| March 31, 2000 #143 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Lindesmith Center | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Addicted to failure | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday March 29, 2000 The Guardian, London | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In the wake of yesterday's report on UK drug laws, Ethan Nadelmann
explains why successive British governments have been wrong to look to
the US for a solution to drug misuse and why we should now turn our
attention to Europe instead | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A piece of advice for British leaders in search of better drug
policies: look east, look south, but don't look west. Where once the
Dutch represented a lone voice for reform, now growing parts of Europe
are embracing pragmatic harm reduction strategies based upon common
sense, science, public health and human rights. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I'm not sure why British officials keep turning to the US for lessons
in how to deal with drugs. My country, after all, is the one that
incarcerates almost as many people for breaking the drug laws as Europe
incarcerates for everything else. My country is the one that has
allowed 200,000 of its citizens to become infected with the HIV virus
rather than make sterile syringes more readily available. My country is
the one so committed to "just say no" rhetoric and policies, that it
provides no realistic drug education or any real fallback strategy for
the majority of teenagers who say yes to drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It's not easy trying to end the drug war in the US. Punitive drug
prohibition and a temperance ideology almost as old as the nation
itself are deeply embedded in American laws, institutions and culture.
It's our chronic national hysteria, rejuvenated each time a "new" drug
emerges, ripe for political posturing and media mania. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
From abroad, the drug war in the US must appear monolithic, broken only
by the occasional personality calling for legalisation and the odd
prominence of the medical marijuana issue. Viewed from close up, a more
nuanced analysis emerges. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Our drug tsar, retired general Barry McCaffrey, is a case in point.
He's almost certainly the best drug tsar to date, even if that's not
saying much, given his competition. Unlike the first drug tsar, William
Bennett, McCaffrey prefers to leave the rhetoric of war and zero
tolerance behind, speaking instead of the drug problem as a cancer in
need of treatment. He has attacked the relentless incarceration of
petty drug offenders, spoken out against New York's Draconian
Rockefeller drug laws, and even called our prison system "America's
internal gulag". McCaffrey has defended methadone maintenance
treatment, and he once tried to reduce the billions of dollars wasted
on futile air and sea efforts to prevent drugs from entering the
country. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Of course, this is the same drug tsar who has mangled and mocked the
truth on issues like needle exchange, marijuana and harm reduction
policies inside and outside the US. McCaffrey has played a pivotal role
in ensuring that the US government remains alone among advanced,
industrialised nations in the west in providing not a penny for needle
exchange programmes to reduce the spread of HIV/Aids. His efforts to
challenge the scientific consensus bring to mind the cigarette
companies' last, desperate claims to have found a new study
demonstrating that smoking does not cause cancer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
His position on medical marijuana has been shameful first mocking patients and doctors, then threatening them with prosecution and loss of licence, and now blocking the efforts of state and local authorities to establish responsible, regulated systems of distribution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy COMMENT: (1-2) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sadly, McCzar's long-awaited (by reformers) report to Congress was largely ignored by the nation's press. Among papers that carried it, the Casper (WY) gave it the same spin as the czar and the AP, while the Boston Globe- one of the few papers to feature it- clearly saw through the bluster to take an entirely different tack. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) CLINTON'S ANTI-DRUGS ADVISER REPORTS 'SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON (AP) - White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey says
"substantial progress" has been made in the fight against illegal drugs
during the past year, with declines in youth drug use and drug-related
crime. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But in remarks prepared for delivery Thursday to a congressional
committee, McCaffrey says heroin has become more popular among young
people, and methamphetamines have a "serious potential nationally to
become the next 'crack' cocaine epidemic." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Methamphetamine "remains one of the most dangerous substances America
has ever confronted," McCaffrey said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall, though, "For those who say this is a war, we are winning." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) DRUG DEATHS REACH A PEAK AS PRICES FALL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Drug-related deaths have reached a record level in
America, while users have been able to buy cocaine and heroin at some
of the lowest prices in two decades, according to a White House report
obtained by the Globe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Some 15,973 people died from drug-induced causes in 1997 - nearly 44 people a day and an increase of 1,130 people over the previous year... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's a scandal that drug deaths are at the rate they're at," said
Kevin B. Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy, a Virginia
group that supports more funding for treatment. "It's never focused on
by the drug czar's office or by the media... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (3-4) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Most editorial and Op-Ed pages, also ignored McCaffrey's
unsubstantiated claims. Two exceptions were the Washington Post, where
columnist William Raspberry gave Ethan Nadelmann a sympathetic
