| Jan. 18, 2002 #234 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Listen On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||
THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) US KY: DOCTOR GOES ON TRIAL ON CHARGES HE PRESCRIBED OXYCONTIN (Top)WITHOUT MEDICAL REASON | ||||||||||||||||
PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- A Harlan County physician was either so moneyhungry
that he handed out prescriptions for the painkiller OxyContin to get
rich, or he was a sympathetic doctor who didn't want his patients to
suffer. | ||||||||||||||||
Those were the contrasting pictures that a prosecutor and a defense
attorney painted of Dr. Ali Sawaf yesterday in the opening day of his
trial in U.S. District Court in Pikeville. | ||||||||||||||||
Sawaf, 60, has been in jail since Feb. 1 on charges of prescribing
drugs without a legitimate medical purpose. He faces maximum
penalties of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted on
the federal charges. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(2) US NM: REP. BURPO LOSES FAVOR WITH GOVERNOR OVER DRUG ATTACKS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
SANTA FE - Gov. Gary Johnson has turned his back on a key Republican
legislator who was ready to fight the governor's battle to cut income
taxes. | ||||||||||||||||
Johnson parted ways with Rep. Rob Burpo, an Albuquerque Republican, on
the tax cut issue because Burpo is waging a public fight to kill
Johnson's drug reform package, said Dave Miller, the governor's
legislative liaison. | ||||||||||||||||
"The governor found it intolerable for Rob (Burpo) to be leading the charge on tax cuts, but leading the charge against the governor's drug package," Miller said. "It's inconsistent and contradictory. | ||||||||||||||||
"It would have made a laughingstock out of our office because these (tax cuts and drug reform) are two of our biggest issues." | ||||||||||||||||
Miller said Johnson believes Burpo is politicizing the drug reform
issue in his bid to win the Republican nomination for governor later
this year. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(3) UK: CANNABIS TRIALS FOR CANCER PATIENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
CANCER patients suffering intractable pain are to be included in trials
of a new range of cannabis-based medicines, a British company licensed
to test the drug on humans has said. | ||||||||||||||||
GW Pharmaceuticals said yesterday more than 100 patients with terminal cancer would take part in the study at more than 20 UK centres. | ||||||||||||||||
Treatments based on a key cannabis component are already being given to patients with multiple sclerosis as part of a phase three trials programme. Preliminary results from phase two MS and spinal cord injury trials have shown significant improvements in a range of symptoms. | ||||||||||||||||
Phase three trials are the final stage in preparing for a medicinal
product to be approved by the Medicines Control Agency. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(4) US CA: POT ADVOCATES PRAISE IDAHO DRIVING RULING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In S.F. Advocates Say Ruling Good For States' Rights | ||||||||||||||||
Bay Area pot advocates hailed a San Francisco appellate court ruling
that allows Idaho residents to legally drive under the influence of
marijuana as long as they are not driving erratically and can pass a
field sobriety test. | ||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco ruled
yesterday that an Idaho man's impaired driving conviction could not
stand because while Idaho law makes it illegal to drive under the
influence of alcohol and narcotics, it doesn't classify marijuana as a
narcotic. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Dale Gieringer, the coordinator of California's chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also supported the ruling because of the impairment standard that it held up. | ||||||||||||||||
"It makes a lot of sense to show that somebody must be impaired and
studies have shown that marijuana users aren't as dangerous on the
roads as those who drink," Gieringer said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A mild reform measure aimed at reducing the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences was introduced by two Republican senators generally known for their staunch support of the drug war. But while congress may take a small step in the right direction, the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed more basic rights in drug-related cases. | ||||||||||||||||
The prohibitionists are about to lose a little more power in terms of
actual ground forces. About 1,000 national guardsmen assigned to
narcotics duties around the U.S. are facing layoffs. In another
nationwide action, a major methamphetamine operation was linked to
terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||
