| May 10, 2002 #249 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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) DYING FOR A SMOKE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis Hunger Striker Faces A Grim Choice | ||||||||||||||||||
Robin Prosser is a 45-year-old Missoula woman who has been on a hunger strike since April 20 protesting her inability to secure legal, medicinal marijuana in Montana to treat her diagnosed immunosuppressive disorder. The Independent sat down with Prosser earlier this week to discuss the circumstances that would lead a disabled, middle-aged mother to entertain thoughts of making the ultimate sacrifice. | ||||||||||||||||||
Missoula Independent: How long have you been medicating yourself with
marijuana? | ||||||||||||||||||
Robin Prosser: Well, I've had 17 years of attempting to treat this
through conventional methods. I've had biopsies, steroid treatments,
cortisone injections, and every kind of pain reliever, | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) CN BC: OWEN SAYS SAFE INJECTION SITES 'A DONE DEAL' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
City council may have reiterated its support last Thursday for supervised drug injection sites, but the plan still has a few bureaucratic hoops to jump through before it becomes reality. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mayor Philip Owen, however, says he's not worried about the need for
approval from the provincial government, the Vancouver Coastal Health
Authority and the police, not to mention a Health Canada review of
the national pilot project. | ||||||||||||||||||
The province, health authority and police board are on record as
approving the mayor's four-pillar approach to drug problems in the
city, including setting up supervised injection sites, he said,
adding Liberal MPs Alan Rock and Anne McLellan also support the idea.
"It's a done deal." | ||||||||||||||||||
Owen predicts Vancouver could be home to an injection site or sites
by late this year or early next year-after he's retired and a new
council has been sworn in. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) AFGHANISTAN: DRUGS FUNDING WARLORDS: EXPERT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Money earned from the opium and heroin trade in Afghanistan is what is
allowing pro-US warlords in the country to operate, a high-profile
Washington lawyer and expert in international financial crime said
today. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The revenue of poppies is essential for the warlords supporting the
United States," Jack Blum told a House panel focusing on international
corruption. | ||||||||||||||||||
The country's largest domestic product, Blum explained, was heroin, and
without the profit from the drug trade any government would be
hard-pressed to provide for its people and support the war on
terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's a terrible, terrible dilemma, because it is the only source of
revenue the state has," he said, adding the problem was being debated
by governments trying to stop the drug trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's possibly one of the most complicated, atrocious problems any one
could understand," said Blum. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) PORTION OF U.S. AID TO COLOMBIA DISAPPEARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - The United States has partially suspended
aid for Colombia's war on drugs after a ''significant amount of money''
destined for the anti-narcotics police disappeared, a U.S. Embassy
official said on Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The head of the anti-narcotics police in the world's biggest cocaine producer, Gen. Gustavo Socha, confirmed an investigation was under way, and said he had fired six officers. Socha said he did not know how much U.S. aid was missing, but denied local media reports it was $2 million. | ||||||||||||||||||
The funds were taken from an account earmarked to help offset
administrative expenses of the police. The United States has only
frozen aid that would normally enter this account -- a relatively
small proportion of the hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. funds
for Colombia's anti-drug fight. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The DARE program took a huge blow this week, as police agreed to
scale back the program in Los Angeles, DARE's birthplace. If that
wasn't difficult enough for the professional hucksters at DARE, in
Louisiana, the governor has proposed pulling all state funds from
the DARE program, much to the chagrin of uninformed columnists and
other busybodies. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's hard to tell exactly what the Bush administration's priorities
are in Colombia these days, but human rights certainly isn't one of
them. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell certified the Colombian
government's efforts to improve human rights, despite evidence that
abuses continue. And it appears human rights have never been a
priority for Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives. Newly uncovered documents illustrate Hastert's
contempt for human rights efforts back when Plan Colombia was still
on the drawing board. And just to make sure the horror gets spread
throughout Latin American, Bush administration officials seem to be
moving toward resumption of shooting down suspected drug airplanes
and asking questions later in Peru. | ||||||||||||||||||
Finally, hold onto to your hair follicles - the FDA has approved a
new test for marijuana use, even though critics have said the
