| Jan. 25, 2002 #235 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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) U.S. KNEW OF PERU SPY'S TROUBLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LIMA, Peru ---- U.S. officials continued working closely with
Peruvian spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos in the anti-drug fight
despite an army officer's tip that he was involved with death squad
killings, newly declassified documents show. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The officer, a self-described member of a military death squad,
offered in 1993 to provide U.S. officials with information linking
Montesinos to the group, according to a U.S. Embassy cable released
Tuesday. The latest declassified reports provide the clearest
indication yet that U.S. officials were aware early on that
Montesinos, a key American ally in the drug war, was involved with a
death squad. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) US MI: GROUP SUES OVER INFORMATION ON SHOOTINGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
VANDALIA -- Supporters of a campground owner shot to death following
a standoff with police are suing over the release of autopsy reports
and other documents. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The lawsuit filed last week in the Michigan Court of Claims said the
Jan. 7 release of autopsy reports on Grover Crosslin, 46, and Roland
Rohm, 28, police reports and a prosecutor's review of the case were
delayed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) CANADA: MEDICINAL POT SMOKE DANGEROUS, MDS SAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
OTTAWA -- Marijuana smoke is dangerous, and the federal government
should not allow the use of pipes, joints or bongs (a type of pipe)
when it is taken for medicinal purposes, a doctors' group said
yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada said the government is being
irresponsible in distributing marijuana without proving that the
medical benefits outweigh the health risks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) US FL: COURT: '3 STRIKES' LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A state appeals court ruled Wednesday that Florida's "three strikes"
law is unconstitutional, nullifying a statute Gov. Jeb Bush pledged
to pass during his campaign four years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1999 law contains provisions unrelated to "three strikes,"
violating the constitutional requirement that laws deal with only a
single subject, the court ruled. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The law requires that judges give maximum sentences to people who commit a third violent crime. It also mandates maximum terms for drug dealers and people who attack police or the elderly. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bush said he would try to get the law re-enacted in the legislative
session that began Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[end] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-11) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Harsh, judge-imposed additions to federal drug sentences don't
appear to be in question any longer. Last week, the U.S. Court of
Appeals in San Francisco reversed an earlier decision that would
have limited the ability of judges to add prison time to drug
sentences. In a more welcome legal move, the Arizona Supreme Court
ruled that being caught with drug paraphernalia is not subject to
more serious punishment than being caught possessing actual drugs.
This chagrined some prosecutors in the state. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Doctors accused of over-prescribing OxyContin are being charged with
murder, which is uncommonly harsh compared with the types of charges
usually lodged against physicians for improperly prescribing drugs.
Fears about drugs also seem to be causing a boom in the sniffer dog
business, and alarm among those who care about privacy rights.
Speaking of animals, one of the most interesting aspects of a new
study about cocaine use and monkey social order was buried at the
tail end of the story - monkeys who had been addicted were in
perfect health even as they continued to use the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cocaine can't be as bad for monkeys as the drug war is bad for
people. Prohibition caused the violent death of an addict who had
been persuaded to act as a police informant in Tennessee. The
victim's parents now recognize the evils of the drug war, as does an
ex-prosecutor from Indiana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) APPEALS COURT REFINES FEDERAL DRUG SENTENCING LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
To the immense relief of prosecutors in nine Western states, a
federal appeals court removed a cloud yesterday that it had cast
five months ago over a federal drug sentencing law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The law, in effect since 1984, is used regularly in federal
prosecutions and allows drug sentences to be lengthened by many
years based on the amount of narcotics involved. One application is
to increase the maximum sentence for selling drugs, normally 20
years, to life in prison if large quantities were sold. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Last August, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in San
