| Aug. 16, 2002 #263 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) US OK: GUYMON TO ELIMINATE DRUG PROGRAM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
GUYMON, Okla. - The Guymon Public Schools board of trustees decided
Monday night to end the 3-year-old program that randomly tested student
athletes and students in competitive extracurricular activities for
drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
Scot Dahl, vice president of the school board, said the program was
administered by an outside drug-testing firm that provided a list of
randomly selected students to be tested each month. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We didn't think it was the deterrent that we thought it would be,"
Dahl said. "We didn't think it was as effective with the money we spent
on it." | ||||||||||||||||||
School officials started hearing stories about how students tried to
beat the test by drinking bleach or researching test-beating techniques
on the Internet, Dahl said. | ||||||||||||||||||
One student quit his athletic team before testing came up because he
knew he had smoked marijuana over the weekend, but his test came back
negative, Dahl said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Of people that called me, they were 100 percent in favor of doing away
with the program," Dahl said. "A lot of them thought it was a big
joke." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"One reason was how many kids are not going out to extracurricular
activities because they are afraid of being tested" he said. "If
they're not in school, they'd be out on the streets. If we could pull
more kids in extracurricular activities where there's a little more
supervision, then they wouldn't be on the streets where they can pick
up drug habits." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) RAVES ENDANGERED? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Feds Go After All-Night Music Parties | ||||||||||||||||||
Generational showdowns abound in music history. In the Prohibition era,
flappers and free-flowing jazz and booze irked authorities. Decades
later, buttoned-down elders condemned Woodstock as just a hippie drug
fest. | ||||||||||||||||||
Now, politicians are targeting raves, the all-night electronic music
and dance marathons held anywhere from nightclubs to open fields --
also known these days as "massives," or "desert parties." Young
devotees of rave culture claim that no musical genre in recent memory
has been so endangered by a misunderstanding political and ruling
class. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The RAVE Act, which stands for "Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy," expands the federal "crack-house" statute, designed to prosecute anyone whose buildings are used as drug havens, to include party promoters. Under the Senate bill, anyone involved with the planning of a rave who knows drugs are used, exchanged or made there could face criminal charges and be subject to a civil penalty of $250,000 or two times the gross receipts derived from each violation. | ||||||||||||||||||
The legislation's broad language may appear to encompass any nightclub
or other venue where drugs may be present, but the act's title suggests
that the real targets here are raves. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) U.S. SEEKS COURT IMMUNITY FOR TROOPS IN COLOMBIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia, Aug. 14 -- Senior U.S. officials asked President
Alvaro Uribe today to shield U.S. military trainers in Colombia from
prosecution by the International Criminal Court for any human rights
abuses that may arise in connection with their work. | ||||||||||||||||||
The request, made by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman, is part of a global campaign by the United States to prevent U.S. nationals from being subjected to the international court. Arguing that future military aid hangs in the balance, U.S. diplomats have begun working here and with other allies to arrange such immunity agreements, which are allowed under the treaty setting up the court. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under anti-terrorism legislation signed by President Bush this month,
U.S. military aid would be cut off to countries that have ratified the
treaty, except those granted a waiver by the White House. The United
States has made it clear that governments granting an immunity pledge
to U.S. citizens will continue to receive aid. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Bush administration has opposed the treaty and is seeking the
immunity agreements, U.S. officials have said, because it fears that
U.S. soldiers and other citizens could be subjected to politically
motivated prosecutions abroad. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) US CA: LOCKWOOD VALLEY COUPLE ARRESTED FOR GROWING POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
DEA Seizes 32 Marijuana Plants | ||||||||||||||||||
A Lockwood Valley couple who used to supply a Los Angeles medical
marijuana cooperative have been arrested for a second time on suspicion
of cultivating the drug. Lynn and Judy Osburn were arrested during an
early morning raid at their home Tuesday as Drug Enforcement
Administration agents seized 32 marijuana plants, said Jose Martinez, a
DEA spokesman. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The seizure Tuesday was the third time the couples' property has been raided and pot plants seized by police since California voters six years ago passed Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana use. During a raid in August 2000, agents confiscated 342 marijuana plants. The couple was arrested but never prosecuted, Mrozek said. A raid in September 2001 netted 273 plants and 76 pounds of pot. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Most of this week's big stories are contained in the International
and Cannabis sections of DrugSense Weekly, but many of the tragedies
and absurdities described there are rooted in domestic U.S. drug
policy. While some foreign leaders often seem reluctant to challenge
the audacity of American drug warriors, a Canadian judge this week
was not. The judge chastised a U.S. drug agent who didn't seem to
understand the concept of Canadian national sovereignty. The judge
also refused to extradite the suspect who was illegally tailed by
the overly eager U.S. agent. | ||||||||||||||||||
The violence caused by U.S.-style drug prohibition was highlighted
this week in Puerto Rico and Oakland, Calif., where drug war-related
killings continue to skyrocket. And, it seems drugs may not have
caused an infamous death long tied to LSD. Frank Olson was a U.S.
