| January 5, 2001 #181 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MAP's DrugNews Archive Tops 50,000 Fully Searchable News Clippings A New Years Thank you to All NewsHawks. Editors, Letter Writers, and DrugSense/MAP Supporters / By Richard Lake Senior Editor | ||||||||||||||||||||
Four years ago, a small group of activists who knew each other only through the Internet, became concerned that the nation's press-- for whatever reason-- was doing an inadequate job of reporting on the drug war and was allowing our misguided policy of drug prohibition to thrive without effective opposition. Convinced that letters to newspapers were an effective way to demand better coverage, MAP was founded to both educate interested parties and assist them to write such letters. An archive of pooled news articles was started as part of that effort; little realizing that it would grow to its present size and become an invaluable tool for journalists and scholars of public policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
MAP's material is submitted and formatted by unpaid volunteers. The
thoroughly searchable archive is managed by a world class web master.
Over the years, at one time or other, more than 850 people have become
"NewsHawks" by submitting articles and opinion pieces from all over the
world. The MAP idea has been cloned in Dutch. Other foreign language
archives are in the planning stage. As this is written the
fifty-thousandth item is about to be submitted to the archive and
formatted for inclusion. It thus seems like an appropriate time to take
a moment to acknowledge the efforts of all our volunteers who have
contributed to making the MAP Archive the powerful force for drug
policy reform that it is today. | ||||||||||||||||||||
As many of you know, our NewsHawks can create their own NewsHawk line
for our articles. Many do, providing links to their favorite sites.We
thank you, too, NewsHawks, for providing the links as well as for
NewsHawking! Below is a URL to those links, leaving out only those
which are MAP/DrugSense pages. A fair number of those pages are in
support of other groups, and you can find those linked from our site
map at http://www.drugsense.org/sitemap.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||
First, a huge thank you to all of our NewsHawks over the years: | ||||||||||||||||||||
(NOTE: What we hope is a complete list of our entire cadre of dedicated
NewsHawks has been painstakingly assembled at | ||||||||||||||||||||
While anybody can NewsHawk an item, not every item that comes to us is appropriate, as indicated on the how to NewsHawk page (see Hot Off the "Net below). Some articles need to have their format improved. Some are duplicates. Thus a hard working team of editors has, over the years, maintained and improved our quality control. Thank you, editors, for all that you do! Here is the list of editors, some not currently active, who have been a part of the editing posting team: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Allan Wilkinson, Andrew, Beth Wehrman, Derek Rea, Doc-Hawk, Don Beck,
Eric Ernst, Frank S. World, GD, Greg, Jay Bergstrom, Jo-D, Joel W.
Johnson, John Chase, Josh Sutcliffe, Keith Brilhart, Ken Russell, Kiril
Dubrovsky, Kirk Bauer, Larry Stevens, manemez j lovitto, Matt Elrod,
Melodi Cornett, Mike Gogulski, Olafur Brentmar, Pat Dolan, Patrick
Henry, Rich O'Grady, Richard Lake, Rolf Ernst, Terry F, Terry
Liittschwager, Thunder | ||||||||||||||||||||
We all, NewsHawks and editors, do it for you, dear readers. And to
provide a database of items which authors, reporters and researchers
use every day. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But we do it all the way we do, including the contact information for
the source publications, so that folks can easily respond by writing
Letters to the Editor. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And you do, by the thousands. We hear that many of you average a half
dozen or more letters sent for one published. But you still keep at it,
because it is how you play a role in "Moving the Discourse on Drugs
from Hysteria to Sanity and Humanity." Today about 2,500 authors are
represented in the Published Letters Archive of over 5,000 letters at
http://www.mapinc.org/lte/. If you use the dropdown next to the
'Display' button, you can see a list of all the authors, in three
parts. A huge thank you to all of you who write Letters to the Editor,
published or not! | ||||||||||||||||||||
Oh, and we suspect that the NewsHawks do not find every published
letter, so the archive is far from complete. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And a big thank you also to all the listmasters who manage our almost a
hundred email lists, a fair number listed at | ||||||||||||||||||||
Plus special thanks to MAP's executive director and board of directors
who guide us so carefully -- listed at | ||||||||||||||||||||
And finally, thank you to all who donate. Without your donations we
could not support our huge server, with well over sixty thousand
webpages, and over a dozen major websites. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Everyone, please, give yourselves a good pat on the back! You rock! | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (1-2) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Given that a number of important policy issues; Colombia and medical use to name but two, will be in the news in coming months, the ultimate message derived from "Traffic," looms as important. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although most reviewers see it as the futility of a "war" on drugs,
