| July 20, 2001 #208 | ||||||||||||||||
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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) UK: CANNABIS BILL PASSES FIRST HURDLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
CANNABIS was thrust back on to the political agenda yesterday when a bill to legalise the drug passed its first parliamentary hurdle. | ||||||||||||||||
A private member's bill to decriminalise cannabis was given an unopposed
first reading in the Commons. | ||||||||||||||||
This means the bill will be debated when parliament returns in the autumn,
but it stands almost no chance of becoming law without government backing,
which it does not have. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) LISBON TAKES DRUG USE OFF THE CHARGE SHEET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Addicts Treated As Health And Social Problem | ||||||||||||||||
Portugal has forced back the frontiers of drug liberalisation in Europe with a law which, at a stroke, decriminalises the use of all previously banned narcotics, from cannabis to crack cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
The new law, which came into effect on 1 July, takes a socially
conservative country with traditional Catholic values far ahead of
much of northern Europe, including Britain, in treating drug abuse as
a social and health problem rather than a criminal one. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) WEEKEND RALLY MARKS TULIA DRUG RAID ANNIVERSARY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A local reform group is planning a rally Sunday marking the second
anniversary of a drug raid in Tulia that netted half the town's black male
population. | ||||||||||||||||
"The Friends of Justice," a Tulia-based group that sprang up in defense of
several defendants in the raid, claims the undercover agent's court
testimony was uncorroborated and manufactured. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) TRANSCRIPT: OXYCONTIN CREATES CONTROVERSY AMONG USERS AND PHARMACIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Some people with chronic pain have to lean on powerful prescription drugs
just to get through the day. Life can be unbearable without them. In
tonight's cover story, CNN's Bill Delaney on how legitimate drug users may
have to go without, because of drug abusers. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In a quiet news week, the nation's three newest problem agents (club
drugs, Oxy, meth) continued to fester locally; Congressional
hearings on the latter were the only significant domestic news from
within the Beltway; it's interesting that police can so easily look
beyond their own failures to voice despair at the poor results of
(underfunded) treatment. | ||||||||||||||||
For those with a sense of history, the OxyContin controversy is
eerily reminiscent of the law enforcement attacks on physicians that
converted the Harrison Act into drug prohibition; one difference is
the current (and paradoxical) federal campaign promoting adequate
pain management. | ||||||||||||||||
Be that as it may, drug use by two other politically powerless
groups, children and students, was also the subject of both scrutiny
and concern. | ||||||||||||||||
Good news on the latter front: negative publicity (thank SSDP) has forced one sponsor of repressive legislation to call for "restraint." | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) POLICE DISCUSS RAVE-ECSTASY LINK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Amid Summit Strategizing, Chief Barker Says IPD Will Keep Shutting
Down The All-Night Parties. | ||||||||||||||||
A piece of candy. A flashlight. A glowing green stick. | ||||||||||||||||
They may look like toys to the untrained eye, but to Sgt. Scott
Baldwin, they are red flags that a child might be attending so-called
"raves" and getting high on the weekends. | ||||||||||||||||
"When you look at all these things together, they begin to look very suspicious," said Baldwin, who heads the Indianapolis Police Department's narcotics unit. "You see a pack of Tootsie Rolls or Skittles and it very well may be Ecstasy (an illegal drug)." | ||||||||||||||||
Investigators from throughout central Indiana attended a rave
"summit" Wednesday at the city's Police Training Academy to slow
Ecstasy's growing presence and share investigative strategies for
closing the all-night dance parties. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) TOWN'S OXYCONTIN BUYERS TO BE FINGERPRINTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Pulaski Pharmacies Plan To Use Invisible-Ink System In Police-Led
Battle Against Abuse Of Painkiller. | ||||||||||||||||
Patients in the small southwest Virginia town of Pulaski will have to
provide fingerprints at the area's six pharmacies to get OxyContin as
part of a novel law enforcement effort to curb widespread abuse of
the prescription painkiller. | ||||||||||||||||
Pulaski police are planning to meet with pharmacists next week to
show them how to use a chemical fingerprinting system that employs
invisible ink to "sign" documents for authenticity. Patients will be
asked to leave their fingerprint signature on prescription papers so
police can track cases of fraud. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) MEXICAN GANGS CITED IN METH RISE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Federal and state officials told a congressional panel
Thursday that methamphetamine is a growing problem across the nation
