| March 30, 2001 #193 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Listen On-Line at: http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) MEXICO: GOVERNOR SAYS DRUGS MUST BE LEGALIZED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The possibility of legalizing drugs like marijuana and of developing
programs to strengthen values and that each level of government plays
its respective role in the combat for public safety are the
fundamental factors for diminishing violence in the country, said
Patricio Martinez Garcia, governor of Chihuahua. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) COURT WEIGHS EXCEPTION TO MARIJUANA BAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Advocates argue today that 'medical necessity' excuses compliance with US law. | ||||||||||||||||||
There is no fundamental right under the US Constitution to consume illegal
narcotics. | ||||||||||||||||||
When the nation's Founders wrote of "the blessings of liberty," they
were not alluding to guaranteed consumption of recreational drugs
deemed by federal regulators and national lawmakers to be devoid of
healthful benefits. | ||||||||||||||||||
But what about people under the care of a physician who believes that
smoking marijuana may help alleviate their suffering? Do those
patients have a basic right to pursue the type of treatment they deem
most appropriate, without interference or second-guessing from the
federal government? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) COLUMN: BAD LAW AND BAD MEDICINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BOSTON - Within hours, the lawyers had broken out the champagne. It's come
to that. A decision by this Supreme Court that a pregnant woman is entitled
to the same medical privacy as any other patient is enough to bring on the
bubbly. | ||||||||||||||||||
I am willing to take victories where I get them. But a verdict that a
hospital is not a police station? Is this what qualifies these days for
high-fives? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) INNOCENTS CONSCRIPTED IN WAR ON DRUGS: STUDY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
'Crack Babies' Treated As Propaganda Tool, Not Medical Issue, Doctors Argue | ||||||||||||||||||
The war on drugs may be losing its poster baby. | ||||||||||||||||||
The "crack baby" phenomenon is overblown, says a study published in today's
Journal of the American Medical Association. | ||||||||||||||||||
The baby irrevocably damaged even before birth is "a convenient symbol for
an aggressive war on drug users because of the implication that anyone who
is selfish enough to irreparably damage a child for the sake of a quick
high deserves retribution," said Dr. Wendy Chavkin, a Columbia University
professor of clinical public health, in an editorial that accompanies the
article. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-7) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In a significant Supreme Court victory, a 6-3 majority declared a
South Carolina obstetrical unit violated Fourth Amendment protections
by sharing drug test results with police. | ||||||||||||||||||
Universal random testing of public school students has been losing
favor at the District Court level ever since the SC allowed testing
student athletes. Another such rejection occurred last week; however
continued demand from rural school boards suggests the issue will be
revisited by the Supremes. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) DRUG TESTS OF PREGNANT WOMEN RULED ILLEGAL SEARCH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Supreme Court: Results given to police violate Fourth Amendment | ||||||||||||||||||
Washington-Reinforcing the Constitutions ban on unreasonable searches,
the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a South Carolina public hospital
violated the rights of pregnant women when it gave police their drug
test results without their explicit permission. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) COURTS INCREASINGLY VOID DRUG TESTING IN SCHOOLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Six years after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld random drug testing of student athletes, spurring hundreds of school districts to adopt similar policies, several recent court decisions have struck down broader programs that test non-athletes. Some experts say the newer rulings reflect a shift in the publics approach to preventing drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last week, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Denver, said the
Tecumseh, Okla., school district violated students constitutional
rights by requiring drug tests for anyone who participated in
interscholastic activities. | ||||||||||||||||||
Early this month, a federal judge rejected mandatory drug testing for
all students in grades seven through 12 in Lockney, Texas. And state
courts in Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon and Pennsylvania have expressed
similar reservations about such policies. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) DISTRICTS TO RESUME DRUG TESTING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In wake of ruling by state's top court, some school officials opt to
revive tests. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some central Indiana students may be in for a surprise when they
return from spring break. | ||||||||||||||||||
Officials of Brownsburg and Mooresville schools will resume random
drug testing in April, and officials of two other school corporations
say they soon might follow suit. | ||||||||||||||||||
The districts were among 69 public school systems that quit testing
students who drive to school or participate in sports and other
extracurricular activities after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled
in August that the tests were unconstitutional. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (8-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
On larger policy issues, conflicts within the Pew report received some
consideration on editorial pages; Jeffry Miron expressed a minority
condemnation of prohibition, an Illinois editorial offered the more
common appeal for demand reduction. Walter Shapiro's assessment in USA
Today is not only the most savvy, it brings in related developments as
well. | ||||||||||||||||||
High Times editor Stan Wishnia quoted several activists in the process
of guessing the still-opaque drug policies of the new administration.
