| Aug. 2, 2002 #261 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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) RAVE ON AT CLUB SENATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The RAVE Act Seeks To Shut Down Dance Events And Prosecute Everyone
Involved | ||||||||||||||||||
The poor American rave scene. Even those not attracted to all-night dance fests, drum and bass thumping or bright, baggy pants have got to sympathize with the ravers, the DJs, the promoters and the club owners subjected to such constant heat. Not since the advent of the hippie movement has law enforcement taken such a disliking to a music scene, capitalizing on Ecstasy use as the greatest evil the drug culture has yet seen and casting everything associated with raves--from glow sticks, to pacifiers, bottled water to blow pops--in a sinister light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Having failed in the past to effectively land any promoters or owners behind bars, the Drug Enforcement Agency has found a few avid supporters in Congress to make their rave arrests stick. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) COLOMBIAN TERRORISM UNREPORTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In a terrorist attack last Tuesday, one congressman and one civilian were killed and several local councilmen and radio journalists were injured in a bombing in an upscale cafe. If this story does not sound familiar, it is because it was barely covered at all in the news media. Considering how "terrorist aware" the news has become, why did this story not merit coverage? It is because this terrorist bombing took place, not in the Middle East, but in Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||
I found this story while on the CNN Web site. I watch the news
regularly, so I was surprised that a terrorist attack killing a
government official was not reported. The story on the Web site was
only four short paragraphs, giving virtually no information as to why
such an act would be committed or who is responsible. | ||||||||||||||||||
A similar story happening in the Middle East would have been repeated
at the top of every hour. So why are terrorists in Colombia less
important than terrorists in the Middle East? I realize the United
States has not been directly impacted on home soil by Colombian
terrorists to the same degree the United States has been impacted by
Middle Eastern terrorists. However, the United States still suffers the
effects of such attacks as Colombia is the third highest receiver of
U.S. aid, behind only Israel and Egypt. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) US PA: STUDY: MARIJUANA EASES TRAUMATIC MEMORIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
PHILADELPHIA - Scientists have known for years that the brain makes
substances almost identical to the active ingredient in marijuana, but
the function of these "cannabinoids" remained mysterious. Researchers
now say they help to extinguish traumatic memories. | ||||||||||||||||||
"In certain situations, being able to forget is very important for
emotional survival," said George Kunos, a neurobiologist at the
National Institutes of Health. | ||||||||||||||||||
The research, published today in the journal Nature, is not an
endorsement for pot smoking, scientists said. Instead, the findings may
help scientists develop new drugs to treat anxiety, | ||||||||||||||||||
"This paper is not saying you should go ahead and smoke marijuana,"
said Pankaj Sah, a neuroscientist at the Australian National University
in Canberra who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal. "It's
saying that it's worth thinking about these specific actions of these
compounds." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) BRITS AND DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Feature Story - Special Report | ||||||||||||||||||
"Tell me about the hash bars." "OK, what do you want to know?" "It's legal there, right?" "It's legal, but it ain't 100 percent legal." | ||||||||||||||||||
John Travolta's Pulp Fiction character made this confusing statement
about the Netherlands, but lately he could have been talking about any
of a handful of other European countries that have significantly
relaxed their drug laws. While marijuana is not "100 percent legal"
anywhere, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Luxembourg have all effectively
decriminalized possession in recent years. | ||||||||||||||||||
And on July 10, Great Britain became the newest member of the club,
downgrading marijuana possession to essentially a nonarrestable
offense. | ||||||||||||||||||
Until about a year ago, the UK seemed like the one European nation the
United States could count on to hold the line against tolerance, a
faithful ally in the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The parliamentary select committee that recommended the | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The committee report went further than Blunkett's announcement on
several fronts. | ||||||||||||||||||
He rejected its recommendations to move ecstasy from Class A to Class B
and to open safe injecting rooms for heroin users. But perhaps most
remarkable is the seriousness with which the committee took the
