| April 13, 2001 #195 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) US CA: THE BIG FIX (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Implementing Drug Treatment Faces Hurdles | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ballot initiatives are voters' dreams thrown into the laps of government
employees. They rarely turn out the way people envision because, no matter
how detailed, initiatives are only concepts, not public programs. Counties
throughout California are now struggling to bring Proposition 36, the
initiative favoring treatment rather than imprisonment for drug-addicted
criminals, into the realm of reality by July 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) CN BC: MEDICAL POT FARM BUSTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Plants Destroyed As Compassion Club Leaders Met With Allan Rock | ||||||||||||||||||||
At the very moment the federal health minister was discussing medicinal
marijuana with B.C.'s "compassion clubs," police were raiding the club's
supply. | ||||||||||||||||||||
About 1,000 marijuana plants were chopped down and hauled away from the
club's grow operation at a greenhouse in Richmond on Tuesday -- the same
day the group met with Health Minister Allan Rock to discuss the
distribution of medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) NETHERLANDS BLOCK FUNDS FOR UNDCP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
AMSTERDAM - The Netherlands have withdrawn their financial support for the
drug-fighting agency of the United Nations. Minister Evelyne Herfkens of
Development Cooperation has come to this decision after persistent
accusations came to light about mismanagement at the highest level of the
UN-agency in Vienna, the UNDCP. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A spokesperson for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed, that the Dutch yearly contribution of US$ 4 million has for the time being been 'frozen'. This contribution had just been increased considerably in the last year. The Ministry itself qualifies the measure as drastic. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The director general of the United Nations Drug Control Program, a
well-known mafia expert from Italy, Pino Arlacchi, has already for some
time been the object of severe criticism. Numerous top staff members of
UNDCP's head-office in Vienna have resigned, among them the experienced UN
administrator and respected director for operations and analysis, Michael
von der Schulenburg. In his letter of resignation the latter talks about
UNDCP as an organization that is falling to bits. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) ASHCROFT OFFERS MEXICO HELP IN COMBATING DRUG TRAFFICKING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attorney General John Ashcroft met Wednesday with Mexico's national
security adviser and praised Mexico for dismantling a regional drug
trafficking cell operating near the Texas border. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We're aware of what you're doing and willing and ready if our
assistance was necessary," Ashcroft told Adolfo Aguilar Zinser and a
delegation of Mexican national security officials. "I just wanted you
to know that it was noted." | ||||||||||||||||||||
A high-ranking lieutenant of a drug trafficking gang once known as the Gulf Cartel was arrested Monday in Tamaulipas state, which borders Texas. Last week, a brigadier general, a captain and a lieutenant were arrested on charges of having provided protection for the gang. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-6) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two sides of the coin: Time Magazine ran a (typically) misleading
feature on ecstasy, focusing on the recent prosecution of rave
promoters in New Orleans. A more honest appraisal of ecstasy's
pharmacologic potential was printed by the Boston Phoenix in the form
of an interview with MAPS founder, Rick Doblin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) ECSTASY CRACKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Will The Feds Use A 1980s Anti-Crack Law To Destroy The Rave Movement? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nearly three years after her daughter's death, Phyllis Kirkland still
visits her grave every day. She drives over from the Monroeville, Ala.,
dentist's office where she works. | ||||||||||||||||||||
She weeps. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jillian's overdose-the coroner can't say precisely from what-and the
sad 16 days she clung to life at Charity Hospital enraged doctors
there. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Federal agents began investigating, and in January a grand jury
indicted three of the men who ran the club under a novel application of
a 1986 law called the Crack House Statute. It prohibits maintaining a
property "for the purpose of distributing or using a controlled
substance." Congress wrote the law to go after sleazebag landlords who
let dealers and addicts hide the crack trade in slums. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) LONG, STRANGE TRIP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Richard Doblin Is Committed To Proving What He Knows: That Ecstasy And
Other Psychedelic Drugs Are Therapeutic Powerhouses | ||||||||||||||||||||
GROWING UP JEWISH in the shadow of the Holocaust, and learning that
insanity had affected a whole culture ... I grew up very interested in
psychology and the unconscious." This is how Richard Doblin describes
the genesis of his life's work. ... | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Q: What sorts of dialogue have you had with the DEA and other federal
agencies? | ||||||||||||||||||||