Sadly, Allan St. Pierre's closing wisecrack is the best summation to
date. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, Congress's obduracy was reflected in the Sentencing Commission's decision on ecstasy; remember when that body sounded almost reasonable on crack sentences? The San Francisco Chronicle was one of the few newspapers to solicit a dissenting opinion. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) THE MOST IMPORTANT MOVIE OF THE YEAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Hollywood movies are not widely noted for their educational value. But
in a searing depiction of drug trafficking and the war on drugs, the
movie "Traffic" teaches much about the folly of drug prohibition. Even
if "Traffic" does not win the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year, it
deserves the title Most Important Picture of the Year. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lesson 1: Prohibition, not drug consumption, causes the violence often
attributed to drugs. .. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) FIND NEW STRATEGY FOR WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The war on drugs is beginning to look much like the war in Vietnam. Victory is elusive, and the public is beginning to lose confidence. | ||||||||||||||||||
A recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
shows that 75 percent of Americans think the country is losing the war
on drugs. They are particularly frustrated with efforts to stem the
flow of drugs from Latin American nations. A great majority of those
polled feel overseas drug traffickers can never be brought under
control. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Finding this balance, however, and then executing a plan that has the
right mix of intervention, prevention and interdiction is the way to
making headway. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hopefully, Bush will be more innovative and ultimately more successful
with his anti-drug campaign than his predecessors in the White House.
He has to be. The country is rapidly losing faith in its government's
ability to get a handle on the nation's drug problem. | ||||||||||||||||||
Americans need to see that this is a war that can be won. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) NATION WAITS FOR INSANITY TO STOP IN THE DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- The drug war is stuck in heavy traffic. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Oscar marathon may showcase the scene from Traffic in which Michael
Douglas, playing the nation's drug czar, begs his staff for "some new
ideas" -- and is rewarded with the sounds of silence. | ||||||||||||||||||
This fatalism about drugs is not just a creation of Hollywood. A new poll finds that 74% of Americans believe "we are losing the drug war." Similarly, nearly three-quarters of respondents to the survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, agree that "demand is so high we will never stop drug use." | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet when asked about anti-drug strategies, the public still clings to the hard-line nostrums of the late 1980s such as "stopping drug importation" (a priority for 52%) and "arresting drug dealers" (49%). | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) WHAT'S YOUR ANTI-DRUG? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
National Drug Policy Will Be More Conservative Than Compassionate | ||||||||||||||||||
In his first interviews as attorney general, John Ashcroft pledged to
"reinvigorate," "renew," "refresh" and "re-launch" the war on drugs,
arguing that the Clinton administration had been lax in fighting
narcotics. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's difficult to imagine how Bill Clinton could have been much
harsher, short of public executions of drug dealers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"He (Bush) couldn't even tell his kids that he'd been arrested for drunk driving," notes NORML's St. Pierre. "Considering his inability to talk about drugs during the campaign, and his evasiveness about his own drug use, I hope lack of communication doesn't become national policy." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) STIFF PENALTIES FOR ECSTASY DEALERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Recommended Terms For Mood Drug Longer Than For Selling Cocaine | ||||||||||||||||||
Penalties for selling and importing ecstasy... will be tougher than
those for dealing powder cocaine under new federal guidelines approved
yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Sentencing Commission approved an emergency amendment that will make sanctions for dealing ecstasy akin to selling harder drugs... | ||||||||||||||||||
The crackdown was imposed by Congress, which last year ordered the
commission to toughen ecstasy laws ... | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Marsha Rosenbaum, director of the San Francisco office of the
Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, said ... | ||||||||||||||||||
"All this does is increase the risk of negative consequences," she
said. "What it's not likely to do is curb usage." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The nation's prison population was again news, although its rate of
growth has slowed. A Nation editorial described how the Rockefeller
drug laws introduced the mechanics which were, under the stimulus of
"zero tolerance," to set the stage for that growth, while an article
from upstate New York delved into the (less than hopeful) politics of