hearing, and the San Francisco Chronicle which, Ironically, carried no
news of the report Marsha Rosenbaum was commenting on. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(3) OPED: NEW BATTLE LINES FOR THE DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
How Goes The "War On Drugs"? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In two words, not well. White House drug control policy director Barry
McCaffrey tries his best to put a happy face on the "progress" of the
campaign in his annual report. But the best he can manage (according to
the Associated Press, which obtained an advance copy of the document)
is a decline in youth marijuana use and drug-related crime during the
past year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It will come as a surprise to those who have heard the passionate
Nadelmann that he has no across-the-board answer. Certainly not
"legalization," he says, though his push for decriminalizing certain
categories of drug use is taken by his critics as advocating
decriminalization. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Let me propose a different bottom line," he said in a telephone
interview last week. "Let the criterion be: Has the death, disease,
crime and suffering associated with both drug use and drug prohibition
gone up or down?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) OPED: ARE WE REALLY WINNING THE WAR ON DRUGS? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
THE OFFICE of National Drug Control Policy unveiled its ``new'' $19
billion strategy yesterday. Director Gen. Barry McCaffrey, our drug
``czar,'' claims that we have made ``substantial progress'' and that
``for those who say this is a war, we are winning.'' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Really? By what measure? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
After spending upward of $250 billion since 1980 to get illegal drugs
off the streets and away from children, hard drugs are coming into the
country and hitting the streets just as much as ever. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (5) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Be the rhetoric as it may, an item from the West Coast leaves no doubt
about the real priorities of those with the authority and money to
convert drug policy theory into action. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(5) NAVY ADDING MUSCLE TO DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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SAN DIEGO--Under gray skies and light rain, the guided missile cruiser
Valley Forge, built to do hull-to-hull combat with the Soviet navy, set
sail Monday for six months in hostile waters. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Valley Forge will not be on the prowl for the Soviets or the armed
forces of Third World nations considered by the United States as
potential adversaries. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Rather, its quarry will be one of the most elusive on the high seas:
the "go-fast" boats of drug smuggling cartels in the eastern Pacific
and the Caribbean. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (6-7) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On the law enforcement front, the slaying of an unarmed and innocent
black man in New York was firmly tied to the drug war in subsequent
analyses- most specifically to Giuliani's "Operation Condor,"
originally unveiled in January. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Judy Mann, writing in the Washington Post, was unusually direct in her criticism- not just of the police- but of drug policy in general. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(6) KILLING PUTS FOCUS ON TACTICS OF ANTI-DRUG EFFORT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Two months ago, to curb drug dealing and the violence it spawns, New
York City embarked on an ambitious $24 million narcotics enforcement
drive known as Operation Condor.... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police officials say that Operation Condor has been an unqualified
success... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But critics inside and outside the department say they are not convinced. And the March 16 death of an unarmed man, Patrick Dorismond, in a scuffle with members of an undercover narcotics squad in Midtown has raised questions about the effectiveness, tactics and training of officers involved in expanded narcotics efforts like Operation Condor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) COLUMN: WAR ON DRUGS CAN'T HELP BUT RUN AMOK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Another black man has fallen victim to the war on drugs. He was Patrick Dorismond, 26, father of two and an off-duty security guard who was trying to hail a cab outside a midtown Manhattan bar last week. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"When you have police engaging in these type of tactics, it's almost
inevitable these incidents would occur," said Deborah Small, a lawyer
who directs public policy at the Lindesmith Center.... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The war on drugs has failed. What we're getting out of it is a record 2
million people in prison, the erosion of basic civil rights, and the
killings of men by undercover cops. We're pouring tens of billions down
the toilet because we can't bring ourselves to understand that
substance abuse is a health problem and to treat it that way. We are
paying a terrible price for being so pigheaded. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (8-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Two longer-running police scandals continued to smolder; more convictions were overturned in Los Angeles; a settlement in Denver caused some to recollect that PD's unsavory past history. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(8) 6 MORE RAMPART CONVICTIONS OVERTURNED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES - A Superior Court judge on Thursday overturned six more
convictions tainted by alleged misconduct by officers from the LAPD's
Rampart Division. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The court action brings to 46 the number of cases dismissed in the ongoing corruption scandal, district attorney's officials said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) SCANDALS SPOTLIGHT DENVER POLICE FORCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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DENVER -Despite a sharp decline in crime, Denver's finest are under the gun in the worst series of police scandals since the city was known as the "crooked-cop capital of the United States" in the 1960s. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