process is fraught with potential problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) LAPD AGREES TO SHRINK DARE PROGRAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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The LAPD's longtime drug-abuse prevention program DARE will be
reduced in size but not eliminated under a compromise struck between
police officials and the Police Commission. | ||||||||||||||||||
Commission President Rick Caruso had said last week he was prepared
to essentially scrap DARE to free up more officers to combat gangs
and narcotics-related crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
But on Tuesday, a last-ditch effort by police officials to save the
high-profile DARE program proved successful. The commission agreed
to allow DARE to keep 44 officers--enough to continue its elementary
school programs. Junior high and high school programs will be cut,
except at a few magnet schools. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) GOV. FOSTER MAKES BIG MISTAKE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
There is an old saying that goes "it takes a village to raise a child." If that is true, and I personally believe it is, then the state of Louisiana is about to drop the ball - big time. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last year the state budgeted $3.9 million for the DARE program to be
used from August 31 through May 1. | ||||||||||||||||||
As of this May the funding had been cut back to zero. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) U.S. CERTIFIES COLOMBIAN 'PROGRESS' ON RIGHTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell certified yesterday that the
Colombian armed forces have met the congressionally mandated
requirements to suspend and prosecute alleged human rights violators
and to sever their ties with right-wing paramilitary forces accused
of civilian massacres and other rights abuses. | ||||||||||||||||||
Certification was required before the Bush administration could spend any of the $104 million approved for the Colombian military in the 2002 budget. U.S. and Colombian officials had warned in recent weeks that they were curtailing counter-narcotics activities in the southern part of the country because no money was available. | ||||||||||||||||||
A State Department statement said that "both we and the Government
of Colombia recognize that the protection of human rights in
Colombia needs improvement." Certification had been held up since
early this year, officials said, while U.S. officials worked with
civilian judicial authorities in Colombia and pressured the
government to take more substantive action. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) EMBASSY DOCUMENTS SAY HASTERT BELITTLED RIGHTS CONCERNS IN COLOMBIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Before becoming House speaker, Rep. Dennis Hastert told
Colombian military officers that he was "sick and tired" of human
rights considerations controlling U.S. anti-drug aid, according to a
newly declassified government document. | ||||||||||||||||||
At the time, the Clinton administration was pushing Colombia to
improve its human rights performance as a condition of receiving
U.S. aid. | ||||||||||||||||||
Leading a May 1997 congressional delegation to Colombia, Hastert
also encouraged Colombian military and police to bypass the White
House and deal directly with Congress, according to a cable signed
by then-Ambassador Myles Frechette. | ||||||||||||||||||
John Feehery, Hastert's spokesman, said the speaker strongly
supports human rights efforts in Colombia and that the language in
the cable likely reflected that Hastert "did not have a particularly
strong relationship" with Frechette. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) U.S. WILL REVIVE POLICY TO DOWN NARCOTICS PLANES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration will revive a policy to help
Peru and Colombia shoot down suspected narcotics planes in the
Andean region within six months but is edging the CIA out of any
involvement. | ||||||||||||||||||
The shoot-down program was suspended a year ago after a CIA spotter
aircraft helped Peruvian warplanes mistakenly pursue and fire on a
U.S. missionary plane over the Amazon River, killing an American
mother and her infant. | ||||||||||||||||||
Renewal still needs final White House approval, and Congress must be
formally notified. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) U.S. OKS TEST FOR DETECTING MARIJUANA IN HAIR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A new test that detects marijuana's
active ingredient in human hair has won clearance from the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration(FDA), the test's manufacturer, | ||||||||||||||||||
Psychemedics is a publicly traded testing laboratory, whose clients
include more than 2,200 corporations, as well as five of the
nation's largest police departments and a number of schools and
Federal Reserve banks, the company said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Psychemedics Senior Vice President William Thistle told Reuters
Health that the laboratory has been performing a "home brew" version
of the test for the last 12 to 14 years, but that the FDA clearance
is expected to increase acceptance of the product. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A U.S. Supreme Court case is bringing new scrutiny to plea
agreements in drug cases. An appeals court ruled that defendants
have a right to see evidence against them before making a plea; the
Bush administration disagrees. | ||||||||||||||||||
Whatever the ruling, it seems unlikely to stop smugglers from
constructing those pesky tunnels between the U.S.-Mexican border.