that assessment isn't universal. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(1) ENTHRALLING 'TRAFFIC' SHINES HIGH BEAMS ON A CHAOTIC DRUG WORLD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In "Traffic," Steven Soderbergh's tough, enthralling thriller about the
drug trade, Michael Douglas, as the newly designated U.S. antidrug czar
Robert Wakefield, flies off to southern California on a small
government jet for a tour of the San Ysidro-Tijuana border near San
Diego. During the flight, he tells his advisors, none of whom has
expertise in treatment or rehabilitation: "The dam is open for new
ideas." Not a drop spills over; Wakefield's earnest appeal is met with
stony silence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
New ideas are hard to come by in the endlessly touted war against drugs, and "Traffic" doesn't traffic in facile solutions. (Or in hope; the tacit assumption is that vast quantities of narcotics will keep flowing into the U.S. because the appetite for them will continue unabated.) But no movie has ever evoked, with such intelligence and dramatic power, the doomed campaigns and moral chaos, the base motives and high ideals of the troops in their far-flung battles. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) DOUGLAS HAPPY ABOUT 'TRAFFIC' DEBATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Douglas says he's glad law enforcement
officials have praised his new film "Traffic," even though it questions
the effectiveness of the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Everyone who sees the movie comes out of it with a different
reaction," Douglas said. "We screened it for the DEA and U.S. Customs,
and they're happy with it, believing it shows how tough their job is.
Other people see it and think the message is that the war on drugs is
futile. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"That's why I like it. The movie has the courage to raise issues." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (3-5) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Varying interpretations of California's Proposition 36 have led to unresolved ambiguity: does the public want every arrested user treated as an addict? Or do they just want the cops to stop arresting users? | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Downey case has become an important symbol; one item despite the
headline emphasized the need for "consequences," while a CSM column
took a far more general view. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Saint Louis, a retired police officer decried the drug war
metaphor, but scoffed at any idea of "surrender." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) CALIFORNIA'S DRUG ADDICTS NOW FINDING KINDER, GENTLER PUNISHMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES -- When actor Robert Downey Jr. was arrested last month in
a Palm Springs spa, news reports cataloged the woes of the troubled
actor, allegedly found once again with illegal drugs after a year in
state prison and numerous bouts of drug treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Still, some who work with drug offenders argue that Downey's bad timing
may, in fact, be fortunate. While treatment is the key, they say
serious consequences -- specifically, jail time -- often are the only
things that force addicts to straighten out. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) AMERICA WAVERS ON GET-TOUGH DRUG SENTENCES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES - America's war on drugs is facing a new front line - and
it's not in Colombia or Mexico. It's here at home, in the hearts and
minds of an increasing number of Americans who think the "war" has gone
horribly wrong. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Across the cultural landscape, there are signs that Americans are beginning to rethink the stiff drug-sentencing laws that have placed hundreds of thousands of nonviolent offenders behind bars. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) WE LOSE THE WAR WHEN WE SEE IT AS ONE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It has become fashionable in intellectual circles to declare that we
have lost the "War on Drugs." There seems to be growing agreement among
the Commentariat that decades of effort, entailing countless arrests
and untold billions of dollars, have done little to stem the tide of
illegal narcotics. A popular metaphor is to liken the struggle to the
Vietnam conflict -- a quagmire of futility from which there can be no
honorable exit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The FCC ruled last week on an inquiry sought by NORML; the Networks
were wrong to accept payment form ONDCP for influence over programming
without disclosure. No punishment was imposed, but the networks were
warned. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) FCC BLASTS TV OVER NON-DISCLOSURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
TV networks should have identified the White House as a sponsor of several popular prime-time programs with anti-drug messages since the government paid $25 million for the right to approve scripts, regulators say in a ruling sought by marijuana supporters. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Federal Communications Commission said ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the
WB network were obligated to make viewers of the shows aware that they
