| July 6, 2001 #206 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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) THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Congress, July 4, 1776 | ||||||||||||||||||||
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America | ||||||||||||||||||||
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) CANADA UNVEILS NEW MARIJUANA RULES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
TORONTO (AP) -- New regulations expanding the legal use of medical marijuana will allow people with terminal or debilitating illnesses to possess and cultivate pot, or designate someone to do it for them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But the Canadian Medical Association opposed the rules announced Wednesday, saying that too little is known about the possible harm from the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The guidelines take effect July 30, meeting a court-ordered deadline for
the government to create the regulatory system. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) UK: RESEARCH CASTS DOUBT ON CANNABIS BENEFITS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Setback for calls to license pot, as derivatives cause side effects and prove less valuable than conventional drugs for pain relief. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis derivatives are neither as effective nor as safe as
conventional medicines for the relief of pain and prevention of
sickness during cancer drug treatment, according to two reviews of
existing evidence which will dismay those who hope to see marijuana
licensed as a medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, neither study focused on the possible benefit to people
suffering from multiple sclerosis. Cannabis derivatives are being
tested on substantial numbers of people with MS and other neuropathic
disorders as a result of sufferers' claims that smoking dope relieved
their symptoms and their pain. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) PORTUGAL TO STOP BUSTING DRUG USERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LISBON - The Portuguese parliament yesterday decriminalized the use of
illegal drugs such as cannabis and heroin and viewed drug users as people
in need of medical help. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Until now, drug users and those caught in possession of small amounts of banned drugs for personal use could be sentenced up to one year in jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||
With the move, Portugal became the third member of the European Union -
after Spain and Italy - to decriminalize the consumption and possession of
small quantities of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The idea is to get away from punishment toward treatment," said Carlos
Borges, spokesman for the Presidency Ministry which is responsible for drug
policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Under the new law, police will report drug-takers to special commissions to
be set up by local authorities which will be responsible for ensuring the
addicts seek treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[end] | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.mapinc.org/areas/portugal/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a item befitting a slow news week, veteran ONDCP observer Dan Forbes reported on the quiet cessation of a controversial practice and wondered what it might signal about the new drug czar. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A measure of the media's continuing timidity is that not one publication ran a UPI reporter's balanced description of Peter Reuter's harsh criticism of drug policy (TJI last week). | ||||||||||||||||||||
But hype still sells papers: a scare story exactly like those that have chronicled the eastward spread of methamphetamine from California's Central Valley finally appeared in an Eastern newspaper. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Around the nation, club drugs continued to generate alarm as raves
provoked increasingly punitive responses from local law enforcement
agencies. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) THE QUIET DEATH OF PRIME-TIME PROPAGANDA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
With no fanfare, the White House drug office pulls the plug on its
controversial program to pay TV networks for putting anti-drug
messages in popular shows. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The White House program to financially reward television networks for
anti-drug messages embedded in sitcoms and dramas was born in
secrecy, achieved stunning midlife notoriety and now has been quietly
terminated. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The timing of such a move by acting director Jurith accomplishes several ends for the Bush administration. It is unusual, considering the widely publicized expectation that John Walters would soon be nominated as drug czar, for an acting director to take such a step, though Jurith is a respected career civil servant. But it allows Walters to avoid a potentially messy inaugural decision. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) THINK TANKS DRUG WAR LOST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- The United States is losing the war on
drugs because of the shortcomings and failures of current U.S. drug
policy, says a recent report from a major think tank. | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. policy, which is focused on interdiction and incarceration, has
failed to reduce the availability of drugs, while forcing U.S.
