| November 9, 2001 #225 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) PANEL OKS BUSH'S DRUG-POLICY CHOICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - (Associated Press) John Walters' nomination to lead
President Bush's national drug policy is on its way to the full
Senate for approval, despite opposition from top Democrats on a
Senate committee. | ||||||||||||||||||
Walters' nomination was sent on to the Senate floor by the Senate
Judiciary Committee by a 14-5 vote. | ||||||||||||||||||
Top Democrats on the committee voting against his nomination included
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont and former
chairmen Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Joseph Biden of
Delaware. Also voting against Walters were Democratic Sens. Richard
Durbin of Illinois and Charles Schumer of New York. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Republicans pointed out that Walters was one of the last unconfirmed
Cabinet members, and that his position as "drug czar" could be
potentially important in fighting drug use in the country. Sen. Jon
Kyl, R-Ariz., pointed out that Democrats confirmed Attorney General
John Ashcroft's nomination despite harboring doubts about how
Ashcroft would use the position. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I would hope we could give Mr. Walters the same benefit of the
doubt," Kyl said. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) CN BC: DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA, VANCOUVER MAYOR SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen added his name Wednesday to the list of those who believe that marijuana should be decriminalized. | ||||||||||||||||||
But he told a special Senate committee reviewing Canada's anti-drug
laws that hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin need a different
approach. | ||||||||||||||||||
Owen was one of the few speakers who told the committee he
doesn't believe the "war on drugs" has been lost. | ||||||||||||||||||
The city, its police force, social workers and others strongly believe in a comprehensive drug policy that revolves around prevention, treatment, enforcement and harm reduction, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
But he admitted in an interview that policy doesn't necessarily apply
to soft drugs such as cannabis, and he told the committee that
legalization of such drugs is likely inevitable. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) US: HIGH COURT TO WEIGH EXPANDED SCHOOL DRUG TESTING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Law: Justices To Decide If All Students Engaging In Extracurricular
Activities Can Be Randomly Tested. | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to decide whether all high school students who participate in extracurricular activities beyond sports can be forced to undergo random drug tests. | ||||||||||||||||||
A ruling on the issue, which can be expected by next spring, should
clarify how far public school officials can go in requiring drug
tests of students. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) ASHCROFT UNVEILS RESTRUCTURING OF FBI, IMMIGRATION AGENCIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- With the war on terrorism stretching its resources, Attorney General John Ashcroft said the Justice Department will pull back from routine activities to focus on preventing terrorist attacks. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We cannot do everything we once did because our lives now depend on us doing a few things very well," Mr. Ashcroft told department officials gathered in the ceremonial hall at the agency's headquarters. "The department will not be all things to all people." | ||||||||||||||||||
Outlining what he called a "wartime reorganization and mobilization"
plan, Mr. Ashcroft said he intended to cut 10% of the agency's
headquarters staff and reallocate the positions as additional agents,
prosecutors and analysts in the field. He said he wanted to
reallocate 10% of the department's budget, about $2.5 billion, from
normal functions to the counterterrorism campaign. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug war orthodoxy faced significant assaults on many fronts this
week. Perhaps most importantly, several newspapers editorialized
against the federal raids of medical marijuana buyers' clubs in
California after the New York Times turned a critical eye to the
practice. (The NYT article itself is discussed in this week's
Cannabis section.) Public officials are also speaking out against
the raids. | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug war was again raised as an impediment to the terror war,
this time by syndicated columnist Neal Pierce. Perversely, DEA Head
Asa Hutchinson saw the exact opposite as he whined about funding for
narcs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Another Bush appointee, the national AIDS czar, spoke out in favor of needle exchanges, contrary to Bush's official position. Meanwhile, FDA officials gave approval to clinical tests of Ecstasy, and a court in New Mexico is preparing to look at the legitimacy of drug warriors' attacks on the religious use of certain hallucinogens. | ||||||||||||||||||
And in Michigan, supporters of the late proprietors of Rainbow Farms haven't stopped demanding answers and justice in the case. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) U.S. SHOULDN'T BUST LEGAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA SITES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With a real war going on against terrorism, federal law enforcement officials should call off the one they're waging against medical marijuana users. Instead, they've gone on the offensive. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last week, about two dozen Drug Enforcement Administration agents