had received money from the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (7-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Easily the most controversial cabinet nominee, John Ashcroft seems certain to be opposed in the Senate; given that he's an ex-Senator, prospects of defeating him appear slim. Of significance: most opponents don't even mention his position on drug enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A column in the San Diego Union-Tribune explained the importance of
that position for those Democrats who might have missed its
significance in Florida. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) BUSH'S CHOICES DEFY TALK OF CONCILIATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cabinet Is Diverse but Not Politically | ||||||||||||||||||||
President-elect Bush is defying predictions of a bipartisan government
and instead is naming a Cabinet that is little different from one he
would have chosen if he had won a resounding victory, Bush advisers
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Commentators had predicted that Bush, having lost the popular vote by more than half a million and facing a tied Senate and a House with a bare Republican majority, would move quickly to signal that he planned to govern from the center. Thomas E. Mann, a Brookings Institution scholar specializing in American governance, said that instead, Bush has shown "no concession to the fragility of his victory." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) AN UNFIT NOMINEE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOSTON -- Senator John Ashcroft of Missouri is on the extreme right of
American politics. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee he
worked to block the confirmation process, without a hearing, of any
judicial nominee he suspected of the faintest liberal taint. He sought
to outlaw abortions even for victims of rape or incest. | ||||||||||||||||||||
His rigid ideology makes him a strange choice to be attorney general of the United States. But for anyone who reveres that office, as I do, one particular episode shows that Senator Ashcroft is unfit to hold it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) SHOULD EX-FELONS BE DISENFRANCHISED? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Should ex-felons who've completed their criminal sentences and paid
their debt to society be allowed to vote? | ||||||||||||||||||||
For some 200 years, various states have said "no" by enacting so-called
"civil death" laws, denying former criminals the right to re-enter the
democratic process. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Florida's civil death law had sensational impact this year. It kept so
many African-Americans away from the polls that the state, and thus the
presidency of the United States, were delivered to George W. Bush.
Blacks in Florida went for Al Gore by a 93 percent majority. But
400,000 black Floridians, or 31 percent of the state's black men, are
disenfranchised because of felony convictions, according to estimates
by the Washington-based Sentencing Project. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
By coincidence, two cases in which police killed innocent civilians during drug raids were updated last week; the bottom line is that nothing of consequence ever seems to happen to the cops. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) OREGONE TO HELL? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
His body was riddled with police bullets. The case against the cops
also may be riddled with holes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The year 2000 was another very good one for the already successful
civil litigation firm of Richard Mithoff and Tommy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But despite the happy faces at the firm's annual posh Yule gala, the year ended on a bit of a down note. In early December Mithoff's key witness in a high-profile case, the wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Houston and six former Houston cops involved in the killing of Pedro Oregon, pleaded guilty to aggravated perjury. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
A few days later U.S. District Judge Simeon Lake dismissed the city
from the lawsuit, thereby eliminating the only defendant capable of
paying a potential big-money judgment to the Oregon family and
Mithoff. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) SEPULVEDA CASE - ENOUGH DELAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The community will hear the results of the Modesto Police Department's
investigation into the shooting of 11-year-old Alberto Sepulveda no
later than Jan. 12. That's a firm commitment from Police Chief Roy
Wasden, who says it will be kept whether or not other law enforcement
agencies want further postponement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The report is finished and it should be made public. Further delays
risk fueling suspicion and renewing the anger and distrust shown by
some people following the Sept. 3 shooting during a dawn drug raid at
the boy's home. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (12-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
President Clinton's commutation of the harsh sentences of 2 black
women evoked no criticism; instead it provoked calls for more clemency
and an overhaul of federal laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
No one should hold their breath; particularly if Ashcroft is confirmed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) HARSH DRUG SENTENCES MUST BE RE-EXAMINED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
President Bill Clinton acted with both compassion and common sense
when he freed Kemba Smith from a federal prison last week. A grateful
