| Oct. 26, 2001 #223 | ||||||||||||||||
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Listen On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ | ||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) US CA: DEA RAIDS L.A. CANNABIS COOPERATIVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Protest at West Hollywood City Hall - 2 PM, Oct 26 | ||||||||||||||||
Over 1000 patients left without medicine | ||||||||||||||||
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 26. On the very afternoon that Congress was
approving new restrictions on civil liberties for the federal
government, scores of DEA agents descended on the LA Cannabis
Resource Center, seizing all of the center's computers, files, bank
account, plants, and medicine. The DEA cited the recent Supreme Court
decision as justification for their action. No charges have been
filed. | ||||||||||||||||
The raid effectively shut down the largest, best organized and most
respected cannabis center in Southern California. West Hollywood city
officials, who have strongly supported the club, are calling a press
conference to protest the action at City Hall on Santa Monica Blvd at
2 PM. | ||||||||||||||||
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Jay Cavanagh reports: | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.drugpolicycentral.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=3&forum=5&0 | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) UK: HEAD TO HEAD: CANNABIS LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The classification of cannabis looks set to change Home Secretary David Blunkett has announced he wants the UK's laws covering cannabis to be eased so possession will no longer be an arrestable offence | ||||||||||||||||
Tim Johnston from the National Drug Prevention Alliance is opposed
any such moves as he says this sends the wrong message to young
people about what is a harmful drug. | ||||||||||||||||
But Steve Rolles from the drug campaign group Transform, has
cautiously welcomed the changes and hopes they represent the
beginning of a change in government policy. | ||||||||||||||||
Here they give their views on the situation. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) US: SURGICAL STRIKE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Is A Group That Pays Addicts To Be Sterilized Defending Children Or
Exploiting The Vulnerable? | ||||||||||||||||
Barbara Harris was eager to become a foster mother when she received a call from a social worker in 1990, asking her to take in an eight-month-old girl born to a woman addicted to crack cocaine. Harris, a waitress at a pancake house, agreed. Over the next two years, she and her husband provided a foster home in Orange County, California, for three more children born to the same woman, including one boy who suffered violently from his mother's addiction. "He shook," Harris recalls. "His eyes looked like they would pop out of his head. He'd sleep a few minutes and he'd wake up screaming." | ||||||||||||||||
Harris decided something needed to be done to prevent drug-addicted women from getting pregnant. So in 1997 she sat down at her family's computer, created some flyers, and posted them in the impoverished MacArthur Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. That was the birth of CRACK (Children Requiring A Caring Kommunity), a nonprofit organization that offers $200 in cash to addicts who agree to be sterilized or undergo long-term contraception like Norplant, which is surgically embedded under the skin. Because CRACK targets the poor, most of the procedures are funded by taxpayers through federal and state programs such as Medicaid and California's Medi-Cal. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) US: SENATE DRUG AID CUT UPSETS WHITE HOUSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 -- The Senate has voted to cut $164 million from
the Bush administration's counterdrug program for the Andean region,
and administration officials voiced concern today that the reductions
could jeopardize efforts to assist Colombia in its battle against
drug-financed rebels and to avoid the spread of violence and
corruption. | ||||||||||||||||
The Senate approved a package of $567 million in counternarcotics and
development aid for the Andean region on Wednesday. The | ||||||||||||||||
Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Appropriations
subcommittee on foreign operations, said the cuts were needed because
the Clinton administration's support of the $1.3 billion Plan
Colombia had already supplied that nation with more resources than it
could readily absorb. | ||||||||||||||||
[end] | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The fruits of the drug war again proved to be bitter as Boston media
report that the FBI used an informant to track drugs, even though
the informant had information on terror too. More commentary on the
clear waste of drug enforcement efforts in a time of terror was also
published. | ||||||||||||||||
Another report should raise more questions about the drug war, since
it seems casual drug use does not affect employment. But the drug
war does impact the larger economy to a great extent, as a very
detailed piece on the illicit drug economy was printed in a
