| July 30, 1999 #108 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Hepatitis C Handbook
ISBN 1-55643-313 1 (First published 1997 by Catalyst Press, London, England) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hepatitis is a modern stealth disease, one about which the American
public is still quite uninformed. A newly discovered viral illness,
thought to infect at least four times as many Americans as HIV, it will
kill a significant percentage of them. Treatment is expensive,
dangerous and only minimally effective. | ||||||||||||||||||||
To understand how such a frightening illness could remain shrouded in
mystery nearly a decade after its cause was discovered, one has to
understand that it can infect victims for decades without producing
symptoms, and that definitive testing is expensive and has only
recently become available. Thus, the vast majority of HCV's victims are
still blissfully ignorant. In that context, there is a great need for
modern, accurate, easily accessible and reliable information about
Hepatitis C. Even though Matthew Dolan is a layman, his Handbook fills
that need very well, not only for patients, but for generalist
physicians. Originally published in Great Britain in 1997, an updated
paperback version has just been published in the United States by North
Atlantic Books of Berkeley, CA. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dolan has divided his handbook into five sections; the first, called The Virus, is essentially a medical handbook, which considers the disease from within conventional categories: etiology (agent), pathogenesis (development), course and prognosis. Since the disease is an infection, appropriately heavy weight is given to what is known (and still distressingly unknown) about epidemiology- how HCV is spread. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This is an area of concern for drug policy; the disease is spread
mostly through blood to blood contact- meaning that intravenous drug
use, medical blood banking and medical "needle-stick" accidents were
the principal ways it was spread in the past. The good news is that
since reliable screening techniques became available in 1992,
dissemination through blood banks has been all but eliminated. The bad
news is that the virus is so hardy and found in such high
concentrations in infected blood, that the same needle exchange
techniques which have sharply reduced spread of HIV among intravenous
drug users have been far less effective in preventing the spread of
HCV. As the population of patients with transfusion-acquired HCV dies
off, we can expect new cases of HCV will inevitably be stigmatized as
IDUs or former IDUs; sadly, that will be true in most cases. Another
corollary is that minimal exposure is all that's required; thus, brief
youthful experimentation can lead to lifetime medical problem with
additional economic and social consequences | ||||||||||||||||||||
This first section of the Handbook is accurate and very well researched; one shortcoming that will bother physicians (most of whom still know far less about Hepatitis C than is presented here) is that there is no bibliography as such-more on that point later. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The second section is unique; it is addressed to the all-too-typical
patient who has just learned they have an unsuspected disease-
frequently from a physician who then confesses to not knowing much
about it, or worse- pretends to more knowledge than he actually has.
Dolan , once such a patient himself, has retained that mind set very
well. If the book contained no other sections, the care and empathy
with which Dolan meets the needs of the newly diagnosed patient would
justify his book's purchase. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While some patients with HCV are asymptomatic for prolonged intervals,
others become very symptomatic and remain so for equally long
intervals; this latter group has been ill-served by conventional
medicine which, as Dolan points out, tends to be far more interested in
viral loads and objective severity of liver impairment than with
patient comfort or functionality. When treatment for any illness is
effective and agreed upon, the section devoted to it is usually the
shortest part of any handbook. That Treatment Options, is the longest
part of Dolan's book is, therefore, an important clue that treatment
is generally unsatisfactory and controversial. In an excess of
even-handedness, Dolan presents everything from acupuncture through
ayurvedic therapy; literally no stone is unturned to allow patients to
survey the whole depressing scene. It seems that every form of
unconventional medical therapy has offered some relief to some subset
of distressed patients; Dolan clearly wants to his readers to have full
access to whatever might work. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The next section addresses general life-style issues under the heading Diet, Drugs, and Environment. Dolan makes clear that while the principal cause of morbidity and mortality from chronic HCV infection is mediated through the liver, many patients start out with normal, or near-normal liver function; thus the role of hepato-toxic substances becomes important. By far the most important of these for most people is alcohol; it is rare for patients who have not also been fairly heavy users of alcohol to die of cirrhosis or require liver transplantation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dolan devotes his final section to a discussion of sources. While many
are listed, this is not done in any consistent fashion. Lists of
references had been appended to some chapters, but not to others.
