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DrugSense Weekly
September 3, 1999 #113


Table of Contents

* Breaking News (12/22/24)


* Feature Article


Calling for a Dialogue on Our Drug Policy
By New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson

* Weekly News in Review


Drug Policy-

COMMENT: (1)
(1) Heroin Spread Seen as Treatments Pass Those for Cocaine
(2) Druggie Nation
(3) Editorial: Texan Two-Step
(4) Bush's Record Steadily Tough on Drug Users
COMMENT: (5)
(5) NM Governor Says He'll Keep up Drug Debate
COMMENT: (6)
(6) Davis May Defy Poll, Veto Needle Exchange
COMMENT: (7)
(7) The Buzz on Drugs
COMMENT: (8)
(8) Study: Dads Key to Solving Drug Use

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

COMMENT: (9-11)
(9) Dozens Held in Airport Smuggling
(10) Airline Heroin Sting Was Shameful Farce
(11) Cocaine Seized in Shipment Of Fish at Miami Airport
COMMENT: (12)
(12) Bereft Family Disputes Police Shooting Report
COMMENT: (13)
(13) Editorial: Locking up Wisconsin

Cannabis & Hemp-

COMMENT: (14)
(14) Microsoft Millionaire Backs Move to Legalize Pot
COMMENT: (15)
(15) Medical Marijuana Law Revision is a Bad One

International News-

COMMENT: (16)
(16) Canada: Organized Crime Costing Billions, Police Chiefs Told
COMMENT: (17)
(17) UK: High Anxiety
COMMENT: (18)
(18) Iran Confronts a Long-Hidden Problem - Drugs

* Hot Off The 'Net


Gray and Zeese on National TV
The Pursuit of Happiness: Smoking, Drinking and Drugging in the 20th
Century
Cannabis News - Another Interesting Cannabis Related URL

* Quote of the Week


Carl Sagan
Pat Robertson


FEATURE ARTICLE    (Top)

Calling for a Dialogue on Our Drug Policy
By New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson

"Finding a solution to the drug problem facing our nation and state by debating and discussing the issue"

Governor Johnson says he feels that as Governor, he has an obligation to get people to talk about the issue of finding a solution to the nation's drug problem.  He believes that the "War On Drugs" has become a real failure.

He would like the topic be opened up for a discussion.  He would like all possible options, from A to Z, to be discussed and debated -- everything from even harsher sentences and actually imposing those sentences to decriminalization of drug use.

"In the time that I have as Governor, I would like to put this issue on the table and get everyone talking about it." The Governor states we need to discuss the nation's drug policy and all the problems associated with the drug problem in society.

"How much of our lives are affected by drugs and it's cost on society?" He points out that the costs involve our judicial system, our corrections system, our social programs and more.

He says we need to recognize the problem and recognized that the "War on Drugs" that is being waged is a real failure.

Governor Johnson said he is not informed enough at this time to talk about the options and solutions, but he hopes solutions and a plan to combat the problem will emerge as a result of the dialogue.

"It is because of issues like this that I wanted the job as Governor. We can potentially make positive change."


WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW    (Top)


Domestic News- Policy


COMMENT: (1)    (Top)

More evidence of the failure of US policy; as if any were needed:

(1) HEROIN SPREAD SEEN AS TREATMENTS PASS THOSE FOR COCAINE    (Top)

WASHINGTON -- More Americans are checking into treatment centers for heroin and other opiates than for cocaine, the Government reported Wednesday, evidence that heroin use is spreading.

The rise is fueled by users who snort and smoke heroin -- proof, experts say, that these methods can be just as addictive as injecting the drug with needles.  The number of treatment center admissions for heroin and other opiates rose by 29 percent -- up from 180,000 to 232,000 -- between 1992 and 1997, the report found.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 26 Aug 1999
Source:   New York Times (NY)
Copyright:   1999 The New York Times Company
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum:   http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n908.a12.html


COMMENT (2-4)

Joe Califano's attempt to put a pretty face on George W's inept handling of the personal drug use question didn't come close to the real issue: hypocrisy.

