| July 26, 2002 #260 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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) MET ENDS LAMBETH CANNABIS SCHEME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A scheme in which people caught in possession of small amounts of
cannabis are let off with a warning ends next week, when police will
start arresting users of the drug again. | ||||||||||||||||||
The tougher approach follows criticism that the year-long pilot project
in Lambeth, south London, was attracting drug-dealers to the area and
giving a "mixed message" to youngsters, many of whom assumed cannabis
had been legalised. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under the new rules, officers will be instructed to make arrests for
possession if they fear public disorder, if the drug is smoked openly,
or if it is found on anyone under 17. Other people caught with small
quantities will still be given a warning and the drug will be
confiscated. | ||||||||||||||||||
The changes will bring Lambeth into line with a new national approach,
following the decision by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, to
downgrade cannabis from Class B to Class C, making possession a less
serious offence. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) US NV: OFFICIAL URGES POLICE OFFICERS TO OPPOSE MARIJUANA PLAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Mary Anne Solberg, deputy director of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy, urged police officers Tuesday night to actively oppose
Nevada's marijuana ballot initiative. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Nevada is a state that is facing a crisis: the legalization of
marijuana," she told about 2,000 officers who teach the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education program to schoolchildren across the United
States. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking at the Las Vegas Hilton for the national DARE conference, she said decriminalization of marijuana "is a bad idea," and that increasing availability to pot would hurt the nation's youth, likening it to relaxed access to alcohol and tobacco for children. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) HOUSE MOVES TO BAR PAYMENT TO OGILVY FOR AD CAMPAIGN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would effectively bar
the U.S. from paying Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide for its work on the
prestigious White House advertising campaign to eradicate youth drug
abuse. | ||||||||||||||||||
The decision could be a setback to the Madison Avenue powerhouse
agency, a strategic adviser in the U.S. advertising effort aiming to
turn teens and preteens against drugs . Only three weeks ago, the unit
of WPP Group PLC of London won a new $762.1 million multiyear contract
with the government. The victory appeared to assure Ogilvy that it
would keep its designation as the key private player in the
controversial public-health advertising effort. | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday's development could put that important assignment in jeopardy
if it gains support in the Senate because it could force the U.S. to
replace Ogilvy with another advertising firm. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) SAN FRANCISCO MAY GROW ITS OWN POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco city officials are proposing that the
city get into the marijuana growing business - and use the program as
agricultural job training for the unemployed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under a measure approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Monday, voters will be asked in November whether the city should look
into ways to begin growing medical marijuana for sick people - in
direct defiance of federal laws banning the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If the federal government insists on standing in our way locally, we
must take matters into our own hands and protect the lives of our
community members and protect their right to access life-saving
medicine," said city Supervisor Mark Leno, who sponsored the measure
approved by city leaders Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Two news stories from last week suggest you might be able to get
away with smuggling drugs into the U.S., if you are a DEA agent or a
Saudi prince. The San Antonio Business Journal carried a shocking
story about DEA "controlled delivery" stings, in which a shipment of
drugs is allowed into the country by DEA agents, who are then
supposed to track the distribution of the drugs. However, the report
indicates the omnipresent corruption of drug prohibition may make
unknowing travellers vulnerable to attacks. A Saudi prince was
accused of shipping drug into the U.S., but there are questions as
to whether he will be eligible for punishment, thanks to diplomatic
immunity. | ||||||||||||||||||
On the other hand, you don't need to be convicted of anything to be
punished if you're poor. A South Carolina housing authority is
pushing the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on public housing
drug evictions to its illogical extreme. The housing authority wants
