| April 16, 1999 #94 | ||||||||||||||||||
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A DrugSense publication | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Kosovo is Small Potatoes Compared to the "Drug War" | ||||||||||||||||||
I was watching the C-Span Washington Journal this morning. Most of the talk was of the war in Kosovo. Many called in expressing concern over the costs of this war and how it was going to wipe out the social security surplus. Others were concerned over the death and destruction and still others viewed it as a humanitarian effort that was completely justifiable and to be expected from the NATO and the U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
One of the guests on the show was nationally syndicated columnist Molly Ivins. I managed to get through to speak to her on the air. My intention was to draw an analogy between Kosovo and the "War on Drugs" but after acknowledging her writing skills and thanking her for her stand on the drug war she began speaking and that was that last word I got in (although I did get a chance to plug DrugSense and MAP.) | ||||||||||||||||||
The point I wanted to make was that despite the tragedy, bloodshed, and
horror in Kosovo, it is a drop in the bucket compared to the "War on
Drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
According to another C-Span guest the U.S. has probably spent around
$500 million dollars on the war in Kosovo. According to the Drug War
Clock at http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm We have spent $10
BILLION on the drug war just since January. | ||||||||||||||||||
A few thousand people have been killed in Kosovo and a few hundred
thousand have been displaced. While deplorable, it is peanuts compared
to destruction caused by the "Drug War" in this country over a course
of decades. | ||||||||||||||||||
The entire nation is wringing its hands and the media is giving massive
press coverage to the events in Kosovo. Yet hundreds of thousands are
killed in drug war crossfire and drug related gang violence, or have
had their lives destroyed as a result incarceration, harassment, asset
forfeiture and other sinister effects of the "War on Drugs" with barely
a whimper from the public. | ||||||||||||||||||
The "Land of the Free" who goes to war to protect the rights of the displaced Kosovars has I.8 million people in prison. More than any other industrialized country in the world. A large percentage of these prisoners are in jail for non violent drug crimes. Millions of the direct dependents and family members of these prisoners have had their lives turned upside down, been displaced, had their lifestyles annihilated, and had their individual liberties trampled on. | ||||||||||||||||||
So where is the outrage? Sure the Kosovars are suffering but are we so used to our own atrocities that we can no longer see or discuss them? How can we allow such inconsistency and hypocrisy? If we are going to go to war to protect the rights of people in a country most of us never heard of two months ago is it such a stretch to ask that Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness be restored in our own country? | ||||||||||||||||||
What could we do in this country with the hundreds of billions of
dollars we are frittering away on the "War on Drugs?" Provide the
finest educational system on the planet? Stabilize Social Security?
Reduce taxes? Reduce violent crime? Eliminate prison overcrowding?
Streamline our judicial system? | ||||||||||||||||||
The answer to the above rhetorical questions is an emphatic yes. Yes to
every one of them. If we would incorporate a sensible drug policy in
this country we could easily manage all of the above and more while
simultaneously restoring the individual rights that we have been
sabotaging in the name of "saving" us from our own personal choices and
individual liberty. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mark Greer | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy COMMENT: (1-5) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In a slow week for drug news PRIDE released a report suggesting that the first stirrings of adolescence also signal that children are becoming liable to use drugs. If we lived under a sane drug policy, this might be a point of departure to search for biological data aimed at reducing the risk of addiction and drug related disease. Unfortunately, given current American reality, it's more likely that the information will be used to augment the coercive and punitive powers described in the next two articles: further expansion of testing and police intrusion in the name of drug purity. | ||||||||||||||||||
The human damage produced by this feverish emphasis on detection and punishment of "drug crime" (drug sin?) at the expense of humane treatment is underscored by the last two articles. Our crusade for a drug-free utopia has made America a dangerous place for adolescents. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(1) DRUG SURVEY OF CHILDREN FINDS MIDDLE SCHOOL A PIVOTAL TIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The first national drug-abuse survey to include elementary-school children among the respondents suggests that youngsters become more vulnerable to the lure of drugs once they leave the familiar environment of primary school and strive to fit into middle school. | ||||||||||||||||||
The new survey, by Pride, an organization based in Atlanta that
counsels schools and parents on ways to inhibit drug use among the
young, also confirms again what many researchers have long known: that
