| January 13, 1999 #081 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A DrugSense publication | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anti-Drug Programs Miss Mark | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMS MISS MARK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Efforts To Curb Heroin Supply Fail To Affect Demand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THERE WAS ANOTHER heroin overdose in San Francisco last week. This time
it was singer Boz Scaggs' 21-year-old son, Oscar. Less than two years
ago, Nick Traina, Danielle Steel's 19-year-old son, overdosed on heroin
and died. In Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, 11 young people recently
died of heroin overdoses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A natural reaction to these alarming reports is a call for increased efforts to curb availability. The problem is, we're already trying this. The federal drug control budget exceeds $17 billion a year. Add to that state and local budgets for fighting drugs and the figure may be five times larger. Two-thirds of this money is spent to try to stop drugs from entering the country and enforcing the drug laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
So far, (perhaps because the black market for drugs generates $64
billion annually), this effort has been a dismal failure. In fact,
since President Reagan began escalating the War on Drugs, worldwide
production of opium, from which heroin is made, has expanded. The price
of heroin has dropped and its purity has increased. We cannot seem to
make a dent in the supply, so heroin is still with us. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our efforts to reduce demand have fared no better than our efforts to
reduce supply. Today's young adults were in grade school when Nancy
Reagan first began telling them to ``just say no.'' Again and again, in
the schools and on TV, they have been warned about drugs' dangers. Yet
for nearly a decade now, drug use among adolescents has been rising.
According to government statistics, less than 1 percent have tried
heroin, but experts familiar with drug-use patterns believe its use
among young people is increasing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
More drug education of the sort existing cannot be expected to reverse these trends. Indeed, study after study shows that current drug education programs have no effect on drug use. Why? They lack credibility. Most programs focus on marijuana, which the programs overly demonize, hoping to frighten young people away from experimentation. Half of American teenagers try marijuana anyway, and once they learn the dire warnings are not true, they begin to mistrust everything about drugs that adults tell them. And why shouldn't they? Why should they listen at all if they can't believe what we tell them? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The truth about heroin is that it is much more dangerous than marijuana. Anyone who injects heroin with a used needle risks contracting a deadly infection, such as hepatitis or HIV. Anyone who uses heroin steadily for several weeks will begin developing physical dependence on it and suffer withdrawal symptoms if they stop. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
People who occasionally use heroin do not become addicted. However,
compared to the addict, the occasional heroin user who has not
developed tolerance to the drug, is at much greater risk for a fatal
overdose. Still, because heroin is unregulated and uncontrolled, even
the most experienced user cannot know the potency of a batch of
unlabeled white powder. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
These are the kinds of warnings we should give young people about
heroin. But first we have to get them to listen by convincing them
they can trust us. They must also trust that they can come to us in an
emergency. ``Zero tolerance,'' another method for deterring young
people from experimentation, has meant that too many have died because
their friends were afraid to call parents or other authorities for
help. Terrified of being detected themselves, teenagers in Plano, for
example, fled the scene, leaving one boy to choke on his own vomit and
die. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Like it or not, we cannot seal our borders or completely eliminate
demand for drugs. Moral indignation will not change that reality. A
more pragmatic approach would be to learn to live with drugs and to
focus on reducing drug-related harm. Our first priority ought to be
gaining the trust of young people. We ought to offer a scientifically
grounded education that allows them to learn all they can about drugs,
alcohol and any other substance(s) they ingest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Young people will ultimately make their own decisions about drug use.
When they do, they ought to have information from sources they trust to
insure their safety. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The need for increased "drug treatment" has become a shibboleth of
prohibitionists of all stripes and colorations. Usually the "patients"
they are referring to are victims of our federally created criminal
drug market who have become enmeshed in the criminal justice system.
