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DrugSense Weekly
December 2, 1998 #076

A DrugSense publication

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1998/ds98.n76.html

Please consider sending a letter to the editor responding to any of the important articles below.  The Email address is provided for most newspapers.


Table of Contents

* Breaking News (11/21/24)


* Feature Article


Medical marijuana initiatives shift the front of the drug war
By Mike Gray - Author "Drug Crazy"

* Weekly News in Review


Drug War Policy-

On The Web: A Virtual Breeze Comes to Washington
San Francisco Examiner Editorial: Pro Bono
Rep.  Bono Gets Burned for Honesty
Drug Policy is Sound, Despite What Molly Ivins May Think

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

Prison Shootings Unjustified
Prison Tour Doesn't Sway Lawmakers
Feds Sought Bigger Drug Deal to Ensure a Stiffer Prison Term
Double Standard on Drug Sentences

International News-

Black Passengers Targeted in Pearson Searches?
Mexico Seizes Three Hotels From Drug Cartel
Australia: Uphill Struggle on Trail of Record Heroin Bust
55% Of Smuggled Cocaine World Wide Being Transported by Express Services
Swiss Voters Block Bid to Legalize Narcotics
Dutch to Extend Free Heroin Hand-Outs to Addicts
Drugs: Cacophony In The European Union

* Hot Off The 'Net


CD Recording From the Mouths of Drug War Prisoners
New Republic Ads by Common Sense for Drug Policy

* Quote of the Week


Tacitus

* Special Notices


Interview with Jane Marcus "NewsHawk of the Month"
Thanks to DrugNews Screeners - Don Beck and Kevin Fansler


FEATURE ARTICLE    (Top)


Medical marijuana initiatives shift the front of the drug war By Mike Gray Author "Drug Crazy"

The earthquake that rocked the Republican Party this month also jolted the foundations of another prominent ideological temple: the federal drug war establishment.

In nine separate ballots in six states and the District of Columbia, voters ignored the advice of former presidents and high government officials, opting instead for the most significant challenge to drug war orthodoxy since President Jimmy Carter called on Congress to decriminalize marijuana in 1977.

For 25 years, the government has maintained that marijuana is so dangerous we couldn't even talk about it.  Now the issue is on the table, like it or not, and if it turns out that marijuana is a medicine instead of the devil's handmaiden, public support for arresting nonmedical users will begin to erode.

Over the strenuous objection of politicians and lawmakers of every persuasion, voters in Alaska, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and the District of Columbia decided that it's OK for sick people to smoke marijuana.  As if to make sure the message was understood, several of the most outspoken foes of medical marijuana had their hats handed to them on a platter.  California Attorney General Dan Lungren battled tooth and nail against this idea when his fellow Californians kicked off the revolt two years ago, but he found himself cast as the heavy in a war against cancer patients.  It contributed to the ultimately fatal image problems of his gubernatorial campaign.

The drug warriors clearly understand this is a defining moment, but they are in a tight spot.  Two years ago, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the White House drug czar, led a frontal attack on California's medical-marijuana initiative, Proposition 215 ("Cheech and Chong medicine," he called it), but his take-no-prisoners assault apparently backfired, and it passed with room to spare.

This time McCaffrey maintained a lower profile, avoiding any direct engagement with the other side.  Though he lost every battle in the anti-marijuana campaign, he did manage to keep the war off the front page.

The urgency of this confrontation for both sides is demonstrated by the back-door effort to keep the issue from even coming to a vote wherever possible.  When medical marijuana qualified for the ballot in the District of Columbia, North Carolina Sen.  Lauch Faircloth said, "I'd do anything I could to block it," and he did.  But even taking the unprecedented step of forbidding local officials from counting the votes could not keep the lid on.  Exit polls showed that the initiative had been approved in D.C.  by a ratio of 2 to 1. So the issue will undoubtedly return to the nation's capital, but Faircloth will not.  He lost to a moderate Democrat.