their reform. | ||||||||||||||||||
Finally, the revelation that Mexico isn't the only place where cops
are corrupted by the illegal drug market seems to have shaken San
Antonio. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) PRISON POPULATION AT RECORD HIGH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of Americans in state prisons last year
increased at the slowest rate since 1971, though the total number of
people incarcerated in the United States remained at a record high in
2000, the Justice Department reported Sunday. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Black males were incarcerated in record numbers - a total of 791,600 black men were in prison, a new high. Nearly one in eight black males age 20 to 34 were in prison on any given day, the report said. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) THE WORST DRUG LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Adrian Wilson can't make a lobbying trip to Albany anytime soon: The
New York State Department of Corrections does not escort its prisoners
to the state capital for teach-ins. But his story--typical of the
22,000 nonviolent drug offenders in New York's cellblocks on any given
day--could serve as the centerpiece of the campaign now under way for
the long-overdue repeal of the notoriously punitive Rockefeller drug
laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Wilson chose instead to exercise his constitutional right to
a trial. | ||||||||||||||||||
Convicted of possessing four ounces of cocaine, instead of eight months he faced a mandatory prison term of fifteen years to life. | ||||||||||||||||||
No single moment in the history of US criminal justice matches the destructive impact of the New York legislature's 1973 session. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) HARD NEGOTIATIONS LOOM FOR ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ALBANY -- With politicians from both houses and the governor calling
for rewriting the state's tough Rockefeller-era drug laws, it would
seem change is in the air. | ||||||||||||||||||
But a close look at the different proposals on the table show
Republicans and Democrats are far apart on the details of how to do it.
Minimum sentences, judges' discretion, prosecutors' power are just some
of the thorny issues. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
So far, there haven't been any significant talks among politicians to
make a deal this year. Uncertainty over the state budget has put almost
all over matters on hold. Eventually, any drug-law bill may be tied to
the budget because it could affect how much the state spends is spent
on prisons and drug treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) CHIEF SAYS OFFICERS BETRAYED HONOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Federal agents and city police swept through San Antonio in pre-dawn
darkness with a grim task Thursday - arresting fellow law officers on
charges they used their police power, guns and badges to protect
shipments of cocaine traveling through the Alamo City. | ||||||||||||||||||
A San Antonio patrol sergeant, seven San Antonio patrol officers, a
Bexar County sheriff's deputy, a former Bexar County reserve deputy
constable and two civilians were charged with federal crimes including
conspiracy, attempted possession and distribution of cocaine, firearms
violations and theft. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
One of the week's most covered drug policy stories was the government case against the Oakland CBC which will have been heard by the Supremes by the time you read this (decision not expected until June). | ||||||||||||||||||
Most newspapers carried a variant of the bare-bones AP account; the Seattle Times and Sacramento Bee used research by their own staff and are worth reading for a better understanding of all the issues. | ||||||||||||||||||
Although Mark Donald's research was aimed at supplying background for
a medical use bill now pending in Texas, it also supplies a timely
historical overview from a national perspective. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) OAKLAND CLUB TO ARGUE FOR CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A few years ago, an author writing about death asked ailing AIDS patient Michael Alcalay how he was accepting dying. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm not accepting it," Alcalay retorted. | ||||||||||||||||||
Alcalay is alive today thanks in part, he believes, to doses of
marijuana that helped him keep his medicines down and appetite up as he
fought the disease. | ||||||||||||||||||
On Wednesday, Alcalay will be in the audience as lawyers try to
convince the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) that federal
anti-drug laws shouldn't prevent marijuana from being given to
seriously ill patients for pain relief. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) MEDICINAL-MARIJUANA CASE GOES TO NATION'S HIGH COURT THIS WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OAKLAND, Calif. - For the nation's budding medicinal-marijuana
movement, ground zero is now a small storefront operation in downtown
Oakland that has managed to thumb its nose at the powers of the federal
government for years. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Whatever the Supreme Court rules, it will help clear up a host of legal confusion that has surrounded Proposition 215 since its inception. .. | ||||||||||||||||||
California is not the only state hoping for clarity... Other states,
such as Oregon, which developed the first statewide government registry