raided the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center in West Hollywood,
one of California's largest suppliers of medical marijuana. The raid
followed months of surveillance, tips from confidential informants
and fly-overs of one of the center's marijuana gardens in Ventura
County where 342 plants were seized. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) D.A. ASKS DEA TO RELENT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Dist. Atty. Terence Hallinan asked the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration on Monday to rethink its campaign against California
doctors and medical cannabis providers. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I urge Administrator [Asa] Hutchinson to respect our city's approach
to medical marijuana, which has reduced crime, saved money and
contributed to public well-being," Hallinan said. "Any move to close
the dispensaries will result in sick people trying to get marijuana
from street vendors." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) CAN'T WIN WAR ON TERROR FIGHTING A WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
If we expect to win the war on terrorism, we have to call off the war
on drugs. There are three reasons: | ||||||||||||||||||
We can't afford both. | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug war feeds terrorist networks and diverts law enforcement
from focusing on immense new perils. | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug war was failing anyway. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) DEA BOSS SAYS TERROR HURTS WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration says
that since Sept. 11's terrorist attacks, his agency has felt a major
impact as the FBI's resources are "spread thin'' and diverted from
investigating illegal drug cases to terrorism, even though the two
increasingly are related. | ||||||||||||||||||
Asa Hutchinson, who resigned as a congressman from Arkansas to take
the DEA job Aug. 8, said yesterday, "Certainly, it's having an impact
when FBI agents are pulled off drugs for terrorism [investigations]
in Boca Raton [Fla.] and Boston," he said. "We have to make up the
slack.'' | ||||||||||||||||||
He said "discussions are under way'' on whether this will lead to a
"functional shift'' in allocation of resources at a time when the DEA
has begun a new assault on medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) AIDS CZAR BACKS NEEDLE EXCHANGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Evertz's Pronouncements Violate Bush Beliefs, Federal Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Scott Evertz, the openly homosexual director of the
White House Office of National AIDS Policy, has broken ranks with
President George W. Bush's stated opposition to needle-exchange
schemes, endorsing government-funded "clean needle" programs in an
interview that appeared in two homosexual newspapers. | ||||||||||||||||||
During last year's presidential campaign, Bush assailed | ||||||||||||||||||
On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Mercy Viana said that Evertz's
comments do not reflect official administration policy: "We do not
support federal funding of needle-exchange programs." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) FDA OKS CLINICAL TESTING OF ECSTASY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON (AP) - Researchers have gained government approval to test the drug "Ecstasy" as a treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder for the first time since the drug was criminalized in 1985. | ||||||||||||||||||
The decision was made this week by the Food and Drug Administration
and marks a shift for the agency, which has virtually banned the drug
from researchers for more than a decade. | ||||||||||||||||||
The trial has not yet been approved by a review board at the Medical University of South Carolina, the proposed site for the research. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) HALLUCINOGENIC TEA CASE STARTS IN ALBUQUERQUE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Jeffrey Bronfman's quest to legalize an hallucinogenic tea for
members of his sect finally reached court last week. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Bronfman, a member of a prominent Canadian family, for years held
meetings at his Arroyo Hondo home where people would drink a tea
known as hoasca, which contains the hallucinogen N.N. | ||||||||||||||||||
That changed on May 21, 1999, when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency
seized 30 gallons of the tea from Bronfman's office on Valley Drive,
on the north side of Santa Fe. No one was arrested or charged with
any crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
On Nov. 21, 2000, Bronfman, as president of the U.S. branch of O
Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal (UDV), and other church
members sued the DEA, alleging the government violated their
constitutional right of freedom of religion. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) A RAINBOW OF SUPPORT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Grandmother Loses Battle For Visitation | ||||||||||||||||||
CASSOPOLIS -- Braving a stiff west wind, supporters of the bereaved
