| May 26, 2000 #150 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Acceptance Speech of John L. Kane, Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Thank you. I am especially honored to receive an award named after a
great jurist. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I am very grateful to receive it from Judge Gray who has been an
inspiration to me. Where he has led, I have followed with enthusiasm
and confidence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I am grateful to this organization and its participants who provide a
voice of reason in the midst of flattering propaganda and duplicitous
hysteria. While I do not for a moment wish to be understood as
diminishing or deprecating the importance of those poor souls who are
filling our prisons or the evisceration of fundamental constitutional
rights, I want to make note of the "other victims" of the so called War
On Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The "other victims" are those people and businesses who can't get into
court to have their cases heard. They are the victims of traditional
crimes such as burglary, rape and robbery who can't get justice because
the police are tied up with drug cases. They are the merchants going
bankrupt because the police no longer have time to investigate or
prosecute bad check cases. They are the battered spouses whose abusers
are not sent to jail because there's only room there for pot smokers.
They are the physicians and other medical care providers who cannot
treat their patients according to conscience and the discipline of
their profession. They are the sick and dying who endure unnecessary
pain. They are the children whose parents are taken from them. They are
the police who have given up honorable and challenging work
investigating and detecting crime because they have become addicted to
and dependent upon an informant based system reminiscent of Lenin's
dreaded Cheka. They are the families forced to select one member to
plead guilty lest the entire family be charged. They are the
prosecutors and defense attorneys who have turned the temples of
justice into plea bargaining bazaars.. They are, most painful to me,
the judges who let this happen and don't say a word. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Let us continue our opposition to this infamous War on behalf of all
its victims. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Thank you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
John L. Kane, Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy COMMENT: (1-2) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A significant item: if American (and world) decline in tobacco use
proves that regulation and education can reduce use of dangerous
addictive agents (alcohol use has been declining for decades), what's
the rationale for prohibition? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Illegal agents are another story, despite the bluster of Florida
Governor Jeb Bush and his czar. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) FINALLY, THE WORLD BEGINS TO PUT OUT ITS CIGARETTES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- After a century-long buildup in cigarette smoking, the world is turning away from cigarettes, following the lead of the United States. In 1999 cigarettes smoked per person m the U.S. fell by 8 percent and for the world as a whole by more than 3 percent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. trend is driven by a deepening awareness of the
health-damaging effects of smoking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) GOVERNOR SAYS PEOPLE, NOT MONEY, WILL WIN DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
ST. PETERSBURG - Gov. Jeb Bush brought his drug war to the Tampa Bay
area Thursday night, holding a televised "town meeting" with community
activists and police that was billed as a way to find solutions to the
state's drug abuse problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Bush and Jim McDonough, director of the state Office of Drug Control Policy, told the crowd they hoped to cut illegal drug use by 50 percent and cut Florida's supply of illegal drugs by 30 percent by 2005. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (3-5) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Improvement" is more certain when the original problem is overstated;
unfortunately for Florida's drug czar, the Orlando Sentinel caught his
department doing just that. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Club drugs are the rage. Thanks to their recent popularity explosion,
a new "menace" is inevitable; predictably, classic scare articles like
this one in the SF Chronicle are now the norm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
One wonders just how vigorously authorities will prosecute users; the
market is no more "controllable" than cannabis; repression, which
increases risk of use could backfire on the warriors. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(3) BAD RESEARCH CLOUDS STATE DEATH REPORTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Angry, grieving. 'My son does not belong on that list' of
designer-drug-related deaths, says Joel Waters. Mitchell Waters, 15,
died of a heart ailment but was taking a prescription that contained a
drug on the list. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In total, more than half the deaths were from some other cause, and in
some cases, it was clear their inclusion was absurd. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
How the state came to identify pre-schoolers and grandmothers as
victims of a drug culture known for pierced tongues and all-night
dancing does not have a simple answer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) ECSTASY STUDY HOLDS FEW SURPRISES DRUG CALLED A RISK TO USER'S MEMORY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
San Francisco - A new study from Germany seems to confirm what some San
Francisco partygoers have known for years: The drug Ecstasy makes you
stupid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A recently published study from the University of Aachen says that even
light recreational use of Ecstasy can lead to impaired intelligence and
reduced memory capacity. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Researchers compared intelligence tests from a group of 28 regular
Ecstasy users to a drug-free control group and reported that Ecstasy