A public school superintendent in Mississippi said he is prepared to strip search students in order to pursue a drug-free school. And yet another report showed that drug testing in the workplace offers little benefit. The report indicated that casual drug users are just as likely to obtain and keep jobs as employees who don't use drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(5) GOP SENATORS' BILL WOULD ADDRESS DISPARITY IN COCAINE-SENTENCING (Top)LAWS | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- In this city, sometimes only the unlikeliest politicians can force action on an issue. In the latest instance of this "Nixon to China" syndrome, a pair of tough-on-crime senators are addressing the disparate sentences meted out for crack and powder-cocaine offenses. | ||||||||||||||||
Just as Congress recessed for the holidays, two conservative Republican
senators -- Alabama's Jeff Sessions and Orrin Hatch of Utah --
introduced a bill to narrow the 100-to-1 ratio representing the amount
of powder cocaine and the small amount of its crack form that,
respectively, mandate five years of prison time for distributing the
drug. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The Sessions-Hatch bill still would leave a disparity in how much of each drug draws a five-year sentence, though it would narrow the ratio to 20-to-1. If a case is prosecuted at the federal level under the current law, someone caught with five grams of crack gets a certain five-year sentence, while someone would have to be in possession of 500 grams of powdered cocaine to trigger the mandatory prison time. The two Republicans' bill would raise the crack trigger amount to 20 grams, and lower the powder amount to 400 grams. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(6) SUPREME COURT REJECTS INMATE APPEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the way the FBI
notifies prisoners about plans to seize their property. | ||||||||||||||||
The court rejected a jailed drug offender's arguments that paperwork should be delivered to federal prisons and signed for by the inmate. | ||||||||||||||||
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who wrote the 5-4 decision, said "heroic efforts" are not required to get notice to inmates. | ||||||||||||||||
Larry Dean Dusenbery had claimed his constitutional rights were
violated because he did not receive a letter the FBI sent by
certified mail to prison notifying him of plans to confiscate his
car and about $22,000 in= cash. | ||||||||||||||||
"Today's decision diminishes the safeguard of notice, affording an
opportunity to be heard, before one is deprived of property,"
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a dissent, joined by Justices
John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter and Stephen Breyer. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(7) POLICE CAN USE EXPERIENCE, SUSPICION TO MAKE STOPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that in
evaluating whether "reasonable suspicion" existed for a police
officer to detain a suspect briefly for questioning, courts should
pay more attention to the officer's experience and the event's
overall context than to possibly innocent explanations for
individual parts of the incident. | ||||||||||||||||
The case concerned a stop by a federal border patrol agent of a
minivan carrying two adults and three children on an unpaved road in
a remote area of southern Arizona. The vehicle was found to be
carrying 128 pounds of marijuana, but the federal appeals court in
San Francisco ruled that the stop was unconstitutional. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
In his opinion on Tuesday, Chief Justice William Rehnquist referred to the appeals court's assessment of the individual factors as a "divide-and-conquer analysis" and said it was inconsistent with the Supreme Court's insistence in its precedents that reasonable suspicion be based on a "totality of the circumstances." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(8) NATIONAL GUARD ANTI-DRUG TEAM FACES LAYOFFS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Facing an unexpected budget shortfall, the Florida National Guard's anti-drug team could be cut by almost half by the end of the month -- the bulk of the layoffs affecting efforts in South Florida. | ||||||||||||||||
Soldiers assigned to the agency's counter-drug program are charged
with searching hulls and cargoes of ships at the state's ports,
including the Port of Miami. They also train local law enforcement
agencies. | ||||||||||||||||
An expected $2.5 million shortfall in federal funding could force the Florida National Guard to trim 70 active-duty positions by Jan. 31 -- roughly 45 percent of its 156 member staff charged with helping U.S. Customs and the Drug Enforcement Administration. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(9) BUSTED METH RING MAY HAVE TERRORIST CONNECTIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Federal authorities have charged 121 people, including three in