Officials in Colorado similarly tried to prevent a vote on that state's medical-marijuana initiative.  At the last minute, they decided that the measure had not qualified even though the initiative already was on the ballot.  But the voters voted anyway, and medical marijuana finished with a 14-point lead.

In states in which the vote was unimpeded, the spread was even more impressive.  Washington state's medical-marijuana initiative not only won by a landslide, it also led in every county -- which means that every member of the Washington congressional delegation from Spokane to Cape Flattery is from a district that voted for medical marijuana.

But nowhere was the battle more clearly drawn than in Arizona.  Two years ago, 65 percent of Arizona voters passed a medical-marijuana initiative -- only to have it thrown back in their faces by the state legislature.  Under pressure from the White House, the state nullified the will of the voters.

Officials convinced themselves that the public had been duped by clever advertising.  But you don't stiff 65 percent of the electorate without paying a price down the line, and this time the voters not only underscored their original intention, they also passed a second law that severely trimmed the legislature's power to do anything about it. This time there was no talk about who had been duped.

The long-term problem for the drug warriors was most visible in the erosion of support in the state of Oregon.  Medical marijuana wasn't the main issue there.  Possession of an ounce or less has been virtually legal since 1973.  But the state legislature, in a classic misreading of the public mood, decided to outlaw the weed once and for all.  They placed a measure on the ballot that would have restored criminal penalties for any amount of marijuana, and it went down in flames, 2-1.

The aftershocks from these votes could have profound implications for the future of the drug war itself.  As author Dan Baum noted in his 1996 critique, Smoke and Mirrors, if you take marijuana out of the equation, the number of so-called serious drug users drops from 13 million to 3 million, and the drug war shrinks from a cabinet-level jihad to a sideshow.

To maintain its $50-billion-a-year effort, the government must defeat medical marijuana at all costs.  The current strategy is to ignore these storm clouds and hope they blow away.  But if this latest referendum is a clue, they will have to stick their heads in the sand more deeply.

Editors Note: This Op Ed was originally published Friday, Nov.  27, 1998 in the Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)

Other editorials by Mike Gray may be found at:
http://www.drugsense.org/crazy.htm


WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW    (Top)

Drug War Policy-


COMMENT:    (Top)

Those who ask if drug reform advocacy on the Internet has an impact on the real world received an answer from Sam Vincent Meddis in USA Today.  Although he misspelled Dave Borden's name, Meddis accurately described the activities of Lindesmith Center, DrugSense, and DRCNet.

A VIRTUAL BREEZE COMES TO WASHINGTON

One of the real nice things about working at USA TODAY is the view.

From my cube on the 22nd floor of the company's tower in Arlington, Va., I'm afforded what can only be described as a spectacular panorama of Washington, D.C.

What I like best is that on a clear day you can almost see the hot air rising from the various government buildings there.

[snip]

But it seems to me that nothing has caused more sustained government hot air than the so-called drug war.  Now thanks to the Internet, a cool breeze may be moving in.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 24 Nov 1998
Source:   USA Today (US)
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.usatoday.com/news/nfront.htm
Copyright:   1998 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co.  Inc.
Author:   Sam Vincent Meddis, USA TODAY
USA Today technology site http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/cc.htm
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1075.a10.html


COMMENT:    (Top)

The impact of our efforts is also evident from the following lead editorial in the Nov.  22 San Francisco Examiner- an excoriation of drug policy which would have been unthinkable two years ago.  It's ironic that Mary Bono, was forced to publicly regret her refreshing candor, almost before the ink was dry.

PRO BONO

When Sonny's Widow Revealed His Prescription-Drug Dependence, A Window Was Opened On A Hidden Epidemic in This Country

SOMEBODY'S drug crazed in this country, but it's not necessarily the users.