cigarettes, alcohol (primarily beer) and inhalants are used far more
by children than are marijuana or harder drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) IOWA REPORT: 1 IN 25 WORKERS SHOWED EVIDENCE OF DRUG USE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Iowa's first drug-in-the-workplace report says that about 1 in 25 workers
tested last year showed evidence of drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The report is the first of what will become an annual statistical
accounting required by state law. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) EDITORIAL: THE FOURTH AMENDMENT SUFFERS AT COURT'S HANDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Rulings Threaten Civil Liberties. | ||||||||||||||||||
Step into a car and you leave your Fourth Amendment rights behind. Or
so says the U.S. Supreme Court. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure, but the court has been dismantling it bit by bit. This week, the justices ruled 6-3 that a police officer who stops a car may rummage through a passenger's personal belongings - without a search warrant - because he suspects the driver may have done something wrong. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) 'BLACK TAR' GRIMLY COVERS S.F. STREETS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
While her toddler plays in another room, Michelle has a friend inject
heroin into a vein in her neck -- one of the few that's still
functioning after years of needles and impure dope. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
After three years of following five young people in and out of San
Francisco's judicial system, the director says he's frustrated by its
lack of counseling and rehab programs. "The addict population has
gotten much younger: The average age 10 years ago was 27; now it's 19
to 20," he says. "It's ridiculous to jail these kids and then just
kick them back out on the streets...." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) NUMBER OF DRUG DEATHS IN FLORIDA RISES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
When Tampa General Hospital emergency doctor Cathy Carrubba trained in Philadelphia 15 years ago, heroin overdoses were all too common. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Tampa isn't alone. | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug deaths in Florida last year increased at such a dramatic rate that
the state's new drug czar described the crisis Tuesday as "totally out
of control." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (6-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Continuing on the theme of children, a disturbing article by Christopher Wren points out that when the males of one generation are incarcerated, their progeny are likely to follow them into prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
After several hopeful signs, it now appears that any hope of
significantly modifying New York's notoriously unfair Rockefeller drug
laws have fallen victim to political cowardice. On the left coast,
it's unlikely that Gray Davis, who received the endorsement of the
Correctional Officers' union will tamper with California's 3 strikes
law. | ||||||||||||||||||
Finally, a thoughtful Texas editorial on the pernicious influence of
federal "tough on crime" policies is highlighted by an illustrative
news item from New Bedford, MA. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) AS INMATE POPULATION GROWS, SO DOES A FOCUS ON CHILDREN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OSINING, N.Y. - Baba Eng had been a prisoner at Sing Sing for 22 years,
serving a life sentence for murder, when a new inmate walked into the
shower room one day and stared at his face. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Dad," the stranger finally exclaimed. | ||||||||||||||||||
The man was his son, whom Eng had not seen since his arrest, and who
now was in prison himself for armed robbery. "It was the worst moment
of my life," Eng recalled. "Here was my son; he had tried to imitate my
life." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) LOSING BATTLE TO REVISE DRUG LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Political Factors Hobble Effort To Soften 1973 Rockefeller Acts | ||||||||||||||||||
Albany - They've rallied on the Capitol steps, trotted out teary-eyed
children of drug defendants and enlisted the state's top judge in their
cause. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet even as they have stepped up their campaign this legislative
session, advocates of overhauling New York's stiff Rockefeller-era drug
laws have not convinced top lawmakers and Gov. George Pataki, whose
support is essential to any major change. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) THE POLITICS OF PUNISHMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SUE Reams was near tears as she told state legislators Tuesday how her
son came to face life in state prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
Son Shane, she said, became involved in drugs and committed some
residential robberies, including one of her own home. She turned him in
to authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We thought he would get some help," the Orange County woman said,
"some drug rehabilitation." | ||||||||||||||||||
But Shane's drug involvement continued, and 10 years after his original offenses, he was nailed as the lookout in a drug sale to undercover cops. It was his third offense, and under the state's "Three Strikes, You're Out" law, Shane went to prison for 25 years to life. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) EDITORIAL: FEDERALIZING CRIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Disrupting Balance Between Federal And State Systems | ||||||||||||||||||
