| July 19, 2002 #259 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON THE DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Good morning. I want to talk to all of you, but especially parents,
about the dangers of marijuana. I don't mean smoking it; that's pretty
much harmless although you shouldn't then operate machinery or motor
vehicles. I mean the serious negative effects the drug war can have on
your IQ and even your morals. | ||||||||||||||||||
Consider Wednesday's warning by U.S. drug czar Asa Hutchinson that if
Canada and Britain "start shifting policies with regards to marijuana
it simply increases the rumblings in this country that we ought to
re-examine our policy. It is a distraction from a firm policy on drug
use." So basically if we question the policy we might realize it's a
bad idea and abandon it and that mustn't be allowed to happen. How
many bong hits would it take before you'd say something (a) that silly
and (b) that contrary to the principle of rational inquiry in a free
society? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) DON'T LEGALIZE DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The charge that "nothing works" in the fight against illegal drugs has
led some people to grasp at an apparent solution: legalize drugs . They
will have taken false heart from news from Britain last week, where the
government acted to downgrade the possession of cannabis to the status
of a non-arrestable offense. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to the logic of the legalizers, it's laws against drug use,
not the drugs themselves, that do the greatest harm. The real problem,
according them, is not that the young use drugs but that drug laws
distort supply and demand. Violent cartels arise, consumers overpay for
a product of unknown quality, and society suffers when the law
restrains those who "harm no one but themselves." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) US CA: STATE HIGH COURT BACKS POT LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The California Supreme Court decided Thursday that the state's medical
marijuana law can be used as a defense against criminal charges but
does not insulate people from prosecution. | ||||||||||||||||||
The ruling, which left substantial areas unclear, left law enforcement officials free to arrest patients or caregivers who they believe are growing more pot than required for specified medical needs. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the court's ruling said defendants are likewise free to invoke the
Compassionate Use Act both before and during trial. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Thursday's ruling marks the first time California's highest court has addressed Proposition 215, the controversial initiative that runs counter to the federal government's zero-tolerance policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
The case overturns the 1997 felony conviction of blind diabetic Myron
Mower of Twain Harte, in Tuolumne County, who was arrested after police
spotted 31 marijuana plants growing in his front yard. Mower was using
the marijuana after his doctor suggested it to treat nausea and weight
loss. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) RAVERS AGAINST THE MACHINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Partiers And ACLU Take On 'Ecstasy' Legislation | ||||||||||||||||||
Two young women on an urgent mission have been lugging boxes into the
offices of U.S. senators this week. The boxes contain petitions an inch
thick, one for each senator. Nearly 10,000 signatures were collected
over the Internet in five days. | ||||||||||||||||||
The petitions declare: "This bill is a serious threat to civil
liberties, freedom of speech and the right to dance." | ||||||||||||||||||
Look out, Congress: The ravers are coming. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We're offended by the fact they're blackballing an entire musical
genre," said Amanda Huie, checking senators' names off her list Tuesday
afternoon. | ||||||||||||||||||
The genre in question is electronic dance music, which fans enjoy at all-night parties called raves. Legislation in Congress could hold promoters responsible if people attending the events use illegal drugs such as Ecstasy, the party drug frequently associated with raves. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act of 2002 -- or the
RAVE Act -- has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee and is on the
consent calendar, meaning it could receive final approval without a
roll call vote at any time. When he introduced the bill in June, Sen.
