| April 7, 2000 #144 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April 1, 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Letters to the Editor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brutalized Marijuana Prisoner Asks For Help | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
My name is Mike Hodges, Jr. For 19 of my 39 years I was part of the work force in California paying taxes without much question as to how they were being spent by the government. My wife and I lived in a beautiful home in the Sierra foothills just north of Auburn with our two children. I was a tow truck operator on Interstate 80 in the Donna Summit region and received many letters of recommendation for saving lives and rescuing people in blizzard conditions. I served the public and was an asset to my community. My wife worked as a merchandiser at Rally's and blear supermarkets. Her outstanding personality and job performance gained total respect and admiration from her fellow workers and customers. As mother and wife she is the model of excellence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On December 3, 1996, Placer County sheriffs forced their way into our
home past my terrified wife without a search warrant and tore our place
apart right down to going through my wife's underwear drawer and
throwing them out on the floor. This took place after we refused to
sign a consent to search form for them. Through a Star Chamber-like
judicial process, including threats, coercion, blackmail, illegal
suppression of evidence and blatant violations of our Constitutional
rights under the Fourth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, the District
Attorney, Miss Bailey, gained a conviction before Judge J. Richard
Couzens in the Placer County Superior court. I was sentenced to seven
years, four months for under two ounces of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I arrived at the CDC Deuel Vocational Institution at Tracy on November
19, 1998. On December 15 I was feloniously assaulted by four prisoners
at the behest of CDC Officer Duran in G Wing at DVI. My head was
forcibly shaved, I was struck repeatedly in the face and head with a
broomstick, and was threatened with having my throat cut while Duran
was looking on. The officer involved allowed inmate Baxter into my cell
on December 14 when I wasn't in it, and all of my commissary items were
stolen. Inmate Baxter threatened to stab me many times before and after
this incident occurred. He had stabbed several inmates before and was
in a cell by himself for that reason, but Duran would still allow him
to keep his cell door open. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On December 15 Duran let his tier tender inmate John Delong enter my
cell as I was on the toilet, sick from the contaminated water at DVI.
Delong threatened to stab me and took all of my stamped envelopes and
two pens my mother had just mailed to me. He then stated, "I told you
that I have a lot of pull with Duran. He sent me up here to tell you to
get a haircut or you will get a 115." I went downstairs and asked Duran
to move me to another wing, and he stated, "That would be too easy on
you, and I want to make your life miserable here." It was at this time
that Duran allowed inmate Delong and his four homeboys to assault me in
the dorm of G Wing at DVI. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Please help me. I am trapped within this corrupt system without any
assistance of counsel. I need representation to insure that there is no
future injustice put upon me, to also guarantee my safety and well
being and to protect me against any further civil rights violations. I
would like for you to read my six page detailed report of the incidents
at DVI and my two 602 appeals. It is my sincere hope that you will not
allow these incidents to be covered up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Any reasonable person would agree that nobody should suffer what I have
recently and most definitely not for having 49 grains of marijuana.
There is a stark contrast to be looked at in all of this, and it shows
NO JUSTICE. I am confident that no decent person would raise their hand
to say they are served by this sort of administration of the law.
Especially when you consider it is costing the taxpaying public over a
quarter of a million dollars just to incarcerate me for this sentence.