An incredibly harsh sentence was handed to Todd McCormick just as this
newsletter was going to press. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(10) CALIFORNIA BRIEFLY-TODD McCORMICK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medical marijuana activist Todd McCormick, 29, was sentenced to five years in prison for growing thousands of pot plants in a rented Bel-Air mansion. McCormick had pleaded guilty to federal drug charges. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (11-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Those curious about how the press supports drug war propaganda didn't
have far to look: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A prosecutor's adroit bid to tie a particularly egregious accident to
a questionable standard for THC didn't elicit any questions from Kim
Smith of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The same AP item which had been a February Arizona Star story about
pot farming in national forests was exhumed and edited by the LA Times
to highlight environmental damage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(11) DRIVER FAILS TEST UNDER NEW DRUG LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Blood test results for a young woman driver accused of running over and killing six teens Sunday show she had more than twice the amount of marijuana in her system needed to charge her under a new drug law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson said the tests showed Jessica Williams, who turned 21 years old today, had 5.5 nanograms of marijuana per milliliter of blood in her system within 90 minutes of the accident. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Under a new law that went into effect Oct. 1, anyone driving with two
nanograms or more of marijuana per milliliter of blood is presumed to
be under the influence of the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) PRISTINE FORESTS GOING TO POT AS MARIJUANA GROWERS CARVE OUT FIEFDOMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Clandestine practice inflicts horrific environmental damage and
threatens park visitors. Public lands are under siege despite law
enforcement efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif.- They were spotted from the air,
as conspicuous as sharks in a school of guppies: Three plots of land,
seemingly stripped of the towering oaks and manzanita that shroud this
patch of Southern California forest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Six months after they located the 23,000-plant pot farm in the San
Bernardino Forest, Wirz and Forest Service agent Denese Stokes returned
to the site. They flew in to the same helicopter pad, hiked down the
same path their agents had carved into the land. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The marijuana was long gone, but the destruction remained. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In another evolving story, the Illinois legislature shrugged off a warning from McCzar and moved closer to passing a hemp bill. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(13) INDUSTRIAL HEMP PRODUCTION MEASURE IS MOVED TO HOUSE FOR (Top) CONSIDERATION | ||||||||||||||||||||||
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An Illinois House committee has approved a measure that would allow Southern Illinois University to study the feasibility of industrial hemp production, despite opposition from law enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The House Agriculture Committee voted 11-4 Thursday to send the bill to
the full House for consideration. The Illinois Senate last month
approved the study 49-9. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Two issues dominated international drug policy last week: one was how
hard liners in the Blair Government will respond to the increasing
pressure for liberalization of cannabis laws- particularly for medical
use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The answer was no relaxation despite the Police Report- and two additional examples of how illegal markets produce failed policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(14) UK: PLEA FOR SOFTER DRUG LAWS WILL BE THROWN OUT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A HIGH-POWERED report into Britain's drug laws will be dismissed by the Government because it recommends relaxing the regulations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The report by the Police Foundation think-tank, which boasts Prince Charles as its president, will this week say that cannabis users should not be jailed and that Ecstasy is a relatively "soft" drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But senior Whitehall sources have made it clear that Tony Blair, who is
aware of the contents, is not impressed and the Government's stance on
drugs will not change. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug tsar Keith Hellawell also has robust views on the findings and
does not believe that the laws on cannabis and Ecstasy, both seen as
harmful substances, should be softened. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) UK: ENGLAND AND WALES HAS 'WORST DRUG PROBLEM IN EUROPE' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug abuse among teenage students is worse in England and Wales than in any other part of the European Union, a new survey has shown. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The use of cannabis and LSD is almost 10 times as high as in Portugal
and Finland, while solvent abuse - unheard of in Austria and Portugal,
according to the figures - is practised by one fifth of 15 to
16-year-olds in England and Wales. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Amphetamines are tried by 13% in England and Wales, compared with less than 8% in Holland and less than 4% anywhere else in the EU. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) UK: DRUG GANGS SMUGGLE CIGARETTES BY BILLION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug syndicates are turning to cigarette smuggling because the profits
are greater and the risks, if caught, are smaller. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The gangs are shipping billions of illegal cigarettes through Britain's