and one of the largest narcotics issues. | ||||||||||||||||
Joseph Keefe, chief of operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, said one of the latest trends with methamphetamine is
that Mexican-based drug organizations dominate the trafficking of the
drug by using large-scale laboratories in Mexico and the southwestern
United States. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The law enforcement officers proposed that they be given more funding
and training. Moreover, they suggested tougher penalties for meth
users and producers. The law enforcement officials agreed that
treatment for meth users wasn't helpful. Sheriff John McCroskey of
Louis County, Wash., said drug treatment for meth addicts is "a
dismal failure." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) DOCTOR FOUND GUILTY IN OXYCONTIN CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Jury Finds That Physician Had No Legitimate Reason For Prescriptions | ||||||||||||||||
A physician was convicted Friday of writing hundreds of unnecessary
prescriptions for OxyContin and other drugs, feeding an addiction
problem that is gripping parts of Southwest Virginia. | ||||||||||||||||
After deliberating about 17 hours over three days, a jury in U.S. District Court in Abingdon found Dr. Franklin Sutherland of Grundy guilty of writing 427 prescriptions for no legitimate medical purpose. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) POOH GETS HIS RITALIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a report that
ought to catch the attention of the medical profession in Vermont.
According to the DEA, Vermont ranks second of all the states in the
per-capita use of Ritalin. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The widespread diagnosis of ADHD, which is said affect to 4 to 12 percent of school-age children, has given rise to worries about over-diagnosis and over-medication. If Vermont is the second-highest user of Ritalin, those worries ought to get serious consideration. | ||||||||||||||||
Can it be that Vermont children are as pervasively affected by ADHD as our Ritalin usage would suggest? Or does Vermont suffer from what has been called excessive "medicalization of human experience"? | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.cma.ca/cmaj/vol-163/issue-12/1557.htm | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) SCHOOL BOARDS DEBATE USE OF DRUG-SNIFFING DOGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A student at Bergenfield High School arrives late on a recent morning
before school lets out for the summer. Administrators bark at her to
get into the lunchroom. | ||||||||||||||||
At the same time, Rex, a German shepherd trained to sniff out even
minute amounts of drugs, is scratching and banging at the vents of a
locker... | ||||||||||||||||
"When the dog goes crazy, that's the sign of a hit," said Bergenfield
police Lt. Jim Stoltenborg "It turned out there was nothing in
there." But he noted there may have been drugs in the locker at one
time or in an adjacent locker. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But some administrators question the tactic, believing it treads on
students' privacy rights. | ||||||||||||||||
In Paterson, some school trustees have balked at the idea and the
images it conjures in a mostly minority city. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) BACK TO SCHOOL PLANS MAY MEAN NO COLLEGE AID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
FOR MORE THAN 34,000 PEOPLE WITH DRUG CONVICTIONS | ||||||||||||||||
A ban on giving federal aid to college students with drug convictions
could mean more than 34,000 people will be denied loans and grants in
the coming school year -- more than triple those turned away in
2000-01. | ||||||||||||||||
The increase reflects a clarification in the U.S. Education Department's aid application, which screens for people with drug records. But the change has brought louder protests against the law - Even the measure's author says enforcement has been taken too far. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (12-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
From a journalistic viewpoint, the most significant item of the week
is unquestionably the Mother Jones web publication of an 8 part
multi-author analysis of America's prison expansion and its relation
to our drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||
Although it has yet to attract much notice from mainstream news
media, the MoJo report was confirmed by the release of census
figures last week confirming that crime is down and arrests are up
in state after state-- with drug arrests and changes in drug
sentencing policy accounting for the increase. | ||||||||||||||||
In California, the advent of Prop. 36, which hopes to counter the
incarceration trend, was used to avoid more jail time for an
infamous celebrity. | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) DEBT TO SOCIETY: THE REAL PRICE OF PRISONS, PART 1 OF 8 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
HOW WE GOT TO TWO MILLION | ||||||||||||||||
How Did The Land Of The Free Become The World's Leading Jailer? | ||||||||||||||||
In the heart of Los Angeles, just a few blocks from the downtown
commuter hub of Union Station, stands a pair of massive concrete
towers. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Only the windows -- nearly all of them narrow, vertical slits through
which nothing can be seen from the outside -- give a clue to what the