The latest such expert is Michael Massing whose "Fix" adroitly
rewrites history to make Richard Nixon an unsung colleague Jaffe, Dole
and Nyswander | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As if on cue from the treatment mafia, President Clinton sweetened the
pot for the men in white last week. What the news story doesn't tell
you is that in California, the drug testing of parolees has been a
device for returning more of them to prison where they get to swell
the federal prison subsidy while they kick their habits without
treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DRUG WAR KEY MAY LIE IN PAST | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Veteran observer of failing struggle finds Nixon's strategy to treat
addicts worked. Journalist Michael Massing has devoted a decade to
investigating the U.S. war on drugs. He has talked with peasants in
remote coca-growing regions of Colombia. He has combed through dusty
boxes of federal archives. He has documented the heroic struggle of
treatment workers at a drop-in center in Spanish Harlem. He has watched
a heroin addict shoot up in a New York City tenement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"It would be hard to think of an area of U.S. social policy that has failed more completely than the war on drugs," Massing writes in the book's opening sentence. The answer, he writes later, is a "new public-health approach to the nation's drug problem, one based not on the punitive powers of the law but on the healing powers of medicine." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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CLINTON TO REQUEST FUNDING FOR PRISON ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President Clinton said Tuesday that he will propose $215 million in his
next budget to test and treat inmates for drug use,to help them avoid
returning to crime once they are freed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clinton also announced the release of $120 million under the fiscal1999
budget for drug free-prison initiatives - $63 million earmarked for
state prisons to provide tong-term treatment and intensive supervision
for prisoners with the most serious drug problems. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Speaking of the feds, a badly deteriorated FDA infrastructure doesn't
bode well for an agency also being looked at as a source of help with
such unsettled issues as nicotine regulation and the medical marijuana
tar-baby. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PRESSURED FDA SEEKS MORE FUNDS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Clinton administration is seeking to infuse more
cash into the agency that monitors the safety of food and drugs because
of worries it's losing the ability to fully safeguard Americans'
health. The Food and Drug Administration says it's $165 million in the
hole because of six years of budgets that didn't keep up with
inflation. It's short 500 employees, and needs more specialized
scientists to evaluate increasingly complex therapies. Its inspectors
can check the safety of only a fraction of medical and food factories
every year. And its research, which helps ensure new products are safe,
has been slashed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committed to its failed policy of interdiction of Illicit drug
shipments, the federal government recruits help however it can. The
following report from The Journal of Commerce suggests that we may all
be paying for the interdiction folly in ways that can't be measured
directly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MARAD CALLS FOR ADDED PRIVATE ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As much as ocean carriers have pitched in to thwart the drug trade and
other illicit traffic, it's still not enough, the federal government
said in a new report. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The report emerges at a time when carriers, weathering years of falling
freight rates, largely believe they have already done their part to
prevent ships from being used for drug trafficking and other forms of
illegal trade. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An editorial in the Orange County Register made important points (some implicit): actual policy depends a lot on who's carrying it out; the approval of conservative locals (including the newspaper) is ultimately important; the drug policy climate seems ready for change. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CHANGING THE GUARD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
After a couple of bruising campaigns, after a six month transition
period during which not all the wounds from the campaigns have been
soothed and after months of speculation, a new era in law enforcement
is beginning in Orange County. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and Sheriff Mike Carona might have to
spend a good deal of time and effort during their first few months in
office solidifying support within the departments they have taken over.
But it shouldn't be too long before the public begins to see changes in
policies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Those who establish a reputation for impartial enforcement first are in a better position to be credible advocates of necessary reforms than those who are out front too early and too often on political issues. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This dated Cincinnati Enquirer editorial was chosen for two reasons: first it illustrates the insidious appeal of "drug court," which is really a federal model for cheaply extending the reach of the prison system under the guise of "treatment." Secondly the easy assumption of reader approval of the term "criminal addicts" speaks volumes about the unstated assumptions which underpin our drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TREATING THE CAUSE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hamilton County's drug court, which emphasizes substance abuse
treatment over jail sentences, has changed lives and saved taxpayers
money. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It's also become a state model for dealing with criminal addicts.Seventeen
other Ohio counties now run drug courts; all are modeled after the one
pioneered here three years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Here, Eric Holder of the Justice Department responds to reporter Bill
Moushey's charges that DOJ prosecutions are overly zealous. Among
other things, Holder found them "offensive," apparently never
considering that some of us might be offended by his own figures: our
federal government has filed criminal charges against an average of
57, 000 people a year for 13 years! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
'WIN AT ALL COSTS': THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Your recent 10-part series by Bill Moushey ("Win At All Costs," Nov. 22
