| March 9, 2001 #190 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
This Just In- (1) OPED: Government's Policy On Drug Use Stinks (2) NH: Panel Hears Bill To Legalize Marijuana (3) Colombia Food Crops Suffer In Air Assault On Drugs (4) Swiss Clear The Way For Cannabis Legalisation This Just In | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) OPED: GOVERNMENT'S POLICY ON DRUG USE STINKS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The deli at one end of my block in Manhattan sells Budweiser, Guinness
and 23 other brands of beer. It also offers three varieties of cigars
and 30 brands of cigarettes. Adults legally can buy these
mind-altering items. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A pharmacy fills the other corner. I recently asked its druggist how
many psychoactive substances she sells. She handed me product
information leaflets for 27 pharmaceuticals. Xanax helps people
"feeling keyed up or on edge." Wellbutrin eases "feelings of guilt or
worthlessness." Ritalin wrestles hyperactivity despite the difficulty,
she says, that kids suffer getting off of it. This pharmacy even
carries morphine, a potent opiate sedative. With a doctor's blessing,
these items could be legally yours. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) NH: PANEL HEARS BILL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CONCORD - Proponents of legislation to legalize marijuana for medicinal
purposes are seeking to convince the House Health, Human Service and
Elderly Affairs Committee that marijuana can be safely prescribed for
alleviating pain or controlling painful side effects of other currently
legal drugs such as interferon. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday the committee heard House Bill 721, which allows doctors to
prescribe marijuana for treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) COLOMBIA FOOD CROPS SUFFER IN AIR ASSAULT ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Spraying Herbicides Has Devastated The Local Economy And Caused Resentment | ||||||||||||||||||||
Luckily the village school was closed the day that crop-dusters, escorted by combat helicopters, doused the tin-roofed classrooms with herbicides. Their target was the swath of illegal coca plantations on the low hills around the village, but clouds of defoliant engulfed the school, the church, and the fields of plantain, cassava and maize. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Miriam Rodriguez, a teacher at the school, said: "The effects have been catastrophic. They sprayed the coca, but they also killed all our food crops." The schoolchildren complained of rashes, headaches and vomiting after the weedkiller fell. Nearby are half-dead fruit trees, withered maize plants and row upon row of skeletal coca plants. | ||||||||||||||||||||
George Bush met the Colombian president, Andres Pastrana, in Washington last week as the biggest offensive against drugs unleashed on Colombia rolled across the southern jungles and farmland. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) SWISS CLEAR THE WAY FOR CANNABIS LEGALISATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SWISS CLEAR THE WAY FOR CANNABIS LEGALISATION | ||||||||||||||||||||
BERNE, March 9 (Reuters) - The Swiss government on Friday endorsed a
draft law that would legalise the consumption of marijuana and hashish
and allow a limited number of "dope shops." | ||||||||||||||||||||
The bill submitted to parliament seeks to bring Swiss law into line
with the reality that one in four people aged 15-24 regularly gets
high in the Alpine state, according to a poll commissioned last month
by the Swiss government. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Decriminalising the consumption of cannabis and the acts leading up
to this takes account of social reality and unburdens police and the
courts," the government said in a statement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Confusion still reigns; | ||||||||||||||||||||
Pundit Alan Ehrenhalt declared the drug war successful on the basis of
two errors: first, assuming success equals reduced "use;" second,
"Monitoring the Future" measures use accurately. | ||||||||||||||||||||
McCzar also staunchly proclaims the drug war successful; those still
curious about his current activities should read Michael Lynch's
report in the current issue of Reason magazine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Heber Smith expressed the new conventional wisdom in the Galveston Daily News; sadly, it too, embraces an unproven idea: "prevention" and "treatment" within a prohibition setting will reduce "demand." | ||||||||||||||||||||
As for "prevention:" the Philadelphia Inquirer, although scornful of
DARE's failure, still implicitly prefers DARE with a new script to
anything so radical as "legalization." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) THE DRUG-WAR CONUNDRUM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A few minutes into the movie "Traffic," in a Washington, D.C., cocktail party scene, an amiable red-haired man offers some wisdom about the nation's drug problem: "You'll never solve this on the supply side." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
...I look at the numbers and conclude the question is at least | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
But if the failed war against supply suggests a quick verdict that the
entire anti-drug effort is a fiasco, other facts point in a different
direction. It's undeniable that there is less use of illegal substances
in this country now than before the war on drugs began. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) D.C. DOWNERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Which Our Man In Washington Listens To The Drug Czar Babble And
Learns Why We Can't Afford Tax Cuts | ||||||||||||||||||||
