| May 31, 2002 #252 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Listen On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||
THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
(1) DEA RAIDS SANTA ROSA MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLUB (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) - Federal agents raided a medical marijuana
buyers' club here Wednesday and arrested two people, part of a
tug-of-war between local and federal officials over the sale of pot for
medicinal purposes. | ||||||||||||||||
A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman said two addresses
were searched, including the Aiko Compassion Center near downtown.
Marijuana, cash, a car and a weapon were seized. | ||||||||||||||||
Authorities declined to identify the arrested pair, saying all information about the case was sealed by a federal judge. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"We have not targeted marijuana clubs. We have investigated marijuana
trafficking groups,'' said San Francisco DEA spokesman Rich Meyer. "As
we develop leads, we follow those leads. If one takes us to a marijuana
club, then we continue that investigation.'' | ||||||||||||||||
According to one witness, at least six DEA agents stormed the store
around 10:45 a.m. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(2) DRUG CZAR NOTES DECLINE IN FLORIDA AND CARIBBEAN DRUG SMUGGLING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
MIAMI- Drug smuggling in Florida and the Caribbean is down compared
with smuggling in Mexico and the Pacific, the nation's drug czar said
Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
John P. Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, said
increased enforcement efforts in Florida and the Caribbean have caused
the shift of smuggling to the Southwest. He said Florida still has a
major role in the import of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Walters estimates that around 30 percent of the cocaine shipped from
South America is seized before it enters the country. | ||||||||||||||||
"We're making it harder (to smuggle drugs). We're increasing the cost
of doing business," Walters said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"Drug use in the U.S. is the single biggest source of terror to the
democratic forces in this hemisphere," Walters said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
An advocate group is pushing a ballot proposition in Florida in 2004
that would allow first-time drug offenders to go into treatment
programs rather than prison. Walters said he opposes this proposition,
as does Gov. Jeb Bush, because he believes it will ruin the state's
drug court system. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(3) INS CONFIRMS BORDER INCIDENT WITH MEXICO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.,
accused the Mexican army Tuesday of staging a "military incursion"
Friday night into southern Arizona that ended with Mexican soldiers
firing shots at a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle. Lori Haley, an
Immigration and Naturalization spokeswoman, confirmed that an incident
occurred in a remote area near Ajo, Ariz. | ||||||||||||||||
A U.S. agent spotted three Mexican soldiers in a Mexican Humvee on U.S.
soil and was attempting to leave the area when the rear window of his
vehicle was apparently shattered by gunfire, she said. The agent was
leaving the area "in an effort to avoid a confrontation" with the
Mexicans, she said. | ||||||||||||||||
"Because of the seriousness of the incident" Haley said, U.S.
authorities launched a formal investigation and are asking Mexican
authorities to do the same. | ||||||||||||||||
The Mexican government previously has rejected Tancredo's charges that
Mexican police and military units frequently cross the border.