of eligible medicinal-marijuana patients, are nervously monitoring how
the Supreme Court addresses what has become a sticky legal and public
policy issue. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) ENFORCEMENT UNEVEN AS MEDICINAL POT TEST CASE OPENS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The new plants went into the ground last week at a Santa Cruz medical
marijuana cooperative where the members grow their own pot -- with the
cooperation of the local police. "People take what they need and give
what they can," said Valerie Corral, an epilepsy patient and founder of
the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, which distributes its crop
to more than 200 members. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) JOINT EFFORT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Aging Hippies" Team With the Desperately Ill And One Lawmaker to Fight for Medical Marijuana in Texas. Is That Just a Smoke Screen? | ||||||||||||||||||
The winds are changing, and George McMahon can feel it in his bones. | ||||||||||||||||||
His ashen face takes on a pained expression as he peers out the window
of his Lake Palestine home, watching the tops of the tall pines bend to
the bluster of an approaching rainstorm. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's not as though he needs confirmation this February morning. | ||||||||||||||||||
... "Do you mind if I smoke?" he asks, hanging a rolled joint | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (21-26) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Advocacy-- political and otherwise-- for legalization was heard on
both sides of the Atlantic; in Britain, a program praising drug use,
literally unthinkable in the US, aired on BBC 2 and Canadian
newspapers paid far more attention to Latin American leaders' use of
the L word than their American counterparts. Clearly, they are rooting
for the question to be raised, either formally or informally, next
month in Quebec. | ||||||||||||||||||
From Mexico, where Fox is trying to satisfy everyone, an American
journalist explained the linkage between Chiapas rebels, drug policy,
and the embattled Presidente. | ||||||||||||||||||
One political leader firmly in the US camp is Australia's John Howard; after purging his advisory council on drugs of all moderates, he launched a controversial and expensive Barry McCzar style ad blitz. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Bogota, an American Congressman, clearly too young to have read The
Ugly American, praised the same herbicides being used in Putamayo for
keeping his vacation cabin weed-free. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) HEROIN IS SAFE AND FUN, SAYS SHOCK BBC SHOW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Taking cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and even heroin is not dangerous but
extremely enjoyable, according to a controversial BBC television
programme to be shown this week. Smoking a cannabis joint is as
relaxing as drinking a glass of wine, while many people find taking
ecstasy the most pleasurable experience of their lives. Injecting a
modest dose of heroin can make mundane but essential household chores
enjoyable, drug users say on Chemical Britannia. | ||||||||||||||||||
In dozens of interviews the users explain why the popularity of drugs
is escalating, despite the overwhelmingly negative message in schools,
the media and from government. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The show's presenter argues that banned drugs should be made legal
again. 'As a drug user I am sick of having my life attacked and being
forced outside the law. It's time to turn the spotlight on the
politicians who, despite all the evidence, refuse to accept that the
war on drugs has failed and, in fact, has done more harm than good,'
Southwell said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) A COURAGEOUS STAND ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Legalizing the use of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin, according to
Mexican President Vicente Fox and Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle
Ibanez, is the only way to stop narcotics trafficking and to end the
death and carnage that accompany it. We applaud these two Latin
American leaders for their sensible and courageous stand against the
orthodoxy of criminalizing drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) LATIN LEADERS TALK UP DRUG LEGALIZATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Some Experts Say It's Only Way To Win War | ||||||||||||||||||
A discussion on the legalization of drugs as the only realistic way to
break the international drug cartels is inching closer to the agenda of
the Quebec Summit of the Americas next month. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mexican President Vicente Fox has made waves by agreeing with
statements by his top police officials that legalization is the only
way to win the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
His comments follow a pledge earlier this month by Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle Ibanez to raise legalization at the April 20-22 summit. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(24) ZAPATISTAS ON THE MARCH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Mexico City | ||||||||||||||||||
Many compared it to marching through a dream. | ||||||||||||||||||
After seven years under siege by 70,000 Mexican Army troops in the
jungles and highlands of Chiapas, the Zapatista National Liberation
Army (EZLN) sent twenty-four delegates, including its pipe-smoking
