| December 8, 2000 #177 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
NOTE: The article below reflects the views of Mr. Aaron Kipnis and
does not necessarily reflect the views of DrugSense, MAP or its board
of directors or membership. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Why Over 200,000 African-Americans Could Not Vote in Florida
By Aaron Kipnis | ||||||||||||||||||||
While charges fly over the handful of votes that will declare our next
president, there is scant commentary about the 647,100 U.S. citizens
who were denied the right to vote in Florida in the last and still
contested election. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our fierce belief in the unalienable right of citizens to select their
own leaders is one of the great hallmarks of American Democracy. And,
like many noble visions, it has taken a lot of sacrifice and courage to
bring that vision forth. Since the American Revolution our small tent
of democracy has steadily grown. Granted at first solely to the white
male Founders, the vote has since been extended to former slaves,
Native Americans, women, the less literate, the landless, the poor, and
others initially denied citizen enfranchisement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Florida today, however, over 5 percent of the adult population are
not allowed to vote. This largely covert repeal of suffrage rights
includes roughly one-in-three African-American men. Florida undercuts
their constituency more severely than any other state. Following
Governor Jeb Bush 's Florida, Governor George Bush's Texas has the
nation's second largest group of disenfranchised voters. Between these
two states alone, over 1.2 million citizens, including more than a 1/3
of a million African Americans, are banned from the voting booth
because of felony convictions on their records, most for small quantity
drug crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Disenfranchisement practices, like sentencing guidelines, vary widely from state to state. Some citizens regain their right to vote in time, but in Florida many lose that unique herald of democracy for life. In many states even felons only sentenced to probation or those honorably discharged from parole can be stripped of their civil rights. The American Revolution was fought over similar injustices perpetrated against the "unrepresented" colonial subjects of King George. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nationwide, almost 4 million adults today, a third of them
African-Americans, are subjected to this statutory gerrymandering. Many
elections are decided by smaller margins. Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall noted that disenfranchisement laws originated, "in
the fogs and fictions of feudal jurisprudence." But most of us imagine
that 21st century American Justice could evolve beyond the European
norms of the Middle Ages. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H.
Rehnquist observes that, historically, these laws were deliberately
"enacted with the intent of disenfranchising blacks." Given that most
African-Americans voted Democratic in the last election, the face of
American politics would dramatically shift were these barriers to voter
participation finally torn down. | ||||||||||||||||||||
We are the only industrial democracy to disenfranchise massive voting
blocks from the electorate. Rather than leading the free world today,
we now trail it by a shocking distance on this account. The few nations
that do practice voter disenfranchisement do so only toward those few
who, through acts of terrorism, treason or other such crimes,
demonstrate contempt for the democratic process itself. South Africa,
for example, another nation with a troubled history of black and white
race relations, does not deny the vote to felons or even to
incarcerated prisoners. By comparison, it seems grotesque to sentence
an American youth caught with fifteen dollars worth of drugs to
lifelong exile from a participatory government. The practice of
disenfranchisement does not encourage the marginalized to ever embrace
the system or attempt to work within it. If anything, it breeds
contempt for the law and cynicism about our capacity for justice and a
truly representative democracy. Let us resolve to do something before
the next election to restore our nation to one in which the people, all
the people, decide who will rule and how. (Statistical sources for
this article include: The Human Rights Watch; The Sentencing Project
and The ACLU). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Aaron Kipnis is a psychology professor in Santa Barbara and author
of, "Angry Young Men: How Parents, Teachers, and Counselors Can Help
'Bad Boys' Become Good Men." For more information please visit
http://www.malepsych.com/ Phone: 805-963-8285 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (1-3) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Downey Jr's latest arrest-right on the heels of passage of
Proposition 36 in California- underscored, for most commentators, the
damage done by our present approach to addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Comments by Maia Szalovitz, Michelle Malkin, and Richard Cohen were
typical of the majority. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(1) DOWNER- BUT IS ROBERT DOWNEY JR CHANGING THE WAY THE MEDIA LOOKS AT (Top)DRUG ADDICTION? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Like Darryl Strawberry before him, actor Robert Downey, Jr. is testing the limits of America's tolerance for relapse to addiction. But this time- and in the aftermath of the success of a ballot initiative to give addicts several chances at treatment before jail sentences can be invoked in California-tolerance may be beginning to trump moralizing, and may well signal a readiness for a real debate on drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) DOWNEY AND THE DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Actor Robert Downey Jr. is California's glassy-eyed poster boy for the