A: The US Sentencing Commission wants to increase penalties on MDMA,
so last week I was in Washington presenting testimony with some of the
doctors that we work with. I don't know if we'd call it a dialogue. It
was more of a monologue ... | ||||||||||||||||||||
The dialogues with political authorities -- this most recent one was
about criminalizing non-medical use. But I've also brought up the idea
of medical use. So most of our dialogue is with the FDA or with NIDA
[the National Institute on Drug Abuse]... we feel that NIDA distorts the
implications of their research, is excessively fear-mongering, takes
the worst case and tries to pretend that that's the average case. But
we have, tragically, no dialogue with the National Institute of Mental
Health, which funded most of the psychedelic research in the '50s and
'60s. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (7-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Increased media focus on ecstasy will inevitably intensify damage to the group already suffering most at their hands: the nation's youth. Despite recent sharp reductions in violent youth crime, reporting practices are driving perception in the opposite direction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
John Leland's NYT piece reveals that although minorities are
disproportionately affected; even cloistered white suburbanites are
being encouraged to fear their neighbors' children. | ||||||||||||||||||||
No formal "drug strategy" has emerged from the Bush Administration;
but their determination to enforce the ban on student aid is a
disappointing straw in the wind. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Daryl Strawberry's plight may be an even more damning indictment of
our drug policy than that of Robert Downey, Jr. Can you imagine that a
prosecutor wants him jailed for five years? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, another "major motion picture" dealing with drugs; reviews are mixed. Many liked Depp's performance, but it's clear the film breaks no new ground and probably reinforces the status quo. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) REPORT FAULTS COVERAGE OF CRIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A national report being released today contends that depictions in the media of murder and of crimes by youths and minorities are way out of whack with reality, giving a scary and untrue image of crime in America. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For example, the report, "Off Balance: Youth, Race and Crime in the
News," found that although homicide arrests constitute less than 1
percent of all arrests, homicides are the subject of nearly one-third
of all crime stories on the evening television news. And while murder
coverage on network news stations increased 473 percent between 1990
and 1998, homicide arrests across the country actually dropped 32.9
percent during the same period. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Blacks are over represented in the media as criminals and
underrepresented as victims, the report found... | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) ZERO TOLERANCE POLICIES CHANGE LIFE AT ONE SCHOOL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MOUNTAIN LAKES, N.J. -- In the high school cafeteria, Bobby Fullman and Julie Morrison talked about zero tolerance and a prank that went wrong. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Julie, 17, is an athletic blonde, on the tennis team and the vice
president of the senior class. Bobby, 16, is a junior, with
close-cropped hair and quick brown eyes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) EDUCATION DEPT BARS AID TO STUDENTS WHO FAIL TO ANSWER DRUG QUESTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Education Department will no longer allow colleges to provide
federal Financial aid to students who do not respond to a question on
their Financial-aid application forms that asks whether they have "ever
been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last year department officials, fearing disruption in the distribution
of aid, allowed students who did not answer the question to receive
Financial aid, because of confusion over its wording. In the first
several weeks of processing aid applications last year, the department
found that almost 20 percent of applicants - about 140,000 students -
had left the question unanswered. (See an article from The Chronicle,
March 3, 2000.) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) 'PUNITIVE' JUDGE HOLDS STRAW'S FATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tampa, Fla.-The judge who will decide next week if Darryl Strawberry
goes to prison said yesterday that drug addicts commonly relapse, and
those who do aren't necessarily locked up. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
His attorney, Joe Ficarrotta, is seeking to have him placed in a secure
facility that will provide both drug treatment and mental health
services, and where Strawberry, who has cancer, can keep on receiving
chemotherapy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) DRUG KINGPIN'S TALE FALLS FLAT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Blow" stars Johnny Depp in a biopic about George Jung, a man who claims that in the late 1970s he imported about 85 percent of all the cocaine in America. That made him the greatest success story in drugs, an industry that has inspired more movies than any other. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The movie, directed by Ted Demme and written by David McKenna and Nick
Cassavetes (from an as-told-to book by Bruce Porter), is well made and
well acted. As a story of the rise and fall of this man, it serves.