possibility of full legalization. "Finally, many sensible and
thoughtful people have argued that we should go a step further and
embrace legalisation and regulation of all or most presently illegal
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
We acknowledge there are some attractive arguments. However, those who
urge this course upon us are inviting us to take a step into the
unknown. | ||||||||||||||||||
To tread where no other society has yet trod... It may well be that in
years to come a future generation will take a different view. Drug
policy should not be set in stone. | ||||||||||||||||||
It will evolve like any other." | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The winds of the drug war seem to be shifting in Washington, but
it's difficult to tell whether that change will be positive or
negative from a reformer's viewpoint. FBI head Robert Mueller
further distanced his agency from the drug last week, making it a
lower priority than terrorism. But, the same day, U.S. Attorney
General John Ashcroft said he wanted to tie drug investigations and
terror investigations closer together. He did not mention the
obvious - that reasonable regulation of drugs would take the profit
out of terrorist hands. | ||||||||||||||||||
Much more sensibly, Massachusetts legislators may take marijuana possession and other minor crimes out of the hands of prosecutors in order to save money; prohibitionists are aghast at the prospect. In South Dakota, drug-sniffing dogs allegedly terrorized students as young as 6 during a search at an elementary school; parents have filed a lawsuit. Finally, in another sign that getting tough isn't necessarily a deterrent to drug use, military records show more and more U.S. soldiers are being discharged for drug offenses. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) FBI SHIFTS FROM DRUG WAR TO TERROR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- FBI director Robert Mueller said Tuesday that the war on terrorism demands that the FBI pull agents away from narcotics task forces and no longer make drug enforcement a top priority. | ||||||||||||||||||
The comments, which came at the 20th anniversary celebration for the
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, followed statements
by Attorney General John Ashcroft reaffirming that the drug war
would be reorganized but not abandoned. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ashcroft said law enforcement agencies have created a "most wanted
list" of 54 drug organizations that must be toppled here and abroad.
The list will allow crime fighters to focus their resources,
Ashcroft said. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the FBI will be less involved in the effort because of the shift
toward preventing terror attacks and gathering information on terror
groups in the United States, Mueller said Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We ought to defer to the Drug Enforcement Agency on cartel cases,"
Mueller said. "We will still participate but with fewer resources.
Where there were 10 (FBI agents) on a drug task force in the past,
now there will be five." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) ASHCROFT DESCRIBES 'DRUGS-TERRORISM NEXUS' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- The United States has determined that about one-third
of foreign terrorist organizations traffic in narcotics on a large
scale, providing authorities "shocking" insight into how two of the
nation's most serious threats are connected, U.S. Attorney General
John Ashcroft said Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Law enforcement has been aware for some time of significant
linkages between terrorism and drug trafficking. But we have not had
the tools to quantify the drugs-terrorism nexus until now," Ashcroft
said in a speech before the annual conference of the Organized Crime
and Drug Enforcement Task Force. | ||||||||||||||||||
Earlier this year, Ashcroft said, he asked federal law enforcement agencies to draw up such a list, quantifying all the major trafficking groups responsible for the U.S. drug supply. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Following extraordinary collaboration and information-sharing between agencies, this list has been developed, and what it reveals is shocking," Ashcroft said. "Nearly one-third of the organizations on the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations appear also on our list of targeted U.S. drug suppliers." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) POLS EASE RAP FOR POT, SEX - JUDGES MAY GET OK TO ISSUE CIVIL FINES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Prostitutes and pot smokers could get the equivalent of a traffic
ticket slap on the wrist under a little-noticed budget rider that
lawmakers hail as a money-saver and prosecutors slam as the backdoor
to decriminalization. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tucked deep in the massive state budget, the provision would yank district attorneys' discretion over whether to prosecute certain low- level misdemeanors as civil or criminal infractions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Instead, judges could choose to try crimes ranging from indecent
exposure to possession of marijuana or heroin as civil matters.