Spent a morning last Tuesday at the Heritage Foundation, listening to the outgoing drug czar, Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey. Heritage billed the speech as, "Is Our Balanced Approach to the War on Drugs Working?" McCaffrey, who prefers assertions to questions, made the title declarative: "Our Balanced Strategy Against Drugs Is Working." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Still, I was surprised to find just what an idiot McCaffrey is in person. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Like drug dealers, McCaffrey targets America's youth. "The whole notion
of prevention and education, aimed at getting American adolescents from
the 6th grade through 12th grade, where they are reduced exposure to
gateway drug taking behavior," he said in a moment of what passes for
clarity. "That's the heart and soul of our national drug taking
strategy." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) TIME FOR CHANGE, A CHANGE OF PLANS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
President Bush has an opportunity to set revolutionary drug policy. He
has a chance to try something that might actually work. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bush is talking with Colombian President Andres Pastrana about a $1.3
billion aid package. As part of this deal, Bush will ask Pastrana what
he is doing to curb the supply of cocaine that is coming into the
United States.Pastrana might well ask what American leaders have done
to curb the demand. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The answer is nothing effective. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
What could take the profit out of this business? A sharp decrease in
consumption. | ||||||||||||||||||||
What will it take to do that? More credible efforts to convince
individual Americans to stop a behavior that is destructive
individually and socially. More money for the treatment of addicts.
Less money wasted on locking up people whose only crime is their
addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) DARE WE HOPE? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's big. It's popular. It doesn't work. New money and research may
improve it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Science may finally replace good intentions as the driving force behind drug and alcohol education in the nation's schools. It's about time. | ||||||||||||||||||||
After years of suppressing criticism and resisting change, the
omnipresent Drug Abuse Resistance Education program - known better
simply as DARE - is rewriting its curriculum. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
For too long, DARE proceeded with little scrutiny, with false security
built upon a catch phrase. With its new partners, it vows now to search
for the right message and approach. It deserves a second chance, but
one much more closely monitored than the first. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (9-11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
There was also a potpourri of news items: | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Texas, the lonely and valiant struggle Larry Tannahill waged on
behalf of all the rest of us finally paid off, while various papers
along the East Coast fretted about new local drug menaces- apparently
little realizing or caring they are also providing free advertising
the products. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) LOCKNEY PARENT WINS DRUG-TEST BATTLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LOCKNEY - U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings ruled Thursday in favor of
a parent who sued the Lockney Independent School District claiming
its mandatory drug-testing policy was unconstitutional. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Larry Tannahill refused to allow his son to be tested when the school first began drug screening students and faculty in February 2000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
With help from the American Civil Liberties Union, Tannahill sued the
school district ... | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) POWERFUL PAINKILLER POPS UP ON THE STREETS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A South Jersey case has drawn local attention to the "immensely
popular" OxyContin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A five-year-old pill prescribed for cancer patients and others with
severe, chronic pain is appearing on the streets as a new narcotic of
choice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
When chewed, snorted or injected, OxyContin produces a rush like heroin
- and an addiction that can be just as hard to break. | ||||||||||||||||||||
... an anecdotal map compiled by the National Drug Intelligence Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) NN POLICE SAY RAVES NOW AN AREA PROBLEM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Concern Grows Over Use Of Drugs, Ecstasy | ||||||||||||||||||||
NEWPORT NEWS - The arrival of the rave scene was formally announced on
the Peninsula last weekend when police raided a Newport News club and
arrested 22 people - most for the possession and use of the drug
ecstasy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While raves and their companion drugs have been popular in this country
for most of the past decade, police say both the rave subculture and
the drug ecstasy are relatively new here. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police officials said they hoped to inform parents and send an early
message with last weekend's crackdown. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Phil Zabriskie's Rolling Stone article reports on how denial of
college loans because of previous drug offenses is fueling opposition
on college campuses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) STUDENTS VS. THE DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Now That Washington Has Turned Its Repressive Drug Policies Against
Students, A Growing Campus Network Is Fighting Back | ||||||||||||||||||||
When Shawn Heller and Brian Gralnick joined Students for Sensible Drug
Policy in 1998, as sophomores at George Washington University, SSDP was
just a handful of students from Rochester Institute of Technology. One
