Table of Contents

* Breaking News (11/21/24)

* A Note From The Editor

* Feature Article

    The End of  a Century - The Beginning of Sanity?
    By Mark Greer

* The Year's Drug Policy News in Review: 1999's top Stories

(1) Drug Prohibition and Public Health
(2) Medicinal Marijuana Advocate, Wife Busted
(3) Crack's Legacy
(4) Senators Join Outcry To Halt New Bank Rules
(5) Gov. Wants To Discuss Legalizing Drug Use
(6) Colombia Is Reeling, Hurt By Rebels And Economy
(7) Drug Use: A Campaign Issue In The Making
(8) The Next Step In The War On Crime
(9) LA Corruption Probe Indicates Vast Scandal
(10) Television Judge Judy Sheindlin Visits Brisbane
(11) Mass Graves Found In Mexico
(12) Editorial: Drug Treatment Gets A Boost
(13) A Fraction Of Globe's People, A Quarter Of Its Prisoners

* In Memoriam

    Constable Gil Puder
    Jim Rosenfield
    Rufus King, Sr.

* Hot Off The 'Net

    A Correction
    CERD Web Site Announced
    Global Peace Walk

* Quote of the Century

    Upton Sinclair

After accumulating the week's articles and deciding they were less newsworthy than usual, Tom O'Connell succumbed to temptation by emulating most other publications and selecting the year's top stories.

They are listed chronologically, along with URLs for the Weekly item as well as the full text of the article.  Comments made at the time are repeated in quotes.

Selecting the dozen or so most important articles or events out of more than 10,000 archived in the last year is no easy task.  I would be quite surprised if we didn't miss a few important items and of course the relative importance of any given article is a matter of the perspective of the individual.  We welcome your feedback on items that you would have included.

The End of a Century - The Beginning of Sanity? / By Mark Greer

This is the last edition of the DrugSense Weekly this Century (assuming you consider this and not 2001 as the beginning of the new century.) Personally I enter the new decade and century with a profound sense of hope and optimism.  If anyone would have told me four years ago what amazing strides we would make toward a sane drug policy by the turn of the century I might have been a bit dubious but by virtually any criteria the indicators that reform is fast becoming a reality seem incontrovertible.

Everything from the perfect record of state initiatives, to the overwhelming sea change in media attitude and coverage, to the burgeoning tendency of politicians to take a stand on discussing sensible drug policy reform all indicate that the first decade of the new century could well be the last decade for prohibition.

In my opinion it is the Internet and electronic communication which , more than any other factor, bodes so well for the future of reform.  For the first time in history thousands of disparate activists and factions can meet, cross educate, discuss, plan, share information, and most importantly take action all with the aim of achieving common objectives.

DrugSense and MAP will continue to grow and develop in it's quest to provide quality information resources, Internet support, and a vehicle for taking meaningful action.  We will continue to encourage cooperation and increased effectiveness among the wide array of diverse groups that comprise the reform movement.  As always we are interested in hearing your ideas for ways we can help you help to bring about sound, effective, logical and reasonable drug policies.

We would like to take this once in a lifetime opportunity to sincerely thank the DrugSense board of directors, staff, and all the hundreds of volunteer editors, NewsHawks, letter writers, Focus Alert Specialists and all the others who have worked so selflessly and tirelessly to create a truly unique integrated, effective, and valuable support organization for the drug policy reform effort.  We hope DrugSense will become a model of efficiency cooperation and synergy in the coming years.

We would also like to direct your attention to an excellent article by Richard Cowan who kindly mentions MAP in the following article by saying

"Mapinc ( www.mapinc.org ) will increasingly be recognized as being more than just "anti-prohibitionist" and will be seen as a model for future social change in the Internet age."

The full article can be read at:

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1397/a03.html

The best and happiest of news years to you all.

Mark Greer

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n82.html#art1 (Jan 20)

Ernie Drucker's demolition of the drug war uses its own statistics to take away any rational claim that it represents responsible public policy; It's still being ignored.

"One potential landmark was publication of Ernest Drucker's brilliant paper which uses the government's own statistics to show the damage done by prohibition.