Johnny Depp is a versatile and reliable actor who almost always
chooses interesting projects. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The failure is George Jung's. For all the glory of his success and the
pathos of his failure, he never became a person interesting enough to
make a movie about. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The appearance of Ray Liotta here reminds us of Scorsese's "Good
Fellas," which took a much less important criminal and made him an
immeasurably more interesting character. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (12-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug war dogma dovetails with America's ambient anti-black racism to
produce stubborn misconceptions which are difficult, if not
impossible, to eradicate. The disclosure that profiling exists has
yet to stop its practice by New Jersey State Police and a probing NYT
account was even more pessimistic: the gulf between the NYPD and its
black officers is actually widening. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) N.J. OFFICIAL SAYS RACE PROFILING PERSISTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
TRENTON, N.J. - Some state troopers are still practicing racial profiling
on the New Jersey Turnpike despite a major reform effort, the state's
attorney general told a Senate committee Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Blacks and Latinos are being searched much more than white drivers,
Farmer said, even though reports show whites carry drugs more often
than do minorities. Searches of minority drivers are also based on
lower legal standards than the one troopers use for white drivers,
Farmer said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) ALIENATION IS A PARTNER FOR BLACK OFFICERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Blues | ||||||||||||||||||||
This is the fourth article of a series examining the challenges and turmoil facing the New York Police Department. Previous articles concerned the department's morale problems, the loss of senior supervisors to retirement and the lack of senior black officers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
One night last December, Officer Eric Josey was driving his Acura
Legend on East 138th Street in the South Bronx. He had just completed
a tour patrolling Harlem, and had changed into a sweatshirt and jeans.
A jacket concealed his 9-millimeter pistol. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stopping in traffic, he glanced in his rear-view mirror and saw two men
rushing for his car. They were carrying guns. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
But Officer Josey's feelings were echoed repeatedly in recent months in extended interviews with dozens of male black officers and detectives... | ||||||||||||||||||||
These officers almost invariably said that the satisfactions of the job
were undercut by the department itself. All but three of the several
dozen officers interviewed, for instance, said that at some point in
their careers they been unnecessarily stopped or hassled, when in
civilian clothes, by their white peers. ... | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (14-15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Texas, two clusters of drug indictments had to be scrapped, 17 in
Hearne County because they so closely parallel those in the landmark
Tulia case, and 33 in Bexar County because they'd have involved the
sole testimony of a crooked cop. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) SEVENTEEN DRUG CASES DISMISSED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
DALLAS (AP) - Prosecutors have dismissed 17 drug cases filed by a
narcotics task force accused of targeting suspects because of their
race. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dismissals of the cocaine prosecutions came a week after the American Civil Liberties Union complained to the U.S. Justice Department that the South Central Narcotics Task Force violated the civil rights of blacks during a drug bust last year that led to 28 arrests. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) DA DUMPS 33 CASES BECAUSE OF COPS' BUST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed dismissed 33 cases Friday she
said couldn't be prosecuted without the testimony of four officers busted
in last month's FBI sting. | ||||||||||||||||||||
All but one of the cases involved drugs, and 30 were handled by Bexar
County sheriff's Deputy Richard Rowlett Buchanan. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Assigned to the narcotics division last June, Buchanan worked as an
evidence technician and was responsible for transporting drug evidence for
measurement and analysis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The greatly increased intravenous drug use initiated by the drug war
also spread Hepatitis C. Although epidemiologic details were
understood by 1992, the feds have dummied up and most victims remain
unaware. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) HEPATITIS C SPREADS MOSTLY UNCHECKED IN PRISONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (Reuters) - Hepatitis C, a silent killer that
attacks the liver, is rampant among the almost two million inmates of
U.S. prisons and jails but authorities are making only half-hearted
efforts to combat it, medical and prison experts say. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The prevalence of this disease is believed to be 30 to 40 percent of
the prison population, depending on the state," said Anne Degroot, a
doctor who treats AIDS and hepatitis patients in the Connecticut
prison system and heads a prison health education project at Brown
University in Providence, Rhode Island. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
People used to think that treating prisoners with HIV would break the
bank. That's nothing compared to what treating hepatitis C would do,"
he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT (17 & 18) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Those who thought activist Steve Kubby's court appearances were over
should think again; representing himself, he persuaded his trial
judge (but not the Auburn Journal headline writer) to grant him an
additional hearing under California's (just passed) Substance Abuse
and Crime Prevention Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a related action, the Placer County DA who pursued Kubby and other
patients so relentlessly was served with a recall notice on the same
day. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) KUBBY DENIED CHANGE IN BAIL, JAIL CONDITIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Placer County Superior Court judge said Friday he wants to have a
closer look at whether California's Proposition 36 could apply to
Steve Kubby's sentence on drug charges. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Judge John Cosgrove considered a motion by Kubby to commute a 120-day
jail sentence that had been imposed March 2 for misdemeanor
convictions for possession of a magic mushroom stem and peyote buttons.