of them, Kris Lotlikar, was working in Washington, D.C. at the Drug
Reform Coordination Network. Heller met Lotlikar and started the second
SSDP chapter, which soon included Gralnick. Their focus was
decriminalizing marijuana for medical purposes - until Rep. Mark Souder
(R-Ind,) decided to target college students with drug convictions who
were seeking federal loans... No other group, including convicted
murders, was similarly excluded. The Drug War had just hit college
campuses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Clarence Page was low key in expressing contempt for a departing
President who openly acknowledged the injustice of federal drug laws
but reserved clemency for those who could afford it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) RECALLING FOLKS CLINTON DIDN'T PARDON (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
HERE'S a not-so-trivial trivia question for you: Under which president
did the most Americans go to prison for serious crimes: Ronald Reagan,
Bill Clinton or the first George Bush? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Here's a hint: He likes to give out lots of pardons. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
As Clinton was leaving office he said in a (Feb. 19, Outlook) op-ed
piece that the nation should "immediately reduce the disparity between
crack and powder-cocaine sentences" and re-examine its federal
sentencing policies, "particularly mandatory minimum sentences for
nonviolent offenders." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sports commentator Frank Deford of National Public Radio says Aikens
hoped to receive a commutation from Clinton. His hopes were not
answered. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (14-15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In New York, where Queens County DA Richard Brown has emerged as
leader of the opposition to any softening of Draconian Rockefeller
drug laws, his claims for the success of rehabilitation may strike
some as far fetched. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Brown, in turn, is experiencing some opposition himself. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAWS DON'T NEED CHANGING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
There's increasing pressure in Albany this year to amend the so-called
Rockefeller drug laws. Lost in the flood of headlines is the fact that
the laws already have undergone significant changes and that further
revisions, in the view of New York's most experienced prosecutors, may
be a step in the wrong direction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
In cases where drug offenders' crimes are genuinely tied to a substance abuse problem, prosecutors divert them into treatment under the successful Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison and Drug Court programs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) THE WAR ON DRUG LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Protesters Angry That Queens DA Is Fighting Reform | ||||||||||||||||||||
A small but vocal group braved some chilly weather yesterday to
lambaste Queens District Attorney Richard Brown for his efforts to
thwart reform of the state's harsh drug laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A handful of convicted drug dealers, their family members and activists
(including the 90-year-old actor Grampa Al Lewis, of "The Munsters" TV
fame), taunted Brown outside the Queens Criminal Court building for
opposing Gov. George Pataki's proposed easing of the Rockefeller drug
laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (16-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, two items from the Southwest that could be listed under the heading, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) DRUG RUNNERS' TUNNELS TEST THE AGENTS IN A BORDER TOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
NOGALES, Ariz., Feb. 28 - The authorities in this border town today
discovered a cache of illegal drugs inside yet another hand-dug tunnel
connected to a sewer line that smugglers had used to get drugs out of
Mexico and into the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||
About 350 pounds of marijuana was pulled out of a hole in the concrete floor of a commercial garage less than a mile from the Mexican border. .. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But this was the second such tunnel found here in three days - and the
seventh in the last six years... | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) DPS SEARCH RATE HIGHER FOR MINORITIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Profiling Of Drivers Denied | ||||||||||||||||||||
AUSTIN - Black and Hispanic motorists who are stopped by state troopers
are more than twice as likely to have their vehicles searched as white
drivers, the first seven months of statistics compiled by the Texas
Department of Public Safety show. | ||||||||||||||||||||
State lawmakers who want to require police departments to keep such
records said the figures show what they have suspected all along: that
minorities are being unfairly targeted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
But DPS officials said it is the actions of the drivers that lead to
searches, not the ethnicity of the vehicles' occupants. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
University of Texas economics professor and statistician Dwight Steward analyzed the tickets and warning citations at the request of The News. He looked for other factors that could explain the racial disparity, such as time of day, particular officers, type of road, type of car, out-of-state status or whether multiple infractions were noted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I looked at all of those factors and not any other factor could