Defendants wouldn't need lawyers, wouldn't face jail and wouldn't
even get a criminal record. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
House leaders, who pushed the provision, defended it as a way to
save millions of dollars in public lawyer fees, as the state
grapples with a $2.5 billion deficit. | ||||||||||||||||||
House Ways and Means Chairman John H. Rogers (D-Norwood) said the
provision could save about $1 million a year, since the state isn't
required to provide a lawyer in civil cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) DRUG DOGS SNIFF EVEN 6-YEAR-OLDS; PARENTS SUE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The parents of 17 students, some as young as 6, filed a lawsuit
yesterday against a South Dakota school board and police department
for taking a drug-sniffing dog into a school to check children in
every classroom, from kindergarten through high school. | ||||||||||||||||||
The suit, filed in federal court in Sioux Falls, says the principal
of the school, the Wagner Community School, announced in a
first-period class in early May that the school was in a lockdown
and that students could not leave their classrooms. Wagner police
and federal officers then took the dog into classes, the suit
contends, frightening some students so badly that they cried and at
least one urinated involuntarily. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kenneth Cotton, the school district's lawyer, said he could not
comment on the case because he had not talked to the school board or
administrators. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) MILITARY SEES DRUG USE RISE DESPITE TESTS AND WARNINGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Pentagon's battle to keep illicit drugs out of the barracks and off warships has faltered during the past few years as more servicemen and women have failed drug tests and been discharged. | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug use has increased after a 20-year decline, and 17,000 people
have been kicked out of the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps
since 1999, according to statistics compiled by The San Diego
Union-Tribune. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some critics worry that a higher incidence of substance abuse may weaken preparedness in a military at war. The Pentagon argues that its drug problem remains small compared with the civilian world. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet military authorities acknowledge that repeated warnings about
the penalties for drug use - and frequent random testing - are
failing to deter some troops. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Last week's edition of this newsletter noted that a marijuana
eradication program led to the deaths of police officers. This week,
similar eradication efforts probably led to a huge wildfire in
California. But if it saves one kid from the demon weed, it must be
worth it... | ||||||||||||||||||
The case of a Louisiana judge indicted for allegedly conspiring to
plant drugs on an enemy gets curiouser and curiouser. The same judge
appears to have been a confidential informant in a separate drug
case. Hmmm, a sitting judge acting as snitch? Aren't drug informants
generally tied to the trade themselves? | ||||||||||||||||||
Grim news came from prisons around the country last week. In Maine,
state prison officials are having a difficult time predicting
growth, in part because the numbers of drug convicts could continue
to explode. In Philadelphia, no one will be punished for the death of
a diabetic heroin addict in prison - even though he received
absolutely no medical aid. And, a human rights group is attempting
to determine just how many children are impacted by jailed parents.
The estimates are shockingly high. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) 15,000 ACRES OF DRY BRUSH CONTINUE TO BURN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
JULIAN -- A wildfire that may have been sparked by a National Guard
helicopter continued to burn Wednesday across 15,000 acres of dry
brush and trees in rural eastern San Diego County. The fire, which
has destroyed five homes and killed four wolves at a wildlife center
near Julian, was about 10 percent contained Wednesday morning, said
Martie Perkins, a spokeswoman for the California Department of
Forestry. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
California National Guard officials said Tuesday that one of their
helicopter pilots may have set off the fire by clipping a power line
while on an anti-drug reconnaissance flight. | ||||||||||||||||||
National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Terry Knight said the service
would do whatever it could to help anyone displaced by the fire and
will pay damages if found at fault. "We'll do everything we can to
make things right," he told reporters. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) INDICTED JUDGE ORDERED TO TESTIFY IN TRIAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Suspended Jefferson Parish Judge Ronald Bodenheimer, battling
federal drug conspiracy charges, has been subpoenaed to testify in
state court next week in the trial of a Metairie man facing a
marijuana charge, after the defense learned Bodenheimer was a
confidential informant in the case. | ||||||||||||||||||
Attorney Jim Williams, representing Joe Danny Perez, said Friday
that he was informed by the Jefferson Parish district attorney's
office that Bodenheimer had tipped off the Sheriff's Office that
Perez allegedly had marijuana at a Metairie automobile detail shop,
Grand Prix Motors, at Lime and Sanford streets. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm still investigating, trying to find out exactly what Judge
Bodenheimer's role was," Williams said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Bodenheimer was at the scene of Perez's arrest Oct. 28, 1999, and
was questioned but not arrested by deputies, Williams said.