Francisco ruled that the 1984 law required judges to determine drug
quantities, and therefore was unconstitutional based on the Supreme
Court ruling. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The decision not only allowed current prisoners to challenge their
sentences, but also barred prosecutors from seeking the increased
sentences unless Congress rewrote the law. Numerous drug cases were
put on hold while the government appealed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But after pleas from every federal prosecutor's office in the nine
states of the judicial circuit, the court granted a rehearing by a
larger panel. In an 8-to-3 ruling yesterday, the court said the law
could be interpreted constitutionally, to let jurors make the
crucial findings about quantity when deciding guilt. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) COURT SAYS NO JAIL FOR DRUG PARAPHERNALIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The tug-of-war between Prop 200 advocates who object to | ||||||||||||||||||||
Previously, first-time users of marijuana, meth, cocaine or other drugs could not be sentenced to jail, but faced only probation and a fine -- because of Prop 200. However, some prosecutors in the state sought to tack on county jail time by getting a drug paraphernalia conviction, arguing that paraphernalia is not mentioned in Prop 200. | ||||||||||||||||||||
That prosecution tool has now gone up in smoke. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) OXYCONTIN PRESCRIBERS FACE CHARGES IN FATAL OVERDOSES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Moving against what law enforcement officials say is a boom in "pill
mills," prosecutors are charging doctors with murder or manslaughter
in the deaths of patients from overdoses of prescription drugs,
including the powerful painkiller OxyContin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a Florida courtroom this week, Dr. James Graves went on trial on
manslaughter charges stemming from the overdose deaths of four
people for whom he had prescribed OxyContin and other drugs; next
month in a California state court, a similar case is to begin
against Dr. Frank B. Fisher. Last year, Florida prosecutors charged
Dr. Denis Deonarine with first-degree murder in connection with a
fatal overdose. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Legal experts said it was extremely rare for a doctor to be charged
with murder or manslaughter because of their prescribing practices.
Doctors accused of improperly dispensing drugs have usually been
charged with fraud or with illegally prescribing controlled
substances. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) HOUNDING THE PUBLIC (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sniffing Dogs At Work And School | ||||||||||||||||||||
It doubles as a school and a pharmacy, of sorts-a place to learn and
buy cheap drugs, mostly marijuana, from some of the hippest kids in
town. Longmont High School has a bad reputation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a quest to change that, Principal Mary White has turned students over to the dogs-drug-sniffing, booze-sniffing, gunpowder-sniffing dogs. Her actions represent a growing and prosperous trend among business leaders, educators and government bureaucrats who are using man's best friend to rid institutions of contraband. Soon, promises the executive of a company that trains and sells the dogs, working canines will be a common sight for ordinary, average Americans. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Don't count on the limitations of over-burdened law enforcement to
keep this practice in check. Despite what local newspapers reported,
the Longmont drug dogs have nothing to do with police. Nor do most
modern contraband-sniffing dogs. Rather, the dogs are owned and
managed privately. They're part of a new industry that grew by leaps
and bounds with every school shooting in the late 1990s, and has
flourished even more since the Sept. 11 attacks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Every time some kid makes the news for bringing a gun to school,
our phones ring off the hook," says Mike Ferdinand, vice president
of Interquest Detection Canines in Houston. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) COCAINE ADDICTION LINKED TO SOCIAL ORDER IN MONKEYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dominant Ones Less Likely To Get Hooked | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monkeys higher up on the social ladder are less likely to become
addicted to cocaine, a finding that could explain why some people
are more prone to addiction, researchers at Wake Forest University
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The monkeys will stay on the cocaine and will be used in other
experiments, Nader said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite being addicted to cocaine, the monkeys are all in good
health, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We limit the amount of cocaine that they can get. So that there's a
very, very small likelihood that the cocaine will have any kind of
adverse affect on them," Nader said. "You could not walk back there
and tell which monkey had cocaine and which didn't." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) DRUGS, MURDER CREATE FAMILY TURMOIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mart Freeman died Jan. 20, 2001. He was born Jan. 8, 1972.