Joe Biden (D-Del.) said "most raves are havens for illicit drugs," and
congressional findings submitted with the bill label as drug
paraphernalia such rave mainstays as bottled water, "chill rooms" and
glow sticks. | ||||||||||||||||||
The bill would expand the existing federal crack house law, which makes
it a felony to provide a space for the purpose of illegal drug use, to
cover promoters of raves and other events. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A rather slow week for drug policy news, but one that again
demonstrated the gap between prohibitionists and reality. U.S. drug
czar John Walters boldly called on the scientific community to find
new ways to fight addiction - who says there are no new ideas in the
drug war? Meanwhile, DEA propaganda was welcomed as legitimate
information by Hollywood. Directors, writers and producers
reportedly accepted a presentation by DEA head Asa Hutcinson and
colleagues as gospel. And what choice did the creative-types have -
certainly no one in the film industry would have their own personal
experience with illegal drugs. These public relations efforts won't
do anything to stop the damage of drug prohibition - as the
residents of Baltimore can plainly see. Despite a city-wide,
feel-good, anti-drug campaign, juvenile homicides continue to rise,
and most are related to the illicit drug trade. | ||||||||||||||||||
Another failure of prohibition can be seen in an alleged comeback
for the drug PCP. As reported by Newsweek, users aren't seeking out
the drug, but sellers eager to enhance the effects of less dangerous
drugs like marijuana are returning PCP to the black market as an
unadvertised additive. | ||||||||||||||||||
It was interesting to watch how U.S. editorialists responded to news
of diminishing marijuana enforcement in Britain. Some entrenched
prohibitionists, like the Wall Street Journal, ridiculed the move
(though even WSJ hardliners now acknowledge that arguments for
decriminalization are "not without appeal"). Other small American
papers, like Ohio's Lima News, took a more commonsense approach,
suggesting the British move does not go far enough. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) DRUG POLICY CHIEF LOOKS TO THE ROOT OF ADDICTION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
White House drug policy director John P. Walters called on
scientists yesterday to develop new tools for diagnosing and
treating drug addiction, saying that major advances in genetics and
neuroscience could help devise medicines that attack the root causes
of substance abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking at a substance abuse conference in Cambridge, Walters,
director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said science
must play a key role in meeting President Bush's goal of a 10
percent reduction in drug abuse within two years and a 25 percent
cut over five years. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the administration has doubled federal spending on drug
abuse research to $933 million, financing work at 10 locations
nationwide, including at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean
Hospital in Belmont. | ||||||||||||||||||
''Drug addiction is a disease of the brain,'' said Walters. He
challenged geneticists, neuroscientists, and magnetic resonance
imaging, or MRI, specialists to work cooperatively to find a better
understanding of addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OFFERS CONSULTING SERVICES TO HOLLYWOOD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The people waging the war on drugs have gone Hollywood. | ||||||||||||||||||
Officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration briefed
producers, directors and writers on the connection between drug
trafficking and terrorism and to offer to consult on movies and
television programs. | ||||||||||||||||||
About 40 people, including film directors like Michael Mann and
Arthur Hiller and people behind TV series such as "Third Watch" and
"E.R." gathered at the Beverly Hills Hotel Wednesday for several
hours to hear DEA Director Asa Hutchinson as well as the agency's
intelligence chief and a former undercover agent. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I was stunned," said Anne Sweeney, president of ABC Cable Networks
Group, a unit of The Walt Disney Co. "It helped deepen people's
understanding of the challenges our country faces in the war on
drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) COLUMN: JUVENILE HOMICIDES EXPOSE KIDS' VULNERABILITY - AND OURS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The previous day, Wednesday, [Baltimore Mayor Martin] O'Malley was talking about a recent spike in juvenile homicides: 16 in the first six months of this year, vs. nine in the first six months a year ago. "I don't want us to continue to the end of the year and be the capital of juvenile murder in America," the mayor said. But he also noted, hopefully, a drop in nonfatal juvenile shootings, from 60 to | ||||||||||||||||||
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Most of these shootings, it is believed, are tied to the narcotics
trade. This is a bulletin to absolutely no one. But in a study
released by Dr. Peter Beilenson, the city health commissioner, this
additional background emerged on 34 recent juvenile shooting
victims: | ||||||||||||||||||
They averaged 16 years old, and all were black. Twenty-eight of the
34 were males, and 26 of them had criminal records. Average age of
their first arrest: 12 1/2 . Average number of arrests since then:
five. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ponder that for a moment: 12-year olds getting arrested, and then
arrested over and over until it becomes just another piece of
routine business in their lives, and the grownups around them are
watching this happen, and letting it happen, and it ceases only when