Tancredo, who leads a group of lawmakers opposed to liberalizing
immigration laws, has said U.S. officials believe the incursions are
related to drug trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(4) THE GOVERNOR'S SUB-ROSA PLOT TO SUBVERT AN ELECTION IN OHIO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Ohio Governor Bob Taft and the highest reaches of his administration
have embarked on a concerted, months-long effort to subvert the state's
electoral process. With overall control of budgets, jobs and sentencing
policy at stake, the Taft administration has organized a sophisticated,
sub-rosa campaign to defeat a drug treatment rather than incarceration
amendment likely to appear on the ballot in November. Starting last
spring, Gov. Taft himself, First Lady Hope Taft, his chief of staff,
Brian Hicks, two of his cabinet members and numerous senior and support
staff have - while on the clock, ostensibly serving the public -
conceived and directed a partisan political campaign. | ||||||||||||||||
A four-month long Institute for Policy Studies investigation by
freelance journalist Daniel Forbes details political malfeasance, the
misuse of public funds and the inappropriate use of government
resources in Ohio. The effort has been aided by federal officials,
including President Bush's publicly announced nominee to be deputy
director of the White House drug czar's office (since confirmed), and a
senior U.S. Senate staffer. The drug czars of Florida and Michigan and
a senior Drug Enforcement Administration agent also participated in the
scheme. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
An appellate court ruled this week that religious use of marijuana
is appropriate in some parts of the United States. In other legal
news, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about entrapment
during drug stings. | ||||||||||||||||
Elsewhere in the U.S., it finally happened - a federal agency was so
embarrassed by wasting its limited resources on the drug war that it
plans to scale back anti-drug efforts. The FBI is reassigning some
personnel from drug investigations to counter-terrorism. The DEA,
however, remains shameless. The agency announced a partnership with
female legislators from around the U.S. to help spread its
intentional ignorance about the relationship between drug
prohibition and terrorism. The partnership is also expected to
generate a new round of Ecstasy hysteria. | ||||||||||||||||
In opiate news, a report indicates that the drug buprenorphine may
soon be used in the U.S. to treat heroin withdrawal. And the
California Senate has passed a measure that would legalize some
syringe sales. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(5) COURT OKS USE OF RELIGIOUS POT ON FEDERAL LANDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Appellate Ruling Applies To 9 Western States, Territories | ||||||||||||||||
If you're a Rastafarian who considers marijuana holy, it's legal to
light up in Guam -- and maybe in any national park on the West
Coast. | ||||||||||||||||
At least that seemed to be the conclusion of a federal appeals court
in San Francisco, which said Tuesday that a 1993 religious-freedom
law puts limits on prosecutions in the "federal realm" --
specifically in a U.S. territory like Guam, or potentially within
any other federal property. | ||||||||||||||||
A conservative three-judge panel said a Rastafarian -- whose
Jamaica-based religion regards marijuana as a sacrament that brings
believers closer to divinity -- could not be federally prosecuted
for merely possessing marijuana, a decision that upheld a portion of
the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(6) COURT TO HEAR CONSPIRACIES CASE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to review a ruling
that questions the way the government catches and charges suspected
drug dealers and terrorists. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a string of cases dating
back five years, has said that law officers cannot stop a crime,
lure people into getting involved with the help of informants, then
charge them with being part of the conspiracy. | ||||||||||||||||
That's what the appeals court said happened to Francisco Jimenez
Recio and Adrian Lopez-Meza when they were arrested during a sting
operation involving a flatbed truck loaded with about $12 million
worth of cocaine and marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
Officers had seized the truck and arrested a driver and companion
near Las Vegas in 1997. With the companion's help, lawmen set up the
sting operation at a mall in Nampa, Idaho. Recio and Lopez-Meza were
arrested after showing up at the mall to get the truck. | ||||||||||||||||
The 9th Circuit said Recio and Lopez-Meza would likely not have been
involved in the conspiracy had they not been lured into it. The
court said the government did not prove any other involvement in a
conspiracy. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(7) FBI TO ANNOUNCE HUGE OVERHAUL TO BETTER COMBAT TERROR THREAT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation will reassign
hundreds of agents from local drug and violent-crime investigations
to counterterrorism and intelligence in a sweeping reorganization to
be announced Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The planned reallocation of resources moves almost 500 field agents
to counterterrorism from other details, diminishing the FBI's
involvement in local murder, kidnapping and drug cases and returning
a greater burden for these prosecutions to local law enforcement.