Another tunnel was uncovered last week. | ||||||||||||||||||
An Illinois police chief suspected marijuana was being grown in a local school, so he confiscated the plants and cultivated them in his own office. No word on whether he will be prosecuted on drug manufacture charges. And, in Alabama, the parent of a high school student is complaining that his son was suspended from classes because he wouldn't participate in an undercover drug sting. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) HIGH COURT DEBATES PLEA DEALS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court debated Wednesday whether people
pleading guilty deserve to see more of the case against them first -
a requirement the Bush administration warned could cause bottlenecks
in the courts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Prosecutors must turn over evidence to defendants who plead innocent
and go on trial. | ||||||||||||||||||
Justices are considering whether anyone contemplating a guilty plea has a constitutional right to see information collected by prosecutors that could help them. An appeals court has said they do. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) NEW DRUG TUNNEL FOUND AT BORDER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Mexican federal agents discovered a drug tunnel near the beach
between Tijuana and San Diego, Mexico's federal attorney general's
office said Saturday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The tunnel, which appeared to run under the metal fence dividing the
two countries, was discovered Friday, attorney general spokesman
Abraham Sarabia said. It was originally built near Tijuana's beach
to get rid of extra water from a nearby and now unused water
treatment plant. | ||||||||||||||||||
The 80-foot-long tunnel contained recent handprints and cart tracks,
indicating it was likely used to sneak drugs or possibly illegal
immigrants to the United States, Sarabia said. However, most border
tunnels are used only to move drugs. Sarabia said the tunnel was
near a residential area along Mexico's Pacific coast and was more
than 3 feet wide and 30 inches tall. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) BUNKER HILL POLICE CHIEF NURTURES SEIZED MARIJUANA CROP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BUNKER HILL, Ill.- Police Chief Jesse Cunningham nurtured a crop of tiny plants in his office for a month, watering them every 36 hours, keeping a light on them and even setting the plants near a window for others to see. | ||||||||||||||||||
On Thursday, Cunningham delivered his harvest to the Illinois State
Police crime laboratory. He expects the results to confirm what he
already suspects: He has been growing marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The (Macoupin County) state's attorney said to me, 'I've never
heard of a police chief growing his own evidence,' " Cunningham said
with a chuckle. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Police Department seized 50 to 60 of the plants March 25 from
the greenhouse at Bunker Hill High School, where an agriculture
student had apparently planted the seeds under the guise of growing
tomatoes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MAN SAYS SON SUSPENDED FROM LAWRENCE COUNTY FOR NOT JOINING DRUG STING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MOULTON -- The father of a Lawrence County High School student said
the school's principal suspended his son because he refused to
participate in a Drug Task Force sting. | ||||||||||||||||||
Officials are mum about the issue because the student is a
17-year-old juvenile. Principal Ricky Nichols did say that it is "a
very good possibility" that he found what he thinks is marijuana in
a student's vehicle. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jim McAbee, chief of the Lawrence County Drug Task Force, said his
agents questioned students at the school last week. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the questioning is in connection with an ongoing operation
at the school. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An honest and informative report on the realities of cannabis use in
Canada was released last week by the Senate Sub-Committee on Illegal
Drugs, http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/iddi/ The discussion paper, which
debunks many marijuana myths (such as suggestions that cannabis is a
gateway drug) is a precursor to the Sub-Committee's final report and
recommendations, expected in August. The timing couldn't have been
better for cannabis enthusiasts and activists, for last Saturday
marked the date of the fifth annual Million Marijuana March. The
international event, which began in New York in 1998, was celebrated
in hundreds of cities worldwide. At this date, New York City
reported the most arrests, at 148. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bad legal news for California medical users: A federal judge ruled last week that the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative has no constitutional basis to supply cannabis to legal medical users. Judge Breyer declined to lift an order barring the club from distributing cannabis. Robert Raich, the club's attorney, plans to appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal. In slightly better news from the east coast, The Vermont Senate Judiciary Panel approved a modest medical marijuana measure giving defendants the right to use a medical necessity defense in court. The measure still needs the full approval of the Senate and Governor to pass into law. | ||||||||||||||||||
And an interesting story from Washington, D.C., 11 teenage House of
Representative pages were dismissed because of marijuana use. Too
bad they weren't working for the Canadian Senate. Finally, please don't
miss this week's Letter of the Week by the always informative Keith
Stroup, Founder/Director of NORML, and Paul Armentano, senior policy
analyst for NORML. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) PROHIBITION HAS LITTLE EFFECT ON POT-SMOKING: CANADIAN SENATE REPORT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OTTAWA (CP) - Efforts to prevent marijuana use are having little
impact, and young Canadians are smoking up in greater numbers than