writer-spokesman Subcomandante Marcos, on a triumphant two-week
motorcade that landed in Mexico City on March 11. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The question of indigenous autonomy also has consequences for the US-imposed "war on drugs." The San Andres Accords would restore indigenous rights to the use of currently illicit sacred plants and codify the pre-eminence of ancient forms of community justice. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(25) PM'S DRUGS APPEAL TO 6 MILLION HOMES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A $24 million anti-drugs campaign - including graphic television
commercials and a mail-out to more than 6million households - will be
launched by the Prime Minister tomorrow... | ||||||||||||||||||
The theme of the campaign is "Families - our strongest defence against
the drug problem". | ||||||||||||||||||
It is understood it will begin with a series of confronting
commercials, including a teenage girl who appears to have just had sex,
a girl fighting and shouting with her mother, a young man breaking into
a property, and a corpse being zipped into a body bag. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(26) U.S. CONGRESSMAN SAYS HERBICIDE ISN'T DANGEROUS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Rep. Jim Kolbe Said Saturday That He Uses The Herbicide Glyphosate -
Marketed In The United States As Roundup - To Kill Weeds That Grow
Outside His Vacation Cabin Back Home | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA -- A U.S. lawmaker defended the use of a herbicide being used to
kill drug crops in Colombia, calling criticism that it causes
environmental damage and illness unfounded. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The November Coalition has recently launched "Open The Can", their newest
project. | ||||||||||||||||||
Their regional leaders worked hard to develop a clever, innovative project
and came up with a new CANpaign - please visit: | ||||||||||||||||||
They can make labels available to your organization (at cost plus shipping) if your volunteers are interested in helping them promote it. | ||||||||||||||||||
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New Updated Version of Drug War Facts Announced | ||||||||||||||||||
A newly updated version of the outstanding collection of DrugWar Facts
has been posted at: | ||||||||||||||||||
This powerful resource should be a mainstay for anyone who regularly
discusses, writes about, or debates drug war issues. | ||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Kevin Zeese and Doug McVay | ||||||||||||||||||
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Informing America's Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don't Know Keeps
Hurting Us (2001) / Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and
Education | ||||||||||||||||||
How should the war on drugs be fought? Everyone seems to agree that the United States ought to use a combination of several different approaches to combat the destructive effects of illegal drug use. Yet there is a remarkable paucity of data and research information that policy makers require if they are to create a useful, realistic policy package-details about drug use, drug market economics, and perhaps most importantly the impact of drug enforcement activities. | ||||||||||||||||||
Informing America's Policy on Illegal Drugs recommends ways
to close these gaps in our understanding-by obtaining the necessary
data on drug prices and consumption (quantity in addition to
frequency); upgrading federal management of drug statistics; and
improving our evaluation of prevention, interdiction, enforcement, and
treatment efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Old Ecstasy Poster' Foretold the Future | ||||||||||||||||||
A movie poster for the 1956 film of George Orwell's 1984, reproduced in
the New York Review of Books (Mar 29th, "The Last Puritan," p.48), asks
the ominous question: | ||||||||||||||||||
"Will Ecstasy be a Crime...in the terrifying world of the future? " | ||||||||||||||||||
The answer speaks for itself. | ||||||||||||||||||
See the poster at: | ||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Dale Gieringer | ||||||||||||||||||
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DRUGSENSE VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
March 2001 - Amanda Jones | ||||||||||||||||||
Anyone who reads the articles in the MAP archives has seen the numerous
articles submitted by Amanda. She is one of our most valued newshawks not
only because of the number of articles she submits but also for her
consistent coverage. | ||||||||||||||||||
Amanda also takes time to review posted articles for problems. She reports
any errors she sees in a timely manner to our editors which helps us
keep the integrity of our archives intact. | ||||||||||||||||||
Amanda is also a member of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas. She participated
in the Texas Journey for Jubilee Justice. This gave her the opportunity to
meet many of her fellow Texas reformers and increase the bond that these
fine patriots feel for each other. | ||||||||||||||||||
You can often find Amanda during our weekly chat sessions. We meet on
Saturday and Sunday nights around 6 pm PT at: | ||||||||||||||||||
Read our interview with Amanda at: | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. NEEDS NEW STRATEGY NOT COLOMBIA | ||||||||||||||||||
The Washington Times editorial of 6 March 2001, "Rethink Plan
Colombia," muddles the issue. Colombia does not need a new strategy.