users fared comparatively poorly in written tests of attention, memory
and learning ability. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) COLUMN: FEDS TRY TO KEEP TABS ON ECSTASY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
EACH morning at 8:30, a group of lawmen gathers in a sixth-floor command post at Customs Service headquarters here to plot the next offensive in the war against America's fastest-growing illegal drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
They are members of the Ecstasy Task Force, created by Customs
Commissioner Ray Kelly three months ago to combat Ecstasy smuggling,
which has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The popular synthetic drug "is now the single most profitable drug for
criminals to distribute," said Kelly, the city's police commissioner
from 1992 to 1993. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (6-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, the domestic drug war is going as badly as ever- as confirmed by reports from Arizona and Senator Hatch's home state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Indeed, the drug war's only success seems to be reducing drug use
among the those most in need of it: patients in pain. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(6) DRUG TESTS FOR PRISON WORKERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Applicants for jobs in Arizona's prisons are now being drug-tested before they're hired and will be randomly tested once they start work. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The testing is the latest attempt to stem 2,700 reported drug incidents
among the Department of Correction's 26,000 inmates during the past
year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) UTAH DRUG TROUBLE MOUNTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In the 90s, it's more than meth; heroin busts on the rise as well | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Throughout the 1990s, Utahns heard relentless media reports about the
spread of methamphetamine in their state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But while it has been the fastest growing drug in terms of popularity,
public health data show all illicit drugs experienced a likely massive
surge in use during the decade. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's a big problem," said Agent Don Mendrala with the Drug Enforcement Administration's Salt Lake City office. "While we're spending all our time on meth -- busting labs -- the other drugs aren't going away. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) THE INVISIBLE EPIDEMIC OF PAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
THERE ARE many reasons why doctors under-treat pain. As Dr. Eric
Chevlen, director of palliative care at St. Elizabeth Hospital in
Youngstown, Ohio, explained: "They're treating a symptom which is
invisible, and so it's easy to dismiss... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A recent survey found that four in 10 dying patients were in severe
pain most of the time. A New York study found that 71 percent of
doctors said they had under-medicated for pain for fear of running
afoul of the authorities. As Chevlen noted, "If pain were
uncontrollable, it would be a tragedy; that it is controllable makes it
not a tragedy, but a scandal." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
To end on an optimistic note, a column in the Topeka Capital-Journal
confirms what many of us have known for quite a while: MAP's focus on
the media is starting to pay off. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(9) COLUMN: LOTS OF PEOPLE PRAYING THAT WAR ON DRUGS NEVER ENDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In a column last week I said the War on Drugs generates so much money and so many jobs you wonder how many people want it to continue, just because they have a personal stake in it. The headline on the column, which is not my doing, aptly called it war profiteering. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The column drew a quick response from Stephen Young, who has written a
book on the War on Drugs, titled "Maximizing Harm," and he devotes a
chapter to its profiteers. He e-mailed me to say my comment was a
"massive understatement," and his book proves it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: The two week hiatus combined with the rate at which police
corruption is now being uncovered has forced me to ignore some major
stories in this week's issue; bad as the following may seem, they are
only the tip of a huge iceberg. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (10-11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
An enduring US myth: that feds are less corruptible than locals- is
belied by two recent stories. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
While the tortuous Florida saga would make a great movie plot, the San
Diego yarn is more difficult to romanticize; using people to pay drug
debts isn't very heroic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(10) DID DEA INFORMANTS SWINDLE DRUG LORDS? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Millions In Cash Allegedly Taken | ||||||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia -- No one disputes that Baruch Jairo Vega possesses
the nerves of steel and savvy manner required of anyone who does
business with international drug traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The question is whether Vega was audacious enough, or crazy enough, to
snooker some of Colombia's biggest drug dealers out of millions of
dollars and pocket the money. Or- his version- whether he instead
performed extraordinary work as a confidential informant for the DEA
and the FBI, and maybe the CIA, bringing the U.S. government both
sought-after drug lords and cash. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On those trips, Vega and Suarez were usually accompanied by a coterie
of DEA agents, local police officers, South Florida criminal lawyers
- and a fashion model or two. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Panamanian aviation records seen by The Herald indicate that
Miami-based DEA agent Castillo was nearly always along. Also joining
the group on occasion were Bill Gomez, a Miami-Dade Police Department
narcotics officer; Daniel Forman, a criminal defense attorney in
Miami; and Carlos Ramon Zapata, a 34-year-old suspected Colombian
cocaine trafficker who apparently has struck a deal with U.S.