Ironically, his first days on earth and his last day on earth were
on the same street -- Wadsworth Circle. | ||||||||||||||||||||
On the day Mart Freeman was born, his parents, Dora and Howard
Freeman, were living just a few hundred yards from the site where
their son died 29 years later. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Police have described the murder as a drug-related homicide but the
Freemans insist there's more to the story. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I don't appreciate the words 'drug deal gone wrong' when the police were behind it," Dora Freeman said. "They (police officers) are acting like they didn't get him to work for them when they did." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dora Freeman has said her son was addicted to drugs and had been
charged by police with drug offenses. She said police officers and
Anderson County Sheriff's Department deputies talked him into
working as an informant. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I'm about to come to the conclusion that it's not the drugs, it's
the legality of them," Howard Freeman said. "The bottom line is if
they were legal, drugs would be taxed, be in a controlled setting,
and get the criminal element out of it." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) EX-PROSECUTOR CALLS WAR ON DRUGS NATIONAL 'DISGRACE' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bob Miller doesn't mince words when he talks about the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He calls it "a national failure," "a disgrace" and "just plain
sickening." | ||||||||||||||||||||
What separates Miller from other critics is that for nearly a dozen
years he was responsible for prosecuting thousands of drug cases in
Monroe and Greene counties. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Miller served as Monroe County's prosecutor -- the county's chief
law enforcement officer -- from 1987 to 1994. Prior to that, he was
chief deputy prosecutor in Greene County. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mike Gray, author of Drug Crazy http://www.drugcrazy.com/ Governor's Commission for a Drug-Free Indiana http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/indiana/gcdfi.html
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (12-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A New York Times report on shrinking law enforcement finances was
ironic compared to several reports on how police resources are
actually being used throughout the country. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In an ever-growing scandal in Texas, more evidence suggests Dallas
police targeted immigrants for deportation by framing suspects with
fake drugs. A marijuana task force in Missouri reported that it
eradicated 61 million plants, more than 99.999 percent of it
non-intoxicating ditch weed. And a drug task force in Colorado spent
one-third of its resources on targeting marijuana. A total of $2.9
million was spent resulting in 314 total convictions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And, in another expanding scandal, judges and prosecutors have now been implicated in corruption investigations in Puerto Rico. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) TIGHT BUDGETS FORCE STATES TO RECONSIDER CRIME AND PENALTIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
After three decades of building more prisons and passing tougher
sentencing laws, many states are being forced by budget deficits to
close some prisons, lay off guards and consider shortening
sentences. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the last month, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois have each moved to
close a prison, laying off guards in the process, prison officials
say. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Washington State is considering a proposal by Gov. Gary Locke to
shorten sentences for nonviolent crimes and drug offenses and to
make it easier for inmates to win early release, saving money by
shrinking the prison population. Colorado and Illinois are delaying
building prisons, and Illinois is cutting education for 25,000
inmates. | ||||||||||||||||||||
California, which led the nation's prison building boom, will close
five small, privately operated minimum security prisons when their
contracts expire this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) HISPANICS WERE TARGETS IN DRUG CASES, ATTORNEYS SAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
DALLAS (AP) - Attorneys for Hispanics accused or convicted of
narcotics charges in which the drugs turned out to be fake are
suggesting that law-enforcement officials may have targeted their
clients - some of whom were deported as a result. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Outrage in the legal community appears to be growing, as District Attorney Bill Hill announced that his office is working to dismiss 59 cases, some involving two Dallas police undercover narcotics officers who are on administrative leave and at least one paid confidential informant who no longer works for the department. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thirty-nine people had been arrested as a result of the 59 cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The majority of defendants involved are Mexican nationals, which to me looks like they were targets," attorney Cynthia Barbare said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) STATE ERADICATED 61.9 MILLION MARIJUANA PLANTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MARSHALL, Mo. - Missouri law enforcement eradicated more than 61.9
million marijuana plants and seized 226.94 pounds of processed pot