mainstream newspaper. | ||||||||||||||||
Despite protests from parents, some government officials are not
only insisting on drug testing in schools, but they also want to
make it difficult to opt out of drug surveys. An enlightened
editorial from Florida explained why drug testing in schools is a
bad idea. | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) REPORT: FBI PROBE TARGETED DRUGS, NOT TERRORISM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A former Everett cabdriver stopped by Boston FBI agents in the 1990s as a part of a global heroin probe provided officials with information on Arab terrorists in the Boston area, but the agents' "focus" was on drugs, according to a broadcast report last night. | ||||||||||||||||
Raed Hijazi, 32, an American citizen now awaiting trial in Jordan in
a foiled millennium terrorist plot, told FBI agents about "Arab
terrorists and sympathizers," but they were more interested in
whatever knowledge he had about heroin being brought into Boston via
Afghanistan, WCVB-TV reported last night. | ||||||||||||||||
Hijazi is an admitted member of al-Qaeda, the Islamic terrorist ring
founded by Osama bin Laden. Hijazi became a "willing informant" for
the Boston office of the FBI to avoid jail time on charges being
investigated by the agency's drug squad, the station reported, citing
a "high-level source." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) MONEY SPENT ON DRUG WAR COULD BE PUT TO BETTER USE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Our multibillion-dollar law enforcement apparatus, so caught up in the war on drugs, has managed to jail thousands of nonviolent and largely harmless criminals while failing to stop the deadly work of terrorists who have irrevocably harmed the entire nation. | ||||||||||||||||
No one appears to have thought about redirecting the billions being wasted in the drug war to the infinitely more important task of combating terrorism. Make no mistake about the huge sums being spent on the futile attempt to stem the flow of illegal drugs into this country: The federal government pours about $20 billion a year into it, with state and local governments spending about the same amount. | ||||||||||||||||
But cocaine and heroin are more plentiful in our cities than ever,
and cheaper, too. Deaths from illicit drugs are up. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) CASUAL DRUG USE DOES NOT AFFECT EMPLOYMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters Health) - A controversial new study finds
that casual illicit drug use has no effect on employment status and
suggests that employer-based treatment programs should focus on
chronic "problem" drug users rather than all users. | ||||||||||||||||
The study, based on data from the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, concludes that casual users -- who say they have used drugs no more than once a week over the past year -- are as likely to look for work or hold a job as those who say they use no drugs at all. | ||||||||||||||||
Chronic drug abuse, similar to chronic alcohol abuse, was confirmed to reduce the likelihood of holding a job, according to the report published in the October issue of the Southern Economic Journal. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) DRUG FIGHT GOES AFTER TRADE'S MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR ECONOMY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Unlikely Helpers Found On Front Line Of Effort Against Illegal Cash
Flow | ||||||||||||||||
This is the first in an occasional series of stories examining the hidden engine that drives a multibillion-dollar illicit trade. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The drug trade is a major generator of employment worldwide, and it's hardly limited to the peasant farmers who grow coca and opium in southern Colombia or the smugglers who carry the drugs to the United States from countries like Mexico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. | ||||||||||||||||
Many legitimate American jobs also depend on the drug trade.
According to government calculations, if the United States were
somehow able to eliminate the drug problem tomorrow, well over $85
billion per year in income and expenditures would be withdrawn from
the U.S. economy, including not only the amount Americans spend on
illegal drugs but also the amount spent by federal, state and local
governments to combat the trade. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
In the United States, the powerful influence of drug money has penetrated some of the nation's biggest banks, appliance manufacturers, cigarette makers, the tourist industry and even a company that provides military hardware used in Colombia's drug war. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) SURVEY SAYS: NOT ENOUGH STUDENT DATA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
PROVO -- Like any field general, Stephen Allred knows you can't win a
war without good intelligence. | ||||||||||||||||
Allred, program manager for youth and family services in the Utah
County Division of Human Services, said health officials aren't
getting the data they need to fight drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse.