complex really is: the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, which
happens to be the world's biggest jail. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
How did this happen? | ||||||||||||||||
How did a nation dedicated to the principle of freedom become the
world's leading jailer? | ||||||||||||||||
The answer has little to do with crime, but much to do with the
perception of crime, and how that perception has been manipulated for
political gain and financial profit. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) STATE CRIME RATE DOWN, DRUG ARRESTS UP IN LAST DECADE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
SPRINGFIELD - The state's crime rate plunged during the 1990s, a decade that also saw drug arrests jump dramatically and Chicago drop out of the top spot for crime rates in major Illinois cities. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The statistics just for 2000, released today by the state police,
show the crime rate dropped 4.5 percent from 1999. That includes a
drop in all eight categories of violent and property crime tracked by
the annual report. | ||||||||||||||||
Over the last decade, though, the number of drug arrests soared. The
rate of arrests for drug offenses has more than doubled since 1990,
to 9.3 for every 1,000 people. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) PRISON POPULATION SWELLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
FRANKFORT - Harsher sentencing for violent criminals and a crack down
on drug offenders has meant that Kentucky's inmate population has
more than doubled in the last 10 years. | ||||||||||||||||
The number of people incarcerated in federal, state and local prisons
and jails in Kentucky jumped from 13,948 in 1990 to 28,388 in 2000,
according to Census figures released this week. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) STATE DRUG ARRESTS RISE 7%, REPORT SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Police Cite Greater Use, Beefed-Up Law Enforcement | ||||||||||||||||
More than 25,000 people were arrested in Wisconsin on suspicion of
drug-related offenses last year, a 7% increase over 1999, according
to a state report released Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||
The report from the Office of Justice Assistance also said that the
number of arrests for sale and possession of drugs in the state more
than doubled during the 1990s. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) DOWNEY DEAL: NO JAIL TIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES - Robert Downey Jr. will plead no contest tomorrow to
drug charges in a plea bargain that will allow him to continue
live-in drug treatment rather than face jail time. | ||||||||||||||||
Downey, 36, who was nominated for an Emmy for his role on the television
comedy "Ally McBeal," will appear in court in Indio, Calif., on
charges related to his Nov. 25 arrest in Palm Springs for cocaine
use, his lawyers confirmed. | ||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors and Downey's lawyers struck a deal last month, under which the actor is expected to be sentenced to at least a year in the live- in drug-treatment program and three years' probation. | ||||||||||||||||
Downey will plead no contest to a felony count of cocaine possession
and a misdemeanor count of being under the influence of the drug, his
lawyers have said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A twist on "underground" grow-ops had a Canadian mayor boasting about his town's newest industry as Prairie Plant Systems started their first medical marijuana crop in an abandoned mine shaft. | ||||||||||||||||
"Drug sense" was demonstrated by Vancouver city councilors when they
decided not to pass an ordinance to punish landlords for illegal
marijuana cultivation by their tenants. | ||||||||||||||||
Reports about London's cannabis decriminalization experiment
continue but a Canadian columnist rightly points out that
legalization will not occur until international treaties are
corrected. | ||||||||||||||||
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(17) FLIN FLON MINES FUTURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
UNDERGROUND GROWER SEEDS FIRST CROP OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA | ||||||||||||||||
Flin Flon Mayor Dennis Ballard says growing pot is only the beginning
of what could turn into a "hell of an industry" for a one-industry,
mining town like his. | ||||||||||||||||
Last week, Prairie Plant Systems seeded its first crop of medicinal
marijuana in an underground growing chamber, a mine shaft abandoned
by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(18) COUNCIL REJECTS LEVY ON POT GROWERS' LANDLORDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Councillors Vote Against A $1,000 Penalty For Owners Whose Houses Are
Raided By Police | ||||||||||||||||
Vancouver landlords who rent to marijuana growers got a break from
city councillors Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||
Saying they didn't want to victimize beleaguered landlords already
burdened by tenant-protection laws, councillors voted narrowly
against a staff recommendation for $1,000 "special inspection
permits" for landlords whose properties are raided by the police Grow
Busters team. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(19) MANY BRITISH BACK MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Surprise groundswell mirrors officials' opposition to law. | ||||||||||||||||