He decided to hold a hearing April 27 on the potential of applying
Prop. 36 to Kubby's case. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) MEDICAL POT GROUP TARGETS PLACER DA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A team of medical marijuana advocates gathered Friday in DeWitt Center
to serve Placer County District Attorney Bradford E. Fenocchio with
recall papers. Among them were Steven W. Kubby, former Libertarian
candidate for governor and founder of the American Medical Marijuana
Association, and Dr. Jay R. Cavanaugh, a member of the AMMA's medical
advisory board. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The activists want Fenocchio removed from office for, among other
things, "refusing to uphold state law maliciously prosecuting
legitimate medical marijuana patients" and charging "sick, elderly and
disabled patients as drug criminals." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fenocchio acknowledged receipt of the notice and said he would comply
with "whatever formality is required." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (19-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Canada's Health Minister revealed his plan to regulate the use medical
marijuana well in advance of a judge-imposed, summer deadline; the
Toronto Sun described his proposals plus the reactions of some
dissatisfied critics. | ||||||||||||||||||||
South of the border, a group of innovative Maine voters introduced a
unique dual initiative aimed at improving existing medical use
provisions and introducing industrial hemp. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) LOOSER POT LAWS TO AID THE SICK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
But Critics Say Changes Flawed | ||||||||||||||||||||
Health Minister Allan Rock moved yesterday to make Canada the only
country in the world with a government-regulated system for using
marijuana as medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Along with creating three categories of patients who can seek exemption
from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Rock proposed more
flexibility on the amount of pot that can be possessed and the number
of plants a person can grow. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Third parties will be allowed to grow pot if they pass inspection and
record checks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alan Young, a law professor, said when the smoke clears, any new
legislation will be well-intentioned but unworkable. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) GROUP TO START PETITION DRIVE ON MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SKOWHEGAN (AP) - A group advocating the legalization of marijuana is planning to start petition drives aimed at revamping Maine's medical marijuana law and legalizing the cultivation of industrial-grade hemp. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
He criticized Maine's current medical marijuana law as unworkable, saying it doesn't allow patients to grow or possess enough marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Legislature, meanwhile, has been unable to come up with a way to assure patients an adequate supply, Christen said. The law allows patients to grow six plants at a time, but his group wants to let voters decide whether patients should be able to grow up to 99 plants. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (21-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Al Giordano may be the Steve Kubby of Latin American drug policy; he's
soon scheduled to return for a US court appearance, but don't bet on
it. The other side doesn't really want those issues aired in open
court. | ||||||||||||||||||||
As for Latin America, it's still a mess the US side seems incapable of
ever understanding. Case in point: the same issue of the Union-Tribune
demanding quick results in Mexico carried a US official's
"explanation" of why Plan Colombia's stick has been so much quicker
than its carrot. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) LIBEL SUIT THREATENS FUTURE OF ON-LINE DRUG-WAR PUBLICATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
For much of the '80s and '90s, Al Giordano cut a wide swath among
Massachusetts journalists and political junkies. An antinuclear
activist who became the Boston Phoenix's political reporter, Giordano
was sometimes abrasive, usually controversial, always passionate, and
invariably innovative. (Who else would have sent GOP pundit Mary
Matalin a little tie-dyed T-shirt from a Grateful Dead concert as a
baby gift?) | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Later this month, Giordano will return to New York from his undisclosed
base of operations in Latin America to celebrate the First anniversary
of Narco News. He will also formally respond to what could potentially
become one of the most riveting libel cases in recent history - if it
actually goes to trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) MEXICO: DEFEAT THE CARTEL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Make That A U.S.-Mexico Priority | ||||||||||||||||||||
A dozen years of frustration in trying to counter the Tijuana-based
narco-trafficking cartel known as the Arellano Felix Organization leave one
conclusion obvious: | ||||||||||||||||||||
This criminal cancer infecting both sides of the Southwest border won't be
eliminated until doing so becomes a top priority in Mexico City and
Washington. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At present, Mexico's traditionally weak law enforcement and criminal justice institutions simply aren't up to the challenge of overcoming a hugely wealthy and brutally intimidating criminal enterprise like the AFO. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(23) U.S. OFFICIALS SEES LONG ROAD AHEAD IN COLOMBIA DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia -- While a U.S.-backed offensive against drug crops
speeds ahead, alternative development aid for farmers will take years
to fully succeed -- and will require much more money from Washington, a
top U.S. official said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
With no economic alternative, many of the coca farmers in southern
Colombia who have been hit by aerial fumigation earlier this year are
already replanting the drug crops. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Fumigation obviously is something that happens much faster than
alternative development," Wachtenheim told foreign journalists earlier
this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (24-26) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Further mind-blowing news of the corruption our drug war has produced in Mexico and South America, followed by an account of what at least one group intends to do about it; don't expect the drug traffickers to take an increased threat of government pressure lying down! | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(24) MEXICO CHARGES OFFICERS WITH AIDING TRAFFICKERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
President Fox, Other Official Say Arrests Show Government Is Resolved
To Fight Drug Corruption | ||||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY -- The government of President Vicente Fox has made its
first important drug arrests since taking power five months ago.
