| June 15, 2001 #203 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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 NV: WILL OF THE PEOPLE: MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW EARNS SIGNATURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Guinn Approves Measure Supported By Voters
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Gov. Kenny Guinn signed into law Thursday a bill that makes Nevada the ninth state where patients can use marijuana for medical reasons. | ||||||||||||||||||
Guinn signed Assembly Bill 453, which allows Nevadans with AIDS,
cancer, glaucoma and other illnesses to use marijuana with the
written permission of their doctors. They may grow as many as seven
marijuana plants and not risk arrest by Nevada law enforcement
authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(2) UK: COLUMN: MAKE HEROIN LEGAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In the first of a two-part series, Nick Davies argues that the
disease and moral collapse associated with class A drugs is due to
criminalisation, not the drugs themselves
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Special Report: Drugs in Britain
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On April 3 1924, a group of American congressmen held an official
hearing to consider the future of heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||
They took sworn evidence from experts, including the US surgeon
general, Rupert Blue, who appeared in person to tell their committee
that heroin was poisonous and caused insanity and that it was
particularly likely to kill since its toxic dose was only slightly
greater than its therapeutic dose. | ||||||||||||||||||
They heard, too, from specialist doctors, such as Alexander Lambert
of New York's Bellevue hospital, who explained that "the herd
instinct is obliterated by heroin, and the herd instincts are the
ones which control the moral sense ... Heroin makes much quicker the
muscular reaction and therefore is used by criminals to inflate them,
because they are not only more daring, but their muscular reflexes
are quicker." Senior police, a prison governor and health officials
all added their voices. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr S Dana Hubbard, of the New York City health department, captured
the heart of the evidence: "Heroin addicts spring from sin and crime
... Society in general must protect itself from the influence of
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The congressmen had heard much of this before and now they acted
decisively. They resolved to stop the manufacture and use of heroin
for any purpose in the United States and to launch a worldwide
campaign of prohibition to try to prevent its manufacture or use
anywhere in the world. Within two months, their proposal had been
passed into law with the unanimous backing of both houses of the US
Congress. The war against drugs was born.
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To understand this war and to understand the problems of heroin in particular, you need to grasp one core fact. In the words of Professor Arnold Trebach, the veteran specialist in the study of illicit drugs: "Virtually every 'fact' testified to under oath by the medical and criminological experts in 1924 ... was unsupported by any sound evidence." Indeed, nearly all of it is now directly and entirely contradicted by plentiful research from all over the world. | ||||||||||||||||||
The first casualty of this war was truth and yet, 77 years later, the
war continues, more vigorous than ever, arguably the longest-running
conflict on earth. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(3) US: DEA GOAL - PROTECT THE PUBLIC (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Recently, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has become
aware of the increasing abuse and diversion of the powerful narcotic
OxyContin. For those suffering from intractable pain, it provides
critical relief. For others, it is a powerful substitute for heroin.
The DEA's responsibility is to prevent the diversion of addictive
pharmaceutical controlled substances while ensuring adequate supplies
for legitimate medical needs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The DEA responded to this critical public-health problem in a measured and reasonable manner by establishing an ongoing dialogue with the health-care community, pharmaceutical industry and other government agencies to ensure OxyContin is appropriately prescribed and available to those who truly need it. There is consensus within the pain-management community that many doctors don't have the training to properly treat chronic pain, leading many to prescribe this powerful narcotic to individuals who seek the drug for non-medical reasons. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(4) COLOMBIA: FARMER KILLED IN COCA PICKERS' PROTEST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia -- A peasant farmer was killed and a police officer
hurt when thousands of coca pickers angry at U.S.-backed spraying of
drug crops clashed with riot police in rural Colombia, officials said
Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The clashes -- the first violent protests by coca farmers since a
$1-billion U.S. aid program to destroy their crops began in 2000 --
broke out late Wednesday in the village of Tibu in northeastern
Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-6) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The media were generally willing to cut the First Twins considerable
slack over their drinking age problems; does the author realize how
well his logic applies to cannabis?