A sudden and unexpected movement to loosen controls on marijuana use
is sweeping Britain, gaining bipartisan support each day and setting
the stage for a possible decriminalization of the drug, which is
extremely popular here. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(20) BRITONS MAKING ARGUMENTS TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
It is a welcome outbreak of sanity, and even mere decriminalization
in a major English-speaking country would have a profound effect on
the debate in the United States, the heart and soul of the
prohibitionist movement. But actual legalization of cannabis in
Britain is unlikely because the U.S. government strong-armed all its
allies into signing three international conventions in the 1970s and
1980s that define cannabis as a dangerous drug. | ||||||||||||||||
To break out of those treaties would involve a larger effort of
political will than any government with many other items on its
agenda (like persuading the United States to ratify the Kyoto accord
on climate change and to honour the ABM treaty) would be willing to
undertake. So millions of individual Britons may benefit from the
decriminalization of cannabis and an end to harassment, but the
potentially large social and tax benefits of outright legalization
are likely to be lost. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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In the U.S., Asa Hutchinson demonstrated his political double-speaking
skills while answering questions about medical marijuana during his
DEA director confirmation hearings. | ||||||||||||||||
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(21) DEA NOMINEE WON'T OUTLINE PLANS FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROSECUTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Rep. Asa Hutchinson, President Bush's pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, declined Tuesday to commit the agency to vigorously enforcing the federal ban on medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
The question came up during the Arkansas Republican's confirmation
hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Supreme Court ruled in
May that a federal law classifying the drug as illegal includes no
exception for medical uses. | ||||||||||||||||
"Do you think the federal government should make it a priority to
prosecute people who are distributing marijuana to ill people?" asked
committee chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. | ||||||||||||||||
The 50-year-old Hutchinson said he personally opposes the use of marijuana for medical purposes -- "It is still illegal, it is harmful, and there's many potential dangers. The scientific community does not support the medical use of it," he said -- but wouldn't say going after medical marijuana dealers would be a priority for the DEA. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (22-25) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The difference between coverage of drug news in the U.S. and other
countries was stressed this week with stories and reporting that
never seem to find a place in the mainstream U.S. press. In Canada,
home drug testing kits and urine testing in general were criticized,
even by police officials. | ||||||||||||||||
Breaking into even riskier territory, a 50-year-old writer explained
in a UK paper how he and his 17-year-old son's life were improved by
responsible use of Ecstasy. And while the American media is now
more likely to challenge the drug war, attacks as honest and
scathing as the one presented by Christopher Hitchens in the
Guardian still seem outside the boundaries of what's acceptable for
U.S. media. | ||||||||||||||||
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(22) HOME DRUG TEST KITS CALLED THREATS TO RELATIONSHIPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
An over-the-counter, home-based drug test marketed to parents who
want to find out if their offspring are using street drugs is
sounding alarm bells among those who work to combat substance abuse
here and nationally. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is an incredibly offensive and extreme measure that I personally find very disturbing," said Richard Garlick, spokesperson for the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse ( CCSA ) in Ottawa. The national non-profit organization offers education, information and support for community-based drug treatment organizations. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Peter Greenlaw, a local RCMP officer who works in the Drug Awareness division, is joining the chorus of concern raised over the test. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
As an RCMP officer, Greenlaw notes that most home-based tests aren't
that reliable. That could may lead to a breakdown in communication
between parents and teens if the test reads a positive result, when
in fact the young person is drug-free. | ||||||||||||||||
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(23) TROUBLED KIDS, BAD SCIENCE? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But out of the hundreds of cases she's worked on, Dr. Karen Leslie
says David's is the only family that has been helped by drug testing
-- and only because he was so eager to participate. | ||||||||||||||||
"He would be the only kid I can think of where urine testing did
provide some significant positive impact on the treatment," says Dr.