Smith, a Richmond-area native who served more than five years of a 24
1/2 -year term, said after her release that she would ``urge revision
of tough, mandatory sentences that require long periods of
incarceration for nonviolent offenders.'' | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, it will be up to Clinton's successor, President-elect George W. Bush, to re-examine those Draconian sentencing guidelines. Thus, we'll all see just how ``compassionate'' the conservative Bush will | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) CLINTON SHOULD CONSIDER LETTING THE LITTLE FISH GO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's never too late to be fair. In the last few weeks of his
presidency, Bill Clinton should give serious thought to the thousands
of Americans who have lost five years or more of their lives for
trifling drug offenses. The injustice is rooted in federal drug laws
from the mid-1980s, which punish possession of crack cocaine 100 times
more harshly than possession of powdered cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) A TIME FOR CLINTON, JUDGES TO CORRECT DRUG-TERM INJUSTICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Recently, over 675 leading clergy wrote to President Clinton asking him
to commute the sentences of low-level, nonviolent drug offenders who
have served more than five years. Columnists and editorial boards
around the country are joining the call. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the remaining days of the Clinton administration, how can the president identify some of those low-level, nonviolent drug offenders most deserving of release? He can appeal to the federal judges. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Since 1995, the Clinton administration has sent over 100,000 drug
offenders to federal prisons. The federal prison population has doubled
since Clinton entered office, from 73,000 to over 146,000. There are
now tens of thousands of low-level, first-time offenders in federal
prison with no violence in their background. Many of them deserve to be
freed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Following the Kubby trial, California's attention is shifting to the
Oakland CBC case pending in the Supreme Court. An Oakland Tribune
article disclosed that several quasi-legal buyers' clubs still operate
in the Bay Area. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nevertheless, an article from a small town newspaper demonstrates that
no one is safe from arrest-- even when he grows his own with a
recommendation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
From Eureka came evidence that at least one editorial writer has-- albeit grudgingly-- grasped the real significance of medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's about time. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) ACTIVISTS MAKE HISTORY FOR CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
High Court To Hear Oaklanders' View | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative will make history this spring by arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court that medical necessity for marijuana use should provide an exception to federal drug laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, Paula Beal isn't interested in making history -- she just
wants to run her own medical marijuana clinic in a small storefront
just off East 14th Street. She intends to start taking clients early in
2001. While the spotlight follows OCBC's battle to the nation's | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
A list of medical marijuana clubs compiled recently by the California
chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
(NORML) shows plenty of Bay Area options outside Oakland -- two are
listed in Berkeley, two in Marin County, one in Stockton, four in Santa
Cruz and seven in San Francisco. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) LAW FICKLE IN USE OF MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Growers, Smokers And Officers Face Different Rules In Different
Jurisdictions | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 100 marijuana plants that once flourished under grow lamps in Mike
Lee's Crockett home now sit, boxed and browning, in a police evidence
locker. To Lee, a 52-year-old handyman, they are confiscated medicine
for chronic gastritis, a condition he claims he has suffered for years,
and one that calls for at least five joints a day. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Detectives ran across the indoor garden and arrested Lee while
investigating a fire in his building. They see the plants as
contraband, figuring it is more marijuana than one man needs,
regardless of his doctor's note. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) MEDICAL MARIJUANA MEASURE MASKS LARGER FAILURE OF VISION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
County supervisors made a cautious move this week that should provide
some help to medical marijuana users without taking the county onto
shaky legal ground. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Supreme Court eventually will rule on California's Proposition 215, and it makes no sense for the county to anticipate their decision. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
While there are valid arguments against legalizing marijuana, it might
make more sense to regulate, control and tax it like tobacco and
alcohol than to condone hypocrisy of this sort. We have been trying to
suppress marijuana for almost a century, with no result but a great
expenditure of public funds that might have been put to better use.