Mary Bono's revelation that her husband Sonny died because of his dependence on prescription drugs underscores the insanity of this country's "war on drugs." Millions of Americans are hooked on legal drugs such as Valium and Percodan - two of the pharmaceuticals that may have done in Sonny Bono - while the government bares its knuckles against dying cancer patients who try to ease their pain a bit by smoking marijuana.

[snip]

We hope her colleagues in Congress listen to her - really listen - and then take steps to reel in the "war on drugs." In its psychoactive appetites, this nation has been on a bad trip too long.  We can either continue to pour billions into high-tech drug-fighting weaponry and shutting down marijuana clubs, or else we can face our real problems and search for real solutions.

Source:   San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright:   1998 San Francisco Examiner
Pubdate:   Sun, 22 Nov 1998
Section:   Editorial, Page D 8
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.examiner.com/
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1074.a07.html

REP.  BONO GETS BURNED FOR HONESTY

LOS ANGELES - Rep.  Mary Bono (R-Calif.), widow of Sonny Bono and weary of scandal, says that she's learning the hard way that she sometimes can be "too honest."

Yes, she told The Associated Press on Friday, her husband did have a prescription drug problem.  "A reporter asked me a direct question and I answered it," Bono said.  "In hindsight, I wish I hadn't said anything."

[snip]

Source:   Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Copyright:   1998 Chicago Tribune Company
Pubdate:   Sun, 29 Nov 1998
Author:   Associated Press
Section:   Sec.  1
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1097.a02.html


COMMENT:    (Top)

That this battle of ideas is important to government policy makers can be inferred from the following attempt at rebuttal of Molly Ivins' forthright drug war criticism, which appeared in several papers two weeks ago.  The technique used is typical of ONDCP; relying heavily on unsubstantiated assertion, distortion of fact, and "shoot the messenger" tactics.

U.S.  DRUG POLICY IS SOUND, DESPITE WHAT MOLLY IVINS MIGHT THINK

The language of Molly Ivins' column, " Politicians lag behind the people on drug issues," in the Oregonian on Nov.  18 rings nostalgically from the mid-1960's.

[snip]

Mike Gray's book might be "lively"-polemic," as Ivins put it, but it's short on science and facts.  Prohibition worked in terms of reducing rates of alcohol consumption and alcoholism; it wasn't repealed because it was a flop but because the country wanted liquor to be legal.  When substances are sanctioned and available, use goes up -- including abuse by children.

[snip]

Source:   The Oregonian
Copyright:   1998 The Oregonian
Pubdate:   25 Nov 1998
Contact:  
FAX: 503-294-4193
Mail:   1320 S.W.  Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Website:   http://www.oregonlive.com/
Author:   Lynda Bayer
Note:   Linda Bayer is senior writer and strategic analyst at the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy
(For the Molly Ivins column Bayer was attacking, see:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1059.a04.html)
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1086.a05.html

=====================================================

Law Enforcement & Prison Issues


COMMENT:    (Top)

The more the drug war evolves into an engine of imprisonment, the more the human rights of "convicted felons" are diminished.  In California, where the press has been denied access to state prison inmates for over a year, hardly anyone was surprised when a blue ribbon panel found that the vast majority of shootings at Corcoran State Prison were unjustified.  These were the same shootings which, when "investigated" by Dan Lungren, had resulted in a whitewash.

There is also an unhealthy tendency toward increased use of (cheaper) private prisons; the ho-hum reaction of Wisconsin legislators visiting their state's prisoners in Tennessee might be expected- after all, prisoners and their families don't add up to that many votes.

SHOOTINGS BY GUARDS IN 24 OF 31 CASES-SEVEN OF THEM FATAL-WERE
UNJUSTIFIED, INVESTIGATORS SAY.

LOS ANGELES-An independent panel concluded that two dozen shootings of inmates at Corcoran State Prison were unjustified, it was reported Thursday.

In a report released Wednesday, The Select Shooting Review Panel found that 24 of 31 inmate shootings at Corcoran from 1989 to 1995-seven of them fatal-involved an unjustified use of force.