the guns come out. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) 'I FELT LIKE I WANTED TO HURT PEOPLE' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Emergency Rooms Report Uptick In Use Of Disco-Era Drug, PCP; Drug
Being Mixed With Marijuana, Ecstasy | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Police cracked down, and eventually the drug got such a bad
reputation that even junkies wouldn't touch it. But now there are
signs that the disco-era scourge is quietly gaining a new following
- often among unwitting users like Mike. PCP is cheap and relatively
easy to make in the lab, and boosts the effects of other drugs. PCP
seizures by the Drug Enforcement Administration shot up 24 percent
from 2000 to 2001 (not counting a big Texas bust that drove the
numbers through the roof). Nationally, PCP-related visits to the
emergency room jumped 48 percent from 1999 to 2000 and were still on
the rise in the first half of 2001, the latest year for which
figures are available. To be sure, PCP is still a small part of the
nation's drug problem: the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug
Abuse found that 264,000 Americans fessed up to PCP use in the
previous year - a fraction of the million who said they'd tried
methamphetamines. But given PCP's nasty history, drug experts worry
about the smallest uptick. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) EDITORIAL: GOING TO POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Tony Blair's new soft-on-marijuana policy has naturally been getting applause from U.S. legalizers. They like the British decision to make possession of marijuana a ticketing offense, in the same category as illegal possession of steroids or anti-depressants. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile -- though getting much less U.S. media attention -- the
Dutch are having second thoughts about their own famously liberal
marijuana laws. Last week the Netherlands announced a plan to crack
down on the legal "coffee" houses where you can buy cannabis along
with your cappuccino. | ||||||||||||||||||
The arguments for decriminalizing marijuana are well known and not
without appeal. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
For the U.S., the lesson would appear to be to beware legalizers
bearing British gifts. Mr. Blair's proposal may sail through the
House of Commons, but we're willing to wager that like the Dutch the
British will regret the decision once they notice the rise in drug
use. The U.S. is better off just saying no. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) EDITORIAL: GOOD SENSE IN ENGLAND (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The decision in Great Britain to change the laws on cannabis, or
marijuana, almost to the point of decriminalizing simple possession
of the plant by an adult is not as drastic as some news stories have
suggested - and may, in fact, be so modest as not to achieve some of
the hoped-for benefits of decriminalization. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nonetheless it is an important step that will create a record U.S.
officials should study. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Aggressive police and prosecutor tactics employed in the name of the
drug war were rejected by courts around the nation last week. In
North Carolina, charges were dropped against all defendants arrested
during a massive and oppressive sweep throughout an apartment
complex. Charges were also dropped in a two year old case in
Tennessee, after prosecutors tried to withhold a crucial memo from
defense lawyers. A Michigan judge threw out evidence in a marijuana
seizure case because police didn't bother to get a warrant to raid a
house after spotting plants from a helicopter. | ||||||||||||||||||
The lock 'em up philosophy showed holes as well. In Alabama, state
prison crowding might lead to an outdoor tent city for inmates - a
move that may keep a prison commissioner out of prison himself. The
commissioner was ordered by a judge to reduce crowding or face
contempt of court charges. | ||||||||||||||||||
And the "sheetrock scandal" in Dallas, in which fake drugs were planted on several suspects, moves forward. A pair of undercover informants involved in the scheme are cooperating with prosecutors. The informants are expected to further implicate police. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) ALL CHEEK ROAD DRUG RAID CHARGES DROPPED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DURHAM -- Criminal charges are being dropped in a Cheek Road drug
raid that was found by a judge to be unconstitutional and partially
illegal, court officials confirmed Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||
For defendants who already have pleaded guilty, the district
attorney will not oppose a reversal of the convictions, officials
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This sounds like good news to me," said Public Defender Bob Brown,
whose office represents six of the suspects. "It's more than I had
hoped for. In fact, it's much more than I hoped for. I certainly
appreciate the DA's willingness to pursue justice." | ||||||||||||||||||
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson said the
February police raid at Cheek Road Apartments was unconstitutional
because officers improperly "seized" the entire neighborhood and
conducted "unreasonable" searches and seizures. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) DRUG BUST FALLS APART (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Charges Dropped Against 28 Of 43 Arrested | ||||||||||||||||||
In a blow to Clarksville police and to the family of an informant
who helped them put the case together, charges have been dropped
against 28 men arrested in a massive February 2000 drug bust because
of a dispute over a memo at the U.S. Attorney's Office. The office
had barred one of its prosecutors from discussing with defense
lawyers a memo he wrote about the investigation. A judge ordered the
prosecutor to testify, and to prevent that from happening, the U.S.