Although the article was noted by both Reuters and UPI, the wire stories were (predictably) slighted by major US media; fortunately, Drucker's article, as part of the medical literature can't be ignored indefinitely."

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n047.a07.html

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n048.a01.html

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n83.html#art1 (Jan 27)

The arrest of the Kubby's and their subsequent treatment demonstrates how implacably law enforcement resists reasonable drug policy.  The much delayed trial is expected to take place in February and will be a watershed.

"These events have national implications; it was no accident that California, long the birthplace of new national trends, passed the first medical marijuana initiative.  Police in states with their own newly passed initiatives will take their lead from events here.  So far the Golden State has not proven a very good model, unless you are against patients and all for cops and prisons."

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n079.a03.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/kubby.htm

The War on Drugs Retreats, Still Taking Prisoners
Soldiers of the Drug War Remain on Duty

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n88.html#art1 (March 5)

Tim Egan's analysis of how the crack scare of the Eighties permanently altered the structure and function of law enforcement and corrections stands up very well and helps explain our modern dilemma.

"The New York Times published Tim Egan's critical 2 part analysis of the lingering effects of the crack 'epidemic.'

The first part looked at changes which ill-considered laws had wrought in our criminal justice system to reshape and enlarge prison populations; the second focused on special police units, which in many cities (and some towns), have persisted as permanent paramilitary units giving a quite literal meaning to "drug war." The tone of the articles, although not strident, is remarkably unlike the usual deferential Times coverage of drug policy.  "

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n221.a09.html

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n228.a09.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n89.html#art5 (March 12)

Their quick about face of both House and Senate on what was originally considered to be an obligatory perk for law enforcement remains an important lesson; the story was leaked on the Internet.

"...  the quick Senate abandonment of "know your customer" is a development we should note; it's explicit evidence that "tough on drugs" is easily trumped by opposition from middle class (contributing) voters.  Compare this response to the way Congress treated the (valid) idea that ejection of entire families of individual drug users from public housing is blatantly unfair.

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n252.a07.html

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n104.html#art3 (July 2)

The amount of coverage still being generated by a single high ranking politician who broke ranks on the drug war is a good candidate for story of the year.  We clearly underestimated its significance in our original comment, lumping his announcement in with 2 newspaper editorials.

"In a delayed comment on the Mica Subcommittee hearings, the Salt Lake Tribune delivered an unequivocal and devastating verdict; similar sentiments were expressed by the governor of New Mexico and endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal."

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n670.a06.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/johnson.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n107.html#art16 (July 23)

Unlike the other stories, the evolution of Colombia into our most pressing overseas drug problem didn't have a crisp beginning.  The first suggestion of a billion dollar "solution" didn't emerge until after McCzar made an emergency visit in July, in the wake of a mysterious plane crash.

"Colombia is the country most jeopardized by American unreality in the area of drug policy; recent guerrilla attacks and economic setbacks have combined to make a bad situation far worse.

One searches in vain for any sense of restraint in American pronouncements on Colombia; McCzar seems ready to recommend pouring unlimited assets into a hopeless cause- could that ultimately include American troops?"

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n739.a09.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/latin.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n111.html#art4 (August 20)

Even though George W.  Bush was cut a lot of slack by the media over his refusal to discuss his possible cocaine use in the distant past, we can expect this issue to come up again.

"Another Southwestern governor under pressure on drug issues was much less forthcoming- and it could cost him.  The refusal of George W. Bush to address allegations that he once used cocaine could
not only jeopardize his quest for the nomination; once nominated, it could raise the drug war as a campaign issue in 2000, no matter what the candidates or their parties might prefer."

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n842.a09.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/bush.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n112.html#art7 (August 27)

DiIulio's second editorial signalled a further shift in focus toward drug courts, testing, and "treatment; " a shift drug policy planners have probably had up their sleeves for a while.

"John DiIulio, who might properly be called an incarceration intellectual, created ripples a few months ago by announcing that "2 million prisoners are enough" in the Wall street Journal.  On Monday he offered a peek at another card: increased use of probation and enforced drug and alcohol "treatment."