The panel also said the State Department of Corrections' entire system for investigating and prosecuting prison shootings is flawed.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Nov 27, 1998
Source:   Associated Press
Copyright:   1998 Associated Press.
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1095.a01.html


PRISON TOUR DOESN'T SWAY LAWMAKERS

4 of 5 who visit private Tennessee site still favor shipping out inmates

Whiteville, Tenn.  - Four of the five Wisconsin legislators who toured a private prison where Wisconsin inmates had been abused said Saturday they saw no reason to stop sending inmates to Corrections Corp.  of America prisons here or in Oklahoma.

The four Republicans - and one Democrat, who disagreed with them -spoke after a day of visiting the company's facilities and meeting with company officials in the wake of complaints of multiple cases of abuse of Wisconsin inmates.  The abuse came in the days after a brutal attack by inmates on a rookie prison guard.

[snip]

Source:   Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Contact:  
Fax:   (414) 224-8280
Website:   http://www.jsonline.com/
Copyright:   1998, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Author:   Richard P.  Jones of the Journal Sentinel staff
Pubdate:   Sun, 29 Nov 1998
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1087.a05.html


COMMENT:    (Top)

The following article is representative.  of a remarkable series in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (also carried by the Toledo Blade) documenting the wide range and prevalence of various unsavory tactics used by federal enforcement agents and prosecutors to entrap and convict a growing number of citizens in "drug crime." Titles and URLs of other articles in the series are listed.

FEDS SOUGHT BIGGER DRUG DEAL TO ENSURE A STIFFER PRISON SENTENCE

Michael Staufer lost his minimum wage job at about the same time he was robbed and beaten in August 1992 on a Los Angeles street.

Times were so tough he lived in a garage.

So when a friend named Scott suddenly pressed Staufer to find him 10,000 hits of LSD, Staufer wondered if the guy might have been high on the drug himself.

Staufer was 21 years old, partied hard and used LSD when he could afford it.  Once, he'd bought 20 or 25 hits of the drug that he resold to his friends, but he wasn't a dealer, and he certainly didn't have the money to finance 10,000 hits.

What Staufer didn't know was that federal agents had busted Scott on drug charges and promised him leniency if he would help the feds snare other drug dealers.

[snip]

Source:   Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
Copyright:   1998 PG Publishing.
Pubdate:   Mon, 23 Nov 1998
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.post-gazette.com/
Author:   Bill Moushey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The Blade, Toledo, OH email:
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1079.a07.html

Other stories & URLS in this series include:

1) Fighting To Prove Innocence Led 3 To Stiffer Sentences http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1078.a06.html

2)Win At All Costs series - A Sting Gone Awry
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1078.a07.html

2) Federal Sting Often Put More Drugs On The Streets
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1079.a02.html

3) Informant Lured Him Into A Costly Deal
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1079.a04.html

4) Drug Charge Beaten, But At High Price
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1079.a08.html

5) Trapped Into Trying To Settle Vendetta
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1080.a01.html

6) Hiding The Facts
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1080.a03.html

7) US: Few Of Case's Twists, Shady Deals Revealed In Court http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1080.a04.html


COMMENT:    (Top)

A persistent question within the reform movement is why so few blacks speak out against the racism implicit in our drug policy.  The following op-ed by Cynthia Tucker is an eloquent description of the problem, but misses the boat in its conclusions.

AS I SEE IT

by Cynthia Tucker

DOUBLE STANDARD ON DRUG SENTENCES

THERE ARE forgotten neighborhoods in America where the holiday season imposes a distinct and peculiar ritual: Mom and the kids, or Grandma and the grand kids, pack up a few goodies in tin plates and paper bags, carefully wrapped in foil.  They set out early for a visit preordained to be brief and circumscribed, its joy Limited by the setting.  They go to visit relative in prison.