The planned reassignments would affect FBI drug-enforcement efforts
most, bureau documents show. Efforts to combat white-collar crime,
including health-care fraud, also will be trimmed. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(8) GROUP SHOULDERS NEW WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin joined national legislative leaders and drug
enforcement officials Thursday in Washington at an event to kick off
the nation's latest war on drugs. About an hour later, Oklahoma
senators and representatives met at the state Capitol to pledge
their support for the idea. | ||||||||||||||||
The program, called "Shoulder to Shoulder," links the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency with women in state legislatures to fight the
spread of "club drugs" such as Ecstasy and educate the public about
the use of drugs to fund terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||
"Too many people realize too late that drug use can lead to
overwhelming loss," Fallin said. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(9) NEW DRUG TREATS HEROIN ADDICTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Philadelphia - The treatment of heroin addiction could change
dramatically in the coming months because the federal government is
expected to approve a drug that would be available by prescription,
doctors were told yesterday at the annual meeting of the American
Psychiatric Association. | ||||||||||||||||
The drug, buprenorphine, has been used in Europe for several years
to treat withdrawal symptoms. Unlike liquid methadone, buprenorphine
is available in pill form, and patients are instructed to let it
dissolve under the tongue. Like methadone, it works by reducing
cravings for heroin, which can last for years. The euphoria it
produces is far milder than that of heroin. | ||||||||||||||||
Since the 1960s, when methadone was approved for treatment of
addiction in this country, only licensed centers have been allowed
to dispense it. It is estimated there are 800,000 heroin addicts in
the United States and 200,000 receive methadone at more than 1,000
clinics. | ||||||||||||||||
Dr. H. Westley Clark, director of the center for substance abuse and
treatment at the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service
Administration, said the government is expected to announce that the
drug is sufficiently safe and effective to be used without the
oversight that a center provides dispensing doses daily. He said it
is hoped that the pill's availability will lead more addicts to
enter treatment by approaching their own physicians. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(10) SENATE OKS SALES OF NEEDLES WITHOUT PRESCRIPTIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Pharmacies could sell hypodermic needles to adults without a
doctor's prescription under a bill approved Thursday by California's
Senate. | ||||||||||||||||
Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-San Jose) said his legislation would cut
down on the number of cases of HIV and other diseases caused by the
sharing of needles among drug addicts. But Sen. Bill Morrow
(R-Oceanside) said addicts would continue to share needles because
"that's part of the drug culture." | ||||||||||||||||
The bill would allow pharmacies to sell up to 30 hypodermic needles or syringes without a prescription to a person who is over 18. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
If you didn't already know it, the news this week again confirms
that American prisons and jails are overcrowded breeding grounds for
disease. A new study, this one from Oregon, indicated that a third
or more of state prisoners have hepatitis C, and the state is doing
little to deal with the problem. A Florida county jail reported
being more crowded than any other time in its history. And in
Mississippi, a columnist showed how prison spending completely
overshadowed education spending in recent years. | ||||||||||||||||
In Tennessee, the widow of an innocent man killed in a mistaken drug
raid will receive a settlement of about $400,000. | ||||||||||||||||
And New York City's top cop showed you don't have to understand the
dynamics of the drug war to become police commissioner. After a
two-ton shipment of cocaine was intercepted by police, the
commissioner claimed that the seizure would reduce violence. Try and
tell that to the middleman who lost the shipment for a major cartel,
or the street buyer who's got to hustle more to pay | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(11) DISEASE RAGES BEHIND BARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
An estimated one in three Oregon prisoners is infected with hepatitis C, a chronic, potentially deadly disease that's costly to treat. Although the numbers are startling, they're similar to numbers found in prisons across the country, said Phyllis Beck, director of the Eugene-based National Hepatitis C Prison Coalition. | ||||||||||||||||
"In essence, our state prisons have become a state-sponsored incubator for HCV, by default," Beck told Hepatitis magazine. | ||||||||||||||||
Prison officials said about 30 percent of the nearly 11,000 inmates
in the 14 Oregon prisons, work camps and release centers - 3,300
prisoners - have hepatitis C. Burrows believes that the number could
be closer to 40 percent. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(12) COUNTY JAILS IN A REAL JAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Record Number of Prisoners Crowd Jails In Hillsborough County,
Leaving Officials In A Crunch | ||||||||||||||||
TAMPA - The numbers at the Hillsborough County jails this week
represent a personal best, but they're not the type jail
administrators beam over. | ||||||||||||||||
Inmates. | ||||||||||||||||