Marijuana was found in a vehicle at the shop, and Perez was
arrested. | ||||||||||||||||||
Williams would not speculate as to how the judge knew about the
drugs at the detail shop or why he was there. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Bodenheimer, who was elected to Division N of that court, was
indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly plotting to plant
OxyContin in the vehicle of a man who was complaining to federal
authorities about activities at an eastern New Orleans marina owned
by Bodenheimer. The state Supreme Court suspended the judge with pay
shortly after his arrest last month. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) PREDICTING JAIL NEEDS OFTEN TOUGH TO DO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SKOWHEGAN - Increasing numbers of incarcerated women and more
widespread use of drugs like heroin and OxyContin are among the
factors that have Department of Corrections officials concerned
about inmate population projections. | ||||||||||||||||||
A study for the Department of Corrections released earlier this year
projects county jail populations will grow relatively slowly at
about 11 percent between 2000 and 2010. | ||||||||||||||||||
But officials say several factors, including more probation officers, could change those projections significantly, turning a projected overall surplus of beds in 2010 into a serious deficit. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"We are seeing much more drug addiction and many more mental health
(consumers) than we used to see. That is resulting in some pretty
big increases in costs," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) NO CHARGES TO BE FILED IN DEATH OF INMATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
His pleas for help were ignored, so Jose Santiago-Perez, a diabetic
and a heroin addict, spent the last day of his life vomiting and
writhing in a Philadelphia prison cell - becoming so thirsty that at
one point, other inmates say, he drank from a toilet. | ||||||||||||||||||
His death, on Sept. 16, 2000, was the result of "a systemic failure"
and was evidence of prison medical care "in chaos," District
Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said yesterday. But she said no one would
be criminally charged for the inaction that allowed Santiago-Perez,
28, to die. | ||||||||||||||||||
His death will cost the taxpayers, though. His family's lawsuit
against the city and a company that provides prison health care was
settled Tuesday for an undisclosed sum, a lawyer for the family
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Santiago-Perez, of North Philadelphia, who was awaiting trial on
drug-possession charges, would have survived if he had gotten the
insulin he needed that day, according to a report prepared by
Assistant Medical Examiner Gregory McDonald. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) SEEKING DATA ON THE DRUG WAR'S CHILD CASUALTIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With an estimated half-million American adults currently behind bars
on drug charges, child welfare and prison reform activists have long
warned that the War on Drugs is inflicting enormous collateral
damage on tens of thousands of innocent bystanders: the children of
prisoners. Now, for the first time, a new study attempts to
determine just how many such children there are in at least one
state. | ||||||||||||||||||
Still, the statistics included in the study, compiled by New York-based Human Rights Watch, remain only estimates -- and the report underscores just how little data exists concerning the deeper economic, social and psychological cost of parental incarceration. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is a very low priority group inside of a larger low priority
group on a national agenda," says Denise Johnson of the Center for
Children of Incarcerated Parents. "These kids have not ever really
counted for much." | ||||||||||||||||||
The Human Rights Watch study estimates that 23,537 children in New
York alone have at least one parent serving a prison sentence for a
drug conviction. Using data from a 2000 Bureau of Justice Statistics
report, the study also estimates that nearly 125,000 children in the
state have had at least one parent sent to prison for drug charges
since 1980. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
This week's first story shows that sometimes common sense has no
party line. Conservatives, liberals, and libertarians have worked
together to draft the "States Rights to Medical Marijuana Act",
which would give states the power to decide medical marijuana issues
without fearing federal reprisals. Unfortunately the bill has been
stalled in committee for over a year, prompting the bipartisan
authors of the proposed act to once again seek support to see it
passed into law. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, the federal government's recent involvement in the upcoming
Nevada legalization initiative shows that it is far from eager to
let states control their own destinies. Mary Ann Solberg, deputy
director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy recently
urged a group of Nevada police officers and DARE instructors to
actively oppose the November ballot initiative, which would allow
for the personal possession of small amounts of cannabis for
personal use, stating that Nevada was currently facing a
"legalization crisis". | ||||||||||||||||||
And yet city and state initiatives continue to erode the federal
prohibitionary stance. In San Francisco, a proposal put forward by
the Francisco City Supervisors that would have the city grow and
distribute medicinal cannabis has made it onto the November 5th
ballot. Furthermore, an informal internet poll conducted by
SFGate.com suggests that if the election was today, the initiative