Attorney's Office has dropped all charges. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We would be in a position where we couldn't comply with that
order," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Watson. "We didn't
want to put ourselves on a course where we would be put in a corner
and have to tell the court we couldn't comply." | ||||||||||||||||||
He said it would be against their standards for a U.S. attorney to
discuss the memo with defense lawyers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Police records show the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the
Southside Organization said in his memo he did not want to levy
charges on conspiracy because the defense might be able to use
arguments regarding entrapment, selective prosecution and the
continued availability of confidential informants. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) NO-WARRANT DRUG RAID THROWN OUT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Helicopter Patrol That Led To Arrest Ignored Rights, Judge Rules | ||||||||||||||||||
PUTNAM TOWNSHIP -- A recent decision by Livingston County Circuit Judge Daniel Burress could affect the way law enforcement officers conduct raids. | ||||||||||||||||||
Burress threw out the evidence -- three marijuana plants --
collected by officers last year at a raid of a Pinckney home.
Officers from the region's Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics
Enforcement Team (LAWNET) task force spotted the marijuana growing
near a barn by the Pinckney home during a helicopter patrol Aug. 17.
Other officers on the ground then searched the area and confiscated
the plants. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the officers went in without a warrant -- a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures, said Chuck Kronzek, a defense attorney with the Lansing firm of Kronzek and Cronkright. | ||||||||||||||||||
"They flew over, saw what they believed to be pot and they go in,"
Kronzek said. "They skipped the constitutional protection. They
didn't care about the search warrant." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) EDITORIAL: CONS-TENTED? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Tent City Should Only Be Short-Term, Last Resort | ||||||||||||||||||
Alabama prisons are in crisis. There's not enough space. Not enough
guards. Not enough money. Not enough time. | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite an expensive court case aimed at making the state live up to
its obligation to relieve crowded county jails of state prisoners,
the state is nowhere close to a remedy. In fact, the state has been
hit with $2.16 million in fines and missed a Sunday deadline to
remove more than 1,200 prisoners from jail, which would have sliced
$500,000 from the fine. | ||||||||||||||||||
The bottom line: Something needs to happen, and soon. | ||||||||||||||||||
It's no surprise then that desperate prison officials are
considering a desperate, makeshift solution housing inmates in
tents. As a last resort, a tent city could be set up at the prison
system's central intake unit at Kilby Correctional Facility near
Montgomery, according to Ted Hosp, legal adviser to Gov. Don
Siegelman. | ||||||||||||||||||
A tent city may keep Prison Commissioner Mike Haley out of jail; Montgomery Circuit Judge William Shashy has threatened to jail Haley for contempt of court if the state does not remove the prisoners within 90 days of his June 14 order. But it's no long-term solution. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) DRUG CASE INFORMANTS MAKE DEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
They'll Testify Of Police Link; Officer's Lawyer Doubts Story | ||||||||||||||||||
A confidential police informant who pleaded guilty Wednesday to
framing innocent people on drug charges will testify that his Dallas
police handlers pocketed payments by forging vouchers. Another will
say that police falsified reports, their attorneys say. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jose Ruiz-Serrano and Reyes Roberto Rodriguez each accepted a deal
under which they could plead guilty to a single civil-rights charge
in exchange for cooperating with an FBI investigation into drug
cases that were prosecuted with fake evidence. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Ruiz-Serrano and Mr. Rodriguez worked as subcontractors for Enrique Alonso, who was indicted Wednesday for allegedly violating the civil rights of 13 people arrested in the drug cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Alonso, the primary informant in the cases, had not accepted a
plea offer by Wednesday, his attorney said | ||||||||||||||||||
Documents made public thus far do not implicate any officers, but
attorneys for the two informants who agreed to plead guilty said
their clients would link police to the fake drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (16-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Good news from Canada this week. Just as the press was just dying
down about the reclassification of cannabis in the U.K., Canadian
Justice Minister Cauchon has announced that he is currently
considering decriminalizing the possession of cannabis by adults,
replacing possible jail terms with a system of fines. How might the