Lots of them. | ||||||||||||||||
More then ever before. Monday night, the Hillsborough system of
three jails booked in its 3,774th prisoner. That's the most people
behind bars at a single time. | ||||||||||||||||
Sheriff's Capt. Curtis Flowers can't explain the spike. | ||||||||||||||||
"The population continues to increase," he said, "and all of the
rooms at the inn are filled. We're perplexed by it." | ||||||||||||||||
Flowers said cells that usually hold one inmate now have an extra
bunk. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(13) COLUMN: PRISON REPORT SHOWS STATE'S CRISIS OF VISION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
In a sense, it's old, stale news. | ||||||||||||||||
The nonprofit Grassroots Leadership group on Monday told us
something we already knew - that in Mississippi, like many other
Southern states, we spend millions of tax dollars to lock people in
cages, money we could spend to educate them to become productive
citizens. | ||||||||||||||||
In a report titled "Education versus Incarceration: A Mississippi
Case Study," the Charlotte, N.C.-based organization also observed
that: | ||||||||||||||||
a.. Mississippi's appropriations for corrections rose 115 percent
from 1989 to 1998, while its higher education appropriations
increased less that 1 percent over the same period. b.. The state
built 16 new correctional facilities in the 1990s, including six
private prisons. c.. There are nearly twice as many African-American
men in state prisons as there are enrolled in the state's
institutions of higher learning. | ||||||||||||||||
Again, we already knew most of this, but the dichotomies are only
growing. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(14) LEBANON TO PAY WIDOW OF RAID VICTIM $400,000 (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NASHVILLE -- The city of Lebanon will pay at least $400,000 to the wife of an elderly man killed when police raided the wrong house. | ||||||||||||||||
In the settlement made public Wednesday, Lorine Adams, 72, has
received $200,000 in a lump sum and will receive $1,675 per month
for life, or for at least 10 years, whichever is longer. If she
should die before the 10 years is up, the balance would go to her
beneficiary. | ||||||||||||||||
Her husband, John Adams, 62, was shot to death when Lebanon police
wrongly burst into the Adams' home in a 2000 drug raid. The officers
had intended to raid the house next door. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(15) POLICE COMMISSIONER PREDICTS 2-TON DRUG BUST WILL CURTAIL VIOLENT CRIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK -- Two tons of cocaine found in a warehouse in Brooklyn was
described Friday as a "historic seizure" _ the largest confiscation
of drugs in New York by law enforcement authorities in at least five
years. | ||||||||||||||||
"This is a major blow against narcotics trafficking in New York City," said police Commissioner Raymond Kelly at an afternoon news conference to announce the seizure and the arrest of four men. | ||||||||||||||||
He said the discovery Thursday night during a surveillance in the Park Slope section would have a ripple effect on crime in the city. | ||||||||||||||||
"Just think of the amount of violence that would occur over 2 tons of cocaine and the lives impacted by it," Kelly said. "Narcotics is at the core of violence. We've seen that for many years." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (16-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Frustrating medical marijuana news out of the U.S. this week. In
Vermont, a joint House and Senate conference committee tentatively
agreed to kill a proposed medical cannabis bill and appoint a task
force to study the issue and report back during the next legislative
session. In California, the Ukiah Cannabis Club was the victim of a
strange arson fire apparently set by one of its former suppliers.
Although no one was hurt, the club has suggested that the fire
damage is too great for the club to re-open in the foreseeable
future. | ||||||||||||||||
Interesting legal news from Canada this week. Nine medical cannabis
users have decided to take the federal government to court in order
to force the distribution of medical cannabis to those who have a
legitimate need. The civil suit argues that the continued
persecution of medical users, coupled with the governments own
totally ineffective and overly onerous Marihuana Medical Access
Program (a misnomer if ever there was one), violates Section 7 of
the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees an individual's
right to "life and liberty". | ||||||||||||||||
In international cannabis news, the Australian state of Western Australia, acting on the advice of both the public and researchers, has just replaced criminal charges with a system of fines for the cultivation and possession of small amounts of cannabis, essentially decriminalizing personal use of marijuana. And in the UK, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, former Lord Chief Justice for the British Government, made headlines by being the latest high level official to denounce the prohibition of cannabis. "It is stupid to have a law which isn't doing what it is there for," he stated, before arguing for the legalization of marijuana. "Lord knows" indeed. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(16) VERMONT MEDICAL POT BILL IS KILLED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The controversial question of whether Vermont should legalize
marijuana use for people with serious illnesses like cancer or AIDS
appears to be dead for this session. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Committee members couldn't reconcile the differences in the bills