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A study, for which the Bush girls wouldn't qualify, showed differences
in the right amygdalae of teetotaling teens: those with a family
history of alcoholism are smaller than those without. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) JENNA'S OLD ENOUGH TO DRINK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It's time the law acknowledged that there's nothing wrong with sipping
a margarita. | ||||||||||||||||||
The disproportionate and often unseemly media attention given to the
president's daughter, Jenna, cited twice for underage drinking, may
have at least one positive effect--forcing the country to rethink its
drinking laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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As embarrassed as Jenna Bush may be after having police called in to
cite her for drinking a margarita, the country ought to be even more
embarrassed by such irrational treatment of a decent young woman and by
the misuse of its police resources. If it is, the president and
Congress should do whatever is necessary to allow the individual states
to set their own drinking age. You can call it the Jenna Bush Bill. You
can certainly call it compassionate conservatism. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) BRAIN DIFFERENCES DETECTED IN ALCOHOLICS' KIDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Brain scans of children who come from
families with several generations of alcohol dependence reveal
differences in a region of the brain associated with basic emotions,
researchers have found. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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In the study, Hill's team conducted MRI scans on 17 teens considered to
be at high risk of alcohol dependence due to a strong family history of
alcoholism. The average age of the participants was 17 years, and none
had ever consumed alcohol. The study participants were compared with 17
teens without a family history of alcoholism. | ||||||||||||||||||
Those with a family history of alcoholism were found to have a
reduction in the size of the right side of an area of the brain called
the amygdala--a walnut-sized region that is known to control basic
emotions. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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COMMENT: (7-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Florida article confirmed that efforts to bring a coerced treatment initiative before voters in 2002 already are well under way. | ||||||||||||||||||
In California, where Proposition 36 has yet to be implemented, there's
an ongoing attempt to restructure it to resemble the drug courts those
in law enforcement favor. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) FLORIDA EYED AS 2002 BATTLEGROUND FOR DRUG REFORM LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A proposed ballot measure would require courts to steer certain first- and second-time drug-law violators into treatment and rehab programs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Calling the war on drugs an abject failure that wrongfully imprisons
small-time users more in need of medical care, a California drug-reform
group backed by three of the country's richest entrepreneurs is
targeting Florida as its next battleground. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ten percent of that total, or roughly 49,000 signatures, is required by
the end of this year to trigger a review by the state attorney general
and then the Florida Supreme Court to ensure the measure complies with
ballot-access laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Zimmerman said the group hopes to reach that initial threshold by
mid-August. But according to Smith, the campaign already is close to
meeting the target, thanks to the efforts of paid signature-gatherers
in 15 key counties. Those efforts have yet to extend into Southwest
Florida, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(8) DRUG COURT COULD PROVIDE THE STICK NEEDED FOR PROP. 36 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
For all its good intentions to treat drug addicts as people with social
problems rather than as criminals can Proposition 36 work? Moreover,
does San Bernardino County have the will and the wherewithal to make it
work?
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Law enforcement officers, for the most part, opposed the measure that
makes drug treatment, rather than incarceration, state law. While most
of them favor drug treatment if it works, they say that Proposition 36
is too lenient to make drug offenders overcome their addiction. And
they fear that drug offenders undergoing treatment will continue to
commit crimes while on probation, since they won't be locked up and
can't even be threatened with being locked up. | ||||||||||||||||||
We believe these misgivings are absolutely right. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
One wonders what the drug warriors can be thinking; although they
inevitably claim "success," the same old failures remain in the news
week after week: club drugs, meth labs, heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nevertheless they're now busy hyping the latest menace: Oxycontin. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) RAVES AT CITY-OWNED AUDITORIUM DIVIDE SPRINGS OFFICIALS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Monday, June 11, 2001 - COLORADO SPRINGS - Erik Skinner was 14 years
old the first time he went to a rave in Colorado Springs. He
immediately took a liking to the earsplitting, pulsing, electronic
music and freewheeling, friendly hordes of kids. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I thought it was awesome," said Skinner, now 16. "It was really
interesting."