Someone looking for a the source for any particular statement in the
text may or may not find it. This is a relatively minor quibble about
an otherwise excellent book. Indeed, that Dolan has done such a
masterful job with the strictly medical details of his subject is the
very reason one is inclined to judge it by standards which should not
reasonably be applied to a layman. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tom O'Connell, MD | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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DOMESTIC NEWS & POLICY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (1) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph McNamara delivered another effective op-ed lambasting the
emptiness of what passes for American drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) DRUG PEACE FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Century of Prohibition Has Not Worked | ||||||||||||||||||||
The federal budget for the drug war in the first year of the new
millennium is $17 billion. In 1972 when President Richard Nixon first
called for a "war against drugs," the federal drug-law enforcement
budget was about $101 million. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It is difficult for most of us to comprehend what these numbers mean.
But the true magnitude of cost can be understood if we consider that in
1972, the average monthly Social Security retirement check was $177. If
Social Security benefits had increased at the same rate as drug-war
spending, the monthly benefits would now be $30,444 a month. Similarly,
the average 1972 salary of $114 per week would have soared to $19,608 a
week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
What have we got for our money? | ||||||||||||||||||||
President Clinton assures us we are winning, as did his predecessors .. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. McNamara, retired Chief of Police of San Jose(CA), is now a
research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution . His
forthcoming book is "Gangster Cops: The Hidden Cost of America's War on
Drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (2-3) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Policy sometimes involves what's not done or said. While giving
McCaffrey and Congress little peace for their refusal of an
anti-alcohol campaign, the NYT ignores the hard question: have
anti-ads have ever been shown to discourage teen experimentation with
any substances- whether legal or illegal? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, ONDCP is strangely reluctant to condemn increasingly
popular middle-class urban "clubbing," featuring MDMA; this, despite a
highly visible campaign against methamphetamine, its rural poor
relation. The hyperactive NYC club scene was explored in a long,
informative Village Voice article. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(2) EDITORIAL: THE SILENCE ON UNDER-AGE DRINKING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
An important public health cause suffered a setback recently when the House Appropriations Committee killed a sensible plan to include anti-drinking messages in Federal efforts to discourage youngsters from using illicit drugs. The full Senate defeated a similar measure. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Disappointingly, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton's director of national drug policy, was among those arguing against the legislation. It would have given his office the clear authority it now lacks to include under-age drinking among the advertising campaign's targets. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) HIGHER AND HIGHER DRUG COCKTAILS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Pleasures, Risks And Reasons | ||||||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK CITY- Dormil is HIV positive. Each day he takes four different
AIDS medications, including AZT. For recreation, he goes to dance clubs
where he gets high on a nocturnal medley of Ecstasy, Special K, and
crystal methamphetamine. Fidgeting in his seat at a Chelsea coffee
shop, he claims he consumes only modest amounts of illegal narcotics,
though his friends say otherwise. From the outside at least, he appears
hale and hearty. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
This weekend, and every weekend on dance floors across the city,
thousands of teeth-grinding subjects like Dormil engage in an
underground research project. Amid flashing lights and pounding music,
untutored freelance pharmacologists conduct experiments on their own
bodies to determine what happens when one consumes a bewildering array
of pills and powders in the confined and humid setting of a nightclub.