Houston, in a nationwide crackdown on a ring that allegedly supplied
a drug used to manufacture methamphetamine. | ||||||||||||||||
The ring may have links to terrorist organizations, an FBI spokesman
said. | ||||||||||||||||
Authorities made 67 arrests and issued 54 arrest warrants in
Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and other cities, Drug Enforcement
Administration officials said. | ||||||||||||||||
Arrested in Houston were Osamah Yacoub, 33; Sarah Yacoub, 33, and
Mohammad Aoun, 37. They will be transferred to Phoenix, where the cases
are being prosecuted, a local DEA official said. | ||||||||||||||||
The FBI has launched an investigation into whether terrorist groups,
including the one responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade
Center, benefited from the ring's operations, FBI spokesman John
Iannarelli told the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(10) STRIP SEARCH STUDENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Declaring An 'All-Out War' On Drugs, Hancock School Superintendent
Warns He= May | ||||||||||||||||
The superintendent of Hancock County schools says he is prepared to
strip search students to find drugs, if necessary. | ||||||||||||||||
"They're pretty creative about how they hide their drugs,"
Superintendent Mike Ladner said. "It may be in their crotch area,
where we're not patting them down . . . We're dealing with criminals
here." | ||||||||||||||||
Ladner said he is launching an "all-out war" on drugs after a high
school student overdosed on prescription sleeping pills before the
Christmas holiday. He said he is prepared to have students stripped
naked, if they are suspected of having drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
He can do it, too, according to the state Attorney General's Office. | ||||||||||||||||
While police can't perform strip searches without probable cause to
believe they might find a weapon or drugs, school officials have to
have only a reasonable suspicion. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(11) OCCASIONAL DRUG USERS ARE FINE EMPLOYEES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Casual drug users and non-drug users are equally as likely to get
and keep a job, according to a recent University of Miami study
funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. | ||||||||||||||||
"Chronic drug users are more likely to have employment difficulties
than casual drug users," says lead researcher Dr. Michael French, "so
the economic payoff in the workplace could be much greater if employers
and policy-makers focused on the problematic, as opposed to the
non-problematic or casual, drug user, in the same way that they focus
on the problematic, as opposed to the casual drinker." | ||||||||||||||||
Although the study did not address drug testing, it supplies ammunition
to those who maintain that testing does not prevent unsafe situations,
like a school bus driver who doesn't sleep at night. A more reliable
method to evaluate current and potential employees, argues Lewis
Maltbly, president of the National Workrights Institute, is performance
testing, which checks a person's vision, reflexes and coordination.
"The evidence generally shows that drug testing does little or nothing
to improve safety and productivity," he says. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (12-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The federal drug war isn't just crowding federal prisons. In Tennessee,
suspects from federal drug busts are also crowding county facilities.
The state narcotics bureau in Mississippi is facing a more embarrassing
problem - most of the crucial evidence from a marijuana bust have been
lost, leading to a dismissal. | ||||||||||||||||
Police in Los Angeles were busy infiltrating high schools to arrest
students involved with drugs. The program has been used since 1974, but
officers are still "shocked" by what they see. Must be a very effective
program. | ||||||||||||||||
The drug war was particularly deadly in Mobile, Alabama last year. More than half of the city's 45 homicides involved illegal drugs. And drug cops in Colorado have created a worthy cause by attempting to force a bookstore to turn over records identifying the purchaser of a book about drug manufacture. Renowned authors are speaking up for the First Amendment and the case is getting international attention. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(12) FEDERAL PRISONERS JAM COUNTY'S JAIL, WORKHOUSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The battle against methamphetamine in Southeast Tennessee is part of
the reason Hamilton County's jail and workhouse are bulging at the
seams, local officials say. | ||||||||||||||||
On any given day, about 250 federal prisoners wait in local lockups
to be tried, county Chief of Staff Jeannine Alday said last week.