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[snip]
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Detective Cil Shutz educates the community about the dangers of club
drugs and raves. She tells parents, educators and kids that 90 percent
of people who attend raves use drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(10) BUSTS TAKE SHIRTS OFF KIDS' BACKS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Filth overruns a child's bedroom at a Tulsa home where a meth lab was found. Parents who use and produce methamphetamine are getting hit with added criminal charges for putting their children in harm's way. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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With the growing number of meth labs in Tulsa homes, however, the
scenario is happening so often that there is a shortage of clean
clothing for the children to wear in the aftermath. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(11) USE OF HEROIN IS ON THE RISE IN AUSTIN AREA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
She sips iced coffee, her blue eyes sparkling. Wearing a sleeveless
dress with matching necklace and earrings, she has a healthy glow that
makes it easy to believe she hiked the Grand Canyon. | ||||||||||||||||||
But deep indentations in her arms tell another story. This 29-year-old
Austin resident spent years shooting up heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The amount of heroin seized by the DEA nationwide has increased in the
past few years. The federal agency seized 1,177 pounds in fiscal 2000,
compared with 873 pounds in 1999 and 815 pounds in 1998. That's an
increase of 44 percent in two years. | ||||||||||||||||||
One week, four deaths
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In Travis County, the four deaths from April 22-28 ranked as the highest number in any week in Travis County in the past five years. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(12) PAINKILLER ABUSE SPREADING THROUGHOUT VIRGINIA, POLICE SAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
RICHMOND, Va. - Abuse of the painkiller OxyContin, which was mainly
restricted to southwest Virginia, is spreading to more populated parts
of the state, officials said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"What we're finding is that northern Virginia, central Virginia and
eastern Virginia are all having a problem with it," said State Police
1st Sgt. Rod Bess, a supervisor with the department's Drug Diversion
Unit. | ||||||||||||||||||
Although the numbers remain low, Bess said the abuse is more widespread
than originally thought. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Right now it's like an iceberg, and we're just seeing the tip," he
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Law Enforcement & Prisons-
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COMMENT: (13-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Amid reports of a serious economic slowdown, the news that prison
growth has also slowed should not surprise; however this assessment
sees the mood of the country as still punitive, with any lull expected
to be short-lived. | ||||||||||||||||||
The connection between illegal drugs and other crime is real-- but
very complex; a factor easily ignored by simplistic (but punitive and
expensive) policies, according to a Virginia report
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Another determinant of a state's prison population is financial
support for its arresting machinery-- as demonstrated by a Texas
article. | ||||||||||||||||||
Finally, the injustice inherent in forfeiture was borne out yet again;
this time in a report from Iowa
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(13) PRISON POPULATION IN U.S. LEVELING OFF (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ATLANTA After growing explosively for three decades, the nation's prison population has begun to stabilize, according to new government figures. For the first time in years, the overcrowding that has plagued state prisons and local jails alike is beginning to ease, as a result of falling crime rates and a decade of new construction... | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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If the prison population continues to stabilize or diminish, it could
have a substantial economic benefit to states and localities. State
prisoners now cost an average of $23,000 a year to house, so the 65,810
prisoners added between 1998 and 1999 increased the nation's prison
expenditures by about $1.5 billion. | ||||||||||||||||||
... But prison-building remains popular with many politicians and voters,
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Few people in the field expect building to stop. "We're a long way from
the point where crime is not a major political issue," said James Alan
Fox, a professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University. "The
political agenda is still heavily weighted towards punishment, and many
states are much more willing to spend money on prison construction than
on new schools."