Unfortunately for Mexican drug enforcement, the three men arrested were
an army brigadier general, a captain and a lieutenant. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(25) FORMER ARMY CHIEF ARRESTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LIMA, Peru - The former head of Peru's armed forces during most of
ex-President Alberto Fujimori's 10-year autocratic rule has been
arrested for allegedly taking protection money from narcotics
traffickers, authorities said Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(26) MEXICAN DRUG LORDS SEEKING NEW CARTEL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sources Detail Meeting Of 5 Major Groups | ||||||||||||||||||||
APODACA, Mexico -- Wearing business suits and cowboy boots, they flew in on private jets, landed at several airports and took a short drive to this northern Mexican town in a fleet of brand-new SUVs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They were Mexico's drug lords, who control most of the drugs smuggled
across the border to the United States. Along with them came their
bodyguards, various associates and their contacts in government. Sixty
men in all, they gathered in a restaurant, drawing the notice of local
people as well as police in nearby Monterrey. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
By any estimate, drug trafficking is one of Mexico's top sources of
income, rivaling the top legal industries of oil, tourism and assembly
for export. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The industry is so pervasive that it has corrupted law enforcement from
top to bottom. Police assigned to drug duty are routinely arrested for
collaborating with the smugglers. ... | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Outstanding New Book - "Maximizing Harm" Receives Rave Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young's excellent new book "Maximizing Harm" is being released
in a print and is getting outstanding reviews from drug policy reform
advocates from a wide range of factions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This book is a must read for anyone interested in drug policy and various methods of bringing about change in our failed drug policies" - Richard Lake, Senior Editor DrugSense DrugNews Archive. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Important Poll - Heartland Institute - Vote Now | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Chicago-based Heartland Institute, a conservative think-tank, has a
poll on-line regarding the war on drugs. The institute is allegedly
thinking about changing its position on the war on drugs from support
to reform. Please add your voice to the poll at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Chad Thevenot | ||||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Grinspoon Gives Ground Breaking Speech at NORML Conference
by Tom O'Connell | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lester Grinspoon, MD is remarkable; nearly alone in his chosen
profession, he has long stood in opposition to our government's most
irrational, yet ardently held public policy: the criminal prohibition
of marijuana. In an important speech to be delivered on April 20 to the
NORML Convention in Washington, DC, he will spell out how, at age 44,
while in the ascending trajectory of a promising academic career at one
of our leading medical schools, his intellectual honesty forced him
into what has become a lonely, yet rewarding crusade. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a revealing personal account, Dr Grinspoon credits discovery of cannabis as a defining moment in his life; entirely comparable to marriage, "the gift of children," and his decision to study medicine. In 1967, he knew little of cannabis except what our government claimed; to his dismay, he soon learned its policy of marijuana prohibition rested on myth and falsehood. Rather than an article summarizing its dangers to adolescents, his research produced a more positive article in Scientific American. This brought him, along with unwanted notoriety, pressure to write the 1971 book,"Marijuana Reconsidered," an event which inevitably influenced the rest of his career. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rather than dwell on the politics of marijuana, Dr. Grinspoon recalls his life as a user. He had never smoked before starting his research; and held off for quite a while, even after becoming one of the nation's leading "experts." Eventually, the arguments in favor won out over any reasons for not smoking and some time in 1972 he took his first "hit." The balance of his speech analyzes why most of the approximately eighty million living Americans who defy their government's ban on marijuana to smoke for social reasons in their youth will eventually give it up. More significantly, as a thoughtful older user, he is able to explain clearly why over ten million seasoned adults at all levels of society continue to enjoy marijuana for its innocent (and under-appreciated) enhancement of life's other pleasures and how many use it to be more creative and productive. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In terms of our increasingly tattered federal dogma, these revelations are, of course, heresy; the government would have you believe that chronic smokers are, at best, poorly motivated "potheads" and losers. Dr. Grinspoon's speech is an eloquent plea for those of us who know better to come out of the closet and stand up to be counted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, and we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time and eternally press forward for what is yet to get. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good." -- Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743-1826) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis/Hemp content selection by Jo-D Dunbar (),
International content selection by Richard Lake (),
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