last year through Operation Cash Crop. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nearly 12,000 of the plants that were destroyed were cultivated from indoor and outdoor operations. Of those, 1,851 were sinsemilla, a higher-grade marijuana plant. The remaining plants were wild. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The operation is a joint effort of the Missouri State Highway
Patrol, Missouri National Guard, Missouri State Water Patrol,
Missouri sheriffs departments, city and county police departments,
the Missouri Conservation Commission, the U.S. Forestry Service and
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) TASK FORCE SPENDS MILLIONS IN LOCAL DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Boulder County authorities have spent more than $2 million in local tax dollars over the past three and a half years, cracking down primarily on cocaine and marijuana dealers. Their efforts have led to 426 arrests, 314 convictions and 11 prison sentences. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And while law enforcement officials say the Boulder County Drug Task
Force is preventing drug use from rising, one county commissioner
says the effort wastes millions of dollars going after "soft drugs"
such as marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The grant was originally sold to us in terms of opposing hard
drugs," Danish said. "But a good proportion of those arrested are
busted for marijuana possession." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Slightly more than one-third of the arrests made between June 1998
and July 2001 were related to cocaine, one-third were for marijuana,
and the rest were made in relation to a variety of other drugs,
including heroin, methamphetamines and ecstasy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) DID JUDGES AID DRUG DEALERS? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The island's police-corruption scandal widened dramatically Thursday with 23 more officers indicted on charges of protecting drug dealers and traffickers, and news that the web of bribes may have spilled over into the court system. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
But acting Assistant U.S. Attorney Guillermo Gil said what worried
him even more were the lies, delay tactics and administrative
maneuvering that apparently put some prosecutors and judges in
collusion with the street thugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gil said he had no jurisdiction to charge the judges and prosecutors. But he did write letters to local justice and court officials asking them to investigate three judges, a marshal and two prosecutors for acts that surfaced during the police probe. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In a news conference Thursday, he said he had informed the Puerto
Rico Supreme Court about an incriminating tape of one judge "in
which he admits he has accepted payments from lawyers and bail
bondsmen, and he asks for more right then and there." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. drug war has been successful in one aspect: it continues to
illustrate the absurdities and contradictions inherent in
prohibition. On this note, state-rights advocates scored a victory
when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a
marijuana-related impaired driving charge, stating that since Idaho
state law does not recognize cannabis as a narcotic, cannabis-using
drivers could only be arrested if they are caught driving
erratically. In Oregon, medical marijuana advocate Dr. Phillip
Levesque is facing a charge by the state Board of Medical Examiners
of unprofessional conduct. Dr. Levesque has filled out 40% of the
state's applications for medical marijuana since the law was passed
in 1999. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Canada, the Edmonton Sun has reported that the federal
government's court-mandated distribution plan to get | ||||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile in the UK, GW is predicting that cannabis-based medicines will become available by 2004. In preparation, the British pharmaceutical company is patenting a device that would limit the amount of medicine that can be dispensed from its sublingual spray. This news was followed by the announcement that U.K. doctors (led by Dr. Rob Barnett of the British Medical Association) have advised MP's not to lessen Britain's current drug laws for fear of fostering an environment of abuse. Unfortunately, we can see that the U.S. has no monopoly in the contradictions of prohibitionist policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) IDAHO MOTORISTS MAY DRIVE LAWFULLY UNDER MARIJUANA'S INFLUENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
You can drive high in Idaho, as long as you can drive straight. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In overturning an impaired driving conviction, the 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a loophole in Idaho law means
marijuana users can drive legally as long as they don't drive
erratically and can pass a field sobriety test. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based court wrote that
Idaho's impaired driving law makes it illegal to drive under the
influence of alcohol and narcotics. But Idaho doesn't list marijuana
as a narcotic. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) OREGON DOCTOR FACING DISCIPLINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Phillip Leveque's days as Oregon's leading endorser of medical