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(14) DRUGS, NOT VIOLENCE, ARE THE FUEL FOR PRISON (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
About 80 percent of prisoners are drug abusers, according to estimates,
yet at prisons such as Powhatan Correctional Center in State Farm, Va.,
there is little or no treatment offered to inmates. For years,
politicians of both parties have been promising to sweep the streets of
violent criminals and lock them away in Virginia's burgeoning prison
system. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Violent thugs are getting the message: Virginia is not the place to
earn a living as a criminal predator, preying on innocent, law-abiding
citizens,'' then-Gov. George Allen declared in 1995.
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But Virginia's prison population has been swollen by people incarcerated for nonviolent crimes -- especially drug offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the early 1980s, about 10 percent of Virginians being put in state
prisons were drug offenders. By the 1990s, that figure had climbed to
25 percent. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Drug prosecutions have been underwritten by federal financial
incentives. Over the past 10 years, Virginia localities have received
more than $100 million in federal drug-control grants. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet illicit drug use, according to national surveys, has remained more or less constant for a decade. The surveys suggest that the war on drugs, the principal factor behind the prison boom, isn't working. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(15) DRUG TASK FORCE SEEKS COUNTY FUNDS TO OFFSET EXPECTED SHORTFALL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
FORT WORTH - For the first time in its 13 years, Tarrant County's
anti-drug task force is asking the county for a half-million dollars
over three years to offset a predicted shortfall linked to President
Bush's tax cut. | ||||||||||||||||||
Officials with the Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and
Coordination Unit said Tuesday that they will also ask the state for
permission to cut about eight positions. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Last year, prosecutors from the task force handled 80 percent of the
county's drug cases, according to District Attorney Tim Curry's
office. Between June 1999 and May 2000, task force officers arrested
444 felony drug suspects and seized $1.7 million in drugs in Tarrant
County. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(16) IOWA FORFEITURE LAW NEEDS FIXING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It's perfectly legal in Iowa for police to seize money and property suspected of being used in criminal drug activity. The assets can be kept by police and county attorney's offices for crime-fighting purposes if a forfeiture judgment is awarded in civil court. However, forfeiture rulings don't require a conviction in criminal court. | ||||||||||||||||||
Unfair? Many people think so. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The forfeiture process appears to violate the spirit of that principle,
and state legislators should draft a referendum that requires criminal
conviction before forfeiture is of assets is allowed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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COMMENT: (17-18): (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Interestingly, the Supreme Court position is now that the right to privacy is more sacred than right to non-approved medical treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||
Alan Bock also makes clear that the recent medical marijuana ruling is far from definitive because of limited federal resources. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) COURT LIMITS POLICE'S HIGH-TECH SEARCH OF HOMES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Justices Protect Privacy In A 5-To-4 Ruling Against The Use Of Thermal
Imaging. | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Supreme Court has drawn the curtains, closed the blinds, and
firmly shut the door on the unsupervised use of law-enforcement
technology to detect crimes in private homes. | ||||||||||||||||||
The result: American homes are today more private than they were
yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a major decision that strengthens privacy protections in the face of
increasingly sophisticated law-enforcement snooping devices, the high
court ruled yesterday that police must obtain a warrant from a neutral
judge prior to using technology that reveals even relatively minor
details about what's going on inside a private home. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(18) A WAITING GAME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Providers Of Medical Marijuana Are Cautious In Wake Of Supreme Court Ruling | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Supreme Court decision that denied the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative the right to claim a medical necessity defense under federal law on behalf of its patient-members left California's medical marijuana law (and the similar laws in eight other states) intact. But it created areas of uncertainty and possible vulnerability for patients and their caregivers that could take months or even years to sort out. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Conceptually the problem could be relatively simple. As Justice
Department attorney Barbara Underwood acknowledged during the Supreme
Court oral arguments March 28, federal law and California law regarding
the medical use of marijuana differ. State and local officials are
obligated to enforce state law. Federal officials are obligated to
enforce federal law - and to make decisions regarding the most
effective use of their limited resources. | ||||||||||||||||||
Before the Supreme Court decision - and before California voters in