eastern ports, which customs investigators have discovered are the
biggest gateway used by tobacco smugglers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (17-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The second drug policy issue dominating international news was the
potential quagmire in Colombia. For those needing help telling the
players apart, the CSM article by veteran journalist Richard C.
Hottelet is a good place to start. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
There was advice for Washington: the LA Times said, in effect, "Don't
just stand there- do something!" while a thoughtful Op-Ed in the
Houston Chronicle drew a sobering parallel with El Salvador twenty
years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, Newsweek claims to have sniffed out the real reason for the
stampede to fund a Colombian adventure: a skillful application of
political pressure by defense industry veterans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(17) THE COLOMBIA PUZZLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Colombia is not a quagmire, but a fog in which the players stumble
around in seemingly aimless conflict. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The couple of billion dollars in aid Congress and President Clinton
plan to use to fight the drug menace over the next three years may
also simply get lost. The heart of the problem is narcotics and the
money it spawns. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Three-cornered civil war is a constant. Guerrilla factions, rich and heavily armed, fight each other and mysterious right-wing paramilitary death squads, as well as national police and armed forces. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) EDITORIAL: CONGRESS MUST ACT ON COLOMBIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Last September, Colombian President Andres Pastrana presented the White House a comprehensive plan intended to rescue his country from the violence of drug lords, guerrillas and paramilitary forces. Included were programs for economic development, democratic institution-building, judicial reform, human rights protections and peace negotiations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
What Colombia needs is decisive and prompt action. Congress should
move now to deliver the arms, equipment and other elements of the
program to suppress lawlessness in the countryside. At stake is
proliferation of the cocaine plague and potential collapse of one of
Latin America's proudest countries. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) LET'S NOT TURN COLOMBIA INTO ANOTHER EL SALVADOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
ONE year ago this month, President Clinton publicly apologized to
Guatemalans for decades of U.S. policy in support of a murderous
military that "engaged in violent and widespread repression," costing
the lives of some 100,000 civilians. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
That policy "was wrong," the president declared, "and the United States
must not repeat that mistake." One year later, Clinton is about to
repeat it in Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In Colombia, we are about to let our fear of drugs lead us into an
equally futile and bloody war. We failed to heed Romero's plea 20 years
ago; we ought not make the same mistake again. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) IS A $1.3 BILLION COLOMBIA AID PACKAGE SMART POLICY? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
March 26 -- Only last summer, the White House seemed wary of greater
U.S. involvement in Colombia's vicious drug war. Republicans on Capitol
Hill wanted to add muscle to Colombia's anti-drug forces, but
administration officials favored more diplomacy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As it turned out, the poll was hardly the idea of a disinterested
party: Newsweek has learned that it was commissioned by Lockheed
Martin... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Other powerful interests also weighed in. Occidental Petroleum, ... retained the powerhouse Washington law firm of Akin, Gump, to push for increased aid. Lobbyists from two U.S. helicopter companies were even more aggressive: Textron, maker of the Bell Huey, and United Technologies Corp., whose Sikorsky Aircraft division makes the Black Hawk. Both firms sent choppers to Washington's Reagan National Airport to impress congressional members with gut-twisting rides. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Santa Cruz Passes Ordinance To Allow Medicinal Marijuana
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n421/a03.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||
This article came out too late to be included in the body of the news
but we felt it a great good news piece. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Time Magazine Poll on MMJ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Time magazine is running a med mj poll at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.time.com/time/daily/poll/0,2637,marijuana,00.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Please click, vote and distribute. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Dick Evans (and others) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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NAMA Web Page Updated | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The National Alliance of Methadone Advocates (NAMA) has recently revised and continues to revise its web page on a regular basis. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Joycelyn Woods | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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MMM web page | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Please spread the word about the Millennium Marijuana March | ||||||||||||||||||||||
May 6th 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by "Paula Tepedino" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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DRUGSENSE VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Steve Heath | ||||||||||||||||||||||
This month we recognize Steve Heath. Steve has been a member of the MAP
news editing/posting team for over a year, and is very involved in
other MAP efforts. Steve tells it very well: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: You have been involved in drug policy reform issues for a while.