families of Grover "Tom" Crosslin and Rolland Rohm paced the sidewalk
outside the Cass County Courthouse Thursday, hoping to reunite Rohm's
son with his paternal grandparents. | ||||||||||||||||||
But it was not to be. | ||||||||||||||||||
A request by Rohm's mother, Geraldine Livermore, to have visitation
rights with Robert, Rohm's 13-year-old son, was denied by Cass County
Probate Judge Susan Dobrich after an hour-long hearing. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) OFFICIALS TAKEN TO TASK FOR NOT RELEASING DOCUMENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CASSOPOLIS -- Cass County authorities are taking some heat for not
releasing public documents. | ||||||||||||||||||
William McMaster, president of the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based
Taxpayers United, took advantage of the Cass County Board of
Commissioners' public comments period to ask why efforts to obtain
autopsy reports for late Rainbow Farm Campground principals Grover
"Tom" Crosslin, 46, and Rolland "Rollie" Rohm, 28, have been
unsuccessful. | ||||||||||||||||||
The group, a statewide advocacy group for voters, has been acting on behalf of the families of the men, who were killed by police during a Labor Day weekend standoff at the Rainbow Farm Campground in Vandalia. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It was a tough public relations week for drug task forces across the
nation. Dueling task forces in Michigan tried to outnarc each other;
county official in New York are asking a drug task force to justify
its existence or face budget cuts; and a task force in Virginia made
a mistake that led to another set of innocent but terrified
homeowners. | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1999 drug busts in Tulia, Tx. will get more scrutiny, as one fugitive in the investigation has turned herself in, setting the stage for an additional trial where many more people will be paying attention. And DARE America had its own public relations problems as a local police department banned national DARE solicitors from town. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) RIFT BETWEEN DRUG UNITS MAY REQUIRE A REFEREE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug war in Genesee County has developed into a public relations
battle between Sheriff Robert J. Pickell and the Flint Area Narcotics
Group over whether the sheriff's new drug team is a help or hindrance
in combating narcotics trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Pickell has much riding on his decision to withdraw his department's
participation in FANG, the long-established, state-police-led
consortium of local police agencies. In the year's first nine months,
his four-member unit has bagged 16 upper-level drug dealers and
seized $639,000 in narcotics. The much-larger FANG in the same period
has arrested 24 of the bigger dealers and confiscated $2.6 million in
illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) LAWMAKERS MAY SCRUTINIZE BUDGET OF DRUG TASK FORCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The St. Lawrence County Drug Task Force may face budget scrutiny as
lawmakers look for places to cinch the county's belt. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Legislature's Finance Committee on Tuesday approved $168,699 for
the drug-fighting squad next year, but Chairman Peter W.
FitzRandolph, D-Canton, said he wanted lawmakers to review the
mission of the force as the prepare for what could be an even tougher
2003 budget. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I think we need to know what the goal of the Drug Task Force is, is
it to eventually get to the big players in the drug trade? When can
we expect to see that?" Mr. FitzRandolph asked Sheriff Gary J.
Jarvis as he presented his budget plan for next year. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) WRONG HOUSE RAIDED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Police Realize Error After Drawing Guns | ||||||||||||||||||
MIDDLESEX - Undercover drug investigators burst into a home and drew their guns on two women before realizing they were at the wrong house. | ||||||||||||||||||
Estelle Newcomb said she was humiliated that her home had been raided
and that her sense of security was destroyed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Police told Newcomb they would replace the door they kicked in last
weekend. | ||||||||||||||||||
"That's not replacing our nerves, our comfort, our peace of mind on
our property here," Newcomb said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) FUGITIVE TURNS HERSELF IN FROM '99 TULIA DRUG BUST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The last of 46 people indicted in connection with a controversial
1999 undercover drug sting in Tulia turned herself in Friday, setting
up a court battle over the legitimacy of the arrests. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tonya White, 32, turned herself in Friday afternoon at Potter County
Detention Center after two years spent avoiding an arrest warrant for
delivery of cocaine. White was joined at the jail by her attorney,
Jeff Blackburn, and representatives from the American Civil Liberties
Union and other organizations involved in the effort to change
national drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Although all eight of the Tulia defendants who previously went in
front of juries were convicted and received long sentences, Blackburn
said he is confident that he and his legal defense team will be able