ever, a Senate report says. An estimated 30 to 50 per cent of people
15 to 24 years old have used cannabis despite its illegality, the
report, released Thursday by the Senate committee on illegal drugs,
says. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
After studying the pros and cons of pot use for 14 months, the
committee also concludes that scientific evidence suggests marijuana
isn't a so-called gateway drug that leads to the use of harder
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The discussion paper, intended to guide public consultation on the
marijuana issues, indicates that millions of dollars in public money
being spent to combat pot is wasted. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) MARCHING ON HIGH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
For thousands of Montrealers and millions worldwide, the Million
Marijuana March is both a fundamental right and a fun-filled rite of
spring. | ||||||||||||||||||
From its beginning in May 1998, when activists faced down then-New
York mayor Rudolph Giuliani in a U.S. federal court and won their
right to march for marijuana down New York's famed 5th Avenue, the
first Saturday in May has since become an internationally-recognized
day of pro-marijuana marches and festivals. Under the stewardship of
the provincial Bloc Pot and federal Marijuana Party, Montreal was
one of the original participating cities. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) FEDERAL JUDGE DISMISSES CALIFORNIA CANNABIS PROGRAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A federal judge ruled Friday that a California medicinal marijuana
distributor has no constitutional right to dole out cannabis to the
sick. | ||||||||||||||||||
The decision was another blow to the Oakland Cannabis Buyers
Cooperative. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the group
had no right to sell marijuana to the sick under California's 1996
voter-approved medicinal marijuana law, which requires the sick to
have a doctor's recommendation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Robert Raich, the club's attorney, said he would appeal the decision to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) VERMONT SENATE PANEL OKS MARIJUANA MEASURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A proposal to provide some legal protections to seriously ill
patients who use marijuana won the support of a Senate committee
Thursday, but advocates of legalizing the drug for medicinal
purposes argued the measure doesn't go far enough. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The language provides patients who possess up to an ounce of the
drug a so-called affirmative defense in court if they were to be
prosecuted. An affirmative defense does not make it legal to possess
the drug. Instead, it would provide patients with a defense they
could mount before a judge or jury. | ||||||||||||||||||
"There's a lot of good ideas here, but we don't have time to deal
with all the good ideas. I look at this as an interim step," said
Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the committee. "We've
come up with a modest proposal ... that has some form of
protection." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) WASHINGTON HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE PAGES DISMISSED OVER MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Eleven teen-age House pages have been dismissed from the program
after at least one of them brought marijuana to their Capitol Hill
dormitory, congressional sources said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
None of those involved were identified. | ||||||||||||||||||
The incident, first reported Wednesday by the online version of the
Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, occurred after a female page who
has family in the Washington, D.C., invited fellow pages to the
residence, where marijuana was used and the teenagers were
unsupervised. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The German Health Ministry reported drug-related deaths dropped
nearly 10 percent in 2001, as compared to the previous year.
Officials credited the establishment of government-run rooms where
addicts can take drugs in a supervised setting. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the Philippines, human rights authorities urged that "vigilante"
killings of suspected drug users stop, as at least 40 children were
reported killed there since 1999. The Manilla Times reported last
week that the Philippine national legislature, "bent on adopting a
provision imposing the death penalty to second-time offenders" for
possession of five grams of illegal drugs, is close to passing a
compromise bill reconciling differences between the house and
senate. | ||||||||||||||||||
And in Colombia last week near the Atrato River, described as a
"hotly contested artery for cocaine and weapons" into Panama, the
Colombian government shot down and destroyed a helicopter which was
believed to be providing support to rightist paramilitary units. The
paramilitaries, vying for control of the Atrato region, were
fighting leftist rebels. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) GERMANY: DRUG DEATHS DECLINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The introduction of state-run rooms where addicts can use drugs
helped cut the number of drug-related deaths in 2001 by 9.6 percent
from the previous year, a Health Ministry report said. The decline,
to 1,835 deaths, was the first in four years. There are about 20
drug consumption rooms in Germany, run by state authorities. In
March, seven cities began "heroin-supported therapy" in which
addicts get heroin under medical supervision. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) STOP VIGILANTE KILLINGS IN SOUTHERN MINDANAO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DAVAO CITY -- Human Rights Commissioner Dominador Calamba II
dared local government officials in certain parts of Southern
Mindanao to stop vigilante killings of suspected drug pushers
and gang leaders. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Calamba, who hails from this city, said it is impossible for local
government officials not to know the perpetrators of these killings