However the vast majority of editorials and Op-eds generated by Jr's problem got it right and were quick to pick up on his "tough on drugs" record as governor.

(2) DRUGGIE NATION    (Top)

You might recall, if your own memory is not fried, that millions of Americans were `young and irresponsible' in the '70s -- just like George W.

AS THE national media turn their laser beam on George W.  Bush, it might be well to recall how culturally acceptable marijuana, cocaine and LSD were -- and how ignorant we were about their dangers -- in the 1970s, when the presidential candidate was "young and irresponsible."

[snip]

Older and wiser, the nation turned against drug use, revived and increased criminal penalties, and mounted major public health campaigns to educate our young about the dangers of drug abuse.  By 1990, casual drug use had dropped by half.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Wed, 25 Aug 1999
Source:   San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright:   1999 Mercury Center
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author:   Joseph A.  Califano Jr.
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n908.a05.html


(3) EDITORIAL: TEXAN TWO-STEP    (Top)

Bush Can't Avoid Answering Questions On Drug Use.

The federal government reported last week that 78 million Americans have used illegal drugs at some point in their lives.  But most of the media's attention on drug use focused on a single citizen: Texas Gov. George W.  Bush.

Since he became a presidential candidate, Bush has tried to deflect questions about whether he had used cocaine by saying that when he was young and irresponsible, he did irresponsible things....

[snip]

But a presidential candidate's illegal drug use unavoidably intersects with issues of drug policy.  For example, if cocaine use can be brushed aside as simply a youthful indiscretion when the user is a wealthy presidential candidate, the question obviously arises as to why we treat today's "youthful indiscretions" as criminal offenses

Pubdate:   Tue, 24 August 1999
Source:   Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright:   1999 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  
Feedback:   http://www.fresnobee.com/man/opinion/letters.html
Website:   http://www.fresnobee.com/
Forum:   http://www.fresnobee.com/man/projects/webforums/opinion.html
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n903.a04.html


(4) BUSH'S RECORD STEADILY TOUGH ON DRUG USERS    (Top)

WASHINGTON - GOP presidential candidate George W.  Bush doesn't want to reveal any history he might have with cocaine, but as Texas governor he has not been reluctant to talk tough about hard drugs and stiffen the penalties for those who break drug laws.

Elected on a law-and-order platform in 1994, Bush has signed laws that make it more likely that people convicted of possessing small amounts of cocaine will go to jail, drug felons won't be paroled, and drug dealers who sell to children or can be linked to drug-related deaths will receive longer sentences.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 26 Aug 1999
Source:   Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright:   1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
Contact:  
Address:   P.O.  Box 2378, Boston, MA 02107-2378
Feedback:   http://extranet1.globe.com/LettersEditor/
Website:   http://www.boston.com/globe/
Author:   Mary Leonard, Globe Staff
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n912.a07.html


COMMENT: (5)    (Top)

The gap between Governor Gary Johnson's voter approval and the disapproval of his fellow politicians isn't surprising; politicians are very reluctant to give up an old paradigm, especially one which has been such a part of election and reelection

(5) NM GOVERNOR SAYS HE'LL KEEP UP DRUG DEBATE    (Top)

No Political Support For Decriminalization, He Says

SANTA FE - Gov.  Gary Johnson said Thursday he's still all alone among politicians when it comes to reconsidering anti-drug laws, although his push for a drug-policy debate has gained nationwide attention.

But the Republican governor isn't giving up.  "There is absolutely zero political support.  None. It's nonexistent," Mr. Johnson said Thursday.

But he said the public has been more supportive.....

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 27 Aug 1999
Source:   Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright:   1999 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.dallasnews.com/
Forum:   http://forums.dallasnews.com:81/webx
Note:   You may Email the Governor via this webform:
http://164.64.43.1/Constituent%20Serv/Contact%20form.htm
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n930.a04.html


COMMENT: (6)    (Top)

Further West, a Democratic governor faces a difficult choice; Gray Davis is notoriously conservative and also a poll-watcher.  Which way will he jump?