failed war on drugs. After numerous arrests dating back to 1996 and several
fruitless attempts by the courts to rehabilitate him, Mr. Downey served a
year in state prison.... | ||||||||||||||||||||
... Law enforcement officials may think it's good social policy to | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) DOWNEY CASE SHOWS PROBLEM WITH DRUG LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
I hope that when Hollywood gets around to making The Robert Downey Story, Mr. Downey gets to play himself. He is one of the few screen actors around who has the talent, not to mention the experience, to convince the American people that a drug addict is a sick person and not a criminal. But in the movie, as in life itself, Mr. Downey will be a jailbird. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (4-6) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court's decision barring routine highway drug checks (case background from the Munster, IN Times), was praised by most editorial writers as a long overdue restriction of police powers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
An intelligent nuance is contained in the conclusion of the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram's editorial; one suggesting we shouldn't always
trust this court on drug issues. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) CHECKPOINTS FOR DRUGS UNCONSTITUTIONAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Roadblocks For Drug Searches | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a significant ruling on the use of police power,
the Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down random roadblocks intended for
drug searches, saying they are an unreasonable invasion of privacy
under the Constitution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Similarly, the majority rejected the idea that the checkpoints could
also help catch drunks and drivers without valid licenses or
registrations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Under that justification, O'Connor wrote, "authorities would be able to
establish checkpoints for virtually any purpose so long as they also
included a license or sobriety check." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) TRIMMING THE DRAGNET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our View: The rights that protect criminal suspects are, in fact, the
same rights that protect all Americans. | ||||||||||||||||||||
What's worse, illegal drugs being transported on our highways, or being
stopped at a police roadblock so a trained dog can sniff your car for
drugs? | ||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on that question this week, ruling 6-3 that those random drug roadblocks were unconstitutional. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Civil libertarians hailed the case as a victory for the rights of
individuals, and we agree with them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) DRUG SEARCHES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court affirms Fourth Amendment protections, but how far is
it willing to go? | ||||||||||||||||||||
In welcome news, the Supreme Court ruled recently that it is unconstitutional to indiscriminately stop motorists to conduct a drug search with no specific suspicion of criminal wrongdoing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Though a welcome decision, the ruling did little to clarify an
admittedly murky area of jurisprudence. Supreme Court precedent
concerning Fourth Amendment rights is an amalgam of exceptions,
exemptions and gray areas. O'Connor's decision enumerated the special
consideration that the court has given in border areas, airports,
schools and the vicinity of federal buildings. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In addition are the distinct standards that apply to searches of one's
home, personal property and body. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Clarity is needed but unlikely. The court increasingly approaches
Fourth Amendment cases with no defining principle and little guide
except its tortured precedent. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (7-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two OP-Eds in which reformers explained the significance of victorious
drug policy initiatives were published. | ||||||||||||||||||||
An important point by Ethan Nadelmann - that Prop 36 will be
implemented by hostile bureaucrats - was also raised in an item
considered under Prisons. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) VOTERS READY TO REASSESS DRUG 'WAR' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Controversy surrounding the presidential election continues to dominate
national and local media to the detriment of other decisive and
important expressions of voter will. All but ignored has been a
national voter movement for a more rational, just, and cost-effective
drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
While the verdict may still be out, in this election voters in five
states indicated the government cannot subvert due process protections
in the name of the drug war; properly administered, marijuana is a
valuable treatment for certain chronic illness; and the criminal
justice system should focus on sending nonviolent offenders into
treatment, not prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) VOTERS DISSENT FROM THE WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Election Day 2000 was a big day for drug policy reform. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In California, voters overwhelmingly endorsed Proposition 36, the