would be supported by 78% of voters. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Hawaii, a peripheral consequence of prohibition was recently the
subject of a NIDA funded study. According to Patricia Morgan, the
3-year study has shown that marijuana eradication efforts have
caused many cannabis users to switch to methamphetamine. Out of the
pot and into the fire, indeed. | ||||||||||||||||||
And lastly, even Americans attempting start a new life outside of the U.S. have come into some legal problems. Raoul Boulakia, president of the Refugee Lawyer's Association of Canada feels that 3 Americans currently seeking asylum from U.S. drug charges in Canada will most likely have their refugee applications denied. Boulakia stated that since Canada has never accepted a refugee claim from a U.S. citizen, he felt it unlikely that claims of drug war persecution will be enough to draw official Canadian sympathy. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) BACKERS AGAIN SEEK MEDICINAL MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - By their own admission, the medicinal marijuana
advocates who gathered yesterday in a basement room of the Capitol
made up a bizarre partnership. They agreed that their cause -
getting the federal government to stop meddling in states' laws on
the use of marijuana for medical purposes - was pretty much hopeless
right now. | ||||||||||||||||||
But a former aide to President Reagan and several members of
Congress said the time had come to push the matter with a reluctant
legislature. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Nine states have decided to allow physicians to prescribe medical
marijuana," said Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of
Massachusetts and one of the bipartisan authors of the bill, which
was introduced a year ago but has yet to make it out of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee to the floor for debate. "What our
bill does is to say [that] in those states, there will be no federal
prohibition on such use." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) FEDERAL OFFICIAL URGES NEVADA 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. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The initiative, on the Nov. 5 ballot, would legalize possession of
as much as 3 ounces of the drug. Possession of any amount by minors
would remain a crime. The use of marijuana in public and by drivers
would also be prohibited. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) POT PROP CATCHES ON WITH SF VOTERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
San Franciscans will vote this November on a proposal to have the city grow medical marijuana for distribution to the sick and stoned, and it appeared Tuesday that the measure would win by a landslide. | ||||||||||||||||||
An unscientific poll by SFGate.com indicated that the proposal that
was placed on the November 5 ballot by the San Francisco County
Supervisors late Monday would pass by a wide margin in the city that
was the birthplace of the counter-culture in the 1960s. | ||||||||||||||||||
The poll, which was being conducted on the SFGate.com Web site,
found 78-percent of those who voted favored the proposal despite its
apparent clash with federal law. Only 14-percent opposed while 8
percent clicked the option chiding the supervisors for even coming
up with the idea. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) STATE ANTI-POT EFFORTS BOOST ICE USE IN HAWAII (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana eradication in Hawaii contributed to the increase in the
use of the drug "ice," according to a government study. | ||||||||||||||||||
An aide to Mayor Harry Kim is scheduled to meet today with the principal investigator of the three - year study for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study gathered information from 450 methamphetamine users in Honolulu, San Francisco and San Diego. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Morgan, associate professor at the School of Public Health at the
University of California at Berkeley, was vacationing in Kona when
she learned that Kim's executive assistant, Billy Kenoi, wanted to
meet with her to discuss the report. Kenoi is helping to organize a
"meth summit" on the Big Island next month. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) U.S. POT USERS SEEM UNLIKELY TO GET ASYLUM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Pot-smoking political asylum seekers from the United States are
unlikely to receive refugee status in Canada, immigration experts
said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
At least three Americans living in British Columbia are arguing that they have been persecuted in their homeland because of their attempts to grow, cultivate, or use marijuana for medical purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But no U.S. citizen has ever been granted refugee status in Canada
-- the two cases that were initially successful were overturned on
appeal -- and the cannabis cases are unlikely to make a | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-25) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Based on new evidence about the mental state of convicted killer
Javier Suarez, the Mexican embassy in Washington asked Texas Gov. Rick
Perry to grant Suarez clemency. Suarez was convicted and sentenced to
die for the 1988 killing of an undercover drug agent. | ||||||||||||||||||
Another Philippine vigilante group announced last week that "drug personalities" in Dumaguete City would be targeted for extralegal executions. This follows comments by the Philippine president earlier this month, in which similar vigilante actions were a source of amusement to the president, and praised by her. The vigilante group might consider moving operations to Manila and targeting police: last week police there were accused of "recycling" amphetamine pills by taking them from dealers and then simply reselling them. | ||||||||||||||||||