prosecutors that leaves him enjoying his freedom at a high-rise on the
southern tip of Miami Beach. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) INS AGENT INDICTED, ACCUSED OF TRADING ILLEGAL ALIENS TO DRUG DEALER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES -- A 15-year Immigration and Naturalization Service veteran was indicted Thursday on charges that he released 11 detained illegal aliens and turned some of them over to a convicted drug dealer, who held the immigrants until their families paid up to $1,800 in ransom. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jesse Jerry Gardona, 40, a special agent in the INS's anti-smuggling unit in Los Angeles, reportedly swapped the immigrants, mostly Salvadoran, in 1998 to settle a $20,000 to $30,000 debt he had with Jose Jesus Quintanilla Guzman, a Mexican national, convicted of drug trafficking in 1990, according to court documents released Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (12-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A NYT story about a small Jersey department suggests that the Rampart
scandal is (surprise) not an isolated phenomenon. What's most
interesting is how long this case has been unresolved. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Speaking of Rampart, the admitted numbers of unjust felony convictions
in a major US city suggest that "justice" in America has become a bad
joke. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(12) SUSPICIONS SWIRL AROUND NEW JERSEY POLICE CLIQUE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
ELIZABETH, N.J. -- Lt. Edward Szpond, once one of the most influential officers in the Elizabeth Police Department, sits these days at a desk in the department's basement, in charge of the property room. He was reassigned to the glamorless job several years ago after the mayor of Elizabeth said he had determined that he was one of the leaders of a secretive and disruptive group of officers known as the Family. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Family, long the subject of worried talk within the department, became a public problem for the city in 1994, when a dozen officers staged a protest over what they claimed was the secret group's influence within the department and its intimidation of other officers. And so that year, the department removed Lieutenant Szpond from his position in charge of the force's day shift of officers on patrol. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) 2 MORE CASES OVERTURNED IN RAMPART SCANDAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES--A Superior Court judge Wednesday overturned the felony convictions of two more men whose prosecutions involved former Los Angeles Police Department officer-turned-informant Rafael Perez. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday's actions, which involved two men sent to prison in 1996,
brought to 84 the number of convictions that have been vacated since
the LAPD's Rampart corruption scandal began. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (14-15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If you thought "forfeiture reform" and publicity over profiling would
significantly reduce those abuses, think again. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Karen Dillon of the KC Star has another series showing that police
still have a huge incentive to steal and numerous articles continue to
document differential treatment of blacks by all echelons of law
enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(14) ACROSS U.S., POLICE DODGE STATE SEIZURE LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police and highway patrols across the country are evading state laws to
improperly keep millions of dollars in cash and property seized in drug
busts and traffic stops. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Most states don't want law enforcement agencies to profit so easily from such confiscations -- they see it as a dangerous conflict of interest. For that reason, they have passed laws blocking seized property from going directly back to police, and many states designate seizures to be used for other purposes, such as education. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But a yearlong examination by The Kansas City Star reveals that police
agencies in every one of more than two dozen states checked by the
newspaper have used federal law enforcement to circumvent their own laws
and keep most of that money for themselves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) JUSTICE IS NOT COLOR BLIND, STUDIES FIND (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Where you going?" the cops asked the teenager lugging his schoolbooks along Vermont Avenue one afternoon last week. "What are you doing?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pulling together the most comprehensive data yet on race and crime in America, two recent reports show that, at every stage of the nation's system of crime and punishment--from arrest through plea bargaining to sentencing--black and brown Americans get tougher treatment than whites. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
And the studies show that criminal justice trends in California closely
mirror national conditions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (16-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On the national front, columnists in not just one- but two leading
dailies lacerated poor Al Gore for trying to please the drug warriors
on the issue of medical use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(16) THE EVOLUTION OF A POSITION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Gore Retreats From Earlier Stand Supporting The Medical Use Of Marijuana | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - As anyone who has watched Al Gore over the years knows,
some of his positions on various topics have a way of evolving. As the
vice president himself has acknowledged, this has been true on abortion
and gun control. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
There now seems to be another example: medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) GORE IS PANDERING AWAY THE PRESIDENCY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
When future historians chart the downward course of Vice President
Gore's presidential campaign, they will probably start with Elian
Gonzalez. Gore's collapse in the face of Miami's professional
anti-Castro claque captured everything that is wrong with the campaign
and everything that is wrong with the candidate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But here again, Gore is pandering, this time to the anti-drug lobby,
and it is particularly obnoxious coming from someone who apparently
enjoyed easy access to marijuana to treat the joys and sorrows of an
early journalistic career at the Nashville Tennessean. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (18-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
More locally, the Washington State legislature's unwillingness to
implement their voters' will is (predictably) having the same effect
as in California- where medical users are still frustrated and
harassed by rogue law enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(18) WA: MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS WAIT TO EXHALE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Vague law leaves patients, doctors, officials in a fog | ||||||||||||||||||||||
NESPELEM, Wash. _ Washington's 1 1/2-year-old medical marijuana law is
intended to relieve pain, but it is causing headaches for courts
throughout the Inland Northwest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Voters left a lot of questions unanswered when they passed Initiative
692 in November 1998. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The law says simply that, with a physician's approval, a person may
have a 60-day supply of marijuana.... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The problem is that no one knows how much that is. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) CA: THE FIGHT OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA: LEGALIZING MEDICINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For those on both sides of the medical marijuana issue, it might as