to evict residents if they are arrested on drug charges, even if the
charges are dropped. | ||||||||||||||||||
A different U.S. Supreme Court decision is being pushed to its
illogical extreme by a U.S. congressman who wants to subsidize
random drug testing for public school students. Finally, the FDA has
approved an illegal, so-called "date rape" drug to be used in rare
medical cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) GOVERNMENT'S KINGPIN-STING TACTIC MAY THREATEN AIRLINE SAFETY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The airline industry has put its thrusters on full bore in an effort
to comply with government demands to beef up security in the wake of
the Sept. 11 terror attacks. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the same government that is feverishly spinning new legislation
to strengthen the airline industry's security web in the war on
terrorism may also be the source of a major flaw in that safety
network -- stemming from efforts to wage another battle: the war on
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to a Yale Law School professor, that flaw may have already
played a role in the destruction of at least one commercial airliner
-- which was blown up in mid-air, resulting in the loss of hundreds
of lives. | ||||||||||||||||||
The law professor, Steven B. Duke, has written to numerous federal
agencies concerning this flaw as part of his efforts to prove the
innocence of one of his clients. To date, his efforts have produced
little more than agency finger-pointing and a cryptic picture of the
shadowy world of undercover law enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||
The flaw being exposed by Duke relates to a practice called
"controlled delivery." The practice is used by law enforcement to
snare high-ranking members of drug trafficking organizations. In
such a delivery, a law enforcement agency allows a shipment of drugs
to be transported from one location to its destination, under close
surveillance, in an effort to catch drug-syndicate kingpins with
their hands in the cookie jar. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) PRINCE SMUGGLED DRUGS UNDER IMMUNITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MIAMI (AP) -- A Saudi prince smuggled a 4,400-pound load of cocaine
from Venezuela to Paris on his personal aircraft under diplomatic
immunity, U.S. drug investigators charged Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nayef bin Sultan bin Fawwaz Al-Shaalan, a prince who prosecutors said is not in the line of succession to the Saudi throne, was indicted along with three others on two drug conspiracy counts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Officials said they don't know the prince's whereabouts and it is
unclear, because of his diplomatic immunity, whether the prince
could be prosecuted if he were located. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) DRUG ARREST CAN MEAN END TO HOUSING HELP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
UNION - The Housing Authority of Union believes it can end all
assistance to low-income housing residents who are arrested on drug
charges - even if the charges are dropped. | ||||||||||||||||||
The agency believes this despite being forced to reverse itself
earlier this month and reinstate housing assistance to Jackie Lynn
Garrett after a drug charge against Garrett was dismissed at a
preliminary hearing in April. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The U.S. Supreme Court says one strike and you're out," declared Housing Authority Executive Director Dennis C. Russell. "That does not necessarily mean that that person has to be convicted." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) SUBSIDIZED STUDENT DRUG TESTING BILL 'ONE HECK OF A SLIPPERY SLOPE' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Republican congressman said on Thursday he plans to introduce a
bill that would give schools financial and technical assistance to
conduct random student drug tests, but critics call the measure "one
heck of a slippery slope." | ||||||||||||||||||
"As long as there is a demand for illegal drugs, there will be
dealers eager to make a profit selling drugs to our children," said
Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.). "We must focus on reducing demand, and
one of the most effective ways to accomplish this is through random
drug testing." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"While schools have access to some funding, my legislation will give
schools additional resources to develop and implement random drug
testing programs," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Peterson's bill would authorize $100 million in grants and technical
assistance to help schools develop and implement student
drug-testing programs, and it would help school districts tap into
funds available for drug testing through the No Child Left Behind
Act. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) DATE-RAPE DRUG SET TO TREAT AILMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - The notorious date-rape drug GHB won government
approval Wednesday to treat a rare but dangerous complication of the
sleep disorder narcolepsy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Throughout the 1990s, the government had cracked down on illegal GHB