The government-controlled Malaysian press admitted last week that at
least 60% of drug users there are gainfully employed. Drug users, said
the paper, are "professionals such as managers, engineers, teachers,
accountants, lecturers and graduates." | ||||||||||||||||||
Political changes in Afghanistan appear to have had an effect on drug
exports: officials in Tajikistan last week reported confiscating over
a ton of drugs at the Afghan border so far this summer, about 42% of
it as heroin. This is more than twice the amount seized over the same
period last year. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile in the UK, reports decried an "alarming drop" in the cost of
ecstasy, which fell to a record low price of about 1.25 UK pounds per
dose. Comparing the price to a bar of chocolate, papers noted that the
low black market price for the drug was well within the reach of
children. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) MEXICO ASKS PERRY FOR CLEMENCY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government announced Sunday that it
has sent an appeal to Texas Gov. Rick Perry asking him to
cancel the planned Aug. 14 execution of Mexican citizen Javier
Suarez, who was sentenced to die for the murder of an undercover
drug agent in 1988. | ||||||||||||||||||
The letter from Mexico's embassy in Washington asked Perry to grant
Suarez clemency based on purported new evidence about his mental
state at the time of the killing. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Neurological and psychiatric experts have discovered new evidence
about Javier Suarez' mental state at the moment of committing the
crime. This evidence was not considered by the jury, and surely
would have influenced the verdict," the Foreign Relations Department
said in a news release. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) VIGILANTE GROUP FORMED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A group of anti-drug crusaders warned the people involved in the
illegal drug trade in Dumaguete City that they will suffer from
their outrage if drug personalities continue with their illegal
activities. | ||||||||||||||||||
A newly created "6425 Brigade" (apparently in reference to Republic
Act 6425, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972),
admitted in a press statement that it is a vigilante group that is
out to help the government eliminate the drug problem. | ||||||||||||||||||
A certain Kumander Boy Blanco, who signed the statement, said the group will issue a warning, impose fines, extradite or even kill a drug personality, depending on his participation in the trade. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) SHABU 'RECYCLED' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Filipino-Chinese drug pusher, who is presently in the custody of
an anti-narcotics unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP)
revealed that Manila policemen "recycled" back to the streets some
six kilos of shabu worth P9 million he had earlier surrendered to
them. The Manila police also collected more than P2 million, the
proceeds of his shabu peddling racket while he was still under
detention, the drug pusher claimed. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Fil-Chinese drug pusher made his revelation while undergoing tactical interrogation right after he and his girlfriend were arrested in Binondo, Manila Saturday night. A police source told The Star that the captors of the drug pusher and his lover confiscated from them an undetermined amount of shabu and other paraphernalia. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
He said the policemen kept him in a safehouse where he was
"tortured" to reveal the "real picture" of his drug pushing
business. | ||||||||||||||||||
While in captivity, the drug pusher said, Manila policemen escorted
him to different areas of Metro Manila to collect some P2 million in
payments of his previous drug transactions. He said he also
surrendered six kilos of shabu still in his possession so no
additional harm would be inflicted on him. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) DRUG ABUSE AT WORKPLACE GETTING WORSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Rashid said statistics showed that 60% of drug abusers were
government and private sector workers, adding that many were
youngsters and from the lower-income group. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Once involved in drugs they are unable to work, hence disrupting
the development of the country and becoming a nuisance to their
families and the community," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Rashid also pointed out that there were about 200,000 drug addicts in the country and many were professionals such as managers, engineers, teachers, accountants, lecturers and graduates. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Rashid said Sabah had the highest number of amphetamine-type
stimulant abusers, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru, adding
that such abusers caused another problem for the authorities as they
needed to be sent for psychiatric treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(24) RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS REPORT INCREASING DRUG FLOW FROM AFGHANISTAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan - Russian border guards deployed to protect
Tajikistan's volatile border with Afghanistan have confiscated more
than a ton of drugs smuggled into the former Soviet republic this
summer, officials said Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Russian border guards have confiscated 568 kilograms (1,250 pounds) of drugs this month, up from 540 kilograms (1,188 pounds) in June, said border guards spokesman Col. Alexander Kondratyev. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of the drugs seized this month, heroin made up 510 kilograms (1,122