passed by the two chambers. | ||||||||||||||||
The House passed an ambitious plan to legalize possession, use, and
cultivation of marijuana for people suffering from a specific list
of disorders. The Senate approved a more modest "affirmative
defense" bill that would have allowed sick people arrested for
marijuana possession to claim their illness as a defense against
prosecution. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(17) CALIFORNIA CANNABIS CLUB BURNS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
An arson fire burned the Ukiah Cannabis Club Saturday morning,
causing extensive damage and blackening neighboring structures as
well. | ||||||||||||||||
A man who told The Daily Journal he was upset with the Ukiah
Cannabis Club, claiming club members owed him money for the crop of
marijuana he grew for them, was arrested at the scene. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(18) CANADIAN PATIENTS TAKE POT FIGHT TO COURT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Federal Access Regulations Dubbed 'A Cruel Hoax' | ||||||||||||||||
Seven Canadians who use or distribute medical marijuana are asking
the courts to strike down federal access regulations that are "a
cruel hoax" and to order Ottawa to provide them with hundreds of
kilograms of pot grown in an abandoned Manitoba mine. | ||||||||||||||||
The regulations, set up to provide sick people with legal access to
marijuana, are unduly restrictive and have made obtaining the drug
difficult because the government is demanding medical declarations
that few doctors will sign, the group of seven told a Queen's Park
news conference yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(19) AUSTRALIAN CANNABIS USERS FACE FINE, NOT RECORD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
PEOPLE who grow or possess small amounts of cannabis for personal
use will not be treated as criminals under new laws proposed by the
State Government. | ||||||||||||||||
Instead, recreational users caught with two plants will be fined $200. Users with less than 30g of the drug will be fined up to $150. | ||||||||||||||||
The new laws stop short of full decriminalisation, with police
retaining the discretion to charge people they believe are flouting
the law. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(20) BAN ON CANNABIS IS 'STUPID', SAYS SENIOR UK LAW LORD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
One of Britain's most senior law lords surprised drug campaigners
yesterday by saying it would be "stupid" to oppose the legalisation
of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||
Lord Bingham of Cornhill, a former Lord Chief Justice, said bluntly
in an interview for Spectator magazine that prohibiting the drug was
not working. | ||||||||||||||||
Asked by the magazine's editor, Boris Johnson, whether cannabis
should be legalised, the law lord replied: "Absolutely. It is stupid
having a law which isn't doing what it is there for ... Everybody
thinks our system is becoming soft and wimpish. In point of fact, it
is one of the most punitive systems in the world." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (21-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
As expected, rightist Alvaro Uribe won the Colombian presidential
elections last week. Uribe claimed that fighting a drug war is
"essential" to defeating leftist rebels and right wing paramilitary
groups. Observers see "a major escalation of violence" ahead for
Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||
Soldiers in Mexico captured an alleged major cocaine trafficker, Jesus
Albino Quintero Meraz, in the city of Veracruz. Taken also were six
others, one a Mexican federal police officer who reportedly provided
protection to Quintero. Earlier, amid concern of excessively cruel
punishments in the US, a Mexican court denied a U.S. effort to
extradite suspected drug trafficker Jesus Amezcua to face charges of
importing amphetamines. | ||||||||||||||||
Illustrating once again that harsh jail terms have little impact on the drug-buying habits of consumers, a UK government report revealed street prices of illegal drugs had fallen in the past decade. Admitted one member of parliament: "The way in which we have drawn up the classification between legal and illegal drugs may have helped to create an incentive for people to cross from legal to illegal drugs." | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(21) URIBE COMMITS TO WAR AGAINST DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia ( AP ) - President-elect Alvaro Uribe said the
U.S.-backed fight against the drugs that stream across Colombia's
borders will be crucial to his plans to end the long-running civil
war that kills thousands of people every year. | ||||||||||||||||
A day after his landslide election on a law-and-order platform,
Uribe said Monday that the drug war is "essential" because
Colombia's leftist rebels and their rivals, the right-wing
paramilitaries, finance their fight with the proceeds from drug
trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||
"Colombia has to defeat drugs," the Harvard-educated former state governor told a news conference. "If not, we will not create conditions to negotiate peace. As long as the violent groups are financed we will remain far from obtaining final accords." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Uribe plans to ask for U.N. help in contacting the guerrillas and
probing their willingness to resume peace negotiations in return for
a cessation of hostilities and a halt to terrorism. But observers
said the main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, will reject such overtures. | ||||||||||||||||