1996 made Proposition 215... into Section 11362.5 of the California
Health and Safety Code - federal drug enforcement officials seldom went
after individual marijuana users. They preferred to concentrate on
larger-scale cases involving big-time traffickers or cultivators
growing 1,000 plants or more. The small fry they left to state and
local enforcement officials. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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COMMENT: (19-20): (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The following international articles confirm that profits from the
marijuana trade exceed the risks no matter how much is spent on
attempting to stop it. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) CANNABIS COSTLIEST DRUG TO POLICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Police spent nearly twice as much time and money policing cannabis as
they did hard-core drugs in the last five years. | ||||||||||||||||||
From 1995 to 2000, police spent $101 million and used 1.4 million hours
on cannabis offences, compared with $55 million and 775,000 hours on
all other drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
During that time, the amount spent on cannabis offences has increased
from $17m to $21.5m a year. Spending on all other drugs has increased
$4m to $12.5m a year. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(20) UN REPORT: CAMBODIA TOP WORLD SOURCE OF MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
PHNOM PENH: The United Nations has branded Cambodia one of the largest
suppliers of marijuana to the world, with business estimated to
generate nearly US$1bil (RM3.8bil) a year. | ||||||||||||||||||
The value of the export of marijuana is estimated to be on par with
that of Cambodia's top foreign exchange earner, the garment industry,
which employs more than 100,000 people, the UN International Drug
Control Programme said in a report. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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Graham Shaw, UNDCP's Cambodia programme officer, said yesterday that
the UN had committed US$3.5mil (RM13.3mil) to assist Cambodia in its
fight against drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News
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COMMENT: (21-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Weeks after the U.S. rewarded the Taliban with 43 million for its ban
on poppy cultivation, The Age (Australia) reported that the value of
Afghanistan's stockpiled opium has already increased by about 900
percent. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Times of Central Asia reported that despite disruption of Afghanistan's poppy trade, poppy cultivation and attendant black market problems are already increasing in neighboring countries. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) TALIBAN BANS POPPIES, BUT STOCKPILES OPIUM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
THE flowers have gone, but the doubts remain. Ten months after Afghanistan's ruling Taliban barred farmers from growing the poppies that supplied more than three-quarters of the world's opium, a UN panel has accused the regime of doing so only to keep prices up. | ||||||||||||||||||
The UN suspects Afghanistan's fundamentalist rulers of selling their
vast opium stockpiles to pay for the war effort against rebel leader
Ahmed Shah Masood. The order to destroy the poppies -- a vain attempt
to gain international recognition -- was announced last July by Taliban
leader Mohammad Omar. He declared opium-growing un-Islamic, and the ban
was ruthlessly enforced. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The UN Drug Control Program says the ban has created a shortage of
heroin, driving up prices locally from the equivalent of $55 a kilo to
about $500. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(22) THE 'ANDEAN SYNDROME' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Given the demand-driven character of the global trade in illegal drugs,
the eradication of opium poppy in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is
bound to lead to an increase in production elsewhere. | ||||||||||||||||||
If the recent history of another major drug-producing area, the Andes
region, is of any relevance, a major increase in production is to be
expected in neighboring and unstable areas suitable for cultivation:
that is to say, the Central Asian republics, especially Tajikistan and
Kyrgyzstan. The possible ramifications of such a development are
immense. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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The price of opium inside Afghanistan has skyrocketed. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, as Afghanistan in 1999 and 2000 produced far more opium than
is consumed in its traditional markets, traffickers still have stocks
of drugs, meaning that the effects of eradication are not yet tangible
in neighboring countries. Isolated reports from the trafficking routes
most integrated with Afghanistan - Tajikistan and the Northwest
Frontier Province ( NWFP ) in Pakistan - nevertheless signal that a
disruption of the trade is gradually taking place there, leading to
price increases and unemployment problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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COMMENT: (23-25) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Governors from U.S. and Mexican border states agreed to commission a
study of the public health aspects of drug trafficking-- even as the
NYT was reporting how a former colleague was indicted for drug
trafficking and may be extradited to the US. | ||||||||||||||||||
The details of Tim Weiner's story suggest drug corruption has been
endemic throughout Mexico, leading skeptical observers to wonder about
other Mexican state governments. | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug war also appears to be heating up in Ecuador, where the U.S.