I am asking you now, is this justice? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I need your help, please. I have a wife, two children and a 70 year old
mother who is in poor health. My whole family depends on me very much,
as I am the only man left in our family since my father's death in
1991. More harm has and will continue to come due to this | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Your genuine concern and assistance will matter much to all and is
deeply appreciated. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mike Wayne Hodges, Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy COMMENT: (1-2) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dan Forbes' disclosure (Salon) that ONDCP also purchased editorial influence from the print media, prompted an ONDCP spokesman to reveal how completely McCzar's office misunderstands the First Amendment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
That simplistic anti-drug messages may be non- or even | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) U.S. OFFICE ENCOURAGES ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE IN MAGAZINES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Under a little-known financial agreement with the magazine industry, the Office of National Drug Control Policy has indirectly encouraged magazines to include anti-drug messages in their editorial content. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An article in the online magazine Salon yesterday reported that six
magazines -- U.S. News & World Report, The Sporting News, Family
Circle, Seventeen, Parade and USA Weekend -- have benefited from a
media campaign that the drug policy office put in place over the last
year, giving financial incentives to magazines for content the office
considers sympathetic to its anti-drug message. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"We are not offering financial incentives for writing certain types of
articles," Mr. Weiner said. "After the articles are written, decisions
are made. There is a wall between the editorial process and the sale
process..." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) HOLY DRUG WAR, BATMAN! (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recruiting America's Superheroes For A Comic Battle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In 1998 President Clinton introduced a five-year, $ 1 billion program
aimed at keeping kids off drugs. The program sought to coordinate the
efforts of local police, federal agents, advertising executives, school
administrators, teachers and parents. It allowed White House officials
to insert antidrug rhetoric into TV shows. With that much manpower,
you'd think drug czar Barry McCaffrey would feel confident he had
everything necessary to end drug abuse. Apparently not. He needed
another weapon, one larger than the powers of Washington and schools
and the police combined. So who did McCaffrey enlist in the fight
against the ultimate evil? Spider-Man. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug-fighting superheroes sell kids the same myths that Barry McCaffrey
peddles to grown-ups. But when kids see their peers experiment with
drugs and avoid a gory, comic-book fate, they'll ignore what little
wisdom may be hidden in these action-packed allegories. And if their
ignorance catches up with them, Spider-Man won't be there to save the
day. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (3-5) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
That "anti-drug" messages have very powerful appeal is suggested by two news items from the Southwest. Ironically, distress over drug war failures is the classic justification for intensifying them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ReconsiDer's model for the type of grass roots program needed to counter such simplistic prohibition rhetoric was highlighted in a local news item from a very conservative upstate NY newspaper. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(3) JOHNSON'S NUMBERS NOSE-DIVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Gary Johnson's voter approval rating plunged nearly 20 points in
the past year, declining from a 54 percent level to 35 percent last
week, according to a new Journal poll. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
At the same time, more than two-thirds of the New Mexico voters
surveyed called Johnson's recent push for marijuana and heroin
legalization a bad idea. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) DAD SAYS HE'S AN OUTCAST FOR FIGHTING DRUG-TEST POLICY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Many in small Texas town unhappy with lawsuit filed against school
district. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LOCKNEY, Texas - Larry Tannahill says he has lost his job and has been
made an outcast in his own hometown since he sued his son's school over
a mandatory drug testing policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Tannahill's former employer at the Floyd County Farm and Ranch Supply said the job loss is not related to the controversy. But many in this Floyd County community of 2,300 admit they're unhappy with Mr. Tannahill and the public spotlight his actions have attracted. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"He has a right to have his own opinion, but we have a right to ours, too," said Warren Mathis, 64, a Lockney resident since 1942. "The people don't think very good of Larry right now. We've got 400 kids we're trying to help, and one person [is] trying to spoil everything." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) DRUG DEBATE IN POTSDAM FEATURES RECONSIDER, POLICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peter Christ spent 20 years in a police uniform in Tonawanda, retiring as a police captain in 1989. Now he wears a T-shirt sporting the words ReconsiDer, a group advocating the legalization of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Christ explained the organization's mission before a packed room at Clarkson University's Cheel Campus Center last night. He was one of three panelists debating the decriminalization of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Christ had one supporter in his corner last night, Dr. Gene Tinelli, a
retired naval officer and an addiction psychiatrist who specializes in
treating addicts, Tinelli advocates the legalization of drugs, with
some regulation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"I'm in favor of regulating some very strictly and not regulating some