They're split about evenly between the county jail and Silverdale
Workhouse, comprising roughly a quarter of the prisoner population
in each of those facilities. | ||||||||||||||||
Jail chief Jim Hart said a "big proportion" of those prisoners are
facing drug charges from the three-year methamphetamine crackdown in
Hamilton and 17 surrounding counties. | ||||||||||||||||
"We were averaging about 30 to 40 a day" before the Methamphetamine
Task Force cranked up, Chief Hart said. The federal government has
put $3 million into the meth crackdown so far. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(13) EDITORIAL: HOW DID NARCOTICS BUREAU MESS UP? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
How did the state Bureau of Narcotics "lose" samples from a 200-pound
haul of marijuana, plus audio tapes, photographs and other evidence
taken in the arrest of a suspect? | ||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors are downplaying the missing evidence, saying they have
other charges to present against a defendant accused of plotting to
transport drugs to Jackson. | ||||||||||||||||
But what happened to the evidence? What's going on? Such foul-ups are
more than embarrassing. The case was dismissed Monday. A full
accounting should be made. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(14) UNDERCOVER OPERATION FINDS DEALERS IN SCHOOLS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Undercover LAPD officers purchased narcotics 227 times and arrested
136 dealers in Los Angeles public schools during a yearlong sting,
Chief Bernard C. Parks said Friday. | ||||||||||||||||
The undercover officers who posed as students said Friday they were
shocked to discover that youths openly sold drugs inside classrooms
and used drugs throughout school campuses. | ||||||||||||||||
"As far as narcotics go, it's pretty bad," said Los Angeles Police
Department Officer Jason Azpeitia, 26. "You walk into a restroom and
see two to three kids smoking out in a stall from a marijuana pipe
or joint. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Since 1974, undercover officers in the LAPD School Investigation Buy
Unit have made thousands of narcotic purchases and arrested more
than 8,400 drug dealers on campuses, seizing $8 million in
narcotics. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(15) ILLEGAL DRUGS PLAYED A ROLE IN MORE THAN HALF OF MOBILE'S 45 (Top)HOMICIDES IN 2001, SAYS POLICE CHIEF | ||||||||||||||||
Illegal drugs played a role in more than half of the homicides
recorded in Mobile in 2001, according to police. | ||||||||||||||||
Twenty-five of the 45 slayings "had a drug nexus," Mobile Police
Chief Sam Cochran said, meaning that at least one person involved
was using, stealing or attempting to buy drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
"There's a significant drug problem in Mobile," Cochran said, just
as in cities of similar size. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Mobile's drug-related homicides accounted for about 56 percent of
the total, and nationwide statistics indicate that number may be
high. | ||||||||||||||||
Alan Hancock, special agent with the local office of the Drug
Enforcement Administration, quoted statistics gathered by the National
Institute of Justice. Those numbers show that of the 12,943 homicides
reported nationwide in 2000, only 669 -- about 5 percent -- were
committed during the course of a drug felony or due to unspecified drug
activity. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(16) DRUGS SQUAD FUMES AS BOOKSHOP SHIELDS READER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Prize-Winning U.S. Writers Queue Up To Defend Privacy Of Customer Who
Bought Uncle Fester's Illicit Manual | ||||||||||||||||
It never won a Pulitzer or appeared on the New York Times bestseller
lists but a 400-page book about the manufacture of illicit drugs by
an author known as Uncle Fester is at the centre of a legal battle
over the privacy of the U.S. book-buying public. In what has been
described as a landmark case for the U.S. book industry, the Tattered
Cover bookshop in Denver, Colorado, has spent 18 months resisting
the attempts of both police and courts to obtain the identity of a
customer who purchased Uncle Fester's opus, Advanced Techniques of
Clandestine Drug Laboratories . | ||||||||||||||||
Many of the country's most celebrated authors, publishers and booksellers are supporting the shop, which has argued that handing over the information would be a serious attack on free speech. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Much U.S. news this week, beginning with a great article on the
DEA's ban on edible hemp products. With only about a month left
before the ban comes into full effect, worried hempsters are
stocking up on hempen pasta and ice cream while fighting to stop
these illogical, unscientific federal restrictions. Meanwhile, in
Arkansas, lawmakers are pushing forward a medical marijuana bill.