Leslie, a staff physician at the Hospital for Sick Children. Whenever
parents ask if they can have their kids tested for drug use, she and
her colleagues are reluctant to even discuss it. Urine testing has no
part in the hospital's drug treatment program because it tends to
erode trust, rather than build it, she says. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(24) CONFESSIONS OF A MIDDLE-AGED ECSTASY EATER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
He's A 50-Year-Old Writer, Buys Drugs From His Son And Says They Give
Him The Best Experiences Of His Life. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
...my son was becoming what is called, in the parlance, a "raver". | ||||||||||||||||
I do not mean to invoke images of Zen and Buddha - my son is roughly
as Zen-like as Eminem - but the transformation was as striking as it
was palpable. | ||||||||||||||||
It seemed so definitive that I could not help asking him about it,
and when I did, he smiled and said simply, "Uh-huh. I am." And when I
asked him why, what had happened, he smiled again and said, "Aw, you
wouldn't understand. But it's my whole life now. I know why I'm
alive." | ||||||||||||||||
I remember my response. | ||||||||||||||||
And perhaps had I responded in some other way or simply not responded
at all, what was about to happen would never have happened. What I
said was, "Congratulations. I'm happy for you. Really. I wish I did."
And so he turned to me and said, "Seriously?" And when I answered not
only in the affirmative, but the declarative, he told me a story and
made me an offer, and so was hatched yet another aspect of our
relationship, an aspect that is as wholly illicit as it is morally
unsavoury, and one that continues to this day. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(25) AMERICA'S DIRTY WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Good to see that sanity can sometimes be as infectious as insanity.
All it takes, apparently, is one lucid moment on the part of one
public figure, and a whole realm of illusion can be dissipated. The
Peter Lilley moment on soft drugs, closely followed by the David
Blunkett one, gives some reason to hope that the American nightmare
is not in our future. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Three decades of this grotesque, state-sponsored racketeering have
led to unbelievable levels of official corruption and to an
unheard-of assault on civil and political liberties. Colombia doesn't
look any more like the U.S. as a result, but the U.S. does look a
lot more like Colombia. The actual resources expended would have more
than paid for national health care: the potential revenue from legal,
and therefore clean, narcotics would rebuild the cities from the
ground up. | ||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Al Giordano's Affidavit About "The Mexico Papers" | ||||||||||||||||
Narconews, which reports drug war news that the mainstream media
won't touch, is preparing for trial after being sued by a powerful
Mexican bank. Publisher Al Giordano has posted this intriguing legal
document defending his work and explaining his viewpoint on the
lawsuit. | ||||||||||||||||
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Ohio Patient Network Upgrades Site | ||||||||||||||||
This a non-profit coalition of patients, caregivers, activists and medical professionals who support the compassionate use of cannabis for various medicinal purposes has expanded and improved its site. | ||||||||||||||||
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Tulia Timeline | ||||||||||||||||
As activists prepare to gather in Tulia, the events surrounding the
outrageous drug busts of many citizens in this small Texas town have
been laid out in chronological order: | ||||||||||||||||
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A new poll commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union reveals a strong dissatisfaction with the current state of the criminal justice system in America and a growing public confidence in rehabilitation and alternative punishments for non-violent offenders. The study reveals encouraging public attitudes about about drugs and drug crimes, rehabilitation for non-violent offenders and providing inmates with skills training in prison. To read more about this, go to the ACLU special web feature at http://www.aclu.org/features/f071901a.html | ||||||||||||||||
We also ask that you link to our feature on your website and help us in disseminating this information. Please notify us if you choose to do | ||||||||||||||||
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Thank you, | ||||||||||||||||
Loren Siegel Public Education Director American Civil | ||||||||||||||||
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DrugSense Chat | ||||||||||||||||
Join us on Sunday July 22, 5 p.m. Pacific, 8 p.m. Eastern, when our
special guests will be Steve and Michele Kubby. | ||||||||||||||||
For information on future guests see: | ||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Face Science Facts | ||||||||||||||||
To the editor: | ||||||||||||||||
I read Greg Williams letter on June 24 ("Pot not the problem some say it
is") and I couldn't agree more. It's hard to believe in the year 2001
society still believes American propaganda from the 1930s. The War on Drugs
was established by the first drug czar of the USA and his ridiculous fables
are still believed. | ||||||||||||||||
Society needs to open its eyes and face the scientific facts of today.