others at all," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (6) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The implicit obligation of any drug policy to deal with very complex issues- well beyond "just say no-" was highlighted by unusually even-handed coverage of the Ritalin controversy in the LAT. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(6) THE DRUG DILEMMA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The increased use of powerful psychiatric medicines in children under 6 has raised concerns about over-medication and long-term effects. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
With so many unknowns, parents face an agonizing choice. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Teri Burley realized her 2-year-old son, Tanner, was out of control
when he threw his brother, Tayler, off the jungle gym in the schoolyard
playground, breaking the older child's arm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Or should they give their toddlers psychiatric drugs--none of which
have been tested on children under 6--to control what may seem to
outsiders to be garden-variety problems of childhood? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Growing numbers of parents are choosing the latter option, though
often reluctantly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. in
February revealed an alarming rise in the use of powerful,
mood-altering psychotropic drugs among children ages 2 to 6. The use of
stimulants like Ritalin in this age group more than tripled from 1991
to 1995. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (7-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Updating the bi-coastal police scandals has become a weekly exercise;
In L.A., the reach of corruption was finally acknowledged to extend
beyond the Rampart Division, and a nasty ploy involving the federal
INS was revealed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In New York, a spate of reports stimulated by the Dorismond shooting
described how aggressive anti-pot policing had become a mainstay of
police tactics in ghetto neighborhoods. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(7) LAPD PROBE GROWS BEYOND RAMPART (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Los Angeles police-corruption probe has expanded beyond the
poverty-stricken zone where it began and now includes allegations of
wrongdoing in at least three other neighborhoods, the Los Angeles Times
reported Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The newspaper also said a high-level immigration official has charged
that many Hispanics arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department were
falsely accuse of belonging to gangs and handed over to immigration
officials. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) POT PUSH REEFER MADNESS? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Last week's wild police chase through a crowded Brooklyn schoolyard was
just one more incident in the Giuliani administration's long standing -
and, some say, misguided - war on marijuana, which has netted more than
100,000 public pot smokers since 1994. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Most of the marijuana busts have come in the past two years as the cops
have dramatically escalated their enforcement against puffing in
public. In 1992, only 720 people were busted for toking weed in the
open. Last year, 33,471 offenders were arrested for smoking marijuana
in city parks and streets - a 4,549% increase. The busts represented 9%
of all arrests made in New York City in 1999. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (9-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
That U.S. federal law enforcement skirts are non too clean is
suggested by two unrelated reports: one of a U.S. Attorneys' shocking
non-compliance with a court order; the other, far more murky,
complicated and sinister in its ultimate implications. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(9) EDITORIAL: TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April 3 - In an appalling miscarriage of justice, three men have been
held in federal prison for five months after wiretap evidence against
them was disallowed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In all, these men have been in prison since they were arrested in
December 1998. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) DRUG CASE IN LIMBO AFTER MURDER ATTEMPT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Witness Might Decide To Withdraw, Ending Kingpin's Chances For Retrial | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A witness to allegedly serious misconduct by U.S. prosecutors in an
international drug case was one of four people ambushed in Mexico City
- leaving in limbo a legal challenge to a $1 million payment by the
FBI to a Gulf Cartel henchman. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attorney Raquenel Villanueva Fraustro was wounded in the back by a
bullet that exited a lung and grazed by a bullet in the head as she
entered a hotel March 23, her secretary said Wednesday. She is
reported recovering. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Villanueva is at the center of claims by attorneys for convicted drug
kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego that federal prosecutors promised payments
of $2 million to their key witness in exchange for perjured testimony
at Garcia Abrego's trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Villanueva, a criminal defense attorney, has said she brokered a deal
between U.S. prosecutors and witness Carlos Resendez. She and Resendez
claim he agreed to testify in exchange for millions in United States
currency. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A old case shaming both locals and feds: the unjustified killing of
Donald Scott in 1992, was revisited; thanks to a recommendation for
settlement of a long-standing civil suit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(11) PANEL URGES $4-MILLION PAYMENT IN DRUG RAID DEATH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES--A county panel recommended spending $4 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the survivors of millionaire Donald Scott, who was shot to death in a 1992 raid at his Ventura County ranch by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and federal agents. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Ventura County district attorney and Scott's widow allege the drug raid--which turned up no illegal narcotics--was intended to allow federal and county authorities to seize Scott's 200-acre ranch. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (12-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A strong pro-legalization editorial in The University of Michigan Daily suggests that it may be more difficult to sustain the lunacy of pot prohibition when today's crop of college students graduate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Articles from Hawaii and Washington state provide examples of how aggressive- and inevitably futile- suppression of marijuana simply enriches law enforcement agencies while destroying the lives of ordinary people and strengthening the targeted markets. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(12) EDITORIAL: LEGALIZE IT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hash Bash Should Focus On Legalization | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This Saturday, the air around Central Campus will take on a very