And in California, the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Club is once again
in the news for filing a constitutional argument against the federal
order demanding that it cease distributing cannabis to its 2500 ill
members. | ||||||||||||||||
In Canada, the federal government has assured critics and activists that its federally grown cannabis will be as potent as street pot. Distribution of the federal supply should begin in early spring. | ||||||||||||||||
In the UK, Edinburgh continues its high publicity bid to become the home to Scotland's first legal Amsterdam-style cannabis cafe'. And finally, a story that did not make the cut, with a headline that could not be ignored: "Accused Naked Pot Farmer to Face Marijuana Charges" (from the WA Daily Herald). So what you're saying is those little hairs I pulled from my bud may not be from the guard-dog=85 | ||||||||||||||||
=== | ||||||||||||||||
(17) DEA RULES THREATEN TO STRANGLE U.S. HEMP BUSINESS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
If the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has its way, Athens County retailer Don Wirtshafter could soon be out of business. | ||||||||||||||||
"On Oct. 9, I went from being a entrepreneur to being one of the
biggest drug dealers in the U.S.," complained Wirtshafter, who runs
the Ohio Hempery, a Guysville company that sells hemp-based products
including food and clothing items. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
With its new "interpretive rule," however, the DEA says that if a
hemp product contains even minute amounts of marijuana's active
ingredient THC, and if using the product introduces THC into the
user's body, then it is illegal to sell. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(18) ARKANSAS LAWMAKER PLANS PUSH TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
FAYETTEVILLE -- When California voters approved a law in 1996 to allow its seriously ill residents to legally purchase, grow and smoke marijuana, many Americans and medical experts took notice, but few expected states less liberal than California to follow suit. | ||||||||||||||||
But, five years later, nine states and the District of Columbia have
approved similar medical-marijuana laws, and at least a half-dozen
states - -- including Arkansas -- are expected to consider the issue
in the next year or so. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(19) OAKLAND POT CLUB FILES CLAIMS AGAINST CLOSURE IN COURT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative's battle to stay alive moved ahead this week as it filed a brief outlining its constitutional arguments against a permanent federally ordered shutdown. | ||||||||||||||||
The brief, filed Monday for U.S. Judge Charles Breyer of San
Francisco, claims that the federal government is overstepping its
control of interstate commerce; that it's violating California's
power to enact public health and safety measures; and that it's
violating people's rights to have relief from pain, to prolong life
and to consult with and act upon a doctor's recommendation under the
Fifth and Ninth amendments to the Constitution. | ||||||||||||||||
OCBC attorney Robert Raich said the government will reply and the
cooperative will file a final response before Breyer holds a
hearing, tentatively set for Feb. 16. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(20) POTENT FEDERAL CANADIAN POT PROMISED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The first crop of federal medical pot won't hit the streets until
spring but will pack enough punch to keep patients satisfied, says
the official government grower. | ||||||||||||||||
It will probably be two or three months before people with medical exemptions will have access to his crop because Health Canada has yet to decide how medical marijuana will be packaged and distributed, said Brent Zettl, president of Prairie Plant Systems. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The federal contract was for a plant with five or six per cent THC content, but Zettl said his last crop tested at about 10%. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(21) EDINBURGH BIDS TO BE AMSTERDAM OF NORTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
If you want to take the "high" road to Scotland, head for Edinburgh, where there is growing pressure for the city to approve cannabis cafes in an attempt to create an "Amsterdam of the north". | ||||||||||||||||
Support for the move is rising as the traditionally conservative
city builds a reputation for street parties and liberal tolerance.