U.S. react if Canada follows through with this loosening of
restrictions? Our second article, by the Globe and Mail's Erin
Anderssen, attempts to answer this very question. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the U.S., DEA boss Asa Hutchinson has spoken out against the
Nevada decriminalization bill that will appear on the November
election ballot. Hutchinson reflected fears that a loosening of pot
laws would attract the wrong kind of tourism to Nevada. Yeah, I
suppose that you'd hate to offend the sensibilities of the classy
folk who come to the state for the gambling and brothels. Also a sad
story of police harassment from Hawaii, where three legal medical
users have lost their small amount of medicine due to the callous
raids of local authorities. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally, for those who might be heading to the U.K. over the
summer holidays, a practical guide to the British cannabis laws
post-reclassification. Happy travels, my friends. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) CANADA CONSIDERS EASING MARIJUANA LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Just days after Britain announced plans to soften its laws on
possession of marijuana, officials with the office of Canadian
Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said Canada might follow the British
lead. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
A few months ago, the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal
Drugs issued a preliminary report criticizing the government's
current drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to the report, an estimated 30 to 50 percent of Canadians
age 15 to 24 have used marijuana despite efforts to eradicate its
use, and nearly 30,000 people a year face criminal charges for
simple possession. This amounts to half of all drug charges in
Canada, and while 25 percent of those are typically discharged, the
rest face criminal records. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) WOULD SOFTER CANADIAN POT LAW STIR WRATH OF U.S.? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In the pot-perfumed haze of an Amsterdam coffee house, MP Randy White, crime critic for the Canadian Alliance, hauled out his business card and sat down to chat with two toking patrons. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. White later recalled: "We had a great discussion, a few laughs. It was a nice place. It didn't even smell as much as I thought." | ||||||||||||||||||
Two weeks earlier, on Washington's Capitol Hill and in far less
mellow conversation, the committee had heard a different view. The
man sitting across the table on that June day was Republican
Congressman Mark Souder, chairman of the U.S. equivalent of the
Commons committee on drug policy, and the originator of a law that
bans student loans for Americans convicted of pot possession. He
knew all about Canada pondering the decriminalization of marijuana,
and he wasn't happy about it. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Souder's message was clear, committee members say: Proceed and
we'll crack down even more on your borders. B.C. bud, he pronounced,
is as dangerous as cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I thought, 'My God, what is this man talking about?'" said Vancouver MP Libby Davies, a New Democrat. "We can't be subservient to the ridiculous rhetoric coming out of the United States." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) DEA BOSS SAYS NEVADA'S POT MEASURE WILL ATTRACT WRONG ELEMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration warns a
ballot measure that would legalize small amounts of marijuana in
Nevada would attract the wrong element to the state heavily
dependent on tourism. | ||||||||||||||||||
"What kind of tourism will Nevada attract?" DEA Director Asa
Hutchinson asked after a speech in Reno Thursday urging a crack down
on methamphetamine labs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Backers of the Nevada measure, organized as Nevadans for Responsible
Law Enforcement, collected well over the 60,000 signatures necessary
to get it on the ballot in November. They argue it is a waste of
taxpayer dollars to prosecute minor pot offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS CLAIM POLICE HARASSING THEM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Three Kona residents say Big Island police are blocking them from
legally using marijuana for medical purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Rhonda Robison, her husband, John, and their house guest Kealoha Wells were arrested Monday at their Kalaoa, North Kona, home for allegedly promoting a detrimental drug. Police seized 20 marijuana plants and 1.5 ounces of processed marijuana, Rhonda Robison said. | ||||||||||||||||||
John Robison and Wells have leukemia, and Rhonda Robison has a form of muscular dystrophy. They have permits to use marijuana under the state law that allows medical marijuana users to have seven plants each, plus one ounce of processed marijuana each, Robison said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) HOW THE LAW WILL WORK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Where are we exactly with this cannabis thing? | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug will be downgraded from Class B to a Class C by July 2003.