anti-drug institutions to watch helplessly as street prices of illegal
substances mysteriously fell, said the report. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The report's author Peter Reuter -- a drug policy analyst with the RAND Institute and the founder and former director of RAND's Drug Policy Research Center -- said that this failure occurred despite a more than threefold increase in allotted drug war spending, from $10 billion annually in the 1980s to $35 billion in the late 1990s. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) NEW WAVE OF METHAMPHETAMINE USE ROLLS INTO REGION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Many Small Towns Aren't Equipped To Deal With Drug Resurgence | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Methamphetamine use has undergone a revival of sorts | ||||||||||||||||||||
In response, police in states such as Missouri and Michigan began
heavily cracking down on clandestine labs and have seen the number of
raids climb past 100 a year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
... Before 1999, the SBI responded to perhaps two or three sites a | ||||||||||||||||||||
So far this year, SBI cleanup crews have been summoned to 13 sites
throughout North Carolina, from Erwin, a textile town in Harnett
County near the Cape Fear River, to Wilkesboro in the northwestern
corner of the state. Four labs have been raided in the Triad, three
of them - including labs in Thomasville, Trinity and High Point -
within the past 10 days. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) COUNCILMAN CALLING FOR ANTI-RAVE LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
One member of the Greenville County Council says he will urge his colleagues to consider an ordinance discouraging or altogether prohibiting the all-night psychedelic dance parties known as raves. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The comments by Councilman Joe Dill came after 70 people were arrested last weekend on drug and disorderly conduct charges at a Westside rave staged at the Carolina Metroplex on White Horse Road. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is outrageous," said Dill, who says he'll bring the subject of
raves up for discussion when the County Council reconvenes from its
summer break in August. "These things could turn into a major problem
if we don't deal with it. We don't need this in Greenville County,
and I will definitely do everything I can to make sure it doesn't
catch on here." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) 366 CARS STOPPED, 80 CHARGED DURING RAVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Representatives of several law enforcement agencies
said their large-scale presence at a techno music show south of town was
justified. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Between 3,000 and 4,000 people attended the event at the Terry Bison Ranch.
Eighty-three law-enforcement officers were among the 132 public safety
officials on hand. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At a press conference Tuesday, representatives of the Laramie County
Sheriff's Office, state Division of Criminal Investigation and other
agencies said 366 cars were stopped and 80 people were charged with drug
crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Felony drug charges were filed against six people. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"People need to ask themselves, if we had done nothing whatsoever, what could have happened?" said Steve Miller, deputy director of the DCI. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) FIGHTING ECSTASY GETS NEW PRIORITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Federal drug officials are creating a statewide computer database to
combat Ecstasy trafficking in New Jersey, an intelligence system said
to be the first of its kind in the nation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's New Jersey database will
contain information from local law enforcement agencies on all
Ecstasy dealers and distributors arrested in the state and on
patterns of the drug's sale. It also will catalog the different types
of the drug and allow DEA chemists to use sophisticated scientific
methods to trace manufacturers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 36 went into effect on July 1 amid a great deal of
uncertainty; a preliminary assessment by the Lindesmith Center not
only found considerable variation in both preparedness and attitude
from one county to another, it irked officials in at least one of
them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In any event, the most certain short term effect of 36 should be a
sharp reduction in the number of women being imprisoned for drug
offenses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) CALIFORNIA TRIES TREATMENT FOR DRUG USERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The nation's boldest effort to put drug users into treatment instead
of prison begins Monday in California. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 36, a sweeping initiative approved by voters in November,
directs judges to require treatment instead of incarceration to most
non-violent, drug users on their first and second offense. It does
not apply to drug dealers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Previously, treatment was an option only if offenders pleaded guilty
and a judge approved. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The stakes are high," says Jack Riley, criminal justice director of
RAND, a non-partisan think tank. "If Prop. 36 succeeds to any extent,
we may see wide scale diversion across the country from incarceration
to treatment. If it doesn't work, we probably have done great harm to
that cause." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) LOCAL DRUG PLANS SCORED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a blistering report on the county's plan to implement Proposition
36, a national drug policy foundation on Wednesday said the county is
bolstering the criminal justice system instead of emphasizing drug
treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Lindesmith Center, which backed the measure that mandates
treatment over incarceration as an alternative to the nation's war on