Allred said a state law requiring parental permission for surveys is
hampering the information-gathering process. | ||||||||||||||||
"It doesn't give us accurate pin-point information we need because we
cannot survey enough students," Allred said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) PARENT PLANS TO SUE OVER DRUG TESTING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
TULIA - The Tulia Independent School District may be facing yet
another lawsuit over its drug testing program after the school board
refused to exempt a student from the testing. | ||||||||||||||||
Alan Bean said Wednesday that he plans to file a federal lawsuit
within a week in an effort to prevent the school from testing his son
Amos Bean. | ||||||||||||||||
"I trust my son," Alan Bean said. "And if I had the power to force
him to submit to a drug test, I wouldn't do it because I feel it
would violate the trust I have with him. Because TISD is serving in
loco parentis, as a surrogate parent in my absence, I feel they
should honor my wishes." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) TESTING STUDENTS FOR DRUGS WRONG APPROACH FOR SCHOOLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In the war on drugs, trust was an early casualty. | ||||||||||||||||
In the 1980s, many federal employees were forced to undergo drug
testing as a condition of employment, and the practice since has
become common in state and local government, and in the private
sector as well. | ||||||||||||||||
Now an anti-drug activist has proposed that students at Brevard County public high schools be tested as a condition of engaging in extracurricular activities such as sports, band or clubs. | ||||||||||||||||
It's a bad idea. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (12-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Even the prison industry isn't immune to economic woes, as a report
from New York suggests cutbacks are coming for prison workers. The
larger war on drugs could also face an economic crisis. While the
FBI plans to shift away from drug law enforcement, DEA head Asa
Hutchinson wonders how he will ever raise the drug interdiction
success rate from 11 percent to that lofty and noble goal of 18
percent without more funds. | ||||||||||||||||
The corrupting force of drug prohibition on law enforcement was
demonstrated again, this time in Australia by a long time detective.
And the deadly consequences of alleged success in the drug war were
grimly illustrated in Puerto Rico. | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) OUTLOOK UNCLEAR FOR PRISON JOBS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Shrinking Inmate Population Leads To Cutbacks As Crime Rate Plummets | ||||||||||||||||
The state's prison system, which for years has provided a steady
source of jobs in the North Country, faces uncertain times as the
number of inmates has begun to decline. | ||||||||||||||||
State officials and prison experts aren't predicting any dramatic
changes in employment levels in the years ahead, but it's far from
clear whether the number of inmates will ever resume the steady
growth pattern that was seen in the last three decades of the 20th
century. | ||||||||||||||||
And there are some indicators, especially the dramatic reduction in
the state's crime rate during the past decade, that suggest the
state's prisons will no longer be a growth industry. | ||||||||||||||||
Already, the state has imposed hiring freezes in the past year at
many of its 70 prisons... | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) FOCUS OF F.B.I. IS SEEN SHIFTING TO TERRORISM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 - The Bush administration is discussing proposals that would lead to the most fundamental reorganization of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its history, shifting its focus to counterterrorism and away from crime fighting, senior officials said. | ||||||||||||||||
Under the new thinking, they said, the agency would give up
responsibility for some of the duties on which it built its legendary
"G-man" reputation, like bank robbery, drug trafficking and some
violent crime investigations. | ||||||||||||||||
"As counterterrorism becomes the No. 1 priority of the F.B.I., it has
become obvious that other types of investigations will have to be
de-emphasized at the bureau or turned over to other agencies," said a
senior administration official, one of several interviewed in recent
days who have been involved in the discussions. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) MORE FUNDS SOUGHT TO STOP ILLEGAL DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DEA: Agents Stretched Thin Since Sept. 11 | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON ( AP ) -- Illegal drug trafficking in the Caribbean is up
25 percent, probably because traffickers see an opportunity with U.S.
law enforcement focused on terrorism, Drug Enforcement Administrator
Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Without more money, he said, it's doubtful the United States will
meet its 2002 goal of intercepting 18 percent of illegal narcotics
headed for U.S. shores. | ||||||||||||||||
Last year, federal agents seized about 11 percent of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) DETECTIVE CONFESSES TO YEARS OF CORRUPTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The New South Wales Police Integrity Commission yesterday produced
the first "rollover" of its corruption inquiry - a detective sergeant
who was missed in the first clean-out five years ago. | ||||||||||||||||
Detective Sergeant Raymond John Peattie, 46, "threw my hands up",
confessing to a career of corruption that began in 1980, continued
during the exposures of the police royal commission in 1996, and
flourished thereafter, making a mockery of the NSW Police Service's
much-vaunted reforms. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
In 2000, as crime manager of Manly detectives, Mr Peattie gave the
drug beat to two detective senior constables, David Phillip Patison,
41, and Matthew John Jasper, 30, who stole $203,000 from nine drug
dealers in 11 months. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) WEEKEND DRUG SHOOTINGS KILL 21 IN PUERTO RICO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- In one of the most violent weekends in
Puerto Rico's history, 21 people were killed from Friday night to
Monday morning -- most in drug-related shootings. | ||||||||||||||||
Puerto Rico police Superintendent Pierre Vivoni attributed the
carnage to power shifts among street dealers after thousands of
recent arrests and a battle about shrinking drug supplies caused by
tighter security since the Sept.. 11 terrorist attacks. | ||||||||||||||||
Drug Enforcement Administration officials said they have seen no
evidence of a slowdown in drug trafficking in Puerto Rico or to the
mainland United States. Vivoni disagrees. | ||||||||||||||||
In a twist, Vivoni pointed to his department's crime-fighting --
which he thinks destabilized part of the island's underworld
structure -- as a factor that may have helped set off the killing
spree. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The thing that continually perplexes and amazes me in the worldwide
war against drug use is its constantly convoluted and contradictory
nature. Every week, both legalizers and interdictionists can find
reason to celebrate and to bemoan new policies and legal decisions.