(6) DAVIS MAY DEFY POLL, VETO NEEDLE EXCHANGE    (Top)

SACRAMENTO - Gov.  Davis appears ready to veto a measure legalizing needle exchange programs in California, despite a new poll showing strong public support for giving clean needles to intravenous drug addicts.

Although Davis hasn't made a public statement about the measure, the politically cautious governor is signaling to lawmakers that he doesn't like the bill.  Davis must sign or veto the measure, which the Legislature sent to him this week, within the next 12 days.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Fri, 27 Aug 1999
Source:   San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Section:   Front Page
Copyright:   1999 San Francisco Examiner
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.examiner.com/
Forum:   http://examiner.com/cgi-bin/WebX
Author:   Robert Salladay, Examiner Capitol Bureau
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n918.a10.html


COMMENT: (7)    (Top)

Newsweek's Jonathan Alter started with a strong first paragraph but then ran out of steam; even though he managed to cite most of the major drug war evils, he denies a need for real reform and settles for the ephemeral hope represented by more coerced treatment.

(7) THE BUZZ ON DRUGS    (Top)

The Miami bust and the rumblings on the campaign trail are only background noise.  The real issue is whether the nation's whole war against drugs needs some serious rethinking.

[snip]

Meanwhile, heroin use in the United States has spiked so much that it recently passed cocaine as the second most common reason (behind alcohol) for users to check into treatment centers.

Grim news, yes, though the overall drug picture in the United States is not as dark as the legalizers would have it.  In fact, there are nearly 10 million fewer drug users than in 1985, when the crack epidemic ripped through urban America.  "We know what works in terms of prevention," says James Burke, who heads the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.  "As perception of risk and social disapproval go up, usage goes down across every ethnic and age group." That decline in demand has in turn driven a decline in crime rates, which are closely related to drugs.

Even so, the collateral damage of the drug war has been immense, and it may yet reverberate through American politics.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Mon, 06 Sept 1999
Source:   Newsweek (US)
Copyright:   1999 Newsweek, Inc.
Contact:  
Address:   251 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y.  10019
Website:   http://newsweek.com/
Author:   Jonathan Alter
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n934.a06.html


COMMENT: (8)    (Top)

Tough as it is to begin and end this section with Joe C, this item is too good to pass up.  I wonder when he'll realize that CASA's latest "study" suggests a lot of young people are in prison for the "crime" of selecting the wrong father.

(8) STUDY: DADS KEY TO SOLVING DRUG USE    (Top)

WASHINGTON -- OK dads, listen up.  The key to winning the war on drugs rests not with police or laws, but with you.

A national survey released Monday shows that dads who eat dinner with their children, take them to religious services and help them with their homework greatly reduce the chances their kids will smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.

"We need a return of the family dinner in America," said Joseph Califano Jr., president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, which conducted the study.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 31 Aug 1999
Source:   San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright:   1999 Mercury Center
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author:   Lori Lessner, Mercury News Washington Bureau
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n945.a06.html


Law Enforcement & Prisons
---------

COMMENT: (9-11)    (Top)

The week began with the widely hailed arrest of some sixty-odd airline maintenance and service workers who allegedly constituted a major drug "smuggling ring." Most newspapers printed the government version, but not everyone had praise for the DEA.

Amazingly another improbable Miami Airport tale (fish this time) beat our deadline; could there be any better demonstration of drug war futility?

(9) DOZENS HELD IN AIRPORT SMUGGLING    (Top)

2-Year Sting Operation Leads To Drug, Weapons Charges

Dozens of airline employees were arrested yesterday on drug smuggling charges in a series of predawn raids at their homes by federal agents. The arrests ended a two-year government sting operation at Miami International Airport targeting ramp workers who would smuggle anything from cocaine to hand grenades from Latin America to cities in the northeastern United States.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 26 August 1999
Source:   Washington Post (DC)
Copyright:   1999 The Washington Post Company
Address:   1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Feedback:   http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website:   http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author:   Frank Swoboda, Washington Post Staff Writer
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n913.a07.html


(10) AIRLINE HEROIN STING WAS SHAMEFUL FARCE    (Top)

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the news media did a grave disservice to American Airlines and the American people this week.