to clear White and Bossett. Their acquittals, he said, will then
provide momentum for freeing the other defendants, most of whom
accepted plea bargains. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) POLICE DEPARTMENT BARS DARE FROM FUND-RAISING DOOR-TO-DOOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BRAINTREE, Mass. The Braintree Police Department has told the DARE
national anti-drug program that its door-to-door fund-raisers are not
welcome in town. | ||||||||||||||||||
The move came after a solicitor representing the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program came to the door of select board Chairman James Casey earlier this week. The solicitor was selling coupon books and claimed to work closely with the town's DARE officer. | ||||||||||||||||||
But when pressed, the solicitor didn't know the name of the town's
DARE officer and couldn't describe what he looked like. | ||||||||||||||||||
Casey described the exchange to Deputy Chief Jay Sullivan, who revoked the organization's police-issued certification required for door-to-door fund-raising in the town about 10 miles south of Boston. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Glenn Levant, president and founding director of the nonprofit DARE
America, said Braintree's decision was "biting the hand that feeds
you." | ||||||||||||||||||
"I frankly am incredulous that this Deputy Chief Sullivan is so hostile and so inaccurate about our program," Levant said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-32) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"Cannabis a Medical Miracle - It's Official". So reads the first
headline of this week's news stories. This is no surprise to brave
activists like Canada's Dianne Bruce, who spent 9 days in jail after
her medical grow operation was raided, even though she has
permission from the Canadian government to use the herb and the
local police had long known about her organization. Nor is it news
to BC's Sunshine Coast Compassion Club or to Vancouver's Marijuana
Teahouse, two of the most recent operations to open with the express
goal of helping Canadians with a legitimate medical need for
marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
This isn't new information to the members or employees of the Los
Angeles Cannabis Resource Center, a recently busted medical
marijuana distribution center based out of the city of West
Hollywood. They've been helping people gain access to cannabis for
over five years (nor is it news to the local government - the city
of West Hollywood actually co-signed the mortgage for the club). It
certainly isn't news in Australia, where a new study concluded that
cannabis use does not increase the chance of getting into a
motor-vehicle accident (and may in fact reduce the odds of doing
so). It can't be news to the British government or to GW
pharmaceuticals, the two bodies that initiated the study protocols
which led to the "discovery" that marijuana could be used
effectively as a medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||
So who exactly will be surprised by this announcement? Apparently the U.S. Senate, Supreme Court and the DEA, who maintain that marijuana has no medicinal value and therefore continue their unprecedented assault on legal medical marijuana users and organizations all over California and the US. It must also be news to the Canadian federal government as well, for they continue to financially support and encourage expensive provincial and federal interdiction programs. It certainly must be news to the hundreds of thousands of non-violent drug war prisoners worldwide who are held captive for possession and distribution of a "miracle drug". | ||||||||||||||||||
Finally changing outdated, immoral drug laws in order to have them
accurately reflect this long-accepted scientific and social reality;
now that, truly, would be news to me. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) CANNABIS A MEDICAL MIRACLE - IT'S OFFICIAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis is a 'wonder drug' capable of radically transforming the
lives of very sick people, according to the results of the first
clinical trials of the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tests sanctioned by the Government are proving far more successful
than doctors, patients and cannabis campaigners ever dared hope. Some
of the patients are simply calling it a 'miracle'. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Until now claims of the benefits of the drug for certain conditions
have been anecdotal. But the preliminary results of the UK government
trial, started last year, suggest that 80 per cent of those taking
part have derived more benefit from cannabis than from any other
drug, with many describing it as 'miraculous'. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) AUSTRALIAN STUDY: NO PROOF CANNABIS PUT DRIVERS AT RISK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Studies had found it impossible to prove cannabis adversely affected driving, an Adelaide University researcher said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Professor Jack Maclean, director of the road accident research unit,
said, while there was no doubt alcohol affected driving adversely,
that was not the case with marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It has been impossible to prove marijuana affects driving
adversely," he told the Australian Driver Fatigue Conference in