A kinder, gentler police state?

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n897.a06.html

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n116.html#art6 (September 24)

The headline writer simply could not have know how "vast" it really was; as of now, three thousand potentially tainted convictions and still counting.

"Arrest of a veteran narc when eight pounds of cocaine disappeared from an evidence room ultimately triggered revelations of past misconduct which now are rocking an embattled LAPD to its foundations.  Coverage by the Times has been extensive- but has so far has minimized connections to the drug war."

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1021.a01.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1245/a07.html (Nov 26)

The acerbic TV Judge didn't realize the size of her audience when she made hateful remarks about HIV/AIDS victims in Australia.  This item is unique in that MAP was the mechanism which transmitted it to the rest of the world.

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1245/a07.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/judy.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n126.html#art2 (Dec 3)

Only nine sets of remains were found, but the search still isn't over; the response of both Mexican and US governments confirm that a lot of people have disappeared.

"On Tuesday the 30th, both the Post and the New York Times reported that US and Mexican officials were exhuming between 100 and 300 corpses from two mass graves near Ciudad Juarez; its still to early to gauge the impact of these revelations; they will at least spoil ONDCP's Holiday season; perhaps even worse."

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1293/a04.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/latin.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n128.html#art1 (Dec 17)

Clearly concerned by the press focus on our rapidly growing population of prison inmates, the upper echelons of policy planners have been casting about for alternatives.  Changes advocated by DiIulio and others now seem to be coming into their own.  How well the police and prison guards will accept more "treatment" remains to be seen.

"In an amazing confirmation of current official schizophrenia toward the human psyche, the NYT's editorial page clucked approvingly over McCzar's announcement that our prison-based drug war would be (somewhat) "medicalized," even as its front page published the US Surgeon General's report on the shameful neglect of mental illness."

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1346/a04.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm

Op-Ed of the Year

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n128.html#art13 (Dec 17)

William Raspberry's crushing indictment of our national incarceration binge was more widely reprinted than any other ever archived by MAP. It's title in the Washington Post was: TWO MILLION and COUNTING

"Nationally syndicated columnist William Raspberry of the WP wrote provocatively about the US incarceration binge; his last paragraph asks a very logical question."

URL:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1352/a01.html

RELATED:	http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm

The latter months of 1999 also witnessed the deaths of three esteemed reformers:

Memoriam Gil Puder - Only the Good Die Young
by Ethan Nadelmann and Eugene Oscapella
http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n124.html (November 19)

Eulogy for Jim Rosenfield
by Tim Perkins, Chris Conrad, and Tom O'Connell
http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n129.html (December 24)

Just prior to publication we also learned that Rufus King, Sr., age 82, died of cancer at his home here in Washington, DC.  He was a friend of reform who traveled in the most establishment of circles.

CORRECTION

In our last issue we posted a URL to an article entitled: "Jim Rosenfield's Rabbi Opposes Reform"

To anyone who read the article or the title it was likely obvious that it should have read "Jim Rosenfield's Rabbi Endorses Reform"

Our apologies for this error which was compounded by the fact of Jim's untimely death on Dec.  14 The 'War On Drugs' And The Death Of Compassion.

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1386.a03.html

CERD WEB SITE ANNOUNCED

The Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD)

A new web site and organization has been announced.  Its goal to assist children and families are best described at their website:

http://www.cerd.org/

The group is headed up by Dr.  Joel Brown. Best of luck in the coming century to this new group.

GLOBAL PEACE WALK

The Global Peace Walk 2000 begins on January 15 in San Francisco and wraps up in NYC October 24.  More info and links at

http://members.home.net/amccormick/Globalpeace.html

From a Molly Ivins column, September 8, 1998, in the Anchorage Daily News.  The quote is attributed to Upton Sinclair, a turn of the century muckracker, famous for "The Jungle" exposing the Chicago meat packing industry.

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." -- Upton Sinclair

This obviously has implications for the drug warriors, law enforcement, treatment counselors, urine testers, media parasites, forfeiture benefactors, etc.  The list is endless.

Thanks to Eric Skidmore for submitting this quote.

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