marijuana applications may be numbered. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The state Board of Medical Examiners on Thursday charged Leveque with unprofessional conduct for the way he's gone about signing medical marijuana applications for more than 1,000 sick Oregonians. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 11-member board voted unanimously to discipline Leveque and ordered the 78-year-old Molalla osteopath to undergo psychological and physical exams to determine his competency to practice medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) UN CONVENTION HOLDS UP MEDICAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana exemptees looking to score government stash will have to wait at least a year while Health Canada - in compliance with a UN convention - tries to prove pot is a medically sound alternative. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The holdup is the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, said
Kemal Kurspahic, spokesman for the UN's Office for Drug Control and
Crime Prevention. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The convention allows countries to use banned drugs only if they're
for scientific or medical purposes, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/2001/2001_73e.htm which indicates any concern at all about the UN Conventions. In fact, this .pdf Health Canada document makes it clear that they accept that the conventions allow medical use http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/2001/2001_73e.htm A superb drug policy review written for the current Canada Senate hearings discusses this subject at http://cfdp.ca/sen1841.htm If there is anything to this story at all, it should be big news in Canada - newshawks please watch for the story from other sources. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) UK'S GW TO LICENSE BLOCK ON MEDICINE ABUSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
GW Pharmaceuticals, the drugs group trialling painkillers made from
cannabis, is close to a deal to license a novel technology it has
developed to prevent abuse of prescription medicines. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The company is in talks over rights to the product, which GW is
using to ensure that patients do not use its cannabis sprays to get
high. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The under-the-tongue spray is fitted with a security device, where patients must insert a personal code to activate the drug. The device also monitors the dose taken and the frequency of uses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) UK DOCTORS ADVISE MPS NOT TO LEGALISE DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Legalising cannabis would store up health problems for a generation and risk fuelling demand for the drug, MPs were warned by doctors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medical experts, giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select
Committee, said too little was known about the long-term
side-effects of cannabis to justify the move. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The MPs, who are reviewing drug laws, have heard several calls to legalise soft drugs. But Rob Barnett, of the British Medical Association, said cannabis had about 400 ingredients, some known to be carcinogenic. He said: "I don't think there's enough evidence that making it more readily available is safe for society." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (22-27) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Afghani opium dealers were "delighted" over the newly-announced ban
on opium, the New York times last week reported. U.S. and UN
authorities worried that Colombian heroin production would fill in
gaps in supply. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thai officials "have resorted to torture and murder of hill tribe suspects," the Bangkok Post revealed last week. Killed were a number of opium "addicts" who had been swept into military detention camps. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Seven Bolivians were killed when poor farmers protested an army crackdown on the illegal sale of coca leaves. The deaths, occurring in the Chapare region, came after a "long drawn-out U.S.-backed government campaign to eradicate coca," Reuters reported. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The BBC declared the Dutch Government "is bringing in emergency measures" to counter drug smuggling at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. The BBC report stressed that in doing so, Dutch Justice Minister Benk Korthals could "save his political skin and perhaps turn this crisis to his advantage ahead of general elections." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Published results of an earlier constitutional ruling by Mexico's
Supreme Court blocked the extradition of 70 alleged criminals. The
accused, wanted by the U.S. government, were charged with
drug-related crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) POPPY BAN PLEASES DEALERS IN OPIUM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
ANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Ali Muhammad, a gregarious opium trader in a
flowing brown robe and wrinkled black turban, was delighted by the
news on Wednesday that his country's interim government had vowed to
ban poppy cultivation, renewing a prohibition imposed under the
ousted Taliban government that cut opium production by about 95
percent last year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We'll be rich," he said, sitting on an electric-blue carpet in one of the dozens of stalls that line this city's bustling opium market. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A crowd of other traders agreed. Since the Taliban fell from power, farmers have been planting more poppies, and middlemen have been dumping opium stocks into the market, sending prices plunging by half. The falling market has hurt merchants like Mr. Ali. | ||||||||||||||||||||