pounds), up from 245 kilograms (539 pounds) confiscated in June,
Kondratyev said. | ||||||||||||||||||
The 10,700-strong Russian border contingent on the border seized 5
1/2 metric tons (six short tons) of drugs, about 42 percent of it
heroin, last year. Impoverished Tajikistan, which suffered a civil
war in the 1990s, is a major transit route for drugs moving from
Afghanistan through Central Asia and Russia to Europe. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(25) ECSTASY AS CHEAP AS A BAR OF CHOCOLATE FOR CHILDREN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The price of the drug ecstasy has fallen to a record low of UKP1.25 for a tab - about the same as a medium-sized bar of chocolate. | ||||||||||||||||||
New statistics show that the cost of the drug has more than halved
across the country. The average street price is now UKP3 for a
tablet compared with UKP6.24 last year. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, in certain parts of the country dealers have dropped their
prices even lower to just over UKP1, especially in the north west of
England. | ||||||||||||||||||
The alarming drop in the cost of the drug is already fueling
concerns that the drug is becoming increasingly accessible to young
people, especially children. Dealers have drastically reduced their
ecstasy prices in an attempt to get children on to "E" as what used
to be known as a "dance drug" declines in popularity among
club-goers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Reform News Specials Now Online | ||||||||||||||||||
The ABC News special, War on Drugs, A War on Ourselves, with John Stossel is now available for viewing online using the Real Player. | ||||||||||||||||||
Since posting the Donahue show a couple of days ago, the CRRH video
server has been overwhelmed. We have had over 10,000 views on that
video alone in less than 2 days. Our video server can support 200
video streams at once, and we have almost 300 different videos
online. If more than 200 people are trying to watch videos at the
same time, then our video server gives surfers a "server busy"
message. If you get an error message saying the server is busy,
please try back later. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Please Counter the Attack on Stossel's 'War on Drugs: A War on
Ourselves' | ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Take a look at the first anti-Bob Barr commercial being run by the
Carole Ann Rand for Congress campaign. | ||||||||||||||||||
(on the top of the right side of the site) | ||||||||||||||||||
We'll be airing this commercial soon and have more commercials in the
works. | ||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Marc Brandl | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cultural Baggage- The Unvarnished Truth About the Drug War | ||||||||||||||||||
Friday, August 2 at Midnite (CT) to 1 AM August 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
In Houston at KPFT, 90.1 FM. On the net at http://www.kpft.org | ||||||||||||||||||
Call in number 713-526-5738. | ||||||||||||||||||
Guests | ||||||||||||||||||
Charles Thomas, Exec. Dir of Unitarian Universalist for Drug Reform
Chris Davies, Member of the European Parliament | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Dean Becker | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Medical Use of Marijuana: Policy and Regulatory Issues | ||||||||||||||||||
The first edit of the March 2002 Congressional Research Service
report. | ||||||||||||||||||
"In recent years, there has been much debate over whether marijuana,
an illegal drug, can provide patients with a level of therapeutic
relief comparable to existing pharmaceutical treatments. While this
idea is hardly new, it is advanced by some proponents as deserving
more scientific inquiry." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Building upon the case of R v. Parker, which found that "criminal
prohibition from possession or cultivation of marihuana amounted to a
breach of Charter 7 right to liberty," the B.C. Supreme Court went
further in Winchester to dismiss charges where cannabis is found to
be "reasonably necessary for therapeutic use." | ||||||||||||||||||
Police raided Wes Winchester's home in September of 2000 and seized 96
plants, charging Winchester with cultivation and trafficking. On June
25th, a B.C. Supreme Court Justice stayed drug charges against
Winchester who suffers from AIDS and three types of hepatitis. He
says smoking marijuana is the only way he can keep his daily cocktail
of 67 pills down. The Supreme Court agreed and recognized
Winchester's use as personal. | ||||||||||||||||||
This historic decision is now available online at: | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
PISSING AWAY OUR RIGHTS | ||||||||||||||||||
By John Masterson | ||||||||||||||||||
Thank you, Jed Gottlieb, for your "Pee to Play" article on the
recent Supreme Court ruling approving "urinate on demand" testing
for high school students. The broad application of suspicionless
drug testing does not bode well for a free society. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of particular concern to NORML and organizations like it is that
urine testing can detect traces of marijuana for 30+ days after use,
much longer than cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, or alcohol-and
obviously much longer than any impairment is present. This means
that you can binge regularly on a dangerous cocktail of vodka, meth,
and heroin, and not be too worried about drug testing, but smoke the
occasional weekend joint and you could lose everything. Due to this
fact, drug- testing programs may actually promote the use of these
more dangerous drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of course we don't want school kids high on any substance. But drug