The police are to expand Brixton's controversial "seize and warn"
policy across London by the autumn. | ||||||||||||||||||
Does that mean I can sit on the steps of Brixton police station and
skin up? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (21-25) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Raising the specter of "leaders somehow connected with drug
trafficking and terrorism," U.S. assistant secretary of state for
western hemisphere affairs, Otto Reich, threatened to cut American aid
to Bolivia if Evo Morales is elected president next month. Morales is
head of Bolivian coca growers and opposes the U.S.-sponsored coca
eradication program. | ||||||||||||||||||
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens disclosed plans to
base Jamaican police at Scotland Yard in the UK, to strike against
Jamaican drug gangs. Stevens announced the move while on a
"fact-finding" trip to Jamaica. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Australia, the Queensland State cabinet (led by Premier Peter Beattie) last week announced that users of heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines should no longer face jail time if caught with small quantities of those drugs. To participate in the program, users would have to admit guilt, and have committed no violent offenses. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadian narcotics police claim they took nearly 600 kilograms of
cocaine this month in a single seizure. Three men were arrested with
the cache, which police say had a estimated value of 160 million
Canadian dollars. | ||||||||||||||||||
Irish prohibition officials are wringing their hands over a recent
survey that shows half of all Irish schoolchildren have taken "drugs"
(mostly cannabis). In the face of the recent UK announcement
downgrading cannabis to a non-arrestable offense, Irish officials take
the line that "there is no such thing as a soft drug and we need to
get ruthless." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) BOLIVIA'S LEFTWING CANDIDATE ALARMS WASHINGTON (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Threat To Cut Aid If Coca Growers' Leader Becomes President | ||||||||||||||||||
The United States government is actively intervening in Bolivia's
choice of new president next month, warning that US aid will be
withdrawn if the socialist Evo Morales is elected. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is the latest in a series of recent interventions by the US in
Latin American elections in an attempt to keep leftwing politicians
from power. | ||||||||||||||||||
Congress will elect the president from the two leading candidates in
the elections earlier this month: Mr Morales and the rightwing
ex-president, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. | ||||||||||||||||||
Otto Reich, the Cuban-American appointed by President George Bush as
his assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs,
warned that American aid to the country would be in danger if Mr
Morales was chosen on August 3. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Morales is the leader of the country's coca growers and is
opposed to the coca eradication programme sponsored by the U.S. as
part of the "war on drugs" on the continent. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, had already issued a similar warning, suggesting that if Mr Morales was elected US aid would be cut off. "The Bolivian electorate must consider the consequences of choosing leaders somehow connected with drug trafficking and terrorism," Mr Rocha said in a speech last month. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) JAMAICAN POLICE TO GET BASE AT YARD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Detectives from Jamaica are set to be based at Scotland Yard to help
combat violent Yardie drug gangs. | ||||||||||||||||||
In an unprecedented move the specialist officers would work
alongside the Met in an all-out drive against the gangs, which are
behind rocketing gun crime figures. | ||||||||||||||||||
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens today revealed the
plan as he visited Jamaica on a two-day fact-finding trip to help
bolster the war on drug trafficking and gun crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The vast majority of the murders and gunfights are over drugs, in
particular the massive cocaine trafficking business. Sir John said
he was due to meet Jamaican security minister Dr Peter Phillips to
discuss ways of combating the gangs who hire "drug mules" to ferry