use a " abused as a party drug, sex and athletic enhancer and,
because it can knock people out, a date-rape drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
Several dozen deaths are blamed on the chemical. But GHB was hard to
stop because it was easy for people to make. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana doesn't kill, but marijuana prohibition does, again. This time it's three North Carolina police who lost their lives when the plane they used to seek out marijuana crops crashed last week. | ||||||||||||||||||
Another police officer was seriously injured in a different drug
raid in Milwaukee. He was shot by a fellow officer during the
confusion. Of course,= police aren't the only ones hurt by
aggressive drug raids. A Tennessee sheriff apologized to an innocent
family that was terrorized in a mistaken drug raid just after a
child's fifth birthday party. | ||||||||||||||||||
With all the problems caused by drug raids, it's a wonder some
police don't refuse to perform them. Perhaps that's a clue to the
case of Briggs, the missing police drug dog. Briggs apparently
escaped from his cage at an Alabama police department more than two
weeks ago. No foul play is suspected. Maybe Briggs, a five-year
veteran, sensed the most conscientious action he could choose was
taking leave of the whole scene. | ||||||||||||||||||
Finally, an aggressive anti-drug plan is estimated to cost Philadelphia taxpayers millions in police overtime each month, but the Mayor cryptically refuses to discuss the actual price. Maybe the expenses are even higher than those estimated by critics. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) BOONE POLICE MOURN LOSS OF VETERAN OFFICER IN PLANE CRASH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Boone police are mourning the loss of a beloved 24-year veteran killed in an airplane crash Wednesday afternoon as he and two other officers patrolled for marijuana plants in Chowan County. | ||||||||||||||||||
Maj. Robert C. Kennedy, 46, was a trained spotter in the Civil Air
Patrol's counternarcotics program. He led the Civil Air Patrol in
Boone as squadron commander and was in Edenton to assist a pilot and
communications officer on a patrol flight above Chowan County's
rural landscape. | ||||||||||||||||||
The single-engine Cessna 172-S that they were flying in crashed in a
cotton field about 3:30 p.m. The cause of the accident is still
under investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Civil Air Patrol's charge is to teach about aerospace, provide
cadet programs and assist in emergencies, Raymond said. The patrol
also assists in a statewide drug-eradication program. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The mission they were on was run clearly by senior members and not
cadets," Raymond said. "Members have to have two years in
membership. It's a highly secretive, very close-knit program. Most
of the members are police officers." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) SAUK COUNTY DEPUTY SHOT BY COLLEAGUE IN DRUG RAID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Sauk County sheriff's deputy was wounded in both legs Thursday
when another deputy accidentally shot him during a "no-knock" search
for a suspect wanted on a marijuana charge, the Sheriff's Department
reported. | ||||||||||||||||||
Deputy William Steinhorst, 47, of Baraboo was listed in good
condition Friday with gunshot wounds to both upper thighs, Sauk
County Sheriff Randy Stammen said. | ||||||||||||||||||
As Sauk County Emergency Response Team members searched the house on
Highway C in the Town of Sumpter, team members separated into two
groups and eventually moved into adjacent rooms - each without
knowledge of the other group's presence, according to the Sheriff's
Department. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) SHERIFF APOLOGIZES FOR RAID ON WRONG HOUSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
TAZEWELL - Claiborne County Sheriff Eddie Shoffner has apologized privately and publicly to a family whose home he and his deputies raided by mistake Sunday night in a search for drugs and guns. | ||||||||||||||||||
Masked and heavily armed deputies stormed into the home of Dennis
and Kristi Smith, whose son Jordan had celebrated his 5th birthday
earlier. The Smiths say they were terrified. | ||||||||||||||||||
"They were in full gear, big rifles with clips, hollering and
yelling and pointing guns at us," Dennis Smith said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Smith said he was handcuffed and forced to the floor, his wife taken
out of bed and searched. | ||||||||||||||||||
"My son was sitting there, curled up into a little ball and just
shaking," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) CITY'S DRUG DOG SEARCH CONTINUES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Clanton Mayor Billy Joe Driver said he is still hoping and praying
the city's drug dog, reported missing more than two weeks ago, will
be found. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I just keep hoping he will show up one day," Driver said Tuesday
morning. "We have looked and looked and have a $1,000 reward.