explain the differences we were seeing," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A judge's decision to reduce Steve Kubby's mushroom conviction to a misdemeanor- although not nearly as crisp as an outright acquittal- was a major victory; especially when combined with the DA's decision to forego retrial of both the Kubbys and the Michael Baldwins. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Further South, the Union-Tribune reported on new developments pertaining to medical use in a tone of unreserved hostility. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The question in New Mexico: will four to one public support plus a
strong governor be able to persuade a reluctant legislature to back
medical use? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, in a pocketbook poll, recreational use has again made cannabis the leading cash crop in three contiguous states. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) JUDGE DROPS KUBBY FELONY CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bringing some semblance of closure to one of the more contentious cases
in Placer County legal history, a Superior Court judge - at the request
of the District Attorney's Office - dismissed | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"For once, I am speechless," Kubby said, after praising the efforts
Friday of defense attorney J. David Nick and expressing pleasure with
the District Attorney's Office decision to also file a motion to
dismiss similar pot-possession-for-sale charges against Rocklin dentist
Michael Baldwin and his wife, Georgia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) EDITORIAL: MARIJUANA CLAIMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
UCSD To Study Unproven Health Benefits | ||||||||||||||||||||
The unsubstantiated claims that marijuana has medicinal value are Finally
going to receive a scientific hearing - long after voters in California and
other states rashly approved the use of pot for medical purposes.
Researchers at UCSD are about to conduct studies to determine whether
marijuana can relieve pain and other symptoms associated with AIDS and
multiple sclerosis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's about time for some scientific facts on this issue. | ||||||||||||||||||||
No fewer than eight states have approved measures legalizing the use of marijuana to treat health ailments. Under federal law, however, marijuana remains a controlled substance, with a high potential for abuse. State and federal law enforcement officers have shut down several cannabis buyers clubs that are in violation of the law. California's medicinal marijuana initiative did not legalize the sale, but rather only the possession, of the drug. The U.S. Supreme Court is about to hear a case on the issue. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) POLL FINDS FOURTH-FIFTHS BACK MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN NEW MEXICO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nearly four in five New Mexicans support Gov. Gary Johnson's proposal to
legalize the medical use of marijuana, according to a poll released
Saturday by a group backing drug law changes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The poll also found generally broad support across the political spectrum for Johnson's other proposals to revamp the state's drug laws, including the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) KENTUCKY JOURNAL: FIGHTING APPALACHIA'S TOP CASH CROP, MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Winter is easing in the rolling hills and hamlet hollows,
and all the prespring indications are that marijuana will have another
bumper year and remain this state's No. 1 cash crop, just as it continues
prime in West Virginia and Tennessee. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Bigger than tobacco," noted Roy E. Sturgill, the director of the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the only one of the nation's 31 federal antidrug regions focused on marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (22-27) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Overseas illegal drug markets closely resemble their US counterparts in terms of both popular new products and ever increasing seizures. Does all this activity represent success-- or massive failure? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two weeks ago, the UN claimed their efforts had sharply reduced Afghan
opium and heroin production; however this week a US report by way of
India suggests just the opposite. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A similar contradiction was to be found in reports from Australia; Sydney reporting a glut and Melbourne unusual scarcity. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere, heroin is not the only illegal market that has been growing; ecstasy's popularity is surging and there's an Asian methamphetamine boom in parallel with the one in rural America. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nevertheless, the annual 'certification' charade went off without a
hitch last week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) US FINDINGS BELY UN REPORT ON PAK-AFGHAN DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
NEW DELHI: Till the findings of the US State Department made public on
Saturday, the world was lulled into believing that a severe drought
and publicity campaign by the well-meaning United Nations Drug Control
Programme (UNDCP), combined with a diktat by Taliban supremo Mullah
Omar, had actually led to a sharp fall in the opium production in
Afghanistan last September. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, the State Department said Afghanistan continued to be the largest opium producer accounting for 72 per cent of the world's illicit opium supply despite severe drought conditions in most parts of that country. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(23) CALM BEFORE DEADLY DRUG STORM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
THE inevitable end to Victoria's heroin drought would see users dropping
like flies, police and heroin addicts warned yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant Commissioner (Crime) George Davis said significant disruptions to supply and a sharp fall in the purity of the little heroin available was responsible for the recent drop in overdose deaths. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