Sydney. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) MARIJUANA TEA HOUSES FOR THE ILL OPEN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The chronically ill who find marijuana gives them relief from their
symptoms will be able to eat, drink or smoke their medicine in two
new operations opened in the area. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Sunshine Coast Compassion Club opened about a week ago in this
coastal community and earlier this week, the Marijuana Teahouse
opened on Vancouver's gritty downtown eastside. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada gave the green light to medicinal marijuana use in July, but
Kirkman said the bureaucratic approvals process is slow, and even
when a medical marijuana exemption is granted, people don't know
where to get it. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) EXEMPTEES ASK COURT TO RETURN MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Three Ontario men, whose medical marijuana was seized by OPP officers
in a Cramahe Township drug raid earlier this month, have served
notice to have their medicine returned to them. | ||||||||||||||||||
Marc Paquette of Hawkesbury, Robert Neron of Hearst, and Donald
Appleby from Vanier, near Ottawa, were part of a group of 40 medical
marijuana exemptees who had contracted with Lady Dyz Helping Hands to
produce the drug for them. The marijuana was seized by police on
October 19. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1814/a08.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1815/a01.html
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(23) U.S. CRACKS DOWN ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN CALIFORNIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30 -- Armed with a favorable ruling from the
Supreme Court, the Bush administration has begun its first major
crackdown on the distribution of marijuana for medical purposes,
Justice Department officials say. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the last month, federal agents in California have uprooted a
marijuana garden run by patients, seized the files of a doctor and
lawyer who recommended the drug for thousands of sick clients and
raided one of the state's largest cannabis clubs, in West Hollywood,
where more than 900 people with ailments like cancer and AIDS bought
the drug with the blessing of city officials. | ||||||||||||||||||
The sudden rush of enforcement, coming three years after the last
federal raid on a "medical marijuana" club in Oakland, represents the
Justice Department's renewed attempt to impose federal drug laws in
states that have legalized marijuana use for people who are sick or
dying. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (24-27) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Colombian President Andres Pastrana meets with U.S. Government
leaders this week. The September 11 attacks allow officials to
modify labels when expedient. No longer calling rebels "bandits" or
"narco-guerrillas," the Colombian military now calls FARC
"narco-terrorists" or just "terrorists." Chirped one U.S. official:
"Plan Colombia continues to be the most effective counterterrorism
strategy we could design." In the face of escalating paramilitary
attacks, Colombian guerillas are arming and training farmers for
defense, according to reports. | ||||||||||||||||||
Citing safety concerns, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee
recommended suspension of the shoot-down policy for suspected drug
flights over Peru. The problem with the missionary shoot-down was
"lack of judgment displayed by key individuals involved," noted
Florida Senator Bob Graham. CIA officials "failed to properly manage
this program," added Alabama Senator Richard Shelby. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration released a list of drug producing nations
last week. The list, compiled annually, this year dropped Cambodia
as a major drug producer. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India all
stayed on the list. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(24) TERROR FIGHT MAY ALTER COLOMBIA RELATIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Pastrana To Meet With Leaders In America Over New Focus. | ||||||||||||||||||
President Andres Pastrana and top U.S. officials this week will review U.S.-Colombia relations through the new prism of the war on terrorism, which could alter the direction of Colombia's internal conflict and the nature of U.S. counternarcotics strategy here. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Colombian military, less concerned with the politics of labels,
was quick to pick up on the new buzzword to change their
classification of the FARC. | ||||||||||||||||||
While officers once favored calling the rebels "bandits" or "narco-guerrillas," since the Sept. 11 attacks the military has made it a point to call the FARC "narco-terrorists" or simply "terrorists." | ||||||||||||||||||
That sort of rhetoric is "strengthening the hand of those who don't
want to see a negotiated settlement" to Colombia's conflict, said
Tickner. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(25) COLOMBIAN REBELS ARMING CIVILIANS TO FEND OFF OFFENSIVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
FARC is trying to protect land that's a source of revenue from oil
firms and coca. | ||||||||||||||||||
ARAUQUITA, Colombia -- Leftist guerrillas say they are showing
peasant farmers in the oil-rich plains of eastern Colombia how to
fight and build bombs in an effort to fend off an offensive by a