drugs, gave San Bernardino County its lowest grade: F. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) PROPOSITION TO DROP NUMBER OF FEMALE INMATES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CHINO -- The number of inmates at the California Institution for
Women is expected to drop significantly from the effects of
Proposition 36, the voter-passed initiative that sends drug offenders
to treatment programs instead of prison. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The legislation takes effect today and could have a big impact on the prison, where more than 80 percent of the inmate population is serving time for drug-related crimes, according to prison officials. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (14-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A widely reprinted AP item comparing the percentage of black males in prison with their representation in the recent census was shocking; but hardly surprising to anyone following the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||
One of the mechanisms producing those statistics-- profiling-- seems
as vexing and intractable now as when first uncovered. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Finally; a private agency reported findings and conclusions which
seem certain to provoke widespread discussion: a dramatic rise in
the incidence of cannabis use in youthful arrestees was seen as
positive. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) FIGURES SHOW DRUG WAR TOUGHEST ON MINORITIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Disparity In Jail Population Illustrated Across Country | ||||||||||||||||||||
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - When an epidemic of crack and gang violence
erupted in cities like New Haven in the 1990s, police and lawmakers
struck back hard. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The war on drugs yielded dozens of new laws, including mandatory
sentences for drug dealers and heavier penalties for dealing crack
rather than powdered cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But those laws also had unintended consequences in minority communities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Black men make up less than 3 percent of Connecticut's population but
account for 47 percent of inmates in prisons, jails and halfway
houses, 2000 census figures show. | ||||||||||||||||||||
One in 11 black men between the ages of 18 and 64 in Connecticut is behind bars, the census found. In 1990, that figure was about one in | ||||||||||||||||||||
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[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) PROFILING DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
ACLU, State Police Remain At Odds Over Car Stops, Searches | ||||||||||||||||||||
Deborah A. Jeon says little has changed since the American Civil
Liberties Union first sued the Maryland State Police, accusing
troopers of using race as a reason for stopping and searching
minority motorists. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"State police have not taken the problem seriously," the ACLU staff
lawyer maintains. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) POT'S RISE REPORTED IN YOUNG ARRESTEES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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While marijuana use during the 1990s held steady in the nation's
general population, its popularity among 18- to 20-year-olds arrested
for crimes soared and is now epidemic, according to a report released
Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Moreover, the study of 23 cities, including Los Angeles, found that
as marijuana use grew, crack and heroin use declined significantly,
raising questions about the long-debated inevitability that marijuana
use leads to harder drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think the findings are powerfully significant," said the study's
co-author, Andrew Golub, a senior researcher at the National
Development and Research Institute, a New York-based private,
nonprofit foundation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is a social phenomenon," Golub said. "These youths define
marijuana as not a drug." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Although disingenuous drug warriors will undoubtedly continue to
spout the gateway theory, articles from both sides of the Atlantic
exposed the fallacy of this tired myth. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) STUDY RAISES QUESTIONS ON POT AS GATEWAY DRUG (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
While marijuana use during the 1990s held steady in the nation's
general population, its popularity among 18- to 20-year-olds arrested
for crimes soared and is now epidemic, according to a report released
Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Moreover, the study of 23 cities found that as marijuana use grew,
crack and heroin use declined significantly, raising questions about
the long-debated inevitability that marijuana use will lead to harder
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) DRUG CZAR RECANTS: CANNABIS USE DOES NOT LEAD TO HEROIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BRITAIN'S first drugs czar, Keith Hellawell, has softened his hard
line on cannabis, saying that he no longer believes it necessarily
leads on to harder drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a significant U-turn the anti-drugs co-ordinator, who was
sidelined by David Blunkett, the home secretary, last month, said: "I
do not believe it's a gateway drug." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, last week he said: "The evidence we've got from New Zealand is that if someone smokes a joint of cannabis a week they are 60 times more likely to be involved in harder drugs than those who do not use it at that level. That is one piece of evidence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"That does not mean that everybody who smokes 50 joints a year will
automatically be involved in hard drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (19-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two pro-cannabis propaganda stories showed not only how creative