The results are not always pretty. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (4-5) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the realm of more overt policy, the Clinton Administration took a
stab at extending the reach of methadone maintenance therapy; the
discussion in the short article hints at the implicit paradox: a
policy which treats addiction as sin has much difficulty treating
sinners humanely. The protracted discussion promises to be
entertaining. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a highly unusual drug policy initiative for an NGO, a controversial
plan for reducing the number of infants born to crack-using mothers
was aired. Despite elements potentially displeasing to both ends of
the political spectrum, the scheme apparently has gained considerable
support from donors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(4) CLINTON PROPOSES NEW METHADONE REGULATIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dissatisfied with the system for dispensing methadone, the Clinton
administration on Thursday proposed creating a national accreditation
of methadone treatment centers as a way of holding them more
accountable for keeping addicts off heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The administration further proposed that a way be devised to accredit
hospitals and doctors so that they could prescribe methadone, which may
now be dispensed only by the treatment clinics. The hope is that this
would expand access to treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The proposals still have several hurdles to leap. Comments will be
invited for four months, followed by a formal public hearing before the
Department of Health and Human Services. The department will then
produce the final rules, expected early next year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Robert Newman, the president of Continuum Health Partners, a
consortium of New York City hospitals that includes Beth Israel and
St. Luke's-Roosevelt, said he saw nothing in the proposals to suggest
that they would achieve the goal of providing drug treatment for
everyone who needs it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
for current articles about Harm Reduction
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(5) ADDICTS ARE PAID TO USE LONG-TERM BIRTH CONTROL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CHICAGO -- A privately funded program making its way across the country
pays $200 to drug-addicted women to get their tubes tied or use some
other long-term means of birth control. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The California-based program has drawn the wrath of critics who call it short-sighted, racist and a source of drug money for users. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But Barbara Harris of Anaheim, Calif., -- founder of CRACK, for
Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity -- says this is a response to a
system that often fails to punish women who give birth to drug-addicted
babies. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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LAW ENFORCEMENT & PRISONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (6-7) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A special report in the San Francisco Examiner documented that
increased drug arrests are among the major factors maintaining our
huge jail and prison populations despite significant declines in
violent and property crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel carried an article reporting on a
lawsuit stemming from alleged abuse by guards at a private prison with
a contract to incarcerate Wisconsin prisoners in Tennessee. To no one's
great surprise, state officials are siding with the commercial
jailer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(6) INMATES SLEEP ON FLOORS IN OVERFLOWING CELL BLOCKS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
New Construction, Lower Crime Rates Fail To Ease Situation | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's a slow day at the San Francisco County Jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The orange-clad bodies of sleeping inmates who can't be fit into bunks are scattered around the concrete floor of an old holding tank on the sixth floor of the Hall of Justice -- on thin, jail-issue mattresses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite new construction that increased the jail's capacity by 440 beds
in 1996 and a huge drop in the local crime rate, The City's jails have
remained so packed with prisoners that several of the units regularly
violate state codes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
While arrests for felony acts of violence and property crimes declined
by 1,463 a year since 1993, the number of arrests for felony drug
offenses (usually sales) rose by about 1,400. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
for a shortcut to articles about Prison and Incarceration
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(7) PRISON FIRM ACCUSED OF ONGOING INMATE ABUSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
State prisoner's lawsuit claims Tennessee guards often use threats,
violence | ||||||||||||||||||||
Madison - Attorneys for a Wisconsin inmate held in a private prison in Tennessee filed a federal lawsuit Friday accusing the company that owns the facility of torture, civil rights violations and racketeering. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The suit alleges that Corrections Corporation of America has been able to corner the market in the private prison industry with a corporate policy of violence or the threat of violence against inmates. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The lawsuit alleges a litany of abuse, accusing CCA units, known as
SORT teams, for Special Operations Response Team, of stunning the
testicles of inmates, spraying them with mace, choking them, and
uttering obscenities and racial slurs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A large idle prison population means increased potential for riots and