One of the traders pulled a fist-size chunk of raw opium out of a
plastic bag and explained that a kilogram (2.2 pounds ) of the black
resin fetched 40,000 Pakistani rupees in August, or about $650 at
current exchange rates. But it is worth only 20,000 rupees a
kilogram today. | ||||||||||||||||||||
If farmers continue to grow opium unimpeded, the trader said, the price could fall back to 2,000 rupees a kilogram, the level before the Taliban's ban, when opium was the biggest cash crop in the country and Afghanistan the largest opium producer in the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(23) AFGHAN EFFORT MAY SHIFT HEROIN SALES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA - Amid a renewed ban on opium trading in Afghanistan, and close international scrutiny of the new Afghan government, US and international drug-control officials are expecting a shift in the world's opium trade away from central Asia and toward Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Afghanistan, despite the ban, is still believed to be the world's
largest supplier of opiates. An edict this month by the US-backed
interim Afghan government, prohibiting the cultivation of opium
poppies and the sale of their derivatives, including heroin, renewed
a Taliban decree in 2000. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"With the presence of the United States and the United Nations in
Afghanistan, we hope the ban will be effective," said Klaus Nyholm,
chief of the UN Drug Control Program in Colombia. "If it is, we know
there will be an effect here in Colombia." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We think the flower went elsewhere since the Taliban's decree,"
Nyholm, the UN official, said of the poppy plants that are used to
make heroin. "So it makes sense that there should be more opium
poppy grown in Colombia than before." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite intense aerial chemical spraying efforts in Colombia,
authorities have reported a rise in opium poppy cultivation, but the
extent is hard to measure. The crops' high mountain location, the
frequent cloud cover, and the poppies' cultivation among other crops
make satellite and aerial monitoring difficult. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The United Nations estimates that 12,000 to 15,000 hectares ( a
hectare amounts to about 2.5 acres ) are under cultivation in
Colombia. This is double the figure used by police and other
government officials. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(24) HILLTRIBE ADDICTS DIE IN FORCED `DETOX CAMPS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Soldiers Accused Of Savage Beatings | ||||||||||||||||||||
In their zeal to suppress drug trafficking, authorities have
resorted to torture and murder of hilltribe suspects, victims and
relatives charge. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ateh Amoh, an Akha man, said he was savagely beaten by soldiers who
took him and other Akha men, mostly drug users, from their homes and
held them at a military camp. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There they beat them to extract a confession, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The drug detoxification programme for hilltribe people is jointly
handled by the army, the Public Health Ministry, the police and the
Interior Ministry. It was launched in Chiang Rai on Oct 23 last
year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The province required all drug addicts to voluntarily register with
village committees and join the programme. Those who registered were
safe from prosecution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The programme was aimed at separating drug addicts from dealers and
traffickers. Mr Ajuuh is not the only case where the authorities are
suspected of having killed Akha villagers they suspected of
trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(25) SEVEN DIE AS BOLIVIAN COCA FARMERS CLASH WITH ARMY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
LA PAZ, Bolivia ( Reuters ) - Seven Bolivians died, including a
policeman and soldier tortured and murdered by "narcoguerillas," as
poor farmers protested an army crackdown on the illegal sale of coca
leaves, police said on Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The two officers' bodies where found at dawn on Friday in Bolivia's
tropical Chapare region, 435 miles southeast of La Paz, after
another five Bolivians were killed in riots this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The deaths were the latest in a long drawn-out U.S.-backed
government campaign to eradicate coca, the raw material used to make
cocaine but also a major source of income for many peasants and
chewed by some as medicine in this Andean nation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(26) DUTCH TACKLE DRUG SMUGGLING BOOM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Dutch Government is bringing in emergency measures to tackle the sharp rise in drug smuggling through Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Most smugglers come from the Dutch Antilles, in the Caribbean, and
transport drugs by swallowing them in condoms. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The new measures target these couriers in particular and include new
scanning equipment at Dutch Caribbean airports, extra prison guards
and cells on the islands and even withdrawing the passports of Dutch
and Dutch Caribbean nationals who are arrested. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The BBC's Geraldine Coughlan in The Hague says that if Minister