distinctive odor as thousands of people, students and non-students
alike, gather on the Diag to roll a joint in honor of the annual Hash
Bash. A tradition in Ann Arbor since 1972, Hash Bash was born not only
as an excuse to smoke pot but as a way to protest the criminalization
of marijuana. Indeed, the protest is the most important aspect of the
event. Based on the existing evidence, there is no good reason for
marijuana to be illegal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) MARIJUANA CRACKDOWN YIELDS TROUBLED HARVEST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The war began on the Big Island as a clandestine police operation called Green Harvest. In the years since, battles have spread throughout the Islands and shaped both politics and police work. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Even as police hacked and buried millions of plants, marijuana wove
itself into the fabric of life in the Islands. Pakalolo continues to
fuel an underground economy where it is the currency for everything
from car repairs to baby-sitting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n437.a07.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n439.a01.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n439.a02.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n439.a05.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) POT SMUGGLING CLOGS COURTS IN BORDER REGION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
James Dennis had company a week ago when he pulled his 28-foot Bayliner
into a Port Townsend marina. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Agents from the U.S. Customs Service found 160 pounds of marijuana stored in six bags under the cabin deck, according to court documents. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Dennis case -- the fruit of a task force of state and federal law
enforcement agencies -- underscores the escalating drug war north of
Seattle, now being waged on land, air and sea. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Porter said that nothing about Dennis indicates he led a lavish
lifestyle. He had extensive bills from recent medical problems, and
told federal authorities he lives on Social Security. He is poor enough
to qualify for a court-appointed attorney. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As anticipated, the Blair government summarily rejected the Police
Foundation's call to decriminalize cannabis and ecstasy. What was not
anticipated was how unpopular the government's position would be with
the public, the press, and rank and file Labour MPs. This debate is
just beginning. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(15) UK: SOFT DRUGS DEBATE WIDENS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE Government today set its face firmly against decriminalising
cannabis amid a widening public debate over the legal framework for
so-called "soft" drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Officials made clear that in any debate the Government's opposition as to easing or abandoning legal controls over cannabis would be maintained. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
However, comments by Home Secretary Jack Straw have been interpreted as a sign that the Government acknowledges a shift in public thinking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) UK: LABOUR SUPPORTERS VILIFY STRAW OVER HIS DEFENSE OF DRUG LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LONDON -- Jack Straw wears wire-rimmed glasses and red suspenders, and
likes to roll up his shirt sleeves. Late for an appointment, he is
genuinely apologetic. He certainly doesn't look anything like Ghenghis
Khan. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Home Office dismissed the report quickly, but it drew widespread
public interest and support. Even the conservative Daily Telegraph, the
newspaper beloved of Britain's retired colonels, praised the study and
called for cannabis to be legalized. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It wasn't just the Daily Telegraph that backed the drugs report. The
equally right-wing Daily Mail agreed, and the MORI polling organization
found that the public went along with the report's main proposals by a
margin of 48% to 36%, with the rest undecided. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Talk about a time warp. Not so long ago, such a report would have been
cheered lustily from the Labour benches in Parliament and jeered with
vein-popping outrage from Middle England. No more. Mr. Straw -- who
even as a student leader campaigned against cannabis -- has been left
looking out of touch. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Dr. Alex Wodak has long been a patient and articulate exponent of harm reduction; his description of the concept's evolution and shifting definition Down Under is well worth reading. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(17) AUSTRALIA: OPED: MINDS WIDE SHUT ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If Australia is serious about harm reduction, illicit drug use needs to be redefined as a health and social issue, writes Alex Wodak. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It is 15 years since Australia officially adopted harm minimisation as
its national drug policy. On April 2, 1985, Prime Minister Bob Hawke,
all State premiers and both chief ministers gathered in Canberra to
discuss Australia's response to illicit drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rather than setting our sights on the utopian target of becoming a
drug-free nation, harm minimisation allowed Australia in the 1980s to
aim for and achieve HIV control. We went after and achieved a very
valuable silver medal rather than risking all chasing an impossible
gold medal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In contrast, Congress passed legislation in 1988 requiring the United
States to become drug-free by 1995. Not only are illicit drugs in the
US now cheaper and more concentrated than ever before, almost half the
40,000 new HIV infections in the country each year involve the sharing
of injecting equipment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst.