This week perfectly encapsulates the yin-yang of international
drug-law reform and enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||
The Dutch Cabinet once again raised the harm-reduction bar for the rest of the world by approving a bill that would allow those with a doctor's permission to use cannabis to purchase it at pharmacies and have the government pay for it under the national health care plan. | ||||||||||||||||
As of late, the UK has taken confident strides towards | ||||||||||||||||
In Canada, British Columbia's Organized Crime Agency has reported
that their hard work has succeeded in starting turf wars among
cannabis growers, relocated many to Vancouver Island, and caused
some to switch from marijuana cultivation to meta-amphetamine
production. They dubiously reported these changes as victories in
the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Schools were in the news in the US. A Weber State University
professor resigned after getting caught smoking cannabis on a
school debate team trip,= and a high school student in Ohio was
allowed to return to class after a judge ordered that he did not
have to submit to a drug test after school officials found a shirt
in his locker that apparently smelled of cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||
I don't know; it smells like teen spirit to me. | ||||||||||||||||
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(17) MARIJUANA PRESCRIPTION LAW OK'D IN AMSTERDAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - The Dutch Cabinet approved a bill
Friday that would allow pharmacies to fill marijuana prescriptions
and for the government to pay for them. | ||||||||||||||||
Parliament was expected to vote in the next few months on the
proposal to put medicinal marijuana on the national health care plan.
If the bill is passed by the 150-seat legislature, pharmacies would
be supplied with "pharmaceutical quality" marijuana after testing by
a government agency. | ||||||||||||||||
Although the sale of marijuana is technically illegal, Dutch
authorities tolerate the sale of small amounts in hundreds of so-
called "coffee shops" that operate openly. A gram of marijuana costs
about $4. | ||||||||||||||||
Under the new law, most users would have the cost of their joints paid by the government as long as it is prescribed by a doctor. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(18) 'LET BELEAGURED FARMERS GROW CANNABIS' SAYS UK MP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A Labour MP is launching a Private Member's Bill to legalise personal
use of cannabis - arguing that beleaguered British farmers could grow
it as a cash crop. | ||||||||||||||||
Jon Owen Jones said the measure would "remove criminals from the
equation" and could provide a "hardy cash crop" for British farmers,
left on their knees by foot-and-mouth disease, BSE, tumbling dairy
prices and concerns over GM crops. | ||||||||||||||||
The Cardiff Central MP's Legalisation of Cannabis Bill is due to be
debated in the House of Commons next week, but is highly unlikely to
become law. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The Bill would legalise the personal cultivation of cannabis and its
use for therapeutic and recreational purposes. A Government licensing
system would also be set up for commercial cultivation of cannabis
and for international trade in the drug. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(19) STRANGE VICTORIES IN B.C. DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
It doesn't seem like much of a victory, pushing big-time marijuana grow ops out of the Lower Mainland and onto Vancouver Island. | ||||||||||||||||
Likewise the news that gangs are closing grow operations and opening up labs to make chemical drugs like Ecstasy doesn't seem particularly positive. And it's hard to celebrate more turf wars, violent rip-offs and home invasions within the drug world as a sign of progress. | ||||||||||||||||
But B.C.'s Organized Crime Agency reported this week that all three developments show that their efforts are working. The new agency says it has targeted Asian gangs and bikers - mostly the Hell's Angels - and taken particular aim at the huge marijuana industry. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(20) MARIJUANA INCIDENT LEADS TO RESIGNATION OF UNIVERSITY PROF. (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
OGDEN -- Weber State University communication professor and debate
coach Michael Bryant has resigned after police allegedly found him
smoking marijuana in a hotel room during a trip to a debate
tournament. | ||||||||||||||||
Bryant was attending the Oct. 6 tournament at Southern Utah
University when he was cited for possession of marijuana, possession
of drug paraphernalia and interfering with an arrest. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(21) TEEN WILL RETURN TO SCHOOL PENDING DRUG TEST HEARING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
SANDUSKY -- A judge has allowed a Margaretta High School student to