"treatment instead of incarceration" ballot initiative that should
result in tens of thousands of nonviolent drug-possession offenders
being diverted from jail and prison into programs that may help them
get their lives together. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Powerful vested interests in the criminal justice business, accustomed
to getting their way, did not look kindly on the challenges the
proposition posed to the status quo. If California's new law is
implemented in good faith, with minimal corruption of its intentions,
the benefits could be extraordinary... | ||||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 36 also provides a model -- both for initiatives in other
states where public opinion favors reform but the legislature and/or
the governor are unable or unwilling to comply, and in states such as
New York, where no ballot initiative process exists to repeal Draconian
and archaic laws. The initiative victories demonstrated once again that
the public is ahead of the politicians when it comes to embracing
pragmatic drug policy reforms. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
ONDCP's press release on McCzar's final report suggests it will be a brazen effort to put the best possible face on the thriving club drug and meth markets which developed after he took the helm. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Regional" problem indeed! Maybe he thinks the electorate that chose
Dubya will believe anything. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) DRUG WAR FOUGHT IN REGIONAL BATTLES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON--With cocaine use waning, authorities waged the war on drugs
this year with strategies tailored to the regional battlegrounds:
marijuana in the Appalachian states, methamphetamine in the Rocky
Mountains, cocaine in South Florida. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There is no longer any one drug that consumes America as cocaine did
in the 1980s," said Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, director of the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
New Jersey is where profiling first attracted the NYT attention that
eventually made it a national issue; a recent record review proved the
first official response had been to deny and cover up. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Bergen Record reported how drug war zeal started the process in
New Jersey (and elsewhere), while Cynthia Cotts added extensive
background involving other media cover-ups and obfuscations of the
issue; plus the solid, but unacknowledged contributions of spurned
reporter Gary Webb. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A local editorial itemized her sins and pulled no punches in taking
Governor Whitman to task. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) RELEASED PAPERS SHINE FLOODLIGHT ON PROFILING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It looked like the perfect profile stop. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A silver Dodge minivan with New York plates traveling south on the New
Jersey Turnpike after 11 p.m. Inside are a young black driver and three
minority passengers. The van appears to be speeding. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last week, Attorney General John Farmer released 91,000 pages of internal documents that detail how race became a weapon of choice in the state's war on drugs. The papers show that racial profiling was not only a favored weapon, but a secret one, its official existence disavowed for a decade by the state's top law enforcers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) THE 'TIMES' SAYS THE DEA STARTED IT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
New Jersey Cops To Racism | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the last few weeks, the insane election coverage has buried a more
profound story: Racial profiling exists! For years, stories of black
and Latino drivers being searched on the basis of skin color alone were
dismissed as anecdotal. But according to 91,000 pages of documents
released by New Jersey officials last week, racial profiling has been
standard operating procedure in that state for the last decade, and 80
percent of the state's highway searches have involved black and Latino
drivers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The unconstitutional drug war is a national scandal, and the Times is
right to blame the DEA for it. But it's not news. Esquire first broke
the story in April 1999, when it published "Driving While Black," a
7400-word feature asserting that racial profiling is a case of "your
tax dollars at work." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Esquire story was written by Gary Webb, who is best known for his
1996 San Jose Mercury News series accusing the CIA of using the cocaine
trade to buy guns for the Nicaraguan contras. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) WHITMAN SHUNS HER PROFILING TASK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Good Of The State Demands An Apology | ||||||||||||||||||||
The time has come for Christie Whitman to acknowledge her culpability
in the issue of racial profiling. To this point, the governor's
behavior has been disheartening: She seeks credit for putting an end to
the practice but refuses to accept responsibility for allowing it to
flourish for six years of her term. This tactic is demeaning to the
state's minority citizens and to the state police. It also reeks of
insincerity. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
There was more national notice of the Tulia obscenity when ABC aired
a special report. The defensive attitude of locals dramatically