Korthals can convince parliament that his new package of measures is
enough to tackle Schiphol airport's smuggling problem, he may be
able to save his political skin and perhaps turn this crisis to his
advantage ahead of general elections in May. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(27) EXTRADITIONS ARE LIMITED BY A RULING IN MEXICO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY, Jan. 19 -- Mexico's Supreme Court has blocked the
extradition of criminal suspects facing life sentences in the
United States, confounding American authorities seeking to
convict defendants accused of being cocaine kingpins and
killers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The ruling, handed down in October but published in full last month, has stopped the extradition of more than 70 high-profile defendants. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The decision is rooted in Mexico's Constitution, which says that all
people are capable of rehabilitation. A life sentence, the court
ruled, flies in the face of that concept. The maximum prison
sentence in Mexico is 40 years, although in certain cases a 60- year
term may be imposed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The decision was a bitter pill for American law enforcement
officials, who cite the Villanueva and Vazquez cases as crucial for
establishing a foundation of justice in matters involving the two
countries. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
DRUG WAR DISTORTIONS | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our friend Doug McVay, the researcher and analyst who maintains
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/ for Common Sense for Drug Policy,
http://www.csdp.org/, has responded to some of the most egregious
drug warrior claims at CSDP's new Drug War Distortions site. Like
Drug War Facts, this is an extremely valuable resource for activists
and letter writers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Please consider linking your organization's web site directly to Drug War Distortions at http://www.drugwardistortions.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DEA DOES HOMEWORK ON HEMP FOODS AFTER NEW RULE | ||||||||||||||||||||
A report from U.S. Newswire via Cannabisnews.com | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
NORML 2002 CONFERENCE | ||||||||||||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 18-20, 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||
For the past several years many of the MAP/DrugSense activists have
gathered at the TLC-DPF conferences each spring. This year there
will not be a TLC-DPF conference, so we have decided that the NORML
conference is the place to be. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Complete details are on line at | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
WILL FOSTER'S VISIT TO THE NYT DRUG POLICY FORUM | ||||||||||||||||||||
A transcript. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DEPOSITIONS REGARDING CIA-NYPD-ARMY-ORGANIZED CRIME DRUG CONNECTION | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hear relatives describe a man who allegedly worked simultaneously
for the CIA, the NY Police Department, the Army, and organized crime
all the while protecting illegal drug trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
For background on the case see: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hours worth of the audio recordings can be found at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://mindgallery.com/hiddenroom/DF1.ram | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
NORWEGIAN COMMISSION SET TO CALL FOR MORE DECRIMINALIZATION | ||||||||||||||||||||
A government-appointed commission will soon set off some political
dynamite, reports newspaper Aftenposten. The commission recommends
decriminalizing narcotics use and possession, liberalizing
pornography rules and raising the blood-alcohol limit allowed for
driving a car. | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=263555 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
SECOND NATIONAL CLINICAL CONFERENCE ON CANNABIS THERAPEUTICS | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Analgesia and Other Indications", May 3&4, 2002, Holiday Inn at the
Convention Center, Portland, OR | ||||||||||||||||||||
This is an accredited conference that is co-sponsored by Patients
Out of Time, the Portland Community College Institute of Health
Professionals, the Oregon Health Division, Mothers Against Misuse
and Abuse, and the Oregon Nurses Association. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Registration information and conference details will be available by
February 1, 2002 at http://www.medicalcannabis.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
PROCEEDINGS OF CANADA'S SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ILLEGAL DRUGS, ISSUE 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Witnesses include: | ||||||||||||||||||||
From McGill University: Dr. Céline Mercier, Associate Professor with
the Department of Psychiatry. | ||||||||||||||||||||
From the University of Montreal: Dr. Serge Brochu, Professor and Director of the International Center for Comparative Criminology. | ||||||||||||||||||||
From the Centre Dollard-Cormier: Dr. Michel Landry, Director of
Professional Services and Research. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
STATES CAN, SHOULD ALLOW MEDICAL POT USE | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Bruce Mirken | ||||||||||||||||||||