which they apparently have tolerated. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I even believe that these killers are paid to execute their
missions," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Calamba urged local officials concerned to use their intelligence
funds to gather information on who could be behind the summary
executions. | ||||||||||||||||||
At least 40 minors were reported to have been victims of vigilante
killings in the region since 1999. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) BICAM MULLS DEATH PENALTY FOR 2ND TIME DRUG OFFENDERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The bicameral committee reviewing Republic Act 6425 ( the Dangerous
Drugs Law ) is bent on adopting a provision imposing the death
penalty to second-time offenders found possessing at least five
grams of illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Rep. Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the House committee on dangerous
drugs, said the bicameral committee is inclined to penalize
first-time offenders who yield at least 10 grams of methamphetamine
hydrochloride, popularly known as shabu, with a maximum sentence of
12 years imprisonment. | ||||||||||||||||||
The House version originally imposed the death penalty to anyone
found to possessing 10 grams of the illegal substance. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) COLOMBIA SHOOTS DOWN COPTER THAT AIDED PARAMILITARY FIGHTERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia, May 6 (Reuters) - Colombia's air force said today that it had shot down a helicopter providing air support to outlawed paramilitary gunmen who last week battled leftist rebels in a fight that killed at least 108 people, among them 45 children. The air force said the Bell-202 helicopter was hit in the tail as it tried to escape toward Panama after apparently scouting targets. The damage forced the craft to land, and the air force later destroyed | ||||||||||||||||||
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[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The army believes that as many as 600 paramilitary fighters were
engaged in combat last week with about 1,000 leftist rebels. The
villages are on the Atrato River, a hotly contested artery for
cocaine and weapons smuggling across the porous jungle border with
Panama. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana Info | ||||||||||||||||||
The Site presents, in a non-partisan Pro/Con format, the conflicting
views and opinions of different sides of the medical marijuana debate,
showing how individuals and organizations actively involved in the
debate respond to: "Should smoked marijuana be a medical option now?"
and our related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis Report From Senate Sub-Committee on Illegal Drugs | ||||||||||||||||||
An honest and informative report on the realities of cannabis use in
Canada by the Senate Sub-Committee on Illegal Drugs | ||||||||||||||||||
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Guerrillas, Drugs and Human Rights in U.S.-Colombia Policy,
1988-2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
From the National Security Archive | ||||||||||||||||||
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Disease Plays Better Than Needle Exchange In Peoria | ||||||||||||||||||
A MAP Focus Alert | ||||||||||||||||||
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Michael Krawitz will be our special guest in the DrugSense Chat
Room, Sunday, May 12, 2002 8 pm EDT, 5 pm Pacific time. | ||||||||||||||||||
http//www.mapinc.org/chat/ | ||||||||||||||||||
Mike is the founder of The Cannabis Museum, | ||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Problem Is Pot Prohibition | ||||||||||||||||||
By Keith Stroup and Paul Armentano | ||||||||||||||||||
Contrary to John Walters's allegations ["The Myth of 'Harmless'
Marijuana," op-ed, May 1], marijuana is far less dangerous than
alcohol or tobacco. About 50,000 people die each year from alcohol
poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are
attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic
and cannot cause death by overdose. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine, fewer than one in 10
marijuana smokers become regular users of the drug, and most
voluntarily cease their use after 34 years of age. By comparison, 15
percent of alcohol consumers and 32 percent of tobacco smokers
exhibit symptoms of drug dependence. | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. government-sponsored population studies conducted in Jamaica, Greece and Costa Rica found no significant cognitive differences between long-term marijuana smokers and nonsmokers. Similarly, a 1999 study of 1,300 volunteers published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and nonusers of cannabis" over a 15- year period. Most recently, a meta-analysis of neuropsychological studies of long-term marijuana smokers by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse reaffirmed this conclusion. | ||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps the most offensive aspersions are those Walters casts toward
the medical use of marijuana by the seriously ill. The drug czar
cynically asks, "Is the American health care system . . . really
being hobbled by a lack of smoked medicines?" He'd be better off
asking our nation's doctors. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to a 2001 national survey of U.S. physicians conducted for
the American Society of Addiction Medicine, nearly half of all
doctors with opinions support legalizing marijuana as a medicine.
Moreover, no fewer than 80 state and national health care
organizations -- including the American Public Health Association
and the New England Journal of Medicine -- support immediate, legal
patient access to medical cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
Walters is correct in suggesting that marijuana, like other drugs,
is not for kids. We permit adults to do many activities that we
forbid children to do, such as motorcycle riding, skydiving, signing
contracts, getting married, drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco.
But we do not condone arresting adults who responsibly engage in
these activities in order to dissuade our children from doing so.