cannabis users are but also dispels the theory that pot smokers are
lazy and unmotivated. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) WE'RE HERE. WE'RE HIGH. GET USED TO US. (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jeff Jarvis and Tracy Johnson couldn't have planned it better. Increasingly frustrated by the stigma of what they see as a harmless and popular activity, they decided to take to the radio waves. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The couple, who moved from Aloha to Bend earlier this year,
approached Portland's KUFO-FM in May with a proposed script for a
30-second radio ad. The station turned them down. | ||||||||||||||||||||
KUFO wasn't alone in such thinking. Jeff and Tracy, both 39, have
also been turned down by Portland's KNRK-FM, KGON-FM, KKRZ-FM,
KKCW-FM and KEX-AM, and by stations in Seattle and Bend. Plan B--bus
and Max banners--was nixed by Obie Media, which handles advertising
on Tri-Met. A proposed ad in the Sunday Oregonian was found by the
paper to be "unsuitable for publication." | ||||||||||||||||||||
What offensive message do these two deviants propose? In short, it's
this: A lot of normal (rather than NORML) people use marijuana, so
be wary of stereotypes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Eventually the couple found some folks willing to take their money,
here at WW (their full-page ad, which cost $2,555, appears elsewhere
in this issue). And they may yet hit the airwaves: On Friday, KDBZ-AM
620 (appropriately known as The Buzz) reviewed the script and said
the station would consider running it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) ILLEGAL WEED SPOTTED IN GRASS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mysterious Mower Carves Out Slang Term For Marijuana | ||||||||||||||||||||
Did someone use a patch of grass to say something about an illegal
weed? | ||||||||||||||||||||
That's one theory making the rounds after an unknown man mowed the number "420" in 20-foot-long digits onto a pair of Peoria hillsides flanking the McClugage Bridge and its Adams Street ramps this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That number has been used as underground slang in reference to
marijuana. State highway department officials are irked by the
possibly symbolic vandalism in the shadow of the McClugage, one of
Peoria's most-used gateways. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMENT: (21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Following closely in the footsteps of the U.S. Supreme Court, the
Supreme Court of British Columbia has also ruled that cops must
obtain a warrant prior to peering into citizens' property with
infrared radar. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) JUDGE THROWS OUT HELICOPTER DRUG EVIDENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
'Invasion Of Privacy' | ||||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER - The Supreme Court of British Columbia has thrown out
evidence gathered by the RCMP in a drug investigation because it was
seized after police used a helicopter equipped with infrared radar
without a warrant. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Justice Wally Oppal said using a helicopter without a search warrant
amounted to an unauthorized invasion of privacy, noting the flyovers
were so low police reported seeing someone urinating. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The accused's right to privacy was clearly violated by the
inordinately low altitude of the flights. The police admitted that
the altitude of the flyovers was so low that they could see one of
the parties urinating. This was a private residence. The flyovers
together with the use of the intrusive technology constituted an
unlawful search and seizure." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (22-27 ) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tough rhetoric and action continued around the globe this week. The
Cuban government spoke of killing drug criminals, while the Iranian
government was actually doing it. The Australian government was a
bit more subtle, advocating a plan to push its spy agency into the
drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite all the threats, drug smuggling continues, even among seemingly unlikely suspects. One, a member of the U.S. Navy, was caught allegedly trying to take drugs out of Colombia. In Canada, a 70-year-old man died with drug-filled balloons in his stomach. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And while some governments haven't let the shameful excesses of the
drug war dissuade them from pursuing it, a British company has
decided to withdraw from participating in the chemical assault on
Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) CUBA: SMUGGLE AND YOU'LL DIE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nation Steps Up Enforcement Of Trafficking Laws | ||||||||||||||||||||
HAVANA - As drug seizures in Cuba rise to unprecedented levels, the island's justice minister warned Tuesday that traffickers who smuggle drugs in the land of Fidel Castro face the ultimate punishment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"For humanitarian reasons, the death penalty doesn't please us. But
the message gets through to drug traffickers," said Justice Minister
Roberto Diaz. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cuban authorities last year seized more than 13 tons of drugs, more
than they've taken in a single year since at least 1995. Drug-laden
boats and planes coming from Colombia and other nations increasingly
use Cuban airspace and territorial waters to hide from authorities as
they head toward the Bahamas and the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(23) IRAN POLICE KILL 9 DRUG TRAFFICKERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Police have carried out a major crackdown on
drug trafficking and abuse during the past week, arresting 11,892
addicts and traders, and killing nine traffickers in shootouts,
Iran's official news agency said Sunday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police confiscated 1,949 pounds of drugs in the four-day sweep
conducted across the nation, the Islamic Republic News Agency said.