It is not uncommon for law enforcement agencies to overdramatize criminal investigations, and it certainly isn't unusual for the media to overplay a story.  But the highly publicized sting operation involving a so-called drug ring using the facilities of American Airlines and its contractors was bad police work and poor journalism.

[snip]

Get this picture.

The "drug" dealer in this case is really the U.S.  government, and because agents were afraid of the possibility of "real" drugs being transported, they used phony ones.

In these kinds of cases, I always wonder how many of those arrested would have gone about their lives as law-abiding citizens -- doing their jobs -- if agents of their government had not waved money in their faces to entice them to do otherwise.

Source:   Ft.  Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright:   1999 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.star-telegram.com/
Forum:   http://www.star-telegram.com/comm/forums/
Author:   Bob Ray Sanders
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n932.a08.html


(11) COCAINE SEIZED IN SHIPMENT OF FISH AT MIAMI AIRPORT    (Top)

MIAMI - Nearly 3,000 pounds of cocaine was discovered hidden in a shipment of fish filets from Ecuador, and U.S.  Customs officials say it may be another inside smuggling job at Miami International Airport.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tues, 31 Aug 1999
Source:   Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright:   1999, The Tribune Co.
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.tampatrib.com/
Forum:   http://tampabayonline.net/interact/welcome.htm
Author:   Associated Press
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n944.a09.html


COMMENT: (12)    (Top)

An egregious police homicide in LA received front page coverage in the Times; let's hope this one isn't swept under the rug too quickly.

(12) BEREFT FAMILY DISPUTES POLICE SHOOTING REPORT    (Top)

It was an hour before midnight when an El Monte police SWAT team, serving a search warrant as part of a broad-ranging narcotics investigation, undertook what it called the "high-risk entry" of a Compton home--shooting the locks off the front and back doors.

Their warrant, which named no one in the Paz home, says police expected to find marijuana and cash belonging to a suspected member of a drug ring who had allegedly used the house as a maildrop.  They found no drugs, but in the course of the search they shot a retired grandfather twice in the back--killing him.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 26 Aug 1999
Source:   Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright:   1999 Los Angeles Times.
Contact:  
Fax:   (213) 237-4712
Website:   http://www.latimes.com/
Forum:   http://www.latimes.com/home/discuss/
Author:   Anne-Marie O'Connor, Times Staff Writer
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n926.a07.html


COMMENT: (13)    (Top)

We've often noted Wisconsin's bad case of incarceration fever; last week a Madison newspaper took their governor to task in no uncertain terms.

(13) EDITORIAL: LOCKING UP WISCONSIN    (Top)

There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and if a state builds a prison, the politicians will find a way to fill it.

As Wisconsin officials pour hundreds of millions of dollars into one of the wildest prison-building sprees in the nation's history, the state's prison population is growing at an exponential rate.  Last year, the number of inmates in Wisconsin's prisons grew by 13.4 percent -- the third-largest growth rate in the nation.

[snip]

Wisconsinites understand this fact better than the politicians.  A July poll of 1,002 Wisconsin adults found that 46 percent said the state should "reduce (prison) spending to increase spending
elsewhere.''

[snip]

...When Wisconsin builds prisons at an unprecedented rate, that
enriches contractors who have donated generous sums to the campaign funds of Gov.  Tommy Thompson and his legislative allies.

Rare is the political fund-raiser these days at which prison contractors don't show up with open checkbooks.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tue, 24 Aug 1999
Source:   Capital Times, The (WI)
Copyright:   1999 The Capital Times
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.thecapitaltimes.com/
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n901.a15.html


Cannabis & Hemp-


COMMENT: (14)    (Top)

It's been an article of faith with some reformers that some of the many computer industry pioneers friendly to cannabis would someday act on that friendship.  It's too early to say whether Bruce McKinney represents a trend or a flash in the pan.