It is also planning a CCTV-protected "tolerance zone" for
prostitutes. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (22-26) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
UN officials last week again fretted that the world would be flooded
with Afghani heroin, declaring that "traffickers have decided to move
their stocks out of Afghanistan." Also last week Pakistani security
forces seized a ton of heroin with an estimated street value of 50
million dollars, reportedly "one of the world's largest-ever hauls of
the drug." | ||||||||||||||||
The government of Thailand has discovered a new way to give drug users
treatment: use the army to man detention camps. The Thai army will
force-treat "8,000 people found guilty of using drugs," the Bangkok
Post reported. | ||||||||||||||||
In Brazil, president Alberto Cardoso signed into law parts of an "anti-drugs bill" that would increase penalties, but rejected portions of the bill that lightened penalties faced by users. Claiming constitutional difficulties, Cardoso promised to submit another bill that would "maintain the essence of the original bill that sought to keep drugs users out of jail." The bill had been debated for 10 years. | ||||||||||||||||
And last week in the UK, Prince Harry, 17, admitted to taking cannabis
and alcohol. Concerned over Harry's cannabis use, Prince Charles made
Harry attend a drug rehabilitation clinic for one day. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(22) AFGHAN HEROIN TRAFFIC RESUMES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
TURBAT, Pakistan - The smugglers moved their caravan at sunset
through the desolate moonscape of western Pakistan, the backs of a
dozen camels piled high with nearly a ton of heroin and morphine
originating in Afghanistan. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The U.S.-led war against the Taliban had disrupted the world's
biggest heroin trafficking route, from Afghanistan through Pakistan
and onward to Europe. The flow of Afghan heroin - already pinched by
an edict from Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar banning opium
poppy cultivation - dried to a trickle. | ||||||||||||||||
But now, with the Taliban defeated and the international community pressuring Afghanistan's new government to mount a comprehensive crackdown on drugs, traffickers have been moving huge amounts of heroin out of Afghanistan in the past two weeks, officials say. | ||||||||||||||||
"After several months of calm on the drug front, traffickers have
decided to move their stocks out of Afghanistan," Bernard Frahi, the
senior U.N. anti-narcotics official in Pakistan and Afghanistan,
told reporters on Saturday. | ||||||||||||||||
"They know that their stockpiles are going to be destroyed along
with terrorist hiding places," Mr. Frahi said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(23) PAKISTAN MAKES HUGE HEROIN HAUL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Pakistani security forces have seized nearly a ton of heroin with a street value of more than $50m - one of the world's largest-ever hauls of the drug. The raid outside the town of Turbat near the Iranian border in Baluchistan Province sparked a gun battle which left one trafficker dead and another wounded, Reuters reported. | ||||||||||||||||
Agents found 630 kg (1,386 pounds ) of pure heroin and 250 kg of
morphine, which they believe originated in Afghanistan. | ||||||||||||||||
Four alleged smugglers, who were using camels to transport the
drugs, have been arrested. | ||||||||||||||||
"It appears to be the first large quantity of heroin seized with
origins in Afghanistan," one officer told the Associated Press.
Another said it could be the biggest seizure of pure heroin in
Pakistan's history. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(24) 8,000 ADDICTS OFF TO CAMPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The armed forces is to accept 8,000 people found guilty of using drugs for treatment and rehabilitation in military camps. | ||||||||||||||||
Lt-Gen Vorapong Sangwornratchasap, assistant army chief-of-staff for
civilian affairs, said the programme would be launched in one or two
months, at the request of the Justice Ministry's Probation
Department. | ||||||||||||||||
Under the programme, the armed forces would take those found guilty
of using drugs for treatment and rehabilitation since under the
Narcotics Act they were regarded as patients. | ||||||||||||||||
Lt-Gen Vorapong did not say how long the programme would last, only
saying that the first month would be for treatment. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(25) BRAZIL'S CARDOSO SIGNS PARTS OF ANTI-DRUGS MEASURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