Seven trafficking rings were destroyed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Iran is a major route for smuggling drugs from Afghanistan and
Pakistan to markets in the Gulf, Europe and beyond. Opium, heroin,
hashish and morphine are taken across the country. Single busts
involving a ton or more of drugs are not uncommon. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(24) OPED: DRUGS, SPIES AND POWER WITHOUT LIMIT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The combination of spies and drugs does not have a happy history. Which is one reason it's not a good idea to let spies get mixed up in the illegal drug trade while giving them immunity from the law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Yet this explosive mix is sanctioned by the Intelligence Services
Bill introduced into Federal Parliament last week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Although ASIS was set up in 1952 to collect national security information, it has expanded into gathering economic intelligence. Now the Howard Government wants it to penetrate overseas drug rings. Unfortunately, the huge amount of money in the drug trade and the clandestine world of spying has proved a volatile combination. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(25) POLICE SAY MEMBER OF U.S. NAVY CAUGHT SMUGGLING HEROIN FROM COLOMBIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA -- Colombian police said they caught a member of the U.S. Navy
trying to smuggle 0.9 kilograms (2 pounds) of heroin into the United
States after swallowing the drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police on Wednesday identified the suspect, arrested Sunday at the international airport in Cali as he tried to board a Miami-bound flight, as 20-year-old Christian Gonzalez. They said he is a Colombian national with permanent residency in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gonzalez was carrying U.S. military identification and told police he
worked for the U.S. Navy, Cali police spokesman Col. Javier Pareja
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(26) SENIOR DRUG MULE DIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
TORONTO -- Peel police and the coroner's office are probing the death
of a 70-year-old British drug courier at Etobicoke General Hospital
early yesterday morning. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police have refused to release the elderly man's identity pending the
notification of his next of kin in Middlesex, England. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Airport officers said the senior had swallowed 12 rubber pellets of
heroin and it appeared one broke inside him shortly after he arrived
at the terminal on an Air Canada flight Saturday night. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(27) ICI PULLS OUT OF COCAINE WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
ICI has pulled out of the controversial U.S. project to spray vast
areas of Colombia with herbicides in an attempt to eradicate its
cocaine and heroin trade. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The British chemicals company's decision, which came after an
Observer investigation revealed its involvement, will be a major
embarrassment to the U.S. government and will dent the credibility of
the plan. | ||||||||||||||||||||
ICI does not want its name dragged into such a programme,
particularly as there have been reports of children in Colombia who
have inhaled the chemicals falling ill. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The $1 billion programme, instigated by former President Bill
Clinton, will also be hit by revelations that an individual working
for the U.S. company fumigating the coca and opium plants has been
suspected of smuggling heroin back into the US. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Policy Forum of Michigan (DPFMI) Off to a Running Start | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hearty congratulations to yet another DrugSense/MAP supported state
focused group. The Drug Policy Forum of Michigan is developing its
membership and web activism with both an active E-mail list and a new
web page. http://www.drugsense.org/dpfmi/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
NIDA Report: Drug Use Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
NIDA has just (6/29/01) released a publication on Drug Use Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities. An electronic copy of the report can be downloaded from: http://www.nida.nih.gov/DESPR/DUAREM/index.html | ||||||||||||||||||||
This report confirms a point made in one of Common Sense's recent ads on race, drug use and disparities in drug enforcement ... | ||||||||||||||||||||
... that African-American young people are much less likely to be drug | ||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Doug McVay | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The Rise of Marijuana as the Drug of Choice Among Youthful Adult
Arrestees, June 2001, National Institute of Justice | ||||||||||||||||||||
This NIJ Research in Brief discusses trends in marijuana use among
booked adult arrestees from 1987 through 1999. Results were detected