The American criminal justice system throughout history has recognized
the wisdom of leaving general police powers with the states. Our
forefathers did not want -- indeed, were fearful of -- one great,
centralized police authority. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The ABA's Criminal Justice Section found that crimes are made federal offences without demand by law enforcement officials. It also found no persuasive evidence that federalizing crime makes American streets any safer or has any appreciable effect on the volume of violent crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) FEDS TO JOIN LOCAL WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NEW BEDFORD -- The city is about to get some high-profile help in its
war on illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The nation's drug czar, Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, has agreed to send a
team of federal drug experts to New Bedford to help assess needs and to
develop a drug-fighting strategy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medical Marijuana | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A bear market for commodities continues to put pressure on the DEA's irrational ban on industrial hemp. Pennsylvania farmers added their state to the list of those looking at the issue. Meanwhile, Minnesota's flamboyant Jesse Ventura didn't hide his support. | ||||||||||||||||||
On the therapeutic Cannabis front, the Florida Supreme Court is
hearing a case on the issue of medical necessity in a state where the
political climate is as repressive as any, while the situation in
Arkansas is decidedly more hopeful. | ||||||||||||||||||
With an A-Z overview of the situation in post 215 California, Alan Bock of the OC Register provided convincing evidence that he is one the nation's premier journalists in the field of drug policy. Brilliant as it is, the most interesting part is not the well-informed chronology- rather, it's Bock's assessment of what it could all mean. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) FARMERS SHOW INTEREST IN HEMP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
County Official wants Government to Lift Ban on Growing Crop | ||||||||||||||||||
With sinking prices for corn, soybeans and tobacco, the time is ripe
for farmers to consider planting alternative crops, according to county
Farm Bureau president Jane Balmer. | ||||||||||||||||||
One of her suggestions is a crop that was grown abundantly here for more than 200 years, providing textiles, food, oil and paper. | ||||||||||||||||||
Trouble is, it's presently illegal to cultivate industrial hemp in the United States and has been since a 1937 ban was imposed to eliminate harvests of marijuana, industrial hemp's intoxicating cousin. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) HEMP-VENTURA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Jesse Ventura has taken his support for the production of
industrial hemp to the next level. He's featured on the cover of Hemp
Times, a nationally distributed magazine focusing on fashions and
products derived from the product. | ||||||||||||||||||
The caption on the front says " Jesse Ventura: First Governor For Hemp." | ||||||||||||||||||
Ventura thinks hemp, a cousin of marijuana, would add to the variety
of crops grown by Minnesota farmers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) HIGH COURT HEARS MAN'S CASE TO GROW MARIJUANA FOR MEDICINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
TALLAHASSEE - The attorney for a man who says smoking marijuana is the only way to ease his glaucoma and nausea asked the Florida Supreme Court to let his client grow the illegal drug in his yard. | ||||||||||||||||||
The case of 61-year-old George Sowell could reveal whether the court will allow a medical exception to the statewide substance ban. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sowell, who received a kidney transplant 17 years ago after glaucoma
drugs caused the organ to fail, said Wednesday he started growing the
plant in his yard because it helped ease the symptoms. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE - STATE BILL INCHES FORWARD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
On March 17 the drug czar's appointed panel verified that marijuana
does indeed have medical benefits. Reporting to the Federal Government,
the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine said that
marijuana can be effective in relieving pain and nausea. Whether this
report portends a course change for the drug war ship of state
'Titanic' remains to be seen. However, it does make the Arkansas
Medical Marijuana Act (HB-1043) penned by Jim Lendall appear to be a
most timely piece of legislation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) MOVEMENT ON 215 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
IN THE COURTS AND THE CAPITALS,THE CASE IS MADE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA | ||||||||||||||||||
More than two years after California voters passed the medical marijuana initiative, Proposition 215 - now Section 11362.5 of the state's Health and Safety Code - the law still has not been implemented. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Medical marijuana advocates and patients will have to be more
persistent and more intelligent in their argumentation and lobbying.