There's just not much more we can do at this point." | ||||||||||||||||||
On Friday, June 28 Clanton Police officials reported the city's lone
drug dog, Briggs, had turned up missing from his holding cage
earlier in the week. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to Chief of Police James Henderson, investigators found no
evidence of foul play or human involvement in the dog's | ||||||||||||||||||
"We are not sure how he even made it out," Henderson said in an
earlier interview. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) POLICE COSTS SOAR WITH ANTIDRUG PLAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
While Operation Safe Streets appears to be having a dramatic impact
on Philadelphia crime, it is also dramatically driving up Police
Department costs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The 10-week-old program is costing the department more than $4
million a month, according to a city official who asked not to be
identified. | ||||||||||||||||||
And the City Controller's Office said yesterday that overtime costs
for uniformed police went up $2.9 million in May and $4.6 million in
June, compared with the same months a year ago. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Mayor Street has decided not to talk about Safe Streets' costs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Street said yesterday that he would not specify the cost of the
effort, aimed at halting outdoor drug sales by deploying hundreds of
officers to stand guard on neighborhood street corners. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I am never going to come here and say the Safe Streets program
costs 'X'," Street told reporters. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Short on the heels of the U.K.'s decision to reclassify cannabis
came the canna-businessmen, threatening to push the newly lenient
legal climate. Two of Holland's most famous coffee shop chains, The
Dutch Experience and The Bulldog are hoping to open as many as 50
Dutch-style cannabis cafes in Britain. Police authorities note that
cannabis distribution is still illegal and that arrests will
continue. | ||||||||||||||||||
With Asa Hutchinson's recent criticism of Dutch and British drug
policy, it should be no surprise to hear him opine on Canada's
suggested shift towards decriminalization. Citing an increase of
drug seizures at the U.S.'s northern border, Hutchinson implied that
any further loosening of Canadian law regarding cannabis possession
would lead to a flood of pot coming into the U.S.. Hutchinson is
unfortunately ignoring that 70% the U.S. cannabis supply is grown
domestically and that America is the biggest gateway for hard and
soft drugs flowing into Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Russia, a radical political group called the Transnational
Radical Party is trying to get hashish and cannabis legalized. The
group is passing a petition asking the government to recognize the
difference between hard and soft drugs and to legalize cannabis in
order to take its supply and distribution out of the hands of the
Russian mafia. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally, with the reclassification of cannabis by the U.K. and
the announcement by Canada's Justice Minister that he had indeed
used cannabis in his youth, seemingly every noted reporter,
columnist and editor in North America appears to feel the need to
come clean on their own pot use. Along with this flood of
journalistic confessions to hip-dom, come two very interesting
articles from Canada and the U.S. examining the nearly mythical
phenomenon of responsible adult cannabis use. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) CANNABIS CAFE CHAINS TO OPEN IN BRITAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Two Dutch cannabis cafe chains plan to open up to 50 ventures in
Britain in a full-frontal assault on the police's ability to enforce
drug laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
Following the announcement by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary,
that cannabis will be downgraded from a class B to a class C drug
next year, the firms - The Bulldog and Dutch Experience - are
planning to open cafes in an attempt to force acceptance of the
drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
The cafes would be illegal even under the new classification. The
owners point out, however, that their businesses are also
technically illegal in Amsterdam, but their success has forced a
change in policy which allows them to operate freely. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) LOOSE CANADIAN LAWS AGAINST POT UNDER FIRE FROM DEA BOSS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON-Relatively lax Canadian laws against marijuana may be responsible for a surge in seizures of the drug at the northern border, the Bush administration's top illegal drug enforcer said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Asa Hutchinson, administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said he has expressed frustration to Canadian officials about that country's loosening of marijuana restrictions | ||||||||||||||||||
"You have very definitely a trend toward Canadian marijuana coming
across the border to the market here," Mr. Hutchinson said in an
interview with Washington reporters. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) RUSSIAN GROUP COLLECTS VOTES FOR MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A small but vocal political group called for the legalization of
marijuana and hashish Tuesday, sparking an angry response from the
country's top drug expert, who said such a step would be terrible
for Russia. | ||||||||||||||||||