(14) MICROSOFT MILLIONAIRE BACKS MOVE TO LEGALIZE POT    (Top)

OLYMPIA -- Convinced that laws against marijuana sales and use are futile, a Microsoft millionaire says he was more than glad to donate $100,000 to a campaign to legalize pot in Washington.

Bruce McKinney, 47, now a Seattle software programmer, this week identified himself as the millionaire providing major financial backing for Initiative 229, which would permit marijuana sales in state liquor stores and would license farmers to cultivate the plant.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thu, 26 Aug 1999
Source:   Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Copyright:   1999 Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.seattle-pi.com/
Author:   THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n909.a09.html


COMMENT: (15)    (Top)

While many in the working group debating this legislation since February had expected an effort calling for a mandatory list; few thought Vasco would be the one to introduce it.

(15) MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW REVISION IS A BAD ONE    (Top)

Disturbing rumors are floating about SB 848,San Jose Democratic Sen. John Vasconcellos' bill to implement the recommendations of the state Attorney General's Task Force on Medical Marijuana.  If an amendment currently being considered is added to that bill, the final result would be not worth having.

[snip]

So Sen.  Vasconcellos might introduce an amendment that some task force members suggested earlier.

Briefly, the amendment in its present form would require doctors with patients who have a physician's recommendation for medical marijuana to notify the county health department, sending along the patient's name, date of birth and Social Security number.  The county health department would be required to convey this information to the state health department, which would place it in a database that could be accessed by law enforcement officials.

It's not hard to see potential privacy and other troublesome aspects to this proposal.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Tuesday,August 31,1999
Source:   Orange County Register (CA)
Copyright:   1999 The Orange County Register
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.ocregister.com/
Section:   Local News, page 8
Author:   Alan Bock
Related:   See the 215NOW Action Alert!
http://www.215Now.com/action_items/ACT000000_089931.htm
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n943.a03.html


International News


COMMENT: (16)    (Top)

The Canadian law enforcement power play is sounding distressingly American in tone.  While the word "forfeiture" doesn't appear (yet), the attitude toward juvenile crime is familiar.

(16) CANADA: ORGANIZED CRIME COSTING BILLIONS, POLICE CHIEFS TOLD    (Top)

Ottawa must provide resources to fight criminal groups, conference hears

HAMILTON -- Organized crime is a multi-billion dollar enterprise in this country and the federal government must develop a plan to fight it, Canada's police chiefs say.

[snip]

An organized clime study prepared by the federal solicitor-general's department suggests the illicit drug trade is worth $10 billion and that telemarketing fraud is a $4 billion industry.

"Everything is profit-motivated," Fantino said.  "It doesn't matter what the commodity is, as long as there's money to be made, organized crime will be there."

At a dinner last night, provincial Solicitor-General David Tsubouchi endorsed a call by the police chiefs that anyone 16 and older should be treated as an adult for serious offences.

"AduIt time for adult crime," Tsubouchi said.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Thursday, August 26, 1999
Source:   Toronto Star (Canada)
Copyright:   1999, The Toronto Star
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.thestar.com/
Author:   Cal Millar, Staff reporter
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n908.a09.html


COMMENT: (17)    (Top)

A report on British club drug tourism in Ibiza suggests just how a fun scene may become violent and dangerous as the police are urged to "crack down" on "drug crime."

(17) UK: HIGH ANXIETY    (Top)

Every year drugs worth an estimated $300m are sold to the thousands of young ravers who flock to Ibiza for its trademark cocktail of sun, sex and dance music.

The man I needed to see was called "Lizard" and I found him curled up on a plastic sun lounger outside a heaving beach bar at Playa d'en Bossa, just south of Ibiza Town.

[snip]

...the main reason why working out here is such good fun.  You don't get
the kind of drug-associated violence and intimidation you get in Britain.  I am not involved in the drug scene here, and there is no pressure to be involved."