cocaine into Britain on airline flights. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) BEATTIE SOFTENS DRUGS STANCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SMALL-time drug users caught with heroin, cocaine and amphetamines will escape conviction under a State Government plan to divert them to treatment programs. State Cabinet yesterday approved extending the existing cannabis diversion program to hard drugs and won immediate support from drug agencies and other political parties. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under a 12-month trial set to begin in November, magistrates will
have the power to send people caught with small quantities of hard
drugs to education and treatment programs. | ||||||||||||||||||
A conviction will be recorded only if a person fails to complete the
program. | ||||||||||||||||||
To qualify for the trial, an offender must admit guilt, be assessed
as suitable for drug intervention and have no prior convictions or
charges for serious or violent offences. | ||||||||||||||||||
Premier Peter Beattie yesterday said critics who suggested the
Government had gone soft on drugs were wrong and called on
Queenslanders to support the program. He said the trial was aimed at
reducing drug-related crime through early intervention, a claim
supported by community drug agencies. "This is a sensible and
rational approach to get people off drugs and reduce crime," Mr
Beattie said. "We know there will be a political downside but this
is the right policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(24) MOUNTIES MAKE HUGE COKE BUST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
RCMP Seize $160-million Shipment From Boat Off Cape Breton Coast | ||||||||||||||||||
Arichat - RCMP say they stopped a $160-million cocaine shipment from
reaching shore near Arichat this month. | ||||||||||||||||||
Four Quebec men were arrested onshore at about 4 a.m. on July 4 after police intercepted a sailing ship that had made its way up the eastern seaboard to a remote island beach off Richmond County. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The stash - 595 kilograms of cocaine - is in RCMP hands in Ontario
where the suspects are in jail awaiting trial. The force wouldn't
say where the drugs were intercepted or how. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(25) ONE IN TWO STUDENTS TAKES DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
HALF of the country's 122,000 students use drugs regularly,
according to a survey by the Union of Students of Ireland. As
Britain moved to relax the laws in relation to cannabis use, the USI
poll showed that one in four Irish students started taking drugs
before they were 16, with 14% saying they were dependent and felt
they needed help to stop. | ||||||||||||||||||
The most common drug used was cannabis, followed by ecstasy, acid,
magic mushrooms, speed and cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
National Parents Council president Michael O'Regan said the supply
chain must be cut off and courts have to come down a lot heavier on
suppliers and dealers. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Our health boards have tried everything. Our message is that there
is no such thing as a soft drug and we need to get ruthless and show
people the reality feature addicts in advertising campaigns and show
these students how drugs ruin lives." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
USA TODAY GIVES HUTCHINSON FREE RIDE IN NETHERLANDS | ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense focus alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
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BRITAIN GOES SOFT ON POT. SHOULD U.S. LAWS CHANGE TOO? | ||||||||||||||||||
A transcript of softballs lobbed from the right and right at drug
czar Asa Hutchinson on Crossfire. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Judge James P. Gray guests on Cultural Baggage radio show | ||||||||||||||||||
Friday, July 19th at 12 midnite CT | ||||||||||||||||||
Author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It - A judicial indictment of the war on drugs," http://www.judgejimgray.com/ Judge Gray will also discuss the upcoming ABC special on John Stossels' Primetime, featuring both he and last weeks guest Sanho Tree. | ||||||||||||||||||
Please listen live at 90.1 FM in Houston or online at http://www.kpft.org | ||||||||||||||||||
If you would like to call in, the number is 713-526-5738 | ||||||||||||||||||
Prior shows featuring Kevin Zeese, Daniel Forbes and (soon) Sanho Tree are
stored online at: | ||||||||||||||||||
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Initiative to end the war on all marijuana users in Nevada | ||||||||||||||||||
On November 5, our initiative to end marijuana prohibition in the
first state in the nation will either pass or fail. In order to