feared paramilitary group. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(26) PRACTICE OF SHOOTING DOWN DRUG PLANES IN PERU SEEMS SIDELINED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 -- The Bush administration should not resume its
policy of helping shoot down planes suspected of carrying drugs over
Peru until safety procedures are radically improved, the Senate
Intelligence Committee said today. | ||||||||||||||||||
Senator Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat and the committee chairman,
said that Peruvian safeguards to protect against the loss of innocent
life had eroded over the years and the C.I.A. had failed in its
oversight responsibilities. "The lack of judgment displayed by key
individuals involved was the primary factor leading to this
disaster," said Mr. Graham, who released a committee report on the
incident today. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(27) PAKISTAN, INDIA ON U.S. LIST OF MAJOR DRUG PRODUCERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON, Nov 3: Pakistan and India as well as Afghanistan remain
on the list of countries that are considered as major producers of
illicit drugs entering the United States or whose territory serves as
a transit route for such drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The list mentions the following countries: Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The only change to the list from the previous year is the removal of Cambodia, which is stated to have presented no signs for several years of having been a major transit country for heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Narco-Dollars For Dummies | ||||||||||||||||||
Series by Catherine Austin Fitts at Narconews.com | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.narconews.com/narcodollars1.html | ||||||||||||||||||
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Eric Sterling's Visit To The NYT Drug Policy Forum | ||||||||||||||||||
A transcript. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Monitor Breakfast: Asa Hutchinson | ||||||||||||||||||
Selected quotations from a Monitor breakfast with DEA Administrator
Asa Hutchinson / By David T. Cook - Staff writer of The Christian
Science Monitor | ||||||||||||||||||
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Canadian Parliament Debates Cannabis Decriminalization Bill | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/111_2001-11-07/HAN111-E.htm#TS-1730 | ||||||||||||||||||
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DrugSense Chat With Scott Imler | ||||||||||||||||||
Join us on Saturday Nov. 10, 2001 8PM Eastern in the Drugsense Chat
Room, http://www.drugsense.org/chat/, when our special guest will be
Scott Imler of the recently raided Los Angeles Cannabis Resource
Cooperative, http://www.lacbc.org/welcome.html | ||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
IT IS TIME TO END MARIJUANA PROHIBITION | ||||||||||||||||||
By Keith Stroup And Paul Armentano | ||||||||||||||||||
Republican Sens. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Jon Kyl of Arizona pose the question: What would America look like if we integrated harm-reduction strategies into U.S. drug policy? ("Don't forfeit war on drugs," Oct. 12.)= The truth is that we already have first-hand experience with a prominent component of harm reduction - marijuana decriminalization - and it has been overwhelmingly positive. | ||||||||||||||||||
Decriminalization removes the consumer - the marijuana smoker - from
the criminal justice system, while maintaining criminal penalties
against those who sell or traffic large quantities of the drug. In
1972, President Richard Nixon's National Commission on Marijuana and
Drug Abuse recommended that Congress adopt this policy nationally in
the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
Since 1973, 12 state legislatures - including Nevada this year - have
enacted versions of marijuana decriminalization. In each of these
states, marijuana smokers no longer face jail time for the possession
or use of minor amounts of marijuana, a position backed by a majority
of the American public according to nationwide polls. Oregon voters
recently reaffirmed their policy by a 2-1 margin in a statewide
referendum. | ||||||||||||||||||
Contrary to allegations made by Mr. Grassley and Mr. Kyl that those
who favor drug-law reform are hiding their agenda, we at the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) have always
been clear about our aim: to stop the arrest of responsible adult
marijuana smokers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers an estimated $10
billion annually arresting and prosecuting more than 700,000
individuals per year,= including patients who require marijuana as a
medicine. This is a tremendous waste of national and state
criminal-justice resources, which should be focused on combating
serious and violent crime, including terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||||
In addition, prohibition inappropriately invites government into
areas of citizens' private lives, and needlessly damages the lives
and careers of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding
citizens each year. | ||||||||||||||||||
NORML urges the Senate Judiciary Committee to scrutinize drug czar
nominee John Walter's past record and question the emphasis he will
place upon marijuana-law enforcement in relation to more significant
drug offenses. | ||||||||||||||||||
After more than 60 years of a failed and destructive policy, it is
time to end marijuana prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