to Dec. 13), criticizing the conduct of prosecutors,relies largely on
the allegations of criminals and their defense attorneys. As a result,
it wrongly concludes that federal prosecutors and agents "routinely"
engage in misconduct | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Readers might be interested to know, by comparison, that during the same period federal prosecutors brought approximately 500,000 criminal cases against approximately 750,000 defendants. Even if the facts were as the reporter assumes in each of the nearly 70 cases - and they are not - one could argue that refutes, rather than supports his thesis. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Another major daily ran a series critical of our drug policy; the headlines on Karen Dillon's 5 installments in the Kansas City Star say it all; the lengthy articles supply details on how local cops team up with feds to exploit forfeiture for their own benefit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
POLICE KEEP CASH INTENDED FOR EDUCATION | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Police and federal agencies have diverted millions of dollars from Missouri
schoolchildren. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Under state law, money seized in drug cases is supposed to go to public
school districts, but some police departments have found a simple way to
keep the money for their own use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It works like this: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In court, where judicial assertion always trumps logic, the 10th
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals surprised no one in reversing a lower
court ruling that leniency, when used to obtain testimony from an
accused felon, is a form of bribery. This particular assertion will
hopefully be challenged. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COURT REVERSES BAN ON LENIENCY FOR WITNESSES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Justice Dept. Feared It Would Block Prosecutions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DENVER, Jan. 8-A federal appeals court ruled today that prosecutors can offer plea bargains in exchange for testimony, overturning a court decision that declared the common practice illegal. In a 9 to 3 vote, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the panel's earlier ruling that plea-bargained testimony constituted bribery was "patently absurd." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Drugs & Drug Use | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The global heroin glut is perhaps the best single indicator of how monumentally American drug policy is failing. Readers of this newsletter know that users of all ages are overdosing around the world in record numbers; a fact that was brought home to San Francisco by the overdose death 21 year old Oscar Scaggs, son of a local rock celebrity. Local news papers fulsomely detailed the heroin surplus but offered nothing that could be confused with insight as to its cause. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
YOUNG, RICH AND STRUNG OUT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heroin Emerging As Drug Of Choice For Bay Area's Well-Off Kids Oscar
Scaggs may not have known it, but he rode a cresting, ugly new wave
right to his death when he overdosed in a down-and-outer hotel on New
Year's Eve. The wave is heroin addiction -- a familiar horror come
back. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps most sobering of all, San Francisco has the highest rate of
heroin-related deaths of any city in the state: One every three days,
double the rate of the early '90s, and far more than from any other
drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LA Times columnist Robert Scheer is so firmly in our camp that such
sentiments from him aren't newsworthy, but his Jan. 3 column nailed
recent developments in California's medical marijuana wars so well
that everyone should read it from beginning to end. He also comments
intelligently on the probable impact of Bill Lockyer on local
enforcement policies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IT'S MADNESS NOT TO INVESTIGATE POT'S MEDICAL USE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hung over from all that New Year's revelry and once again promising
yourself to abstain? Hah! Maybe you should have tried pot instead of
booze, Just kidding! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Just look at the Gestapo-like tactics employed against those locally
and throughout the state who have attempted to exercise their fight to
relieve the pain of serious illness with marijuana prescribed by a
physician - a right one had presumed was guaranteed by the passage of
Proposition 215. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fortunately, they are about to be challenged by California's new
Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who bravely admitted during the campaign
that he voted for Proposition 215. He has said since that he wants to
cooperate with local officials to make it work. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Not only is Cannabis safe beyond comparison with any other therapeutic
agent; its users seem more satisfied with its therapeutic efficacy
than most drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Kathleen Boyle of the UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center has a problem. The social psychologist began a two-year study last July on the use of medical marijuana by people with AIDS. The university-funded project seeks to document both the satisfaction (or not) of med-mar users and their issues and concerns. The hitch is that Dr. Boyle can't find anyone who's used it and says it doesn't work for them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A familiar theme from Australia which is experiencing record heroin
overdoses, yet continues to dither because drug policy remains in the
grip of an ardently prohibitionist Prime Minister. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HEROIN DEATHS SOAR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HEROIN deaths are increasing rapidly, with more than 250 people dying from overdoses last year.And already this year, two heroin users each day have lost their lives after playing Russian roulette with a needle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Insp. John McKoy, head of the drug squad, said while police did not condone heroin use, they were desperate to prevent more fatalities. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Without question, last week's most fascinating story was the big pot
bust in Nicaragua involving the DEA, Danilo Blandon, six Canadians and
a hemp crop which has already been destroyed by the Nicaraguan police.