Members of the Transnational Radical Party held what they called a "street referendum" on Pushkin Square, extolling the virtues of legalizing light drugs and asking people whether they favor it. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Hemp and its derivatives are less harmful than alcohol and tobacco," said Anatoly Khramov, head of the party's Moscow office. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) CANADIAN ADVOCATES GET PUFFED UP OVER THE USE OF MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Jennifer and her husband, Greg, know it will be hard when they
ultimately sit down to tell their children that Mom and Dad smoke
marijuana. But it won't be any more difficult than talking to them
about sex or any of the other big issues most conscientious parents
discuss with their children these days. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Our parenting style is to not to hide anything from them," says
Jennifer, an Ottawa lawyer in her late 30s who says she regularly
smokes marijuana on weekends. "It's sticky, but talking about sex,
that's difficult, too," she says. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jennifer, not her real name, is one of a growing number of Canadians
who have continued to smoke marijuana well into their 30s. She and
her husband have jobs with good salaries, a cottage and young
children who go to private school. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) UPSTANDING U.S. CITIZENS SMOKE POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
He lives with his wife and kids in a tidy, old neighborhood. His two
children, both in elementary school, play soccer. He takes them to
games on Saturdays in his minivan. | ||||||||||||||||||
He also has a secret: Several nights a week, when the homework is
finished and the kids are in bed, he slips outside to the dark space
between his garage and his neighbor's hedge. | ||||||||||||||||||
He plucks a dried, green marijuana bud from a Ziploc bag, packs a
pipe and inhales deeply. Then he goes upstairs, showers and changes
his clothes so the kids won't smell smoke if they wake up and want
their daddy. | ||||||||||||||||||
"In my social circle, lots of people smoke pot," sand the
40-something communications executive from San Diego, who asked that
his name not be used because he's afraid of losing his job. "They
are all professionals. Most have children. If we go to a dinner
party, a few of us will go outside and have a toke." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
At Kenya's University of Nairobi, the police killing of a student
sparked a riot, closing off parts of the city last week. Officials
blamed marijuana, claiming "police were questioning a group suspected
of selling marijuana," when the killing occurred. | ||||||||||||||||||
Declaring "the drug menace" is "now elevated to the level of a national security problem," the Philippine president last week announced the military would now be used to "field soldiers in drug raids." This follows harsh new laws enacted this year that punish minor marijuana possession offenses with the death penalty. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Lebanon this week, government officials boasted of military crop destruction programs, and the great amounts of money allotted for the purpose. Some three thousand Lebanese and Syrian police and military troops fanned out over the countryside, destroying cannabis fields. | ||||||||||||||||||
Official Mexican concern over "narco-corridos" reached new heights
last week when Baja state radio stations pledged to stop playing the
drug and violence-laden songs. Song lyrics with "themes that go
against good, moral customs" would no longer be allowed, proclaimed an
industry representative. | ||||||||||||||||||
Also this week, the ever-vigilant Singaporean Central Narcotics Bureau
nabbed British retailer Marks & Spencer. The narcotics offense? Marks
& Spencer sold poppy seed biscuits. The poppy seeds were suspect
because "some varieties contain traces of morphine." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) KENYA: CLASH AT UNIVERSITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Students angered by the death of a youth at police hands clashed
with authorities at the University of Nairobi. An official of the
Kenya Red Cross Society said at least 17 students and 10 police
officers were injured in the fighting, in which students threw
stones and officers wielded batons and eventually used tear gas and
water cannon. The riots forced closure of all major highways
connecting the city center to its western suburbs. The authorities
said the police were questioning a group suspected of selling
marijuana and shot the student in self-defense when he rushed them
with a knife. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) I'LL BREAK BACK OF CRIMINALITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In her second State of the Nation Address ( SONA ) yesterday,
President Arroyo read the riot act to all "enemies of the State" as
she declared that crushing all forms of terrorism and criminality
would lay the foundations of her "strong Republic." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mrs. Arroyo told Congress that she was placing both the police and
military on "war footing" to combat crime, terrorism and the illegal
drug trade. She said there will be a budget reallocation this year
to boost the country's crime-fighting capabilities. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Indeed, we are at war: at war with the terrorists, at war with
kidnappers, at war with the drug lords, and we are determined to win
decisive victories on all fronts," the Chief Executive said in her
55-minute address interrupted 79 times by applause. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"With the drug menace now elevated to the level of a national
security problem, and no longer just a police problem," she
instructed the Armed Forces of the Philippines to field military
resources for intelligence and to field soldiers in drug raids to