The places in America already decimated by poverty and economic collapse - the black and brown inner-cities - are also places where many of the young men are out of circulation.  They cannot become taxpayers or decent parents or reasonable prospects for marriage.  They will leave prison with criminal records that guarantee them limit job opportunities.

Lacking decent incomes, they will never marry the mothers of their children.  And that, in turn, will guarantee another generation of children who have had little contact with their fathers.

[snip]

The streets may be safer because we have succeeded in locking away for good many of the most dangerous predators, the gangbangers and serial killers, the robbers and rapists and carjackers.  But the country is no better off for a shameless double standard that celebrates the privileged athlete, actor or businessman who licks his drug habit in a ritzy sanitarium, while imprisoning the crackhead too broke to afford drug treatment.

That policy guarantees a permanent underclass.

Pubdate:   Sat, 28 Nov 1998
Source:   San Francisco Chronicle
Page:   Editorial Page (A 24)
Copyright:   1998 San Francisco Chronicle
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Author:   Cynthia Tucker
Note:   Cynthia Tucker is editorial page editor of the Atlanta Constitution.
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1095.a03.html


International News


COMMENT:    (Top)

The following, from the Toronto Star, demonstrates that racism isn't exclusively American.  It exists everywhere; even north of the border.

BLACK PASSENGERS TARGETED IN PEARSON SEARCHES?

Lawyers plan court fight over `racial profiling' by customs officials at airport

A survey of Air Canada flights from Jamaica to Toronto reveals that black passengers are far more likely than white travellers to be searched by Canada Customs.

[snip]

Source:   Toronto Star (Canada)
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.thestar.com/
Copyright:   1998, The Toronto Star
Pubdate:   Sun, 29 Nov 1998
Pages:   A1, A9
Author:   Royson James, Toronto Star City Columnist
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1096.a06.html


COMMENT:    (Top)

Forfeiture, the US model for giving law enforcement agencies direct access to the profits of the illegal drug market is gaining popularity overseas; here are two examples of official greed from Mexico and Australia.

MEXICO SEIZES THREE HOTELS FROM DRUG CARTEL

MEXICO CITY, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Mexican authorities have seized about $200 million in assets from drug traffickers, including three luxury hotels, two of them in the Caribbean resort of Cancun, according to a published report on Tuesday.

The Reforma newspaper said Mexican police, with the help of U.S.  agents, took cars, the hotels and other property from members of the so-called Juarez cocaine cartel.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 24 Nov 1998
Source:   Reuters
Copyright:   1998 Reuters Limited.
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1079.a03.html


UPHILL STRUGGLE ON TRAIL OF RECORD HEROIN BUST

DESPITE an international hunt, police have yet to identify the criminal masterminds behind last month's record heroin seizure in Australia.

After a four-week global asset search, Australian Federal Police have only made restraining orders on a modest Hong Kong home unit, stolen watches, bracelets and gold bars, freezing only $400,000 in assets and jewelry from the 18 gang members charged with the bust.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 22 Nov 1998
Source:   Sun Herald (Australia)
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.sunherald.fairfax.com.au/
Copyright:   1998 John Fairfax Holdings Ltd
Author:   Darren Goodsir and Chris Dobson, in Hong Kong
Page:   51
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1079.a03.html


COMMENT:    (Top)

The following article is a translation from the German press; while not unknown in the US, such heavy reliance on commercial delivery of illegal drugs hasn't been noted here.

55% OF SMUGGLED COCAINE WORLD WIDE BEING TRANSPORTED BY EXPRESS SERVICES

According to German Customs authorities, private transport services are being used "to a considerable extent" for the international transport of illegal drugs.  The trend is clear: according to current estimates the sharp rise in the use of Express services and the quick turn around in the exchange of goods has led to a lessening of risk.  This in turn has led to the rise in demand for such services by international drug smugglers.