return to classes pending a hearing tomorrow on the school district's
demand that he submit to a drug test. | ||||||||||||||||
A hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in Erie County Common Pleas
Court on a request by John Hensley, Jr., for an injunction against
the Margaretta schools. The 16-year-old sophomore was suspended
Sept. 26 after school officials searched his locker and found a
T-shirt that they thought smelled of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
School officials had informed the student he could not return until
he was tested for drugs, but visiting Judge Joseph Cirigliano told
the district Thursday to let him back into classes. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (22-27) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Heroin prices continue to tumble in most parts of the world, causing
authorities great alarm. In Ireland, police accused loyalist groups
of bankrolling a "drugs epidemic." In Australia, however, a heroin
drought reportedly caused heroin use to drop, yet "has not had any
significant impact on crime." | ||||||||||||||||
While official U.S. rhetoric steadfastly links the Taliban with
heroin, an Orlando Sentinel report stressed U.S. support of
Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, "which has a history of
human-rights abuses and drug smuggling." Opium and heroin gush from
all Afghanistan. Iranian officials, watching opium prices fall
there, predict a flood of Afghani opium through Iran. Sources there
say opium is now at $100 a pound. | ||||||||||||||||
Finally, after a great deal of talk, the UK looks ready to significantly scale back its enforcement of cannabis possession laws. | ||||||||||||||||
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(22) LOYALISTS CASH IN ON HEROIN GLUT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
LOYALIST terror bosses are set to bankroll a drugs epidemic in the
North, with towns and villages flooded with heroin at just one pound
a fix. | ||||||||||||||||
Police believe UFF and LVF warlords have already cut a deal with
drugs gangs in Scotland to cash in on a worldwide glut of the deadly
narcotic. | ||||||||||||||||
It's estimated that 90% of heroin sold in Britain is produced from
opium grown in Afghanistan, where the harvest has more than doubled
this year. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(23) DROP IN HEROIN USE BUT CRIME LEVELS STAY SAME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Heroin use has fallen sharply in Cabramatta this year but the drop
has not had any significant impact on crime levels, a new study has
shown. | ||||||||||||||||
And while a drought of the drug has seen supplies, consumption and
purity fall and prices rise, a resultant increase in the intravenous
use of cocaine could in turn drive up crime. | ||||||||||||||||
A study by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research released
yesterday suggested there had been a 60 to 75 per cent reduction in
heroin use at Cabramatta and a drop of at least 16 per cent across
the state. | ||||||||||||||||
Since Christmas 2000, when the heroin drought is deemed to have
begun, the average cost of a gram of the drug in Cabramatta has risen
by 75 per cent, from $218 to $381. | ||||||||||||||||
The number of new needles and syringes dispensed to Cabramatta heroin
addicts by public hospitals has fallen by 59 per cent between July
2000 and June this year, and the rate of overdose has fallen 74 per
cent during the same period. | ||||||||||||||||
The bureau said the popular wisdom of higher heroin prices leading to
higher crime rates had not held true. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(24) HISTORY REPEATS AS U.S. FINDS UNLIKELY ALLIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
If politics makes strange bedfellows, foreign policy sometimes means
sleeping with the devil. | ||||||||||||||||
And that's what the United States did when it allied itself with Osama bin Laden and other Islamic militants in the 1980s. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Alliance has links to drugs | ||||||||||||||||
Today, some of the same criticism is being leveled at the United
States for its support of the Northern Alliance, which has a history
of human-rights abuses and drug smuggling. In its full-throttle
pursuit of terrorists, the United States once again finds itself
allied with mujahedeen of ill repute -- just as it was 20 years ago
in the Afghan-Soviet war. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(25) DRUG TRADE RESURGENT IN AFGHANISTAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Opium and Heroin Flood Into Pakistan, Complicating Anti-Terrorism
Efforts | ||||||||||||||||
As the United States wages war on terrorism in Afghanistan, concern is mounting about an unintended casualty: America's war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Heroin and opium are believed to be flooding into Pakistan and soon
could be coming to the West. Wholesale heroin prices are dropping.