testing, and particularly mass suspicionless drug testing, intrudes
on intimate bodily privacy and creates a confrontational atmosphere
of mistrust. | ||||||||||||||||||
John Masterson, | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
One Morning On The Meth Tour With Asa Hutchinson | ||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||||
DEA head Asa Hutchinson has been crisscrossing the nation, making
presentations in different cities about methamphetamine. In case you
haven't heard about meth, it's the illegal stimulant so popularized
by prohibition that backroom labs are becoming as common as backroom
stills in the 1920s. | ||||||||||||||||||
Officially referred to as the "Meth In America: Not in Our Town"
tour, DEA press releases also call Hutchinson's string of
appearances "The National Meth Tour." | ||||||||||||||||||
I personally associate a catchy phrase followed by the word "tour"
with rock concerts, so my immediate thoughts regarding "The National
Meth Tour" were: Who's opening? Are groupies expected to follow
from gig to gig? Will T-shirts be available? The shirt I envisioned
features a graphic of Hutchinson's face stamped over with the words
"SOLD OUT!" The reverse side of the shirt shows a SWAT team
preparing to ram through a mobile home's front door. Beneath the
image, tour dates and tour motto: "Kick Out The Jambs, | ||||||||||||||||||
But, back to grim reality. A stop on the tour recently came to my
local area, so I decided to put on a tie, pull out my reporter's
notebook, and cover it for DrugSense Weekly. Hutchinson was
scheduled to talk to a narcotics officers convention about meth, but
he also had an engagement at a local drug court. | ||||||||||||||||||
I made it to the Kane County Judicial Center, near St. Charles, Ill., a little late but close to the appointed time. I learned Hutchinson was observing a drug court and interviewing participants. He would then talk to judges, local officials and prohibition boosters. Reporters eventually learned that two hours after they had been summoned, the press would be treated to a ten-minute presentation by Hutchinson, followed by ten minutes of questions. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ten minutes of questions? Can you spare it, Asa? | ||||||||||||||||||
Richard Cowan of Marijuananews.com often says the best two-word
explanation of continued marijuana prohibition is "bad journalism."
As I sat around waiting, I could see careful press management didn't
hurt the prohibitionist cause either. Because reporters had two
hours to kill before the actual press conference started, many
interviewed prohibition boosters like representatives from
"Educating Voices", www.educatingvoices.com, who were there to meet
with Hutchinson. Reporters also talked to drug court participants,
who were understandably eager to demonstrate their willingness to
get with the program. | ||||||||||||||||||
Protesters representing Americans for Safe Access | ||||||||||||||||||
After sitting through the other questions, I was called on last. I
picked one of three questions I had hoped to ask. I noted that there
were protesters outside who said using DEA agents to shut down
medical marijuana clubs that were approved locally in California is
a waste of resources, especially considering that his tour was all
about meth and the damage it causes. How, I asked, did he respond to
such criticism? | ||||||||||||||||||
"First of all, DEA resources should be used to enforce federal law,
and whether it's marijuana, cocaine or heroin - possession,
trafficking of those substances is a violation of federal law. So,
it's certainly appropriate to use DEA resources in that regard,"
Hutchinson said, following up with the standard claims that there's
no scientific evidence to support medical marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Then it was over. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of four newspaper accounts I found the next day, two stories briefly
mentioned protesters. To her credit, the author of one story
included quotes from the protesters, but labeled protestors as
"pro-drug." All the other coverage was completely reverent,
implicitly expressing hope that the innovative drug court concept,
along with the benevolent head of the DEA, will help save society
from the scourge of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
There's a lot of questions that should be directed to Hutchinson right now. Has he read the Hawaiian report suggesting marijuana suppression has led to a meth crisis throughout the state? If drug courts are so effective, why does the Government Accounting Office say it doesn't have enough data to evaluate existing drug courts? What exactly does Hutchinson know about drug smuggling in Mena, Ark., when he was U.S. Attorney there in the early 1980s? | ||||||||||||||||||
From all the accounts of The National Meth Tour I've read, those
questions aren't being asked. In fact, it seems some reporters are
so willing to buy the word of Hutchinson, he might have some success
selling tour T-shirts to the local press too. | ||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is the author of "Maximizing Harm: Losers and Winners
in the Drug War," http://www.maximizingharm.com/, and an editor
with DrugSense Weekly. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"How can you ever fix anything if you can't even talk about it?" | ||||||||||||||||||
-Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, recounting how she was
pressured to resign her position after acknowledging the issue of
drug legalization during the ABC television show "War on Drugs, A
War on Ourselves." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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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