He said there had been a significant reduction of heroin availability
throughout Australia in recent months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Undercover police in Melbourne found it hard to buy an ounce of heroin
last week for $5000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
``It was very hard to find, and when we had it analyzed it was only 8
per cent pure. Only three months ago heroin on the street was 60 to 70
per cent purity. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(24) LOSING A WAR: HEROIN MORE PLENTIFUL, CHEAPER, PURER THAN EVER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sydney is the illegal drug capital of Australia, where heroin is now
more freely available, almost 60 per cent pure, and cheaper than ever,
says the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(25) THE BATTLE AGAINST ECSTASY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In recent days the police raided a number of clubs throughout the
country where, according to detectives, the drug ecstasy is sold and
used. ... The damage caused, especially to young people, justifies the
special attention given to the problem by the law enforcement
authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The fight against the consumption of illegal drugs runs into
difficulties throughout the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(26) NEED FOR SPEED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Methamphetamine has become Asia's drug of choice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our writer reports on the culture of speed - and recounts his own
addiction | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
This mad medicine is the same drug that's called shabu in Japan and
Indonesia, batu in the Philippines and bingdu in China. Perhaps it's
appropriate that speed is Asia's drug of choice, with an estimated 30
million users across the region. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(27) DRUG WAR PARTNERS 'CERTIFIED' BY U.S. (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The White House delivered its annual report card to Congress on drug
producing and trafficking nations yesterday, certifying that most
nations, including Colombia and Mexico, are "fully cooperating"
partners with the United States in the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Of the 24 nations under review, only Afghanistan and Burma were
"decertified," which makes them ineligible for some development aid and
ineligible for support in multilateral lending institutions such as the
World Bank. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
What Addiction Is and Is Not | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Impact of Mistaken Notions of Addiction by Stanton Peele Fellow,
The Lindesmith Center New York City | ||||||||||||||||||||
The addiction concept varies cross-culturally and historically in
significant ways. The reification of the addiction concept by addiction
"experts" is actually an important window for understanding the nature
of addiction in our society. Both proponents of the concept who
incorrectly misidentify it as a Platonic ideal and critics who dismiss
it because of its irregular and unreliable nature and appearance miss
the boat on addiction. How we think about addiction influences how
individuals become addicted, since we learn to be addicted through the
expectations we develop about specific involvements. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Peter Webster | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Fight Against Drugs | ||||||||||||||||||||
(Wed. March 7 - Fri. March 9, 2001) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Fight Against Drugs was a two-night CPAC (Canadian Public Affairs
Channel) special about Canada's drug trade. CPAC is devoting several
hours of programming each day to the issue. | ||||||||||||||||||||
CPAC also covered the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas
meeting in Ottawa. The meeting brought together delegates from more
than 40 countries to discuss their most pressing issues, including
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Watch in streaming video at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
You can see the schedule at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Maximizing Harm | ||||||||||||||||||||
For the past year and a half, I've been telling people my book,
Maximizing Harm, will be ready in about one month. That long month has
finally passed, and now the book is available for sale from online
booksellers, including Amazon.com (here's a direct link to the book's
Amazon page: | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0595147194/maximizingharm | ||||||||||||||||||||
I have also updated the book's Web page. The updated page is located at
http://www.maximizingharm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||
The old web site will remain up for a few days, but eventually it will
be removed and replaced by a message that directs people to the new
site. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
NEW! FAX PRESIDENT BUSH | ||||||||||||||||||||
President Bush will name a new Drug Czar soon - you can help influence
his choice. Go to StopTheWar.com and fax President Bush, telling him
to appoint a Drug Czar who will enact drug policies based on public
health and science, not fear and prejudice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Send a free fax today at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
We've also added to our site links to some of our campaign coverage. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sincerely, | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ethan Nadelmann | ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Top Story: Mike Gray, Author of Drug Crazy, Notes Medical Implications of
Kubby Case. Special to MarijuanaNews.com | ||||||||||||||||||||