increased spending of tax dollars; one way to offset both is by
putting prisoners to work. A Wall Street Journal account told of
expansion out of traditional "prison industries" into services. When
does this cross the line and become slave labor? | ||||||||||||||||||||
(8) INSIDE JOBS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MR. SCHWALB IS PUTTING HIS INMATES TO WORK FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR | ||||||||||||||||||||
As Prison Population Surges, Service Economy Offers Rich Source of Chores | ||||||||||||||||||||
Labor, Business Are Livid | ||||||||||||||||||||
FORT WORTH, Texas -If it weren't for the drab green and gray uniforms worn by the clerks, this office would look much like many in Corporate America. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A hundred women, some listening to Walkmans, clack away on computer keyboards, entering used-vehicle sales data for CCC Information Services Group Inc., a Chicago insurance-claims processing company. . | ||||||||||||||||||||
The data-entry operation at this 90-acre prison enclave called Carswell is
a controversial experiment by Federal Prison Industries, a self-supporting
arm of the Justice Department. FPI, which employs about 20,000 prisoners,
makes clothing, furniture and other goods for the federal government. But
it believes its future lies in selling services - and not just, to the
government. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
FPI is counting on the robust service economy to remedy, its biggest
headache: The nation's prison population is growing faster than wardens
can find work for it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Its new strategy and the growth of FPI's traditional businesses infuriates an eclectic mix of politicians, unions and business leaders. They say FPI is stealing jobs from the private sector and is able to compete only because it pays much less, than the minimum wage. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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CANNABIS & HEMP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A brilliant piece in the Orange County Register succinctly reviews the
full array of arguments refuting (pathetic) federal arguments against
implementation of Prop 215 in California and also manages a mention of
the Kubby case. It's a gem which should not only be read; it should be
studied. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(9) DRUG CZAR DODGES MEDICAL-MARIJUANA FACTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Federal "drug czar" Gen.Barry McCaffrey has seen fit to insert himself
into the debate over SB 848,introduced by San Jose Democratic Sen. John
Vasconcellos to implement Proposition 215, California's medical
marijuana initiative. But the general's statement, issued on Tuesday,
is so rife with inaccuracies, including selective citations of the
Institute of Medicine report his office commissioned, that it is
difficult to take it seriously. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prop. 215 is now Section 11362.5 of California's Health and Safety Code
- and it hasn't been challenged in court. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
In his statement Tuesday, Gen McCaffrey claimed: "SB 848 ignores the
findings of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine
(IOM) REPORT 'Marijuana and Medicine.' | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
This selective citation is especially cynical. As Sen. Vasconcellos
noted in a press release responding to Gen. McCaffrey, in almost the
next sentence the IOM report states: "Until a non-smoked, rapid-onset
... delivery system becomes available, we acknowledge that there is no | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
There's another matter, as former gubernatorial candidate and medical marijuana patient (and defendant) Steve Kubby reminded us. Whatever Gen. McCaffrey says about the inflexibility of federal law, eight patients have been certified as having a medical need and are receiving seven pounds a year of marijuana, free, from the federal government. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
California isn't the only state where an important case involving
medical cannabis got underway this past week; in Florida, where a
medical necessity defense was recently ruled admissible, a Tallahassee
jury will hear Joe Tacl's case. The wire story lays out the essential
details: | ||||||||||||||||||||
(10) TRIAL TO HIGHLIGHT USE OF MARIJUANA FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The 32 inches of titanium and six metal screws
in Joe Tacl's back since he was run over by a van six years ago have
left him in nearly constant pain. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He says it gets better, though, when he can take heavy doses of pain
medication - and when he can smoke marijuana to help his digestive
system tolerate the painkillers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Pain or not, Joe Tacl is a criminal, say Levy County authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana is an illegal drug and when Tacl goes before a jury this week
in Bronson, prosecutors will try to convince a jury that a ``medical
marijuana defense'' is bogus. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (11-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Speaking of the Kubby trial; although lacking the participation of an
icon for prohibition and a hard-boiled Mencken-like cynic, it still
manages a strong resemblance to the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial in
which another false doctrine was successfully tried in the court of
public opinion. Syndicated columnist Thomas Elias demonstrated a an
accurate overview of the critical issues. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(11) VOTERS' WILL AT STAKE IN MEDIPOT TRIAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's not just Steve and Michele Kubby who were scheduled to go on trial
today in Placer County on charges of growing marijuana in their home.