is quietly tripling its military presence. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) U.S., MEXICO GOVERNORS TO STUDY DRUG TRAFFICKING AS HEALTH ISSUE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
TAMPICO, Mexico ( AP ) -- U.S. and Mexican border governors agreed Friday
to study drug trafficking as a health issue and not just a crime, a step
hailed by the New Mexico governor who favors legalizing marijuana and
ending the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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But while Mexican governors agreed to study the issue, Gov. Johnson
acknowledged that they are far from agreeing to push for drugs to be
legalized in their states. Nuevo Leon Gov. Fernando Canales and Baja
California Gov. Alejandro Gonzalez said the world isn't ready to legalize
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(24) U.S. DRUG INDICTMENT CHRONICLES KING OF CANCUN'S FALL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY -- Millions of Americans know the Mexican resort of Cancun
as a pleasure dome promising cheap tequila and hot spring breaks, where
English is widely spoken, dollars gladly taken and the hamburgers taste
like home. | ||||||||||||||||||
But behind that facade, one of the world's biggest drug rings, a
multibillion-dollar Mexican enterprise, single-handedly imported
roughly 15 percent of all cocaine to reach the United States in the
late 1990's, Mexican and American officials say. They surmise that the
drug traffickers laundered some of their profits through beachfront
resorts and businesses, and that drug money helped finance some tourist
sites -- in short, that cocaine helped build Cancun. | ||||||||||||||||||
At the hub of this rich enterprise, they say, stood Mario Villanueva,
the governor of the state of Quintana Roo from 1993 to 1999, who is
likely to become the highest-ranking Latin American politician to face
cocaine charges in a United States court since the arrest of Gen.
Manuel Noriega, the dictator of Panama, in 1989. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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(25) U.S. PLANS MORE TROOPS FOR ECUADOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. plans to triple the number of troops operating from a base in
north-west Ecuador in its fight against the drugs trade in south
America. | ||||||||||||||||||
At least 200 mostly air force and navy personnel will be temporarily stationed at the Ecuadorean airforce base in Manta from October after the US completes work to expand the runway. Up to 400 personnel may be stationed there under a ten-year accord with the Ecuadorean government. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip]
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Upcoming Father's Day Ad Points to Thousands of New York Kids Whose Dads
are in Prison Under Rockefeller Drug Laws
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The English version of the ad is available in .pdf format at
http://www.famm.org/GazetteAd.pdf
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Students for a Drug-Free Whitehouse
| ||||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration is denying financial aid to students who won't
answer questions about their drug records. Since this comes from a man
who spent an entire campaign refusing to talk about his own drug history,
we have one simple request:
| ||||||||||||||||||
"President Bush, if you deny federal funds to students who won't talk about their drug histories, it's only fair that you forego your federal salary until you are willing to come clean with your own drug past." | ||||||||||||||||||
If you agree, sign on at: http://justsayblow.com/
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Editor's Note:
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Because Robert Randall died on the last day of the New Mexico
Convention, his passing received less coverage in this Newsletter than
it otherwise might have. The following recollection from someone who
worked closely with him is intended to acquaint newcomers with his
critical contributions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Robert Randall's Importance to Reform
| ||||||||||||||||||
With the passing of Robert Randall the reform movement lost a great one; his legacy is obvious -- that same night I gave the Robert Randall Citizen Action Award to activists working to end the incarceration of drug offenders. On the following Monday the Nevada legislature moved to make marijuana medically available. In the Bay Area, where I write from, there is a strong, vibrant medical marijuana community that will not give up on Randall's goal of safe access to medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||
Randall was an early ally for me in the reform movement. He became a
close friend, mentor, advisor. There is no question that knowing Robert
and working with him made me a better reformer. He was gentle and
empathatic and while aware of the difficult politics of the drug war he