"Those terms have never been acceptable to the FARC in the past and will not be in the future," said Bruce Bagley, a Colombia expert at the University of Miami. "I expect a major escalation of violence." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(22) MEXICAN ARMY ARRESTS MAJOR COCAINE SUSPECT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY, May 27 -- Authorities today announced the arrest of
a major drug trafficker they said was responsible for moving at
least a ton of cocaine a month into the United States. | ||||||||||||||||
Mexican soldiers captured Jesus Albino Quintero Meraz, known as "Big Ears," early Sunday in the Caribbean port city of Veracruz. Quintero was arrested with six other men, including a federal police officer accused of providing protection to his operations since 1996. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
Officials said Quintero admitted smuggling as much as 1 1/2 tons of cocaine a month into the United States, for a long time under the protection of Mario Villanueva, then governor of Quintana Roo state. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(23) DRUG SUSPECT CAN'T BE EXTRADITED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY -- In a blow to U.S. efforts to extradite suspected
drug kingpins, a Mexican court has denied prosecutors' request
to transport Jesus Amezcua to a San Diego federal district court
where he faces drug trafficking charges. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
A Mexican federal tribunal ruled that a U.S. guarantee given to the
Mexican government that Amezcua would not face a possible life term
if found guilty was insufficient, according to a Mexican law
enforcement official who asked not to be identified. Although the
judge's decision does not necessarily set a precedent, it might
impede pending or anticipated requests for extraditions of other
alleged drug traffickers wanted in the United States, including
Benjamin Arellano Felix and Ismael "El Mayel" Higuera Guerrero, both
reportedly of the Tijuana drug cartel. | ||||||||||||||||
Although the U.S. has an extradition treaty with Mexico, Mexican citizens cannot be extradited if they face the death penalty or life in prison, according to a Mexican Supreme Court ruling in October. | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. prosecutors have tried to circumvent the ban by seeking consecutive prison terms that can add up to life in jail. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(24) STREET PRICE OF DRUGS PLUNGES IN 12 YEARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The price of illegal drugs has fallen sharply in the past 12 years,
reinforcing fears that young people are using cannabis, cocaine and
ecstasy instead of alcohol, government figures released yesterday
indicate. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"The way in which we have drawn up the classification between legal and illegal drugs may have helped to create an incentive for people to cross from legal to illegal drugs. It could force more young people towards drugs, particularly in the more deprived areas." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Alchemind Society On Rastafarian Case | ||||||||||||||||
For links to the actual ruling and more see; | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
The Eternal Drug War | ||||||||||||||||
by William L. Anderson | ||||||||||||||||
"It is a truism in U.S. political economy that whenever a government
agency fails miserably, Congress invariably will reward it with more
money, power, and discretion." | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
'Needle Lady' Index | ||||||||||||||||
How the Peoria media treats harm reduction issues. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
The People Have Spoken | ||||||||||||||||
Medical Marijuana Polling 1996-2002 | ||||||||||||||||
The Ohio Patient Network has put together an excellent summary of
polling over recent years on medical marijuana. The document is
available as a PDF file at the URL below. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
National Columnist Rebuts Drug War Fantasies | ||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Conference on Adolescent Treatment Abuse & Straight, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||
In just one week, June 8-9, 2002, The Second International Conference on Adolescent Treatment Abuse & Straight, Inc. / Kids Reunion will begin. For those of you who do not have all the details, please see; | ||||||||||||||||
Listen to an interview with Straight survivors on WMNF radio (47 min); | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
National Day of Direct Action June 6th | ||||||||||||||||
Keep medical marijuana safe and legal! | ||||||||||||||||
Thursday, June 6, 2002 at noon at your local DEA outpost. | ||||||||||||||||
June 6th is a nation-wide day of action to push back DEA attempts to re-criminalize medical cannabis! On or after June 6th, 2002 the DEA will attempt to shut down dispensaries now legally providing medical cannabis to patients in California. To respond, activists in cities across the nation will use creative, non-violent tactics to disrupt DEA offices and post their own "cease and desist" orders at DEA outposts. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Tulia Drug Sting Stings Many | ||||||||||||||||
By Alan Bean | ||||||||||||||||
A friend from Dallas recently asked me about the young black men who
weren't picked up in the 1999 Tulia drug sting. A little library
research, supplemented by the memories of patient black friends,
produced a list of every black male who reached graduation age during
the 1980s and '90s. | ||||||||||||||||
Of those who still were living in Tulia in 1999, 61 percent were
indicted on the basis of undercover agent Tom Coleman's testimony.