well be the late 1920s - the legal debate over pot as medicine
resembles in some ways the waning days of prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Though it's been more than three years since voters in California
passed Proposition 215 medical marijuana initiative, the lack of
specific guidelines for its implementation has left both patients and
the police uncertain how and when medical pot should be used and
purchased. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Just to show the cannabis/hemp news isn't all bad, our final item is
about the latest state to legalize hemp production; not that I would
share their optimism about the DEA. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(20) MD AUTHORIZES THE PRODUCTION OF HEMP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Maryland yesterday became the fourth state in the nation to authorize
the production of hemp, a hardy fibrous crop with many commercial uses
that sponsors hope will offer Maryland farmers a profitable alternative
to tobacco. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
....with a growing number of states showing interest in the crop to | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: The overload of prison news I apologized for earlier is nothing
compared to the glut of international items. Many are related to the
surge in ecstasy news where Canada, Australia and the UK are ahead of
the US. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (21-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Disregarding the author's moralizing, his account of chilling murders
in Holland confirms that violent criminals traditionally take control
of any lucrative illegal market (except cannabis, which is simply too
decentralized); the chilling implication is that ecstasy has become a
big-time criminal market. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A sensible article from Canada emphasizes a conundrum: ecstasy users
will be difficult to characterize as criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Disturbing news about ecstasy also surfaced; one of the problems users
have is separating propaganda from fact; first claim made about any
new illicit drug: it "rots your brain." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(21) E-XECUTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In Bansha there was shock and disbelief at the news that two brothers
from the little Tipperary village were believed to be the victims of a
brutal Dutch gangland slaying. In Holland, the shock was just at the
extraordinary brutality of the murders. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
...The Netherlands, because of the availability of the chemical | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But the lucrative trade...has been infiltrated by extraordinarily
violent gangs from Eastern Europe ... Slavs have fought to gain a niche
beside the vicious gangs which include elements of the Russian Mafia,
Slovakia gangs, elements from the Czech Republic, Colombians and
Moroccans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug-making apparatus, including a tablet press for making ecstasy and speed tablets, was found in the apartment and in the basement storage cubicle attached to the flat. Amphetamines were also found. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) HOW TO RADICALIZE A GENERATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Toronto ravers are trying to be so reasonable. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
They have worked with City Council to draft the Protocol for the Operation of Safe Dance Events. The Toronto Dance Safety Committee has tried to make sure paramedic teams are at all the big parties. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
What the ravers are only just beginning to understand is that none of
this matters. The rave uproar, like all drug wars, isn't about safety,
it's about politics. ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Which provides a great political opportunity for Toronto Police Chief
Julian Fantino to step up for National Daddy Duty -- to claim he knows
exactly what those sinister lollipops and teddy-bear backpacks are all
about. Drugs and violence, that's what. The only solution is to shut
them down. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(23) DABBLERS IN ECSTASY TOLD - BEWARE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Researchers Find Even Light Use Of Drug Too Much | ||||||||||||||||||||||
LONDON - Even light weekend use of the party drug Ecstasy might harm
intelligence, a new study suggests. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
German scientists report that weeks after partying, those who used
Ecstasy along with marijuana performed worse on intelligence tests
than people who just smoked pot or took no drugs at all. Their results
are reported this week in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and
Psychiatry. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Emphasizing the risks of illegal markets, a mysterious and deadly infection which has killed a dozen Scottish addicts may be anthrax. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(24) UK: CITY'S ADDICTS LIVING IN FEAR OF INJECTING ANTHRAX (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By the time she died, Susan Black was injecting heroin into her
temples. Her veins were broken and useless, she had given up eating
and her legs were covered in abscesses. But it was the egg-sized sore
on her stomach that killed her. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Susan - not her real name - is one of 11 Glaswegian drug addicts whose deaths in the past 10 days have baffled scientists and led to the theory that anthrax may have found its way into the drug supply. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (25) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Arianna Huffington has emerged as one of the two or three most savvy columnists on drug policy; this column demonstrates why. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(25) COLOMBIA DRUG WAR DESTINED TO FAIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Colombia drug war package that sailed through the House earlier this year is mercifully hitting some speed bumps in the Senate. Last Tuesday, during the Appropriations Committee debate on the $1.6 billion package, Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) offered an amendment eliminating all but $100 million of the proposed aid, and instead of being laughed out of the committee room, the motion received 11 votes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The surprisingly close 15-11 vote makes it clear that there is growing queasiness on both sides of the aisle about helping fund Plan Colombia. Yet its proponents continue to spew their empty rhetoric. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DPF XIII Conference Photos Online | ||||||||||||||||||||||
You can get some glimpses of the DPF conference at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Thanks to Doug McVay for taking the photos and making them available on
the web. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Kevin Zeese | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Overwhelming Force" Article on Barry McCaffrey Online | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The fascinating indictment of General Barry McCaffrey by Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh, while not specifically drug policy related, provides some great insight into McCaffrey's background, methods and personality. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Kevin Zeese | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hep "C" Training Course Web page for Health Professionals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On May 15, 2000, CDC posted on its World-Wide Web site an
interactive web-based training program titled "Hepatitis C:
What Clinicians and Other Health Professionals Need to Know."