support civilian law enforcers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) ARMY JOINS POLICE TO ERADICATE HASHISH CROP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Brigadier Samir Sobh, commander of the Judicial Police, told The Daily Star that the workers were charged with destroying plants that were only bent, having escaped being demolished by trucks. | ||||||||||||||||||
The government, he told reporters, has allotted LL300 million to the
second part of a campaign to eradicate illegal crops. | ||||||||||||||||||
The money for the cannabis phase, which started Monday, would go to
workers and owners of more than 200 trucks rented on a daily basis
for LL110,000. Sobh explained that the authorities were working on
13 sectors, of which 12 were in Baalbek- Hermel and one in the
remote areas of the North. "We will eradicate hashish plants on
60,000 dunums or 6,000 hectares in the Bekaa and 450 dunums in the
North," Sobh said, leading 10 journalists through Douris and
Kneisseh, two sites in which the removal of cannabis plants was
underway. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the first phase, from December to February, the government
eliminated 8 million square meters of opium crops with only LL35
million. The Office for Combating Drugs, which is headed by Colonel
Michel Shakkour, recently conducted a study on the best methods to
remove the plants. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Between 700-800 Gendarmerie members and around 1,000 Lebanese Army
personnel are taking part in the current campaign and ensuring that
the one-month process is carried out smoothly. | ||||||||||||||||||
They are supported by some 1,500 soldiers from the Syrian Army. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) MEXICAN RADIO BANS SONGS OF DRUGS AND VIOLENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
TIJUANA, Mexico - There will be no more drugs and violence on
Mexican radio stations in and around Tijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Baja California state radio stations signed an agreement Thursday to
ban songs known as narco-corridos, and instead have decided to play
only songs that promote positive messages and good values. They also
urged Spanish-language U.S. stations across the border in California
to do the same. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Baja officials said their decision was an effort to help the
government fight drugs and crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mario Enrique Mayans, an industry representative in Baja California, said the stations wanted to be an example "in eliminating themes that go against good, moral customs and apologize for violence." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(24) DRUG SQUAD SWOOPS ON POPPY SEED BISCUITS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SINGAPORE - Biscuit and bagel lovers beware -- Singapore's drug
squad could have its eye on you. | ||||||||||||||||||
Poppy seeds are the offending ingredient because some varieties
contain traces of morphine. | ||||||||||||||||||
British retailer Marks & Spencer has fallen foul of the city state's
tough stance on drugs by stocking shelves with poppyseed biscuits
that are now the subject of an investigation by the Central
Narcotics Bureau. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Last month, a local company was fined S$60,000 ($34,680) for importing poppy seed cake mix containing traces of morphine, which comes from the same chemical family as opium and heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
No Aerial Spraying, Colombia's Indigenous People Plead | ||||||||||||||||||
"The Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Putumayo Zone and the 128 Indigenous Governing Councils in the Department of Putumayo have issued a plea to the government of Colombia and the international community not to spray their lands with herbicide intended to kill illegal coca plants. The Colombian government has announced that on July 28 it will begin a massive constant aerial spraying of illicit coca plants in the territory of Putumayo. The groups say all forms of life will die in the spray, not just the coca plants." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
No Longer Hope for Progress | ||||||||||||||||||
By Ethan A. Nadelmann in Counselor Magazine | ||||||||||||||||||
"Until a few months ago, it seemed possible -- unlikely but possible
-- that the Bush administration might take a chance in the right
direction on drug policy." | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/DailyNews/07_23_02Nadelmann_Counselor.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
The Symbolism of Mandatory Testing Teens in School | ||||||||||||||||||
By Doug McVay on Drugwar.com | ||||||||||||||||||
"The humiliation of being made to urinate on command, in front of a
teacher witness, when I hadn't even done anything, would have been
enough to keep me from ever trying out." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
RECENT MEDIA APPEARANCES BY REFORMERS | ||||||||||||||||||
Audio clips of Kevin Zeese and Keith Stroup discussing new marijuana
legislation: | ||||||||||||||||||
Real Video of Stroup appearance: | ||||||||||||||||||
Steve Kubby on Canada AM | ||||||||||||||||||
Eugene Oscapella, Marc-Boris St. Maurice on CBC Radio | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.radio.cbc.ca/programs/checkup/archive/2002/020721_ccc.ram | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WAR ON DRUGS, A WAR ON OURSELVES WITH JOHN STOSSEL | ||||||||||||||||||
AIRING TUESDAY, JULY 30, 10 PM | ||||||||||||||||||
http://abcnews.go.com:80/sections/2020/ABCNEWSspecials/JohnStossel.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Lazy Journalist Passes Along Marijuana Myth | ||||||||||||||||||
By Larry Stevens | ||||||||||||||||||
Dear Editor, | ||||||||||||||||||
Several classic drug war myths have appeared in the SJ-R recently.