For black men young enough to graduate in the '90s, the news got
worse: 76 percent had been arrested for trafficking in powdered
cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
Forty percent of those not indicted in the Coleman sting have since
been prosecuted by local authorities and 20 percent are currently in
prison. | ||||||||||||||||
Mercifully, only 32 percent of Tulia's young black women were arrested in the sting. The remaining 68 percent inherited the job of taking care of the 50 orphans created by the drug sweep. | ||||||||||||||||
When I contemplate the rage and bitterness festering in the tender
hearts of 50 drug-sting orphans, I shudder. When another generation
of kids begins to act out, what will we do? Send in another Tom
Coleman? There must be a better way. | ||||||||||||||||
Alan Bean, | ||||||||||||||||
Director Friends of Justice, | ||||||||||||||||
Tulia | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
New Court Challenge to Federal Law Against Medical Marijuana Use | ||||||||||||||||
By Dale Gieringer | ||||||||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO, May 24 - Medical marijuana patient Lynnette Shaw, one
of several defendants in the federal government's lawsuit to close
medical marijuana dispensaries in California, has requested that
U.S. District Court judge Charles Breyer allow her to continue to
possess and cultivate marijuana for her own personal use in
accordance with Proposition 215. | ||||||||||||||||
In a motion filed by her attorney, William G. Panzer, Shaw is asking for a partial exemption from a permanent injunction which the court is expected to issue barring distribution and manufacture of marijuana by herself and other parties in the suit. In addition to being a Prop. 215 patient, Shaw is director of the Marin Alliance of Medical Marijuana, which is named in the case along with the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and Ukiah Cannabis Buyers' Club. | ||||||||||||||||
By requesting the right to grow marijuana for herself, Shaw's petition opens the case to an appeal on the constitutionality of federal laws against personal use and cultivation of medical marijuana, an issue that the court might otherwise sidestep. | ||||||||||||||||
In a summary judgment earlier this month, Judge Breyer rejected
defendants' contention that the federal government lacks
constitutional authority to ban intrastate distribution of medical
marijuana, but invited them to respond before issuing a permanent
injunction. | ||||||||||||||||
In her response, Shaw requested that any injunction be narrowly
crafted to cover only distribution, and specifically state that she
is not enjoined from cultivating or possessing cannabis for her own
personal medicinal use. | ||||||||||||||||
The government has until June 7th to respond to Shaw's request,
after which Judge Breyer is expected to issue an injunction. An
appeal of Breyer's injunction to the Ninth Circuit is certain. Prop
215 supporters are hopeful that the courts will ultimately limit the
federal government's interference in state medical marijuana laws.
While there are numerous court precedents upholding federal
authority to prohibit distribution of marijuana, even where it is
not evidently in interstate commerce, there are none regarding use
and cultivation for personal medical use. | ||||||||||||||||
Lynnette Shaw credits medical cannabis with keeping her stable and productive. "Marijuana is the only medicine that has worked for me," she says, "I am confident that we will prevail and help protect American patients from further anguish over medical cannabis." | ||||||||||||||||
Release by Dale Gieringer, Cal. NORML, | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"The best use of good laws is to teach men to trample bad laws under
their feet." - Wendell Phillips, speech, 1852 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
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 |