BRASILIA, Brazil, Jan 11 ( Reuters ) - Brazilian President Fernando
Henrique Cardoso on Friday signed into law an anti-drugs bill aimed
at cracking down on traffickers but rejected parts that would have
eased penalties faced by users. | ||||||||||||||||
Cardoso vetoed some 30 percent of the bill -- approved by Congress
in September after 10 years of debate -- because it was | ||||||||||||||||
Cardoso said the president was set to send another measure to
Congress that would maintain the essence of the original bill that
sought to keep drugs users out of jail by giving them alternative
sentences such as community work. | ||||||||||||||||
"The Brazilian government's philosophy ... is a reduction in demand
and a reduction in supply, heavily repressing traffickers while
treating users as people with an illness who need to be attended to,
not as criminals," Cardoso said. | ||||||||||||||||
Recreational drug users in Brazil had heralded the bill because it
would have replaced a current law under which marijuana smokers
could get the same penalties as people caught with a pound (0.45 kg
) of cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(26) YOUNG PRINCE ADMITS ALCOHOL, MARIJUANA USE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
LONDON - Britain's Prince Harry, 17, was taken to visit a rehab
center after he admitted he had smoked marijuana and illegally drunk
alcoholic beverages, the first public embarrassment involving one of
Princess Diana's children since her death. | ||||||||||||||||
The story, broken by Sunday's News of the World tabloid under the headline "Harry's Drug Shame," and all but confirmed by the royal family, dominated British print and broadcast news reports all day. | ||||||||||||||||
It also led to widespread speculation about what it will mean for
the royal family and for Prince Harry, who could conceivably be
expelled from Eton, the prestigious private school. | ||||||||||||||||
Harry, then 16, drank with friends at a pub last summer and smoked
marijuana with friends, according to the media reports. | ||||||||||||||||
After learning of his son's drug use, Prince Charles sent Harry to a
drug rehabilitation center in south London for a day. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
THE INDICTMENT OF PROHIBITION PANEL | ||||||||||||||||
A transcript from the New York Times Drug Policy Forum featuring
Superior Court Judge James P. Gray, Nobel Laureate Milton
Friedman, Canadian Barrister Eugene Oscapella and Author
Catherine Austin Fitts. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
California Senate Ecstasy Bill Dead; Assembly Bill Weakened | ||||||||||||||||
News from The Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
ReconsiDer Quarterly Police Issue | ||||||||||||||||
Focuses on police and the drug war with articles from Judge James
Gray, Joseph D. McNamara and others. | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.reconsider.org/quarterly/2000_2001_Winter/PoliceQuarterly.pdf | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Cannabis Control: Costs Outweigh The Benefits | ||||||||||||||||
Debate from British Medical Journal | ||||||||||||||||
The article has also generated an interesting online debate. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
DRUG WAR LIES | ||||||||||||||||
By Gary Storck | ||||||||||||||||
After reading your editorial criticizing federal authorities for
lying in their propaganda efforts in Afghanistan, "Truth's a
better weapon in the information war" (Jan. 7, 2002), I could not
help but be struck by the similarities in federal tactics used in
the failed war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
In that case, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
has been running an expensive, taxpayer-funded advertising
campaign for several= years now that attempts to curb drug use
by engaging in the same types of hyperbole and misinformation
used in the Afghan campaign. | ||||||||||||||||
The cornerstone of this disinformation campaign is lying about
marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
Marijuana is one of the most studied substances, yet all this
research has been unable to document the claims by federal
authorities that it is harmful. And while marijuana remains
federally classified as a Schedule I drug with no medical uses,
alcohol and tobacco are explicitly exempt from being scheduled,
despite their high potential for abuse. | ||||||||||||||||
Medical marijuana is kept from the sick and dying using the excuse
that legalizing access would send a bad message to the children.