THE WAR ON DRUGS TAKES ANOTHER HIT | ||||||||||||||||||||
by Mike Gray | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mike Gray, Chairman of Common Sense for Drug Policy, is the author of
Drug Crazy: How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out,
http://www.drugsense.org/crazy.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the California Gold Rush town of Auburn the curtain has finally rung down on a remarkable criminal trial that has raised some disturbing questions about the government's long-running war on marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Steve Kubby, Libertarian candidate for governor in 1998, was arrested in January of 1999 for growing too many marijuana plants. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The key phrase here is "too many." Kubby is allowed to grow "some"
marijuana because California Proposition 215 - which he campaigned for
- permits medical use of the weed to qualified patients, and if anybody
is qualified it would be Steve Kubby. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Diagnosed back in the 1970s with a rare form of adrenal cancer, Kubby
was treated by Dr. Vincent DeQuattro of U.S.C., a leading authority on
the disease. DeQuattro did what he could -- surgery, chemo, radiation
-- but it was a delaying action. The cancer -- malignant
pheochromocytoma - is not fatal in itself but it causes the adrenal
glands to overwork, dramatically boosting blood pressure. You can drop
dead of a heart attack or a stroke at any moment. Nobody lives longer
than five years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. DeQuattro assumed Kubby had passed on long ago, then he opened the
1998 California voter's guide and there was his former patient running
for governor. Amazed, the doctor tracked him down and asked him what
miracle had granted him this reprieve. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Marijuana," said Kubby. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It seems he had abandoned the traditional treatment and switched to cannabis, smoking some 10 grams a day for the last 15 years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. DeQuattro's first reaction was to put Steve Kubby under a
microscope. At the U.S.C. medical center he ran Kubby through an
exhaustive two-week work-up. While the doctor is no fan of marijuana --
he had never recommended it -- the results convinced him that marijuana
was somehow keeping Kubby alive. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At issue in the Auburn trial was the 200+ plants the deputies found in Kubby's basement - far too many for personal use said prosecutor Chris Cattran. But Cattran couldn't come up with credible evidence of commercial activity, and several defense experts testified that at Kubby's rate of consumption, his indoor garden was about right. | ||||||||||||||||||||
So the prosecutors began exploring another line of attack the
assumption that Mr. Kubby had somehow undergone a spontaneous remission
and he was simply smoking reefer to get high. | ||||||||||||||||||||
To counter this charge, Kubby's lawyer called Dr. DeQuattro to the
stand. In the cramped little Auburn courtroom, DeQuattro told the jury
that Kubby's tumors are clearly visible on the x-rays but, for reasons
he can't explain, the disease is apparently stabilized. What's more,
the side-effects of smoking marijuana day and night for 15 years appear
to be zero. | ||||||||||||||||||||
DeQuattro said his team tested Kubby for cognitive function before and after smoking and found his mind, memory and motor skills unimpaired. But the discovery that really jolted them was the lungs. Here they had a subject who admittedly smoked a couple hundred joints a month for 15 years -- a perfect opportunity to measure the damage from chronic high level consumption but they couldn't find any. "His respiratory functions are the same as for someone who never smoked at all." | ||||||||||||||||||||
After deliberating for several days the jury hung 11-to-1 in favor of
acquittal. Last week prosecutor Cattran threw in the towel. There will
not be a retrial. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite marijuana's dramatic impact on Kubby, Dr. DeQuattro is not
ready to recommend it to his other patients until he finds out how it
works. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Unfortunately, that information is hard to come by. Washington has
financed plenty of marijuana research -- always looking for negative
effects. Every other line of inquiry was squelched. The first extensive
studies of marijuana's effectiveness will not get underway until later
this year -- decades late. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Now, thanks to anecdotal evidence like that unfolding up in Auburn, we
are beginning to learn that marijuana may be something more than just a
palliative. There is growing evidence here and abroad that this ubiquitous
plant may in fact be a powerful healing agent with extensive and unknown
applications. If it turns out to be a miracle drug instead of the devil
weed, then the politicians who managed to thwart this research for the
last thirty years will have some explaining to do. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Richard Cowan | ||||||||||||||||||||
DRUGSENSE VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Myron Von Hollingsworth | ||||||||||||||||||||
Myron has been very successful at having his letters published. His
persuasive ideas appear in papers from Ireland, Canada and all across
the United States. Myron uses The MAP Media Email Directory,
http://www.mapinc.org/resource/email.htm, to send each of his letters to
several papers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
You may read Myron's published letters at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
We asked a few questions of Myron. The interview can be read at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad
reputation." -- Henry Kissinger | ||||||||||||||||||||
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