Nor can we justify arresting adult marijuana smokers at the pace of
some 734,000 per year on the grounds of sending a message to
children. | ||||||||||||||||||
More than 76 million Americans, roughly one-third of the adult
population, have smoked marijuana, and 18 million to 20 million
admit having done so in the past year. Most of these people are
upstanding, hardworking and productive citizens. They do not deserve
to be treated like criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||
Neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself constitutes a legitimate danger to public safety. Pot prohibition is a failed public policy that wastes billions of dollars of law enforcement resources and that destroys the lives and careers of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens each year. That's why 61 percent of Americans oppose arresting and jailing marijuana smokers. Indeed, if there exists any true "myth" regarding marijuana, it is that pot is more damaging to society than pot prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
Keith Stroup and Paul Armentano | ||||||||||||||||||
Stroup is founder and executive director of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and Armentano
is its senior policy analyst. | ||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - April (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Heath gets the nod for having four published letters during April, with a career total of 69, all of which can be reviewed at: | ||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Heath is the Public Relations Director for The Drug Policy
Forum of Florida ( www.drugsense.org/dpffl ) and a resident of
Clearwater. He is also an Editor and Focus Alert Specialist for the
Media Awareness Project. His first published OPED - a response to
the John Walters, Drug Czar, OPED "Marijuana is Far From Harmless"
was printed in the St. Petersburg Times last Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Each month MAP recognizes a person who has had the most published
letters during the previous month. Once recognized the person is not
eligible for consideration for twelve months. | ||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug War Beast Fed First In Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||||
Like a weed that thrives in drought, the drug war continues to grow
in Illinois. | ||||||||||||||||||
The state is facing a $1.2 billion budget deficit, but legislators
are supporting increased funding for drug prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
This week, State Senate members approved a measure to increase
penalties for possession of small amounts of heroin. The legislation
calls for felony possession of a single gram of heroin to be
punished with up to 15 years in prison. House members had already
approved the bill, so now it goes to the governor. | ||||||||||||||||||
A single senator voted against the bill, citing concerns about
prison crowding, already a problem in the state. | ||||||||||||||||||
Other legislators think it's a good idea. The logic is impeccable.
Just ask Sen. David Sullivan, the sponsor of the plan. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We are trying to take away the tactical advantage of selling
heroin," Sullivan said. "This is a logical step of bringing
penalties for heroin in line with cocaine." | ||||||||||||||||||
After decades of drug war, one might think that Sen. Sullivan could understand that new pools of dealers and drugs always fill any tiny hole that might be caused by tougher penalties. But when the state's just a little over a billion in the red, why consider the actual effects of legislation? Maybe Sullivan will do just that when there's a real budget crisis - say a $2 billion deficit. | ||||||||||||||||||
That same principle must have been at play last month when the House
approved a bill that would limit time for good behavior for some
convicted marijuana growers. The cost of the bill was estimated at
$3.3 million per year. Could there be a better place in the state
budget for a few million dollars? | ||||||||||||||||||
Gov. George Ryan recently recognized that punishing non-violent drug
offenders may not be the most fiscally wise policy. Ryan proposed
the early release of some non-violent prisoners, in hopes of
reducing prison costs. Of course, former pharmacist Ryan is a lame
duck. Perpetually hounded by allegations of corruption, he dared not
run for a second term. Now Ryan has little to lose by occasionally
stating the obvious. It wasn't always so. | ||||||||||||||||||
Back when he was still theoretically viable for a second term, Ryan
vetoed not one, but two bills that would have allowed the study of
hemp as a crop in Illinois. Of course, now that Ryan's actually
talking some sense on drug policy, other politicians don't want to
hear it. Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine called Ryan's
early release plan "reprehensible." | ||||||||||||||||||
What's really reprehensible is what the drug war has done to
Illinois and its prison system. In the Land of Lincoln, | ||||||||||||||||||
The budget crisis offers a perfect chance for legislators to quietly back away from decades of terrible prohibitionist policy. It's a shame lawmakers don't seem to recognize their opportunity. | ||||||||||||||||||
To describe the Illinois drug war as a drought-resistant weed
actually understates the case. Prohibition is more like the mutant
plant in "Little Shop of Horrors" - constantly growing, and ready to
devour any resources within reach. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's time to stop the feeding beast with money we don't have, and
lives we can't afford to waste. | ||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly, the author of
"Maximizing Harm: Losers and Winners in the Drug War," | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"One who is allowed to sin, sins less." -- Ovidius, Amores | ||||||||||||||||||
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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. | ||||||||||||||||||
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