The experience with alcohol prohibition in the 1920s should have been
a sufficient lesson in futility. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
From Canada: an uninformed article bemoaning the classical effects of
any substance prohibition: younger initiates experimenting with an
ever more potent product. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) POT USE SKY-HIGH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
AADAC Says More Teens Addicted To Marijuana Than Alcohol For the first
time, marijuana has replaced alcohol as the most abused drug among
Calgary youths seeking help from the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Commission. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"It's not the same stuff it used to be -- it's stronger, therefore the
impact of it is much higher," she said, adding the drug can be
psychologically addictive. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thanks to Plan Colombia, the American press has partially opened a sleepy eye to the destabilization our domestic policy is producing in South America. An even larger, more populous region is jeopardized by the same forces; yet the other eye remains firmly closed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
An item from Singapore proves this phenomenon isn't confined to Central Asia. Our press may be clueless, but the Pentagon is not. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A report from Central America suggests that Colombia and its neighbors aren't the only regional nations being affected by our drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And as for Colombia; an old Cold War hand found considerable peril for the US lurking in the alliances fostered by that particular adventure. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) NARCOTIC FLOOD THREATENS TO WASH AWAY CENTRAL ASIAN STABILITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BISHKEK. Central Asia has become an international center of drug business and drug trafficking. According to the UN experts, 80% of heroin consumed by Western Europe comes from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Half of these drugs - about 120 tons of heroin equivalent a year - is delivered to Europe through the Central Asian countries. Today the ancient Great Silk Road is used as the route of drug trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
This unique combination of historical and geographical factors has
ensured a large flow of drugs through the region. From 1992 to 1996 the
transit of opium through Central Asia rose 13.5 times. Opium, heroin,
morphine, and hemp are delivered to Europe in exchange for synthetic
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) US ARMY TO TRAIN THAIS IN WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BANGKOK - With experience gained from efforts against the cocaine
trade in Colombia, US Army units will next month begin training Thai
troops trying to stem a narcotics tide coming from Myanmar.
A joint command headquarters is to be set up in the northern city of
Chiang Mai next month, the Bangkok Post quoted a senior Thai military
officer as saying. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
This group is a narcotics trafficking outfit operating inside
Myanmar, and is expected to increase methamphetamine output to 600
million pills from the 400 million this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Only 25 million pills were seized in Thailand this year, he said.
The United Wa State Army has been described as perhaps the largest
narcotics trafficking group in the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) GUATEMALA SEES ORGANIZED CRIME AS SECURITY THREAT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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GUATEMALA CITY--Powerful organizations that already control smuggling,
auto theft and arms trafficking in Central America are using those
established networks to transport illegal drugs, U.S. and regional
officials warn. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The infusion of drug money is allowing criminal enterprises to become
a force that can threaten national security, worrying military and
church officials as well as government authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) THREE SOLDIERS JOIN FORCES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
THE improbable but fast-growing friendship of three career military revolutionaries -- Fidel Castro of Cuba, Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela -- poses an urgent challenge to U.S. interests worldwide and to President-elect George W. Bush. It is a friendship with considerable power: Venezuela and Iraq are among the top 10 oil exporters in the world, and Cuba is a beneficiary of their largess and, in Venezuela's case, a mentor of revolution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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To complicate matters and his relations with the United States, Chavez
has been openly supporting leftist guerrilla movements in neighboring
Colombia. The rebels control big swaths of Colombian territory, along
with numerous coca plantations. Last month, Chavez invited two
Colombian rebel leaders, including the daughter of the chief of the
principal guerrilla movement, to address the "Latin American
Parliament" held in the national legislative chamber. Washington has
already committed $1.3 billion, mainly in military aid, to the
eradication of both guerrillas and coca plantations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This could foreshadow a big U.S. commitment in Colombia and an
eventual conflict with Chavez that may interfere with the flow of oil
north from Venezuela. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
NewsHawk Familiarization Page Updated | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jo-D Dunbar and Richard Lake have collaborated to update the NewsHawk
web page. This handy page let's people know how to assist MAP by
becoming a NewsHawk and sending articles in to our editorial
clearinghouse. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This is a nice update which both simplifies and clarifies how anyone
can be easily be involved in this important activity. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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MSNBC Special Sunday January 7 "America's new heroin Epidemics" | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday night January 7th MSNBC premiere's "...along comes the horse..."
a two hour documentary on heroin in the US. The documentary was shot in
the US and Colombia over eight months last year. It begins at 8PM-10PM
and then repeats at 10PM till midnight, ET. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There will be a web site for reaction and information. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Michael Singer, Executive Producer | ||||||||||||||||||||
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hot Articles in Too Late for This Issue | ||||||||||||||||||||
New Mexico thumbs its nose at the war on drugs / Daniel Forbes http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/01/05/johnson/index.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
Metro Accepts Marijuana Ad Banned in Boston | ||||||||||||||||||||
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2000- A Year in the Life of Marijuana Prohibition
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The law is like a spider web where the little flies get caught and the big flies fall through."-- Aristarchus, Greek Philologist | ||||||||||||||||||||
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