was unwilling to compromise basic principles. When I first got involved
in reform an early lesson that I learned was -- whenever you do
something on medical marijuana, talk to Rob, follow his lead. It was
good to have a patient in the lead with the good political judgment of
Robert Randall. I certainly prefer it to the poll driven politics of
today. | ||||||||||||||||||
Even though Robert acted without polling and without multi-million dollar budgets he was able to achieve unprecedented success. He was able to get 34 states to pass medical marijuana laws that resulted in thousands of patients getting a legal supply of their medicine and some of the most important research -- proving marijuana to be a safe and effective medicine. These laws were passed with a simple formula -- put the patients out front advocating for themselves and back them up with the facts needed to prove their viewpoint. There is no doubt that the political successes of today around medical marijuana have their roots in the work of Robert Randall over the last several decades. | ||||||||||||||||||
Robert's partner in life was Alice O'Leary; I know Robert would
acknowledge that without Alice he would not have achieved the success
he did. | ||||||||||||||||||
There will be a memorial service for Robert in Sarasota on June 23. It
will be a public event, I plan on being there and I know other
activists will as well. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kevin Zeese
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As the number of articles filed by NewsHawks each week has steadily
increased, so have the number of published letters to editors (LTEs)
written by MAP volunteers. Sadly, this has forced us to nearly
eliminate the letters we are able to refer to in our job of covering
the news. | ||||||||||||||||||
This has long troubled us because MAP's original purpose was to affect
media coverage of the drug war through stimulating LTEs. To address
this deficit, at least in part, we are starting a new section:
"Letter of the Week", wherein we will reprint what we consider to be
one of the best letters on drug policy published over the latest seven
days. It's likely that in coming weeks we'll also list the URLs of
several runners up. | ||||||||||||||||||
Somewhat typically, recognition of the first letter is belated because
of a mix up over when the program was to begin, but because the letter
itself so well illustrates what MAP is all about, we're sticking with
it to kick off this new section of the newsletter. | ||||||||||||||||||
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To the editor:
| ||||||||||||||||||
Joseph Manhardt wonders which state will write back with a
carefully-crafted letter to question his analysis of medical marijuana
(May 24, "Pot hardly a wonder drug". In this case it is Washington
State. | ||||||||||||||||||
I read his letter on a Web site called the Media Awareness Project
at http://www.mapinc.org/. As of this writing, MAP has posted 58,813
drug-war related articles from newspapers, magazines and journals
all over the world. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Web site is updated with new articles many times a day. Anyone with
an interest in drug policy can get various perspectives from publications
in Ireland, Thailand, Jamaica, Iran, Great Britain, Colombia and, yes,
Bath, Maine. | ||||||||||||||||||
Each article contains a link to the Web site of the original published work, as well as a link to respond with a letter to the editor, hence my letter right now. MAP "globalizes" local papers. I'll bet that it is the number one reason why out-of-state people are responding. | ||||||||||||||||||
I encourage all interested readers to check out http://www.mapinc.org/,
read a variety of articles from around the world and draw their own
conclusions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Freedom has nothing to fear from the truth. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kevin Nelson,
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"We scientists are not finding it as easy as it used to be to convince people that rational inquiry is the best way to seek useful knowledge. The religious fundies, the premods, and postmods don't believe us. I wish we could get all of them on one side of a line out in the Nevada desert with us scientists on the other. They could use all their weapons on us: prayers, incantations, calling down UFO attacks, emailing us long unreadable discourses; and we could nuke 'em." -- Professor Vic Stenger | ||||||||||||||||||
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DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can
do for you. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Content selection and analyses by Tom O'Connell (),
Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Jo-D Dunbar
(), International content selection by Stephen Young
(), Layout by Matt Elrod
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We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||||
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