[snip]

Source:   Die Welt (Germany)
Contact:   reda@www.welt.de
Website:   http://www.welt.de/
Copyright:   Die Welt 1998
Pubdate:   21 Nov 1998
Author:   Peter Scherer, Frankfurt am Main
Translator:   Pat Dolan (from German text)
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1077.a04.html


COMMENT:    (Top)

The "Droleg" initiative which would have legalized all drugs for Swiss citizens was voted on this past week-end and went down to an even worse defeat than anticipated.  The post mortems will be interesting, but at least part of the negative vote was motivated by legitimate fears that Switzerland would become the national homologue "needle park."

SWISS VOTERS BLOCK BID TO LEGALIZE NARCOTICS

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss voters Sunday rejected by a thumping three-to-one margin a sweeping proposal to legalize narcotics that backers said would eliminate the drugs mafia but critics said would make Switzerland a drugs haven.

The plan would have made Switzerland the only country in the world where anyone aged 18 or older could buy narcotics of their choice, from marijuana to heroin, from state-run outlets or pharmacies after consulting a physician.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 29 Nov 1998
Source:   Reuters
Copyright:   1998 Reuters Limited.
Author:   Michael Shields
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1097.a06.html


COMMENT:    (Top)

The Netherlands continued the tradition of carrying out their own pragmatic drug policy despite US opposition.

DUTCH TO EXTEND FREE HEROIN HAND-OUTS TO ADDICTS

THE HAGUE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Dutch health ministry said on Tuesday it would extend an experiment to distribute free heroin to hard core drug addicts after a three-month pilot scheme proved a success.

In the first phase of the revolutionary scheme, launched in July, 24 addicts in Amsterdam and 21 in Rotterdam received heroin hand-outs. Participants were monitored for signs of health and behavioral problems.

``During the first phase there were no serious, undesired side-effects in terms of public order, criminality and medical safety,'' the health ministry said in a statement.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 24 Nov 1998
Source:   Reuters
Copyright:   1998 Reuters Limited.
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1075.a07.html

COMMENT:    (Top)

Variability of national attitudes toward drug use was acknowledged in this article from Le Figaro.  Note that the one thing they had no trouble agreeing on was access to the money.

DRUGS:   CACOPHONY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (Drogue: Cacophonie Dans L'union)

On the day before the opening of the European Week for the Prevention of Drug Addiction, legislation varies from one country to the next.  In France, the debate on decriminalization of certain substances has never been able to be conducted calmly.

Even though the European Week for the Prevention of Drug Addiction (SEPT) begins Monday and will continue through the 22nd of November, the member states of the European Union have still not succeeded in harmonizing their legislation concerning illegal drugs.

The only exceptions concern the traffic in drugs and money laundering. From 1999, the Treaty of Amsterdam will permit an effective collaboration between the various police forces, customs, and fiscal authorities of the countries of the European Union.  But concerning the use of drugs, penal sanctions, and the sale of drugs, the law varies from one country to the next.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sat-Sun, 14-15 November, 1998
Source:   Le Figaro (France)
Page:   Section "Notre Vie"
Website:   http://www.lefigaro.fr/
Copyright:   Le Figaro 1998
Translation from French: Peter Webster
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n1078.a05.html


HOT OFF THE 'NET    (Top)

CD Recording From the Mouths of Drug War Prisoners

The November Coalition www.november.org is proud to announce the release of their long awaited 'Prisoner Audio CD'.  This project was generously funded with a grant from DPF and collects in audio cd form, 24 messages from Drug War Prisoners and family members.  This powerful activist tool will be distributed free to radio.  It is also available for sale as a TNC fund raiser for $11 post paid.

This 'labor of love' was painstakingly pieced together over a 2 year period.  It is the voice of the prisoner. It is a document of pain and anguish that communicates the affects of our drug war in emotional terms anyone can understand.

The cd comes with 3 pages of well documented facts and figures guaranteed to raise eyebrows with even staunch Drug War supporters.