When and why did you become involved? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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When I learned of Peter's legal challenges, I got plugged into Dick
Cowan's excellent, tho recently retired, webpage. I emailed Dick and he
suggested I look to MAP for volunteer opportunities. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: How did you get into writing Letters to the Editor? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Without question, MAP. I subscribed immediately to MAPTALK and
HAWKTALK. After reading some of the many excellent submissions by
folks like Gerry Sutliff, Doctor Tom, Keith Sanders (Shout out to
Keith! We miss hearing from you), I thought, "Hey, I could do one of
those." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
My first PUB LTE relating to DPR was in the St Petersburg Times and
directly counterpointed a LTE from FBI Director Louis Freeh. (He was
pimping the need for increased web surveillance resources, to battle
'terrorists and drug dealers'.) I have had about 15 since, including NY
Times and USA TODAY. My inspiration continues to come from the many
folks who submit to the SENTLTE List. It is from them that I get most
of my ideas. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: What do you consider the most significant story/issue of the past
months? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Well, I thought the IOM Report was pretty huge. Clearly, marijuana
prohibtion continues to drive our need to reform. More innocent folks
are jammed here than anywhere else in the Drug War, with no disrespect
meant to the challenges of other substance 'violators'. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I anxiously await the outcome of the Kubby trial. I encourage MAP readers
to send Steve a donation, however modest, if you don't send $ anywhere
else this month. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: What are your favorite websites, besides the MAP/DrugSense sites? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Frankly, I stay pretty tight with the MAP/DS supported sites. My other
time online is used for sports handicapping. I believe that most DPR
reformers can set MAP up as their primary entry into the DPR Web. The
Links list is excellent. (Only like six clicks away from instructions
to make an atom bomb....or something like that according to our pal,
the Kzar. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers of the
weekly? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I would encourage all of us to anchor our efforts in peace, love and
forgiveness. It's decent advice for anyone of course, but in the arena
in which we labor, emotions of anger, hatred and revenge are often
extremely attractive options. I flirt with them way more than I would
like. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I find the best medicine is to exercise my mind to 'swap' the emotions as
fast as I feel the destructive ones. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Big pain in the ass some days, I'll admit. But what the heck? Isn't that
the end result we all seek in common? Kind of a Hippy/Buddhist/Zen/ (dare I
say it?) Christian kinda gimmick. Or so I've read. (Thanks to Peter Mc
again for being one of those sources) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I invite all DPR readers and workers to give it a try next time you feel like rousting the Kzar, Califano, or hell, even your local sheriff. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
We can only end a War by practicing peaceful principles. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I figure that should keep us all busy for a few decades or so, how
about you? Thanks to Mark Greer, Richard Lake and the Staff of MAP for
the amazing opportunity I have been given, that of assisting the most
effective Web-based DPR effort on the planet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
peace from Largo FL, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: Thank you, Steve, for all that you are doing! Steve Heath's name will be added to the list of honored volunteers on the following web page within the next few days: http://www.drugsense.org/dswvol.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong" - John Kenneth Galbraith | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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