underscores how racial bias feeds on the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) 20/20 DOWNTOWN TRANSCRIPT: TOWN ON TRIAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Big Drug Bust Leads To Countercharges Of Racism | ||||||||||||||||||||
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JAMI FLOYD reporting: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tulia, Texas is the kind of town where the dust rises under your feet
with every step, and they roll up the sidewalks just after dark. It's a
place that's quiet, and empty, and the folks who live here, black and
white, all know one another, most of them by name. It's not the sort of
place you'd expect to find a big drug problem, let alone a major drug
ring. ... | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
FLOYD (VO): One hundred thirty-two jurors in the Tulia cases voted to convict based largely on Coleman's testimony, and the powdered cocaine he produced in court. Cocaine, he said, came from the defendants. We spoke with five of the jurors from two of the Tulia trials. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(OC) You don't think any of these 46 or so people are innocent? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. DARYL TRUCKER (Juror): Nope. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ms. SUE RIDDICK (Juror): It would be real nice if they were. It would
be real easy to get on the other side of it. No. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ms. VENTURA RAMOS (Juror): These are the people we have to get rid of,
then let it be. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Passage of Proposition 36 was one thing; implementation another. An article in the LAT suggests that different perceptions will be colliding over the next several months as details are hammered out. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Even the headline writer assumes every arrestee is an "addict." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) PROP 36'S DIVERSION OF ADDICTS TO POSE HUGE CHALLENGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Probation officer Randall Gallegos has a sixth sense about the
drug-addled ex-offenders he supervises, and all kinds of alarms were
going off recently when a young woman and her two children sat down in
front of him. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The county's courts will be flooded with an estimated 20,000 new drug
offenders each year who will be diverted into treatment programs--and
those programs are expected to mushroom. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Albert M. Senella, chief operating officer of Tarzana Treatment Centers Inc. and president of the California Assn. of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives, fears that pressure from police, prosecutors and judges will divert Proposition 36 funds from treatment to law enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He is also concerned that judges, rather than rehab experts, will
decide on the kind of treatment addicts will receive. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Everybody wants a slice of the pie," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The decision of the Supremes to hear the federal case against the OCBC
touched off a wave of speculation and comment. For the conservative
San Diego Union-Tribune the decision is a foregone conclusion, while
Chris Weikopf of the decidedly more liberal Los Angeles News pointed
out some delicious political incongruities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) SMOKE SCREEN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
High Court Considers Medicinal Marijuana | ||||||||||||||||||||
Advocates of marijuana legalization were chastened back in September
when the U.S. Supreme Court barred a cannabis "buyers club" in Oakland
from distributing marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
If exceptions are to be made to the federal Controlled Substances Act,
if the possession and use of marijuana is to be legalized for
ostensible medicinal purposes, then it is up to Congress to amend the
law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 215 and the other similar state laws represent an attempt by marijuana legalization advocates to do an end run around Congress, to subvert federal drug law. It is almost certain that the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down these state laws as unconstitutional. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) COURT, BUSH BEST HOPES FOR MEDICAL POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
With some notable exceptions, the drug-legalization crowd tends to be dominated by those for whom easy access to narcotics is less a philosophical imperative than a personal preference. They want to end the war on drugs only because they'd rather smoke the peace pipe. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gore might like to wax on about how "a vote is not just a piece of
paper, a vote is a human voice," but ever since Proposition 215 made
the ballot, the administration has done all it can to silence the clear
voice of California voters. ... | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a relevant case being tried in California, the defendant took the
stand- both to deny sales and affirm the real benefits that cannabis
has conferred on him. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) STEVE KUBBY TAKES STAND IN MARIJUANA TRIAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
He disputes prosecutor's contention that he was a big dealer | ||||||||||||||||||||
Steve Kubby told jurors Thursday that it was donations for his work as a medicinal marijuana advocate, not from pot sales, that produced a steady flow of money from Oakland and San Francisco cannabis buyers clubs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Kubby said marijuana not only curbed his cancer, it saved his life when