Keith Stroup and Paul Armentano Washington | ||||||||||||||||||
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Honorable Mention Letters of the Week | ||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
GOVERNMENT IS A TERRIBLE MASTER | ||||||||||||||||||
by Steve Kubby | ||||||||||||||||||
Everyone's talking about terrorism these days, but my family and I have experienced terrorism - up close and personal. We survived our terrorist attack and, in the process, we learned a great deal about how state-sponsored terrorism actually operates in America today. | ||||||||||||||||||
In our case, our home was invaded early in the morning. We were
robbed at gunpoint and then kidnapped. These terrorists even tried,
though unsuccessfully, to extort $200,000 (in bail) from us. Worst of
all, these terrorists had badges, and were empowered by laws that
were originally passed to be used against "drug lords." Despite the
fact that we were lawfully exercising rights granted to us by a
medical marijuana law we helped to pass, we found ourselves facing 19
criminal counts. | ||||||||||||||||||
After two and a half years and a quarter of a million dollars in legal
expenses, a jury acquitted us and we regained our freedom, but little
else. | ||||||||||||||||||
Even though we had proved our innocence, none of the terrorists
involved were ever punished for this illegal raid, nor was any of the
property stolen from us returned, not even the data off of our
computers. But we survived and sought an escape from such terror in
the freedom and wildness of British Columbia. | ||||||||||||||||||
From the safety of Canada, we now watch in horror as America's police
and military are handed the keys to the country. Because of our
experience with "drug lord" laws being used against our family, we
understand that, with the passage of the "U.S.A. Act," the Constitution
has effectively been suspended and martial law imposed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our leaders assure us that Congress is standing up to terrorists by
passing this law, but just the opposite is true. Congress is refusing
to stand up for the freedom and rights that are the heritage of all
Americans. Congress is failing to use its Constitutional power (and
fulfill its Constitutional obligation) to check and balance the other
branches of government. Cowering before the police, the military, and
public hysteria, Congress is bartering away our rights. | ||||||||||||||||||
The USA Act may be the greatest act of appeasement since Chamberlain
waved a piece of paper in the air and told the British they were safe
from Hitler. | ||||||||||||||||||
Congress has just handed over unprecedented and unconstitutional
powers to the police. Have we forgotten that these are the same police
who just a few months ago were making headlines for violating human
rights, profiling minorities, placing a third of black males under the
control of the criminal justice system, and planting guns and drugs on
innocent young men in Los Angeles? | ||||||||||||||||||
No one has the right to barter away rights guaranteed by the
Constitution. Yes it's horrific that 5,000 innocent people were so
brutally slaughtered on 9/11. But what about the hundreds of thousands
of brave American patriots who willingly gave their lives to defend
the guarantee of inalienable rights? Who will speak up on behalf of
these brave patriots who paid the ultimate price to preserve our
heritage of freedom? | ||||||||||||||||||
The American patriots that created and bravely defended our
Constitution and Bill of Rights deserve to be heard. If they were
alive today, they would be outraged. | ||||||||||||||||||
Benjamin Franklin would remind us: "They that can give up essential liberty to gain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety," and, "Wherever liberty dwells, there be my country." | ||||||||||||||||||
Wise old Thomas Jefferson would then raise his voice and with calm
firmness explain that rights are indivisible and can never be
separated from us by any law or government. "A free people [claim]
their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift
of their chief magistrate." | ||||||||||||||||||
Then a hush would fill the air, as everyone turned and faced the great general and first President, George Washington. The assembled patriots would all show their deeply-held respect for Washington - an American legend, whose death inspired the proclamation, "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen!" | ||||||||||||||||||
The Founding Father of the United States of America would then speak
directly to every citizen in America and repeat the warnings he issued
upon leaving the White House: "Over grown military establishments are
under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be
regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. . . Government
is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is a force, like fire: a
dangerous servant and a terrible master." | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"I've never seen crack or a lot of these new drugs. Don't know anything
about them. I don't know what they do for you, or whether they do
anything good for you or not. But I do still have a lot of faith in the
spiritual purity of LSD and pot. And I think that if grass were
legalized, it would help our drug problem enormously. As John Madden
said, `There've been a lot more people hurt on astro-turf than grass.'"
-- Ken Kesey | ||||||||||||||||||
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