Colombia's problem arises from the United States' prohibition policy
and our penchant to blame our drug problem on the cocaine producing
countries. | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug abuse in the United States cannot be attributed to the coca that
grows on the Andean hillsides. Indonesia was the leading producer of
cocaine at the beginning of the 20th-Century and is capable today of
producing all the world's consumption. Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld, during his Senate confirmation hearings in January, said that
illicit drug use is "overwhelmingly a demand problem. If demand persists,
its going to find ways to get what it wants, and if it isn't from
Colombia, it's going to be someplace else." | ||||||||||||||||||
Former President Clinton acknowledged America's outrageous demand for
drugs when he stated in 1997: "With less than 5 percent of the world's
population, the United States consumes nearly half of the world's illicit
drugs." Our government tried to curb the appetite of the few drug addicts
in our society in 1920 by prohibiting the open and legal market for cocaine
and narcotics that had existed for 144 years without crime, crisis, or
catastrophe. | ||||||||||||||||||
The unexpected consequence of prohibition has been a greater than fourfold
increase in the percentage of addicts in the population. It has also
resulted in a significant increase of all the drug-related horrors that our
government tries to deter drug abuse, overdose deaths, intoxication,
dysfunctional families, cocaine babies, etc. All American's have suffered
from the stupendous blunder of prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
The government continually repeats the same actions in the War on Drugs
expecting a different result. However, the supply of illegal heroin and
cocaine on the streets grows greater and the price declines. Law
enforcement of prohibition is exacerbating the drug problem rather than
controlling it. The government cannot show us a single addict forced from
the drug habit for a lack of illegal drugs to buy. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our government is compounding the mess prohibition made at home with a
"Vietnam like" incursion to eradicate coca crops in Columbia. It has only
succeeded in further destabilizing the government that is locked in a
4-decades-old civil war with the narco-guerrillas. Our actions are
impacting the entire Andean region. Yet, cocaine and heroin still flow
from the area to satisfy American's appetite. | ||||||||||||||||||
Without throwing anyone in jail, the United States has dramatically
reduced the consumption of cigarettes over the past 30 years. Per capita
consumption of alcohol has declined by 10% in the past decade. This was
achieved with education and persuasion, the same methods America used to
reduce drug addiction before prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
We have thrown the profits of the drug trade to the enemies of society.
Tax revenues that could provide programs of education, prevention, and
treatment are forfeited, while antidrug bureaucrats squander billions of
tax dollars in a futile attempt to stem the flow of illicit drugs across
our borders. | ||||||||||||||||||
Franklin D. Roosevelt told Americans in his 1932 campaign, "Rather than
combating intemperance, prohibition encouraged its spread. We have depended
too largely upon the power of government action. The experience of nearly
one hundred and fifty years under the Constitution has shown us that the
proper means of regulation is through the States, with control by the
Federal Government limited to that which is necessary to protect the States
in the exercise of their legitimate powers." | ||||||||||||||||||
President Bush should learn from FDR's experience and return the control and regulation of drugs back to the States. He will find guidance in the evidence from the more effective and less oppressive ways of our forebears. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lt. Col. Robert H. Dowd, USAF-Ret. | ||||||||||||||||||
Colonel Dowd is an independent researcher and author of the book, "The Enemy Is Us--How to Defeat Drug Abuse and End the War on Drugs." The Los Angeles Times published his previous article on Colombia May 15, 2000, "Columbia Aid Bill Would Escalate a Failed Policy." The article was republished in the Moscow times, May 20, 2000. Dowd is an organizer of the Veterans for a More Effective Drug Strategies. Web site: | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Drug policy is not some esoteric topic about which one can debate dispassionately after dinner. It is about human lives: Bad drug policies kill people. Yet our federal government says as little about the issue as possible, and when forced to talk, it cynically misleads the public about the reality of our drug policies. To that, the only reasonable reaction is anger and disgust. " -- Dan Gardner, Ottawa Citizen, 20 Mar 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||
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