he broke his neck in 1991. That incident helped convince Kubby to
became a pot advocate. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It was my belief that cannabis prevented my paralysis and my death,
and could benefit people that way too," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, Susan McCarthy's dissection a yet another NIDA experiment designed to prove that cannabis is indistinguishable from heroin is too good to be ignored. Read every word; you'll enjoy it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) WEB: REEFER MONKEY MADNESS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Researchers Persuade Simians To Get Themselves Stoned -- And Say It
Helps Prove That Dope Is Addictive. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nov. 29, 2000 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse has four bakehead monkeys, and the researchers who enabled them are just as thrilled as they can be. The fact that, after long toil, they have succeeded in the unprecedented feat of inducing these monkeys to introduce THC into the temples of their bodies proves that marijuana is like "other abusable, addicting substances," according to NIDA director Dr. Alan I. Leshner. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Interestingly, the researchers were forced to reverse the usual course
and portray cocaine as a gateway drug to marijuana. The journal article
doesn't reveal why the researchers started with cocaine-using monkeys
-- maybe that's all they had around the lab. Ingenious! Next thing you
know, heroin will lead to coffee. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Most critics consider Plan Colombia too much spent in a lost cause,
but an article in the Armed Forces Journal insists it's necessary only
because we didn't spend more earlier. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Tampa Tribune provided some ominous details on use of American
mercenaries in Colombia; a tactic that achieved quick results in
Croatia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
As if that were not enough, an ominous NYT article disclosed that Plan
Colombia may be the just first installment for "Plan South America-"
all ultimately in the name of our domestic drug war. The quagmire
deepens. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) DRUGS, DEFENSE, CONGRESS AND THE COLOMBIA CRISIS 2000 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some People See Further Into The Future Than Others. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Deep cuts in international counter-drug spending during the early 1990s, coupled with diminished interest in South and Central America by the Clinton Administration and a remarkable underestimation of the link between drug traffickers and South American terrorist movements, have now come home to roost. These factors have given rise to the most virulent strain of drug-funded guerrilla activity and the greatest potential for regional instability in more than two decades. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) MILITARY AID - FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
When the Pentagon decided to send Colombia military help for the war on
drugs, it chose to outsource it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
As U.S. assistance to war-fatigued Colombia escalates, the Clinton
administration portrays American military involvement there as nothing
more than basic anti-drug fighting aid. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
But the Clinton administration quietly has hired a high-level group of
former U.S. military personnel whose job far exceeds the narrow focus
of the drug war and is intended to turn the Colombian military into a
first-class war machine capable of winning a decades-old leftist
insurgency. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) U.S. WEIGHS EXPANDING AID PLAN TO COLOMBIA'S NEIGHBORS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 - Even as its $1.3 billion anti-drug program for
Colombia is off to a sputtering start, the United States is making
plans to expand its aid and cooperation to combat a "spillover effect"
of drug trafficking and guerrilla activities in neighboring Latin
American nations, Clinton administration officials say. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Before Vicente Fox's Inauguration celebration even started, an annoyed
Tampa Tribune editorial warned him against rocking the US drug policy
boat. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) A SHARED US-MEXICAN DRUG PROBLEM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In July, Mexican voters elected moderate conservative Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN) as president, ending seven decades of rule by one political party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fox, who will be inaugurated today, offers much promise with his pledge
to build on the North American Free Trade Agreement and encourage
private enterprise. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
But Fox's finger-pointing at the United States is a time-worn tactic
used by national leaders all over the world: Blame foreigners for
recurring internal problems, and thus divert public anger that might
otherwise be directed toward domestic leaders. What both Fox and
officials on this side of the river need to do is acknowledge that each
has a drug problem to deal with. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Dan Forbes Receives Journalism Award | ||||||||||||||||||||
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, Dec. 1, 2000, 3 p.m. -- The winners of the inaugural
Online Journalism Awards (OJAs) were announced today by the Online News
Association (ONA) and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
http://www.journalists.org). Among the Recipients Dan Forbes was recognized.