It's one thing when a misinformed letter-writer parrots the tired,
old "Gateway Theory", but it's something else entirely when a
supposedly objective journalist like Jenifer Hanrahan makes
uncritical reference to it as she did in the July 14 article,
"Upstanding Citizens Smoke Pot." | ||||||||||||||||||
The notion that cannabis leads to harder drugs was put firmly to rest by the 1999 Institute of Medicine report "Marijuana and
| ||||||||||||||||||
Hanrahan cited Dr. Herbert Kleber of Columbia University as a source
for her negative information on cannabis. Readers should be aware
that Dr. Kleber refuses to submit his work for ordinary peer-review.
Complaints have arisen on the Columbia campus that Kleber's outfit,
the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), uses the
university's name to give a prestigious academic veneer to its
agenda-driven, non-peer-reviewed "research." | ||||||||||||||||||
Unfortunately, there's no shortage of lazy journalists who will pass
along CASA's propaganda as the final word on cannabis and other
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Larry A. Stevens, | ||||||||||||||||||
Springfield | ||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MAP Hits 10,000 Published Letters! | ||||||||||||||||||
By Jo-D Harrison | ||||||||||||||||||
The DrugSense staff would like to take this opportunity to thank all
our volunteers for helping us post our 10,000th published Letter to
the Editor to the Media Awareness Project's LTE archives at
http://www.mapinc.org/lte/ | ||||||||||||||||||
It has taken a challenging, yet inspiring, six years to obtain this
goal. Now - we want more! We would like to set the bar higher and
feel confident that our fantastic team of volunteers can easily
accomplish this. | ||||||||||||||||||
We know our efforts have helped to move the drug law reform issue
forward from the days when most newspapers carried only the 'Just
Say No' party line. | ||||||||||||||||||
We help our newshawks locate articles related to illicit drugs and drug policy with our constantly growing and well-maintained Media Email Directory, http://www.mapinc.org/resource/email.htm. | ||||||||||||||||||
Collecting articles from both sides of the issue reveals not only opportunities for correcting inaccurate reporting but also gives hope by showing that some reporters are actually doing their jobs. | ||||||||||||||||||
We offer many helpful hints and tools for our letter writers at our
Writer's Resources page, http://www.mapinc.org/resource/. Our
published LTE archives, http://www.mapinc.org/lte/ , gives writers
successful examples and provides incentive by showing that many
papers will actually print LTEs from the reform side. | ||||||||||||||||||
Like most drug law reform activists, we will not be satisfied until
the drug war is replaced with humane policy. Therefore, we challenge
all readers to assist us in getting this same number of LTEs,
10,000, published within the next two years. We firmly believe that
the more fact-filled LTEs submitted - the quicker America will
conclude this cruel hoax called the War on Drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"It should be no surprise to anyone who understands the folkways of Washington that the administrators of drug-testing services have their own 1,200-member trade association. DATIA [Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry Association] represents this fast-growing industry on Capitol Hill and sponsors courses in such 21st-century specialties as "Certified Professional Collector Trainer in Urine Specimen Collections." Small wonder that nearly 200 DATIA members came to Washington to learn how they might profit from the Supreme Court's new permissive stance on school-based drug testing." | ||||||||||||||||||
Walter Shapiro "Student Privacy Just A Specimen For Profit, Politics" http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020719/4291115s.htm | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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: | ||||||||||||||||||
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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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