Also at issue is the basic political question of whether the people's
will matters, especially when it conflicts in no way with anyone's
constitutional rights. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The only legal problem with this measure is that it conflicts with
federal regulations that place pot on the list of dangerous and illegal
narcotics which no one may use under any circumstances - unless they
have a federal permit exempting them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) MARIJUANA TRIAL POSTPONED AGAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Superior Court Judge Larry D. Gaddis postponed setting a date for the
trial of Michele and Steven Kubby Monday due to a packed court
calendar. "Sorry for the hold up, again, folks," Gaddis said as he
further postponed the start of a trial that hinges on the strength of
Proposition 215. The North Lake Tahoe Task force arrested the Olympic
Village couple Jan. 19 on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana and
cultivation of marijuana with intent to sell. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the UK, as in the US, support for medical cannabis has been growing steadily. After being recently voted down by a narrow margin by the British Medical Association and recommended by an ex-judge in the new Scottish Parliament, the idea took a giant step forward in the courts when Colin Davies won a popular second acquittal for his medical use. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(13) UK - JURY CLEARS 'MEDICINAL' CANNABIS GROWER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A CAMPAIGNER for the legalisation of cannabis to ease the pain of the
seriously ill was cleared yesterday of supplying the drug. Colin
Davies, 42, of Brinnington, Stockport, vowed to continue growing, using
and supplying cannabis after he was acquitted by a jury at Manchester
Crown Court. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It was the second time in 13 months that Mr Davies, a father of two,
had mounted a successful defence. At the first trial he was cleared of
possessing the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday's verdict, greeted by cheers from the public gallery, was hailed by campaigners as a turning point in the fight to legalise the use of cannabis as a painkiller. It was the first prosecution in a British court for the supply of the drug for medical reasons. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (14-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
After the crash of an American military plane fueled more speculation
about America's real role in Colombia's protracted civil war;
McCaffrey's most recent request for an extra billion of assistance for
the "anti-drug" efforts was effectively exposed as a hoax by an
incisive op-ed in the Miami Herald. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Undaunted, McCzar flew off to Bogota from whence he assured us the
rebels can't possibly win, even as Senate ally Jesse Helms was warning
that the US can't afford to have the Pastrana government lose. Stay
tuned. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(14) JUST SAY "NO" TO A BILLION DOLLARS FOR STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mention Colombia and the first thing most Americans think of is
drugs, and secondly violence. What most people don't realize is that
there are more than ten times as many political murders in Colombia as
there are drug-related killings. And these political murders are being
funded with U.S. tax dollars. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Clinton administration upped the ante last week with a proposal
for a billion dollars of "anti-drug aid"-- widely acknowledged to be
indistinguishable from other military assistance-- to the government
of Colombia over the next fiscal year. And now peace talks between the
government and guerrillas that were supposed to resume this week have
been postponed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) COLOMBIA REBELS CANNOT WIN WAR- MCCAFFREY | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA - Top U.S. anti-drug official Barry McCaffrey described Colombia's guerrilla war Monday as a serious emergency but said the drug-financed rebels stood little chance of toppling the government. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) U.S. MUST HELP TO FIGHT `NARCO-GUERRILLAS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Five years ago, Colombia was a pariah state whose then-president,
Ernesto Samper, was in bed with the nation's drug barons. Prodded in
part by U.S. sanctions, the people threw Samper's party out of office
and elected Andres Pastrana. He has taken enormous strides in his first
year toward restoring his country's good name. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But Colombia is not out of the woods -- not by a long shot. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Without U.S. help, Colombia could lose this war. That is why the United
States must move swiftly to help President Pastrana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense to Provide Web Support to The November Coalition | ||||||||||||||||||||
In our ongoing effort to support a wide variety of diverse reform groups and efforts, DrugSense is pleased to announce that it will be providing web support for The November Coalition effective immediately. | ||||||||||||||||||||
We look forward to working closely with this important reform organization. We hope to help improve TNC's web presence, assist their in house webmaster and to generally help TNC help reform. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Family Watch Drug War Post Cards Now Available | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Drug War is often justified as a means to protect our children. Yet
with 1.7 million parents imprisoned for a drug-involved offense, we
have created a generation of Drug War orphans. Visit Family Watch's
Website to order your set of 14 full-color postcards each featuring the
personal story of a child impacted by the Drug War. Send these cards to
family, friends, colleagues, members of the media and policy makers to
educate how the Drug War hurts families. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The Drug is a JOKE link Announced | ||||||||||||||||||||
We are pleased to announce that Jo-D Harrison Dunbar has again updated
the www.PDFA.NET page with the addition of Drug War is A JOKE link.
This link will be a regularly updated page that will serve the joint
purposes of offering a lighter side to the serious topic of the drug
war and simultaneously discrediting those intransigent drug warriors
who steadfastly cling to failed policy, promote fallacy and myths as
fact, and who are working so hard to destroy the country, the Bill of
Rights and individual liberty. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Please submit any drug war joke material to Jo-D at
and/or Mark Greer See this new link and the updated
PDFA page at http://www.PDFA.net/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere committing evil deeds, an it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn | ||||||||||||||||||||
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