This is a long-haul struggle. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, the intransigent ones, from Barry McCaffrey down to local prosecutors, would do well to consider another possibility. The general attitude has been that yielding on medical marijuana could be the sign of weakness that brings the entire war on drugs to a halt. | ||||||||||||||||||
But if the people repeatedly demand that marijuana be available to
patients whose doctors believe they could benefit from it and the
authorities repeatedly resist this modest and reasonable reform, they
could decide simply to legalize marijuana - to put it on the same legal
status as, say, oregano. | ||||||||||||||||||
And that might really lead to an end of the entire drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (16-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Hard line Australian Prime Minister John Howard continues to block any relaxation of his harsh drug policies. He is opposed by most newspaper editors, and at this point, an unknown percentage of voters. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Mexico, an ex-governor became the highest-ranking drug fugitive
since Manuel Noriega. Don't look for GIs to make a bust in Mexico,
however. | ||||||||||||||||||
Up North, a robust poll result in favor of the therapeutic use of
Cannabis suggests we can look forward to a change in that nation's
policy fairly soon. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) AUSTRALIA: BID FOR ZERO TOLERANCE IN SCHOOLS DOOMED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The push by the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, for a policy of zero
tolerance towards drug users in schools appears doomed, with most
state and territory leaders expected to oppose the idea at today's
Premiers' Conference. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Mr Howard has headed off Victoria's proposal for a heroin trial,
despite the support of several states and territories for the
initiative. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) FUGITIVE FORMER GOVERNOR OF MEXICAN STATE CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY - A fugitive former state governor in Mexico has been charged with drug trafficking and organized crime, prosecutors said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday's announcement came a day after Mario Villanueva left office
and nine days after he dropped out of sight. Prosecutors denied they
delayed the criminal case to avoid charging and impeaching a sitting
governor, something that has never been done in Mexico. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) CANADIANS FAVOUR THE USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadians overwhelmingly support the medicinal use of marijuana,
according to a new national survey. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a survey of 2,026 people, conducted last month by Decima Research
Inc., 78% of those polled said they support the federal government's
plan to consider the use of marijuana as a possible treatment for
various medicinal conditions. The survey is considered accurate within
2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Hot Site! Steve Young's On-line Book "Maximizing Harm" | ||||||||||||||||||
Steve Young has been writing a book and now has a draft of book ready
for people to at the website below. We found it to be a really
outstanding compilation of web based facts and a excellent indictment
of the drug war. It is well sourced and is loaded with links to
pertinent facts. | ||||||||||||||||||
The book is called Maximizing Harm and it's supposed to be a simple
introduction to the main issues in the drug war: Why it must fail; who
loses; who wins; why it doesn't just stop; and ways people are
challenging it. This is not final draft of the book, but Steve is at a
point where he would like some feedback and ideas. | ||||||||||||||||||
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FACT OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Mandatory Minimums Increase Crime | ||||||||||||||||||
If one compares 1996 to 1984, the crime index is 13 points higher. This
dramatic increase occurred during an era of mandatory minimum
sentencing and "three strikes you're out." | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Richard Lake noticed the following note in the MAP Guest Book from Paul
Flynn, British MP. | ||||||||||||||||||
Paul is by far the most active MP supporting change in cannabis laws. Thanks to our NewsHawks in the UK and Ireland, our news archives have 53 articles that mention Paul, going back to early 1997. | ||||||||||||||||||
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"I will be dropping in frequently. In the UK Parliament I have a bid to legalising medicinal cannabis on May 21st. It will almost certainly fall but as a news conference the previous I hope to have several seriously ill people who use cannabis giving their testimony - including Eric Mann who is serving a 12 months jail sentence." | ||||||||||||||||||
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