achieve victory on Election Day, we will need to receive monetary
support from many thousands of allies and supporters from all across
the country. | ||||||||||||||||||
Will you please visit http://www.nrle.org/ to donate $10 or more to
this historic campaign? Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement is
our PAC in Nevada. Please play a part in this dramatic, landmark
campaign by donating $10 or more today. | ||||||||||||||||||
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LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Ending Prohibition On Hemp Plant Would Hurt Big Business | ||||||||||||||||||
By Tim Handley | ||||||||||||||||||
The movement to end the prohibition of a plant called hemp is
turning a blind eye to the negative consequences. An end to this
prohibition would hurt big business! | ||||||||||||||||||
The timber industry would be hurt because you get 4.1 times the wood
pulp from an acre of hemp compared to an acre of timber. It takes
one-sixth the chemicals to process hemp into paper as compared to
timber. | ||||||||||||||||||
The fossil fuel industry could vanish. Because the hemp plant is one
of the most efficient with photosynthesis, it produces potent
biomass products (methanol for fuel cells) which would reduce our
need for petroleum. | ||||||||||||||||||
If Americans could grow their own medication so they didn`t need to
buy drugs for pain, anxiety, blood pressure, glaucoma, etc., the
drug companies would lose sales. | ||||||||||||||||||
Next is the correctional business. Hundreds of thousands each year
are incarcerated because of possession of this outlawed plant. What
would we do with all that excess prison space? | ||||||||||||||||||
Hardest hit would be the funeral industry. Countless Americans die early from alcohol-related mishaps, and if Americans could be inebriated in another, less dangerous fashion, they would. | ||||||||||||||||||
Keep prohibition! It`s America, we answer to a higher authority: big
business. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tim Handley, | ||||||||||||||||||
CEO/Chairman, Advantage Companies, | ||||||||||||||||||
Gulf Breeze | ||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Interview with Marc-Boris St. Maurice - Part 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
Boris St. Maurice is a man of many hempen hats. The Montreal-based
uber-activist and founder of Bloc Pot is currently the Editor-in-Chief
of Heads Magazine, leader of the federal Canadian Marijuana Party,
founder of a new cannabis reform french-language internet list known
as PAMF, and a generally nice, well-informed guy. This week, DSW Hemp
& Cannabis Issues Editor Philippe Lucas continues his conversation with
Boris. | ||||||||||||||||||
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DSW: Good to hear from you, my friend; let's start with the basics:
Age? | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DSW: where are you from originally? | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DSW: Tell me about your involvement with marijuana? Were you always a
pot smoker? | ||||||||||||||||||
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DSW: What can you tell me about the origins of Bloc Pot? | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DSW: And what changes have you seen in Quebec since the founding of
Bloc Pot? | ||||||||||||||||||
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DSW: How did Bloc Pot evolve into the national Marijuana Party? | ||||||||||||||||||
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DSW: And what kind of impact did the party have on the last elections? | ||||||||||||||||||
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DSW: Where did you have the greatest successes? | ||||||||||||||||||
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Editor's Note: To read Philippe's complete interview with Boris, see
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1286/a06.html | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"In 2000 alone, 646,042 people were arrested in America for simple
possession of marijuana. And while the Drug Enforcement Administration
has a budget of $1.8 billion, even with the extra $100 million
Bush wants to toss its way, the SEC will have to make do with $513
million." | ||||||||||||||||||
Arianna Huffington, from column on corporate crime published last week - see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1343/a02.html | ||||||||||||||||||
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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 () | ||||||||||||||||||
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