But children are not stupid, and can easily see the through the
hypocrisy that keeps drugs like alcohol and tobacco legal, along
with numerous prescription drugs with a high potential for abuse,
while banning a humble God-given herb with 15,000 years of
non-toxic use by humans. | ||||||||||||||||
As your editorial noted, "truth ... will serve us well". The
government should try sticking with the truth. Credibility is a
terrible thing to waste, whether at home or abroad. | ||||||||||||||||
Gary Storck, | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Honorable Mention Letters of the Week | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Book Review: "Drug War Heresies" | ||||||||||||||||
Reviewed by Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||
Drug War Heresies / by Robert J. MacCoun and Peter Reuter
Cambridge University Press, 2001, 479 pages | ||||||||||||||||
The ongoing argument between prohibitionists and drug policy reformers
might be boiled down to two basic perspectives. While there are
nuances, reformers generally maintain that harsh drug laws make
problems worse. Prohibitionists insist that without tough drug laws,
drug problems would increase. | ||||||||||||||||
"Drug War Heresies," written by Robert J. MacCoun and Peter Reuter,
analyzes those positions and assesses some evidence used to support
both. The authors carry serious academic credentials, and this is no
lightweight work. | ||||||||||||||||
Dense with facts, citations and background from a number of academic
disciplines, the book is not a quick read, but it contains useful and
often complex analysis for those interested in drug reform. For someone
who has read dozens of books on drugs and drug policies, much of the
presentation was familiar. But there were more than a few revelations,
like a thorough examination of Switzerland's notorious "Needle Park"
experiment, including some positive outcomes I hadn't seen noted
elsewhere. | ||||||||||||||||
In the end, the authors express cautious support for a few mild reform strategies, while generally rejecting others, particularly the outright legalization of any prohibited drug - even marijuana. They do, however, describe the case for marijuana "depenalization" as "compelling." | ||||||||||||||||
The information presented is generally good, if sometimes limited. The examination of drug-related corruption didn't appear to dig too deep. The authors accept that corruption is widespread in other countries, yet they downplay domestic American drug corruption. The evidence they present supports this, but well-documented (if controversial) books on drug corruption within the U.S government by authors like Gary Webb, Alfred McCoy and Peter Dale Scott, are not listed in the bibliography. | ||||||||||||||||
While missing some specifics like that, the authors are usually careful
to cover their bases in terms of creating a broad catalog of the harms
caused by prohibition itself. But they explain that much information
regarding the harms of prohibition is spotty and difficult to quantify.
The book also acknowledges the limitations of data regarding drug use,
but more data seems to be available regarding drug use. | ||||||||||||||||
Perhaps because of that broader availability of drug use data, readers may perceive levels of drug use and abuse as being dynamic, while levels of prohibition-related harm may appear to have reached a plateau. | ||||||||||||||||
In one instance, the authors' observations about the possible future of
a kinder and gentler prohibition as it relates to medical marijuana seem
downright naive. "The sensible separation of the issue of marijuana's
therapeutic potential and the recreational use of the drug seems now to
be accepted by the federal leadership," they suggest. Granted, this was
written before the latest federal crackdown on cannabis buyers clubs in
California, but it's difficult to see how Barry McCaffrey's tenure at
the ONDCP raised such rosy expectations. | ||||||||||||||||
Slightly increased drug use and abuse seem acceptable to the authors
under some reform scenarios, but schemes that would theoretically lead
to greatly increased use and abuse are not accepted. | ||||||||||||||||
Unfortunately, the dynamics of prohibition-related harm are barely
mentioned. The authors acknowledge that prohibition-related harms
described relate only to the present time. They also acknowledge that
prohibition-related harms have increased since the 1960s. But they don't
study the other side of the coin to consider the point at which the
rising harms of drug prohibition become intolerable. | ||||||||||||||||
The continuing failure of prohibition to meet its stated goal of
creating a "drug-free America" will lead to further escalation in the
drug war. This, in turn, can be expected to increase the harms
associated with prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||
It is important to consider how drug reform could impact levels of drug use, and the authors offer reasonable discussions on the topic. But, it is also important to ask how continued, and perhaps more draconian, prohibition will impact levels of prohibition-related harm. | ||||||||||||||||
How many HIV infections caused by dirty needles is too many? What level
of drug-related incarceration is too high? How much herbicide dumped on
peasant farmland in Colombia is too much? Such queries are not posed by
MacCoun and Reuter. | ||||||||||||||||
By failing to ask, the authors shortchange the reform position. Far from
being heresy, the book offers only modest challenges to widely held
beliefs about the drug war debate. | ||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly and the author of
"Maximizing Harm," a heavily-biased book about the drug war,
http://www.maximizingharm.com/ | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"The belief that more intensive law enforcement will achieve better
public health outcomes represents a triumph of hope over experience. If
we discovered that a drug we had been using failed to relieve patients'
symptoms and produced unpleasant side effects, would any of us increase
the dose?" -- Wodak, Reinarman and Cohen | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can
do for you. | ||||||||||||||||
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: | ||||||||||||||||
Please utilize the following URLs | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE | ||||||||||||||||
-OR- | ||||||||||||||||
Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send
your contribution to: | ||||||||||||||||
The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. |
 | current issue | this issue |