Afghan farmers, after a year's hiatus, are preparing their fields for
a winter crop of opium poppies. And as the United States and Pakistan
seek tribal leaders who would be willing to turn against
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement, some candidates have been
involved in the drug trade for decades. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(26) IRAN FEARS A FLOOD OF AFGHAN DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
MADANEAGHA DARBAND, Iran -- This mountain village on the Afghan border, a cluster of adobe houses lining a rugged road, is a world away from the paved and well-lit streets of America and Western Europe. But those worlds could soon be much closer if the fears of Iranian officials prove true. They predict that the war on terrorism could unleash a flood of Afghan opium through transit areas such as this village and onward to the West. The Taliban militia, which controls most of Afghanistan, warned that it would unlock its opium stockpiles and send plenty of cheap narcotics to the West if the United States followed through with threats to bomb Taliban positions. | ||||||||||||||||
There are early signs this already is happening. After rising this
year, opium prices in the region have plunged to about $100 a pound
in the past month, Iranian officials say. That indicates that the
drugs are flowing. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(27) CANNABIS TO BE RECLASSIFIED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The soft drug cannabis is to be reclassified, the home secretary,
David Blunkett, announced today. Under new proposals, first
recommended 18 months ago, cannabis will move from class B to class C
and will no longer be an arrestable offence, heralding a massive
shake-up of drugs policy. | ||||||||||||||||
Class C puts it in the same category as anti-depressants and steroids - but LSD and ecstasy will remain class A drugs, Mr Blunkett said. | ||||||||||||||||
Mr Blunkett, who made the announcement before MPs on the home affairs
select committee, denied the move was decriminalisation by another
name and stressed the drug will remain illegal. | ||||||||||||||||
But in practice, cannabis smokers will be unlikely to face any consequences if they are caught with small amounts of the drug. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A History of MAP/DrugSense | ||||||||||||||||
Written by Dr. Tom O'Connell. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FBI Reports Show Record Number Of Marijuana Arrests | ||||||||||||||||
The FBI has released its 2000 Uniform Crime Report. | ||||||||||||||||
Analysis of the document by NORML suggests police arrested an estimated 734,498 persons for marijuana violations in 2000. NORML said the total is the highest ever recorded by the FBI, and comprises just under half of all drug arrests in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||
A copy of the entire 2000 Uniform Crime Report can be downloaded from
| ||||||||||||||||
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New Study: Punishing Drug Users Does More Harm Than Good | ||||||||||||||||
New research suggests that punishing drug users could increase the likelihood that they will continue using drugs. Howard B. Kaplan, a sociologist and director of the Laboratory for Social Deviance at Texas A&M University, said that punishment lowers self-esteem, thus increasing the likelihood of continued deviant behavior. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
"Ecstasy: The Complete Guide" Available | ||||||||||||||||
A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of MDMA By Julie Holland,MD editor published by Park Street Press ($19.95) | ||||||||||||||||
This book is a non-profit project, with all proceeds from its
sales going toward funding clinical MDMA research. | ||||||||||||||||
For more details, please go to http://www.drholland.com | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
CHIEF FACES ILL-ADVISED 'DRUG WAR' | ||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Heath | ||||||||||||||||
Regardless of whether Cape Coral Police Chief Gibbs is innocent or
guilty of the accusations that he covered up his daughter's
involvement in a drug bust, one thing is clear: Chief Gibbs has been
brought face to face with the reality that the ill-advised "Drug War"
is not a war against drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
The Drug War in reality is a war against our own friends, neighbors
and family members. No one was harmed or damaged by the fact that
Monique Gibbs and her boyfriend were possibly in possession of
cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
No citizen independently came forward to file a complaint regarding
the alleged sale of cocaine by the boyfriend. Rather, the police
went out of their way to invest hard-earned tax dollars and valuable
police man-hours to "catch" two adults en gaged in consensual acts
which, in the end, were no more the public's business than the acts
of nearby citizens who were in possession of the legal drugs,
alcohol and tobacco. | ||||||||||||||||
When those trapped by such operations are minorities or low-income
residents of the city, there is little sympathy for the very real
outcome of such policies, which of course is a lengthy prison
sentence and/or coerced drug treatment. | ||||||||||||||||
Often such treatment is foisted upon individuals with no actual drug abuse problem, but who were engaged in a simple weekend party. | ||||||||||||||||
But when those captured are family members of law enforcement or
local politicos, it brings us face to face with the reality that
our draconian drug policies are not about helping drug abusers, but
instead are simply a gravy train for the prison and drug treatment
industries. | ||||||||||||||||
And our family members are the grist for the mill.=C2 It's time to
end the criminal prohibition on "some" drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
It's time we provide real drug treatment on demand for those who
need and request help, much as we currently deal with alcohol and
tobacco users. | ||||||||||||||||
A citizen should not have to be subject to a felony arrest record
in order to get needed help. | ||||||||||||||||
Stephen Heath, Drug Policy Forum of Florida | ||||||||||||||||
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Honorable Mention Letters of the Week | ||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
HEMP CAN STILL BE FOR VICTORY | ||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||
The expanding war on terror shifts debate about the drug war. Does
drug prohibition help or hurt efforts against terrorism? A previous
generation recognized one way prohibition hurt a larger war effort.