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COMMENT: (18-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
America's Colombian adventure moved closer to reality when the House
voted to approve the requested "aid" package; Majority Leader Trent
Lott's threat to block the bill in the Senate is seen as a delay for
political reasons- not a denial. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It no surprise that the Colonel knew about his wife's foolishness;
only that he owned up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An Academic who takes no position on the drug war, per se, warns that U.S. intervention can't help- not that Congress will listen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(18) HOUSE APPROVES $12.7 BILLION IN EMERGENCY SPENDING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The House approved a $12.7 billion emergency spending bill yesterday
that includes funds for a Clinton administration initiative to train
and equip Colombia's army in the war against Latin American drug
traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has vowed to block the
spending bill, saying it is too big. But he is under pressure from
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to go
along with a scaled-back version of the House plan in the range of $6
billion. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) ARMY COLONEL LINKED TO DRUG SMUGGLING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK -- A U.S. Army colonel was implicated for the first time Monday in a scandal in which his wife admitted smuggling heroin while he was commanding the military's anti-drug operation in Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In a letter to a Brooklyn federal judge, prosecutors revealed that
Col. James Hiett is now facing criminal charges that he failed to turn
in his wife, Laurie, for laundering drug money. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) COLOMBIA IS MORE THAN A WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The House on Thursday passed a $1.7-billion military and economic aid
package for Colombia to help that country fight its wars against the
drug trade and against longtime insurgencies that now obtain
substantial financial support from narcotics traffickers. The bill now
moves to the Senate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The congressional debate on the Colombian aid package distorts our
understanding of Colombia's problems and our prospects for being
helpful in responding to them by viewing Colombia almost entirely
through the prism of drug policy. Washington finds it easier,
understandably, to pretend it is facing up to our drug problem by
addressing it abroad rather than confronting it adequately at home.
That may make good domestic politics but it adds up to unwise policy,
at home and abroad. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ONDCP/PDFA Anti-Drug Campaign recipient of the "DOG Award" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You may be interested in our article on The National Youth Anti-Drug
Media Campaign for your web site. The campaign is the winner of the
first savethehumans.com "DOG Award": | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://savethehumans.com/culturebashing/dogawards/00apr/index.shtml | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Cliff Schaffer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highly Successful Vigil Project Headed for Another Round | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We are planing a series of National Vigils for the week prior to and
leading up to Mother's Day on May 14th. If you haven't already begun to
lead a vigil - please consider it and send me an email. Think about it
and give me a call at: 509 684-1550 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For an overview of the project you can go to: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Nora Callahan, The November Coalition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Web Site for Taking Political Action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.grassroots.com/ is a site oriented for being a catalyst for
political action. There are opportunities for creating groups,
contacting political officials and supposedly will be for creating
initiatives in April. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Robert Macomber | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them. And
remember those who are treated badly as if you yourselves were
suffering." --Hebrews 133 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Mike Wayne Hodges, Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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