Marks says the criminals have not gelled into mafia-style gangs - yet. "I am the type of guy who tends to attract .  . . attention wherever I go, and I have to say I have not come across mafias in Ibiza.  It is not the Spanish way.  The scene is less organised than that at the moment, probably because security on the island on the whole is so poor and the police don't get uptight about who is selling what.  The relationship between the clubs and the police is surprisingly good."

A clubber who flew to the island last week to join 7,000 others at a Ministry of Sound evening at Pacha nightclub says: "Most of the people who go to Ibiza for the music don't get involved in any trouble.  The island has a unique atmosphere.  We have tried other places, such as Portugal and Cyprus.  But nowhere else give you the freedom to misbehave."

[snip]

Pubdate:   Aug 26, 1999
Source:   Guardian Weekly, The (UK)
Copyright:   1999 The Guardian Weekly
Contact:  
Address:   75 Farringdon Road London U.K EC1M 3HQ
Fax:   44-171-242-0985
Website:   http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/GWeekly/
Section:   Features, Page 21
Author:   Nick Hopkins
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n912.a01.html


COMMENT: (18)    (Top)

A report from Iran confirms that totalitarian theocracies are no more successful at "controlling" lucrative criminal drug markets than their secular "democratic" counterparts.

(18) IRAN CONFRONTS A LONG-HIDDEN PROBLEM: DRUGS    (Top)

TEHRAN, Iran -- The problem of illicit drugs is commonly associated with prosperous, liberty-minded societies in Europe and America, not a theocratic state run by some of the Islamic world's most conservative mullahs.

But Iran is slowly discovering that it too has a drug problem.  It has a drug smuggling problem.  It has a drug violence and kidnapping problem. More and more, it seems, it has a drug use problem.  And increasingly Iranian authorities have begun to grapple with this problem in the open.

[snip]

Pubdate:   Sun, 29 Aug 1999
Source:   New York Times (NY)
Copyright:   1999 The New York Times Company
Contact:  
Website:   http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum:   http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/
Author:   Colin Barraclough
URL:   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n932.a03.html


HOT OFF THE 'NET    (Top)

Gray and Zeese on National TV

Mike Gray and Kevin Zeese took on some under-qualified kid and followed an ONDCP spokesperson (who cut and ran before he could be confronted directly) on CNN's Talkback Live last Wednesday.  The transcript can be read at the URL below.

TalkBack Live

Fighting the Drug War: Is Legalization the Answer?

Aired September 1, 1999 - 3:00 p.m.  ET

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/9909/01/tl.00.html


Thanks to Kevin Zeese for the Following:

Robert Zemakis, the Academy Award winning director of "Forest Gump," "Roger Rabbit" and "Back to the Future" has done an excellent video which reviews drug, alcohol and tobacco policy for the 20th Century in a two hour documentary.  Titled "The Pursuit of Happiness: Smoking, Drinking and Drugging in the 20th Century," the film is to have its premiere on the Showtime cable network on Sept.  13 as part of "In the 20th Century," a millennium-related series using well-known directors to take on major subjects of their choosing.

The show features great historical film clips, an excellent soundtrack and features interviews with Mike Gray and Kevin Zeese, among others. (Historians actually dominate the show, Mike and Zeese are the anti-prohibition spices to the main course.)

The show was favorably reviewed in last Sunday's NY Times at: http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/artleisure/tv-addiction.html


Cannabis News - Another Interesting Cannabis Related URL

Cannabis News created by Martha G.  and currently hosted by Ron Bennett of Cannabis.com is another interesting and informative site for those wishing to stay on top of cannabis issues.

http://www.cannabisnews.com/


QUOTE OF THE WEEK    (Top)

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle.  We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us.  it is simply too painful to acknowledge -- even to ourselves -- that we've been so credulous.  (So the old bamboozles tend to persist as the new bamboozles rise.)" - Carl Sagan, "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection," Parade, February 1, 1987

"Well this just goes to show you that all of his scientific theories and his teachings are whacked out ideas dreamed up in clouds of illegal marijuana smoke." - Pat Robertson on news that Carl Sagan used cannabis.


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