In 1942, a federal campaign urged American farmers to grow industrial
hemp, even though that practice had been effectively outlawed by
the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937. The program was promoted by a
government film called "Hemp for Victory." The opening line: "Long ago
when these ancient Grecian temples were new, hemp was already old in
the service of mankind." | ||||||||||||||||
Industrial hemp doesn't contain enough intoxicants to get a person high,
but it looks like marijuana. During WW II, industrial hemp had critical
military uses. America imported hemp before the Marijuana Tax Act, but
the war stopped imports, generating the need for a reliable domestic
supply. | ||||||||||||||||
Rationality won in 1942, but one wonders if today's leaders will
overcome their resistance to any position construed as soft on drugs --
even when the basic issue has nothing to do with drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
This year Illinois Governor George Ryan twice vetoed legislation allowing state universities to study industrial hemp. He sided with anti-marijuana zealots who suggest the study of a plant even physically resembling marijuana could send a mixed signal about illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Ryan wasn't persuaded by farmers and their legislators who know hemp could be a profitable cash crop, like it is elsewhere in the world. | ||||||||||||||||
I hope events of recent weeks changed the minds of Ryan and other
hempophobes. The latest research on hemp shows an incredibly versatile
crop. In addition to its more traditional uses for textiles, food and
a host of other products, hemp can be used as an alternative fuel
source. In fact, a car fueled entirely by hemp oil just completed a
12,000 mile tour of North America. | ||||||||||||||||
When sources of petroleum are threatened by instability, what makes
more sense than further study of alternate fuels? | ||||||||||||||||
Another irony: those who direct the drug war have been wasting money
to eradicate weeds that can only give its smokers a sore throat and a
headache. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
analyzed federal marijuana eradication programs for the year 2000 and
determined that 98 percent of all "marijuana" cleared was ditchweed -
wild industrial hemp. | ||||||||||||||||
Much of that stubborn "ditchweed" undoubtedly dates back to the
original "Hemp For Victory" program that helped to win World War II.
As recently as this past summer, state, local and federal law
enforcement, as well as the National Guard, spent millions of tax
dollars to kill 100 million wild hemp plants that posed no threat to
Americans. At the same time, American industries using hemp were
importing it. | ||||||||||||||||
Those eradication efforts took place before Sept. 11. I hope the drug
warriors have reconsidered their priorities, but recent news isn't
encouraging. The DEA has announced that edible hemp products will be
completely banned in less than three months. The ban announcement
came after other government officials warned that more terrorist acts
are a certainty. | ||||||||||||||||
Imagine if law enforcement personnel who could be fighting the
terrorist threat are instead using their time trying to stop citizens
from ingesting hemp oil, which is both healthy and non-intoxicating.
I don't see how even the shrillest drug warrior could endorse such
folly. | ||||||||||||||||
Our future depends on the wise use of resources -- not only natural
resources like hemp, but human resources like law enforcement and the
military. Recognizing hemp as an asset instead of pretending it's a
liability seems an obvious first step in redirecting them from a
counterproductive war on drugs to a rationally planned war on
terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged
warfare." - Sun Tzu, "The Art of War" | ||||||||||||||||
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