TNC is also looking for volunteers to help distribute the cd to community radio.  You needn't be radio savvy- on-line coaching will ensure you make an effective presentation (it's all done by email, the Internet and the post office).

Cd's can be purchased for $11 each or 10 for $70.  Order yours today.

795 S.  Cedar
Colville,
WA 99114

If you'd like to join our Radio Team, talk distribution strategy, or know more about our project you can email me at:

John Humphrey (Project Coordinator)
(John Humphrey)


New Republic Ads by Common Sense for Drug Policy

Common Sense for Drug Policy has been running a series of advertisements in the "New Republic" discussing drug policy.  The first ad called Barry McCaffrey to task for getting his facts wrong, the second compared the results of U.S.  and Dutch drug policy, the third debunked some common myths about cannabis, and the most recent, published on November 30th, illustrated how American Constitutional rights and freedoms are being gradually eroded by the war on drugs.

The advertisements may be read online at: http://www.drugsense.org/ads/


QUOTE OF THE WEEK    (Top)

"The More Corrupt the State the More Numerous the Laws" - Tacitus


SPECIAL NOTICES    (Top)

NOVEMBER NEWSHAWK OF THE MONTH - JANE MARCUS


The following is a DrugSense interview with our NewsHawk of the Month, Jane Marcus

DS: How did you get into newshawking?

Jane:   In 1995 I took a course from the Stanford University Continuing
Studies program on U.S.  Drug Policy taught by former San Jose Police Chief, Dr.  Joseph McNamara. I later served as on-line teaching assistant when videotapes of the course were broadcast on Stanford's cable channel.  People who were watching the lectures and discussing them on-line joined a small email list, and I started sending them copies of relevant articles.  MAP Board member, Dr. Tom O'Connell, joined the list and soon after suggested that I participate in the MAP effort.

DS: What do you consider the most significant story/issue of the past months?

Jane:   The two most important recent stories are the total success of
the medical marijuana initiatives across the country and the resounding defeat of Dan Lungren in California.  I await the new Gray Davis/Bill Lockyer era with renewed hope that the Prop.  215 stalemate will end.

DS: What is your favorite website?

Jane:   No day is complete without my visit to MAP's Drug News Index and
the New York Times Forum on Drug policy (
male2('href="http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?13@','.eeb88c7">http://forums.nytimes.com')/webin/WebX?13@@.eeb88c7 - readers who have not previously visited the site will need to register).  It's especially gratifying to see articles I sent to MAP linked to by posters on NYT forum.

DS: Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers of the weekly?

Jane:   In graduate school I did research on communication theory and
learned a great deal about how new ideas spread.  I learned that the news media are important vehicles for bringing information about new ideas to the public, but it is interpersonal communication that is most effective in getting people to adopt new ideas.

Certainly the growth of the Internet will be a critical tool in bringing information about drug policy to the portion of the population that is on-line.  But good old fashioned person-to-person communication is needed for people to actually change their minds.  I encourage everyone to get out and talk to your friends, co-workers and acquaintances to let them know that reasonable people just like themselves are "just saying KNOW" to drug policy status quo.

DS NOTE: Jane would also like readers to know that she works full-time outside the home and shares her busy life with a husband and two teenage children who support her activism.  She is also a charter member of FAMILY WATCH, a network of groups and individuals concerned about the impact of drug policy on families, women and children.  (For more information about Family Watch, visit their new and growing website at http://FamilyWatch.org/ or contact Kendra Wright at ) The Family Watch site is still under construction but well worth a visit and perhaps linking to.


THANKS ALSO TO DON BECK AND KEVIN FANSLER

We would also like to acknowledge DrugNews Screeners - Don Beck and Kevin Fansler who screen hundreds of news articles a week, make decisions as to the most important, and forward this refined information to Tom O'Connell.  This has proven to dramatically reduce the workload in filtering and preparing the DrugSense Weekly.


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.

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

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