Don Wirschafter, appearing as friendly expert, testified that its THC
content was well below that associated with recreational use, but we
know the DEA refuses to differentiate. Given American clout with the
locals, it doesn't look good for the Canadian investors, especially
the poor guy caught on the scene. Thus far, English language
newspaper coverage has been all Canadian. The failure of the Yankee
press to become involved probably says something about the pressure
that's being applied. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ALONE AND ACCUSED IN A NICARAGUAN PRISON | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Guelph Man In Hemp Case Talks Of Jail Ordeal MANAGUA - In the visitor room at the La Modelo prison, there are four Boston rocking chairs placed around a coffee table. A small ice box hums in the corner. Ashtrays have been provided. It is all quite civilized. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It has already been admitted, by the American embassy in Managua, that members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency were involved - at Nicaragua's request - in inspecting the property and the crop. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The stark first paragraph of the next item from the Houston Chronicle is a reminder of the violence our failing policy engenders. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 DEAD MEXICAN POLICE FOUND NEAR BROWNSVILLE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BROWNSVILLE -- The bodies of two Mexican federal police | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The quotes attributed to the UK drug czar provide an interesting
window into the mind set of a prohibitionist; not only quick to see
arrogance in others, but completely ignorant of the basics of human
motivation.. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ANTI-DRUGS CHIEF ATTACKS 'ARROGANCE' OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE BY PROFESSIONAL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROFESSIONAL people who take drugs are as great a threat to society as
any other substance abusers, the Government's anti-drugs campaign
co-ordinator claimed yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Keith Hellawell said that he was appalled by the arrogance of people
who felt they had the right to buy illegal drugs because they could
afford it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This week's story from Colombia is highly improbable. First, our
Congress, which is bankrolling the Colombian Government, won't sign on
to a deal which cedes the rebels any territorial control; secondly,
the rebels won't give up drug profits that easily. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COLOMBIAN REBELS SAY THEY MIGHT SWITCH, FIGHT COCA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia - Insurgents in Colombia say they
might be willing to switch sides in the drug war and actually work to
eradicate coca crops, even as one of their leaders yesterday lashed out
at U.S. counter drug programs here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lopez said the insurgency has asked President Andres Pastrana to give
it direct control of one of Colombia's 1,072 townships- an area
equivalent to a large U.S. county - to demonstrate that rebels know how
to knock the wind out of the drug trade. "We don't need coca crops to
survive. We don't need a single peasant farmer to grow coca," Lopez
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frontline's "SNITCH" aired Tuesday night may be one of the most
powerful anti drug war documentaries ever. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thanks to Richard Lake and Rolf Ernst for the following: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The SNITCH documentary is now available in RealVideo at:
http://www.legalize-usa.org/TOCs/video7.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The website for SNITCH is: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You may contact the producers at or by mail at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frontline Producer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You may contact your local PBS station by email by finding the address at:
http://www.pbs.org/voice/stations.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There is a discussion forum for the documentary at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ernest Drucker has an excellent report in Public Health Reports. You
can view it at: http://www.of-course.com/drugrealities/ The theme of
the report is public health vs. prohibition. Ernie takes 25 years of
statistics and analyzes them from a public health perspective. He
concludes that while Prohibition has escalated with mass arrests and
record levels of incarceration, the problems associated with drug
abuse, particularly overdose deaths and emergency room mentions has
risen dramatically. When a racial analysis of this is added the
problems are even worse. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Excellent reading in a prominent publication -- by a prominent public
health advocate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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DrugPeace is an excellent site and organization who recently sponsored the San Francisco digital Be in. Check out: http://www.drugpeace.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TIP OF THE WEEK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The DPF conference will beheld in May in Bethesda Maryland. See
http://www.dpf.org for more info. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Order plane, attendance, and room reservations well in advance and you
can save significantly on your costs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Forfeiture Endangers American Rights chat forum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FEAR now has a free-form discussion forum at | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The high-tech industry, from personal computers to Internet
entrepreneurs, is full of people who make big bucks, smoke fine weed,
and look the other way while thousands continue to be jailed. Tobacco,
alcohol, and crack take an enormous toll, but America has been
mesmerized by a remarkable propaganda campaign that has demonized the
use of soft drugs such as marijuana and psychedelics. The war on some
drugs is wrong, and it's wrong to be silent about it. It's time for the
digerati to break silence on this issue." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
-- Howard Rheingold, December 1998. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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FACT OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A positive drug test does not indicate whether an employee was impaired
or intoxicated on the job, nor does it indicate whether an employee has
a drug problem or how often the employee uses the drug. Thus most tests
do not provide information relevant to job performance. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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