Now that the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative has resumed its fight for the right to distribute medical marijuana to patients using it legally under California law, it is important to keep in mind what last May's Supreme Court ruling did and did not do. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The court's decision in United States vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative et al did not prevent states from taking action to
protect patients who use marijuana for medical purposes. All eight
medical marijuana statutes enacted since 1996 remain in full force
and effect. The court merely said that distributors of medical
marijuana couldn't use a "medical necessity" defense under federal
law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While this, combined with federal raids on the clubs, creates great
hardship and inconvenience for patients, medical marijuana users who
are in compliance with their states' laws are still protected from
arrest by those laws. This is critical, as 99 percent of marijuana
arrests are made by state and local authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In other words, effective state laws prevent 99 out of 100 arrests
of medical marijuana patients. While arrests by federal agents are
theoretically possible, the Justice Department thus far has not gone
after individual medical marijuana users - perhaps realizing they
have little chance of convicting patients who are simply trying to
ease their suffering. | ||||||||||||||||||||
As the legal battles over the federal government's absurd war on
medical marijuana continue, state governments need not fear the
Supreme Court. They can and should continue to act to protect
patients. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bruce Mirken, | ||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant director of communications, | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, D.C. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Honorable Mention Letters of the Week | ||||||||||||||||||||
DEA'S CRACKDOWN ON TRACE AMOUNTS OF THC DOESN'T MAKE SCIENTIFIC SENSE
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE PHILOSOPHER STONED
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SEARCHING FOR TERRORISTS, WE SNARE ANGELS INSTEAD | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The reward for Bin Laden and Al-Qaida terrorists has been increased to 25 million dollars. They are nowhere to be found. The FBI reports that the reward for the anthrax terrorist(s) has been doubled to 2.5 million dollars. No suspects are in sight. Billions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of man-hours of Justice Department time have yet to result in the arrest of more than one potential perpetrator of unprecedented terror against the citizens of the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Yet, in the midst of terror, collapsing airlines, a faltering
economy, and the world wide pursuit of security, the United States
Government, in the person of Attorney General John Ashcroft, has
seen fit to assign hundreds of agents to track down and shut down
State approved medical marijuana programs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Mollie Fry of El Dorado County California is a kind lady, a
competent physician, a loving mother, and a committed Christian. Her
home and clinic have been raided at gunpoint with thousands of
private patient records seized. While the nation worries about
humane conditions for Afghanistan "detainees", Dr. Fry is kindly
allowed in the dark of night to diaper her baby while handcuffed.
Dozens of bewildered DEA agents swarm over her home destroying her
small supply of legal cannabis used to treat her terminal breast
cancer. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Scott Imler and the Los Angeles Cannabis Patients Resource Center
are similarly treated by dozens of Federal agents shutting down the
only services for 960 dying Los Angeles AIDs and cancer patients.
Stunned local deputies and Congressmen stand by in shock and dismay
while the clinic, approved by local ordinance and State law is
shuttered. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A nightmare has begun. A national nightmare of lost faith, lost
trust, and lost priorities. Besieged by suicidal and murderous
thugs, our trusted Federal law enforcement has been diverted to a
war on the most innocent and vulnerable of our own citizens. How can
this be? A nation still awash in tears over the victims of 9/11
sheds new tears over new innocents hurt by our own homegrown brand
of Taliban acting under the authority of Attorney General John
Ashcroft. Remember him? He's the man who so many opposed for
confirmation. He's the man so detested in his own home State that a
dead man defeated his run for the Senate. Now he's in Washington.
Now he orders a breast cancer victim to diaper her baby while
handcuffed, her teenage son face in the dirt with machine guns
pointed at his head, her husband filled with tears and anger
restrained. | ||||||||||||||||||||
What good is it to wage a war against terror abroad while losing the
war at home? What message do we send when we condemn religious
zealotry in others while giving it the force of law in our own local
communities? John Ashcroft and his like-minded narrow-minded bigots
must go. Congress must act. Hearings must be held. We will all
remember this shameful display the next time we vote. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"If nothing else, Sept. 11 should have taught us that freedom has real enemies and that college kids sitting in their dorm room sharing a joint and listening to Pink Floyd aren't remotely among them." - Bradley R. Gitz, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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