See also | ||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Richard Lake, http://www.mapinc.org/rlake/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The new HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report - US HIV and AIDS Cases Reported Through June 2000 Midyear Edition Vol. 12, No. 1, has been released by the CDC-NCHSTP-Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention. It can be obtained from
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For those who are interested, a report on racial profiling by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, "Evaluating North Carolina State Highway Patrol Data: Citations, Warnings, and Searches in 1998" by the North Carolina Center for Crime and Justice Research (NCCCJR) at North Carolina State University and the Center for Criminal Justice Research & International Initiatives (CCJRII) at North Carolina Central University for the state of North Carolina is now available at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Copies of the opinion in this case (City of Indianapolis et al v. Edmond et al.) and the dissents from Justices Rehnquist and Thomas are also available from the Legal Information Institute at Cornell. The URL is: http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-1030.ZS.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Doug McVay, http://www.drugwarfacts.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
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DRUGSENSE VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
John Chase | ||||||||||||||||||||
This month we recognize John Chase. | ||||||||||||||||||||
John is hard working member of the November Coalition. As with many activists, he never feels that working with just one organization is enough. He contributes to the Media Awareness Project with many letters to the editors, NewsHawking and editing. We asked them a few questions: | ||||||||||||||||||||
1. When and why did you become involved in the drug policy area? | ||||||||||||||||||||
In December 1997 I finally decided to come off the sidelines because
the drug war looked like it wasn't going anywhere, and I had some free
time. I am a Republican with a civil libertarian bent. | ||||||||||||||||||||
2. How did you get into writing Letters to the Editor? | ||||||||||||||||||||
I've always written letters to papers, but never about illegal drugs,
and never with such intensity as in the past three years. In December
1997 I'd just begun to look around the Internet and found Ethan
Nadelmann's article "A Commonsense Drug Policy" in the Jan/Feb issue
of Foreign Affairs. That was all I needed to write my first letter.
I was so green about email I sent it to the St Petersburg Times in
Russia. Someone there knew enough English to tell me what I'd done.
I finally got it to the St.Pete Times in Florida and they published it.
In this rather slow learning process I connected with MAP in July 1998
and have continued to learn. Some of us write better than others. My
batting average is about 10%, I think. I never measured it. This is a
labor of love. | ||||||||||||||||||||
3. What do you consider the most significant story/issue of the past
months? | ||||||||||||||||||||
The realization of the racial bias in the enforcement of anti-drug
laws, simply Jim crow laws gone national, a form of population control,
a story reinforced of course by the youthful indiscretions of the two
leading candidates for president. | ||||||||||||||||||||
4. What are your favorite websites, besides the MAP/DrugSense sites? | ||||||||||||||||||||
These are my favorites not in the American drug reform mainstream.
http://www.intellicast.com/ Weather | ||||||||||||||||||||
5. Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers of the
weekly? | ||||||||||||||||||||
When the drug czar complains about MAP, as he has done at least twice,
MAP is doing something right. For me MAP has been a wonderful real-time
complement to more traditional libraries. When students email The November
Coalition looking for direction in doing research, I always recommend MAP
as THE resource to find reliable, current news about the drug war, pro and
con. Very important to have both pro and con and to keep the archive as
reliable as possible. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We all have Hitler in us, but we also have love and peace. So why not give peace a chance for once?" - John Lennon (1940-December 8, 1980) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can
do for you. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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writing activists. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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