The program is at http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Judit Honti | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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More DARE scare.... | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"A huge DARE bureaucracy has grown and is now feeding off itself as
long as monies keep pouring in" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Sharpe | ||||||||||||||||||||||
This month we recognize Robert Sharpe for contributing in excess of $40,000 to the cause. Yes, more than $40,000 in about half year! How? Simply by sending many Letters to the Editor to various newspapers, of which 40 were published so far - 10 this month alone! Although readership of published letters is much higher than ads, we use the cost for the same amount of ad space as a measure of the value. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert's success includes the following newspapers: Amarillo Globe-News,
Arlington Morning News, Athens Daily News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Austin Chronicle, Calgary Sun, Chicago Tribune, Daily Southtown, Daily
Telegraph, Edmonton Sun, Houston Chronicle, International Herald-Tribune,
Kansas City Star, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Massachusetts News, Munster
Times, New York Times, Oregonian, The Press, Richmond Times-Dispatch,
Saint Paul Pioneer Press, San Antonio Express-News, St. Augustine Record,
Standard-Examiner, Sydney Morning Herald, Tampa Tribune, Texas Observer,
The Times, Topeka Capital-Journal, USA Today, Wall Street Journal,
Washington Post, and the Washington Times. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
You may read Robert's published letters at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
We asked Robert a few questions: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: When and why did you become involved in the drug policy area? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Upon attending college in conservative Virginia during the heyday of "Just Say No" it became apparent to me that the drug war was counterproductive. I could easily purchase a host of illegal drugs, yet buying beer was a real hassle. Beer itself had a forbidden fruit appeal to it among my fellow students that lent itself to abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I realized that the tolerance of Spain - young Spaniards are given wine with dinner from an early age - helped cultivate a sense of personal responsibility that many Americans lack. I knew I wanted to be involved in drug policy reform, but apart from the occasional July 4th rally in front of the White House, my contributions to the reform movement were negligible. I naively assumed that marijuana would be legalized and the insane drug war would fall apart once the baby boomers came into power. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A decade later while doing drug policy research in graduate school it
became apparent to me that the drug war has little to do with protecting
the children. Learning about the racist origins of marijuana prohibition
made it clear to me that the drug war has more in common with the Spanish
Inquisition than public health. There are so many good reasons to involve
oneself in drug policy reform! The more I learn about it, the more
committed I am to doing my part. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: How did you get into writing Letters to the Editor? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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I believe that most politicians are followers, not leaders. Their foremost
priority is reelection and therefore campaign financing, but they are also
slaves to opinion polls. When I found MAP in the course of research I
thought to myself: this is brilliant. Why write to a politician beholden
to the prison-industrial complex when you can raise awareness among the
general public and influence polls? At the time I was wasting a few hours
a week debating the odd prohibitionist troll on Internet drug policy
bulletin boards during research breaks. Once I realized MAP's tremendous
potential I decided to seek out a broader audience. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: What do you consider the most significant story/issue of the past
months? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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DS: What are your favorite websites, besides the MAP/DrugSense sites? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I don't spend much time surfing the net. I visit the website of the
Spanish newspaper El Pais once a day for international news, but otherwise
I spend all my Internet time at MAP. When I need a good quote and a
reference I visit Common Sense for Drug Policy's Drug War Facts page.
http://www.csdp.org/factbook/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers of the
weekly? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
DS: Thank you, Robert, for all that you are doing! Robert's has been
added to the list of honored volunteers at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
which includes a link to a photo of Robert receiving a small token of
our appreciation at http://drugsense.org/volpics.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate systematical job of reducing us to slaves." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
-- Thomas Jefferson | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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