through urinalyses served by the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring
program at 23 locations nationwide. It also explores trends within
the mainstream population based on self-reports of past-month
marijuana use recorded by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
(NHSDA) and Monitoring the Future (MTF) programs and presents key
findings. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Global Illicit Drug Trends 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||
First released in 1999, this report is now prepared annually by the
Research Section of the United Nations International Drug Control
Programme (UNDCP), which is part of the Vienna-based United Nations
Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP). The report
takes a statistical approach to assessing the status of world supply
in and demand for illicit drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Join Keith Stroup of NORML on Sun. July 8, 2001 8PM Eastern in the
Drugsense Chat Room | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Stroup will also be appearing on Mon. July 9, 2001 8PM Eastern
in the NY Times Drug Policy Forum | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stay tuned to http://www.cultural-baggage.com/schedule.htm for
a schedule of future guests. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
A major overhaul of the DanceSafe website is currently underway.
Many features like the DanceSafe E-Board and a newsfeed from the
Media Awareness Project have already been completed. Look for more
big changes in the coming weeks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Political cartoonist Rex Babin joined The Sacramento Bee on May 9,
and his work appears five times weekly. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.sacbee.com/voices/sac/babin/babin_page.cgi?babin_20010704.gif | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
NOTE from the Author: Henceforth I am avoiding 'drug war' in what I
write and speak. It is 'drug prohibition' from now on. This switch
was easy switch in my 'John Ashcroft' letter just pubbed in the Miami
Herald. | ||||||||||||||||||||
IMO, we should have favored this term all along. Now that prohibition
has been medicalized it is no longer a war. But it is still
prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||||
John Chase | ||||||||||||||||||||
The November Coalition | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DRIVING UP THE PRICE OF DRUGS (AGAIN) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Re: the June 26 article "In Dade, Ashcroft touts river cocaine
seizures" : | ||||||||||||||||||||
John Ashcroft is not the first U.S. attorney general to brag about
driving up the price of illegal drugs in Miami. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In 1928 the then assistant U.S. attorney general, whose job was to
enforce Prohibition, bragged how she had blockaded Rum Row -- the
Florida and New Jersey coasts -- and caused the Miami price of a case
of good liquor to climb to $125 from $35. She was Mabel Walker
Willebrandt, writing in her 1929 book The Inside of Prohibition. The
title of Chapter 17 is ``Routing Rum Row.'' | ||||||||||||||||||||
Her blockade made bootleggers so desperate to meet demand that they adulterated good liquor with wood alcohol and other solvents, thus triggering an epidemic of blindings, paralysis and death from adulterated liquor. This, in turn, eroded public support for Prohibition and contributed to its demise four years later. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Interdicting any popular drug makes it more dangerous. The higher price drives off casual users, who are no problem anyhow, and motivates abusers to commit property crimes to get their fix at the higher price, even if it means using a drug of unknown composition. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ashcroft should tell us what is different about drug interdiction now
that will make it succeed when the last time it was tried, in 1928,
it failed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
JOHN CHASE | ||||||||||||||||||||
Palm Harbor | ||||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LA Weekly Independence Day Special 25 Article on the Drug War | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Lieu of a Feature Article this week, we direct your attention to
this weeks phenomenal issue of the "LA Weekly." The entire issue
entitled "The Independence Day Special" was dedicated to the failed
drug war. It contains no less than 25 separate articles covering the
entire gamut of our nations biggest embarrassment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The full series has been permanently archived in the DrugNews Archive
at: http://www.mapinc.org/find?193 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Freedom to Exhale has compiled the series along with related links at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
The cover and presentation are also well worth a look at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are
injurious to others." - Thomas Jefferson | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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