Marijuana is not something just "hippies" or "white trash" use to get high.
It's something that doctors, lawyers and your neighbours support. Not only
that, it has beneficial, medical uses for all sorts of people including
AIDS, cancer and MS patients. | ||||||||||||||||
There are some who choose not to use it because they are in fear of the
law, and for that they suffer. Then there are the others who use it
everyday and they suffer also because they live their lives as criminals
every day. | ||||||||||||||||
It's time to allow people to smoke a healing drug that subdues their pain.
Everyone else has done it. It's time for marijuana smokers to come out of
the closet. | ||||||||||||||||
Danette Polzin, | ||||||||||||||||
Kelowna | ||||||||||||||||
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Honorable Mention Letters Of The Week | ||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DRUG WAR BILL OF RIGHTS | ||||||||||||||||
by Steve Kubby | ||||||||||||||||
Attention all Americans: Under the War on Drugs, the Bill of Rights has been amended by lawmakers, district attorneys, judges and law enforcement to suspend certain criminal rights and provide additional police powers to your government in order to fight the scourge of drugs. While your government regrets this inconvenience, these modifications of the Bill of Rights are necessary to protect American pharmaceutical interests, provide additional revenue streams for government and continue the current construction boom in prisons. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment I | ||||||||||||||||
Anything you say, write or think can and will be used against you in
a court of law. Assembly limited to those who are allowed to have
permits and can pay for them. Religion limited to mainstream
religions, fully registered with the government. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment II | ||||||||||||||||
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, has been
canceled until further notice. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment III | ||||||||||||||||
Any police officer shall, in time of peace be able to seize any
house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a
manner to be prescribed by the DEA. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment IV | ||||||||||||||||
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, may
be violated, and warrants easily issued, without any real probable
cause, so long as it is supported by a "good faith" police
affirmation, that vaguely describes the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment V | ||||||||||||||||
Any person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, with a simple rubber stamp action by a Grand Jury and any person can be subject for the same offence, twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, if the Federal government decides to become involved. Any citizens shall be compelled in any criminal case to take a drug test and thereby be a witness against himself. Any citizen may now be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; and private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment VI | ||||||||||||||||
In all criminal prosecutions, the prosecution shall enjoy the right
to a speedy and public trial, by a hand-picked and biased jury of the
State. All defendants shall be presumed guilty, unless they can afford
expensive attorneys and prove their innocence. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment VII | ||||||||||||||||
Any fact tried by a jury, shall be easily appealed by prosecutors in
any Court of the United States, regardless of the rules of the common
law. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment VIII | ||||||||||||||||
Excessive bail shall be required, excessive fines imposed, and cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted, in order for prosecutors and
judges to retain their jobs by being "tough on crime." | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment IX | ||||||||||||||||
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed by the People to allow any rights not officially recognized
by the government. | ||||||||||||||||
Amendment X | ||||||||||||||||
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, shall not be construed by the People to allow any personal freedom or decision making not officially recognized by the government. | ||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when
he resigns momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself."
-- Archibald MacLeish, "In Praise of Dissent," 1956 | ||||||||||||||||
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