK MARKET | ||||||||||||||||
TAX tobacco like crazy, squeeze billions of dollars out of the tobacco
companies and save a generation of kids from smoking. | ||||||||||||||||
That's the formula government and anti-tobacco activists are pushing
these days. If the government cracks down enough, some believe, tobacco
use might dwindle to nothing in our lifetime. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But politicians would do well to heed the recent experience of other
countries that have tried such measures in attempting to reduce tobacco
consumption. | ||||||||||||||||
Take Canada. Under similar pressures from the anti-smoking lobby, the
Canadian government cranked up tobacco taxes in the early 1990s. The
result was predictable: a black market. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Today, it is U.S. legislators who appear to be blinded by the prospect
of filling government coffers with easy tobacco bucks while getting the
political fix that comes from appearing to be on the right side of a
public health issue. But to be truly responsible, they should consider
the probable consequences of their actions. If they don't, they might
be remembered as the architects of the worst social experiment since
Prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
For an excellent rundown on all the latest on the UN General Assembly
"Drug Summit" please visit: | ||||||||||||||||
A full rundown on the newly released "Drug Crazy" Can be found at: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
TIP OF THE WEEK | ||||||||||||||||
Need a great collection of facts to bolster your arguments? Check out the
Drug War Fact Book at: | ||||||||||||||||
It is chock full of facts, references, and information sorted by subject.
Use this valuable resource to professionalize your letters and debates on
drug policy issues. | ||||||||||||||||
compiled by Kendra E. Wright and Paul M. Lewin | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"Instead of giving money to found colleges to promote learning, why don't they pass a Constitutional Amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as good as Prohibition, why, in five years we will have the smartest race of people on earth." -- Will Rogers | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can
do for you. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors and Newshawks. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Please help us help reform. Send any news articles you find on any drug
related issue to | ||||||||||||||||
PLEASE HELP: | ||||||||||||||||
DrugSense provides this service at no charge BUT IT IS NOT FREE TO PRODUCE. | ||||||||||||||||
We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you are
able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort please Make checks
payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to: | ||||||||||||||||
The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. | ||||||||||||||||
|