government employee who unknowingly participated in a CIA drug
experiment only days before he died in 1953. His family now believes
Olson was the victim of murder, not a bad acid trip. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) U.S. AGENT SCOLDED BY B.C. JUDGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The conduct of a U.S. drug enforcement agent who snuck into Canada
to set up a drug buy was so appalling the Canadian involved should
not be extradited to face charges in the United States, a B.C.
Supreme Court judge has ruled. | ||||||||||||||||||
Justice Janice Dillon instead took the rare step of ordering a judicial stay of proceedings in the case of Dave Licht, who was wanted in California for trafficking and possession of cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The conduct of a United States civilian police agent entering
Canada without the knowledge or consent of Canadian authorities, in
defiance of known Canadian requirements for legal conduct, with the
express purpose to entice Canadians to the United States to commit
criminal acts in that jurisdiction, and acting illegally to offer to
sell cocaine in Canada, is shocking to the Canadian conscience,"
Dillon wrote. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) SPREADING DRUG WAR BLOODIES PUERTO RICO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SAN JUAN - Edwin Melendez Primos died from a gunshot wound in his right
ear. Thirty-one-year-old Alcidez Bauze Rivera was found with five
bullets lodged in his body. And Jose Almazar Correa, 20, was killed
following a shootout in a small town near here. | ||||||||||||||||||
Their deaths were notable because they were among 16 people who were
killed last month in the same week and for pretty much the same
reason: They and others have become statistics in an expanding drug
war that has given Puerto Rico the dubious distinction of being one
of the bloodiest places in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||
According to federal crime statistics, Puerto Rico's homicide rate of 18 per 100,000 people in 2000 was more than three times the national average and higher than any U.S. state. But as the national average has decreased about 30 percent since 1995, Puerto Rico's rate has remained about the same those years. About 400 people have already died this year, and authorities blame the violence on turf battles fueled by a scarcity of drugs on the island since last fall. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) HOMICIDES RISE AGAIN, THREATENING OAKLAND'S RENAISSANCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 9 - Killing No. 69 of 2002, a shooting, took place on Thursday night just three blocks from a neighborhood rally to stop the violence in the streets. Killing No. 68, another shooting, happened on Tuesday while 2,000 Oaklanders were rallying all over the city as part of a "National Night Out" against crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
This is turning out to be a deadly year in Oakland. Only two years
ago, the city was promoting its renaissance and boasting about
bringing violent crime to its knees. But after several years of
decline in the number of killings, Oakland, like many midsized
cities, is finding itself faltering with the national economy, and
wrestling anew with rising crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Oakland Police Department estimates that 60 to 65 percent of the
city's violent crimes are committed by an estimated 10,000 people
who are either on parole or probation and that about 80 percent of
the killings committed are drug-related. | ||||||||||||||||||
"A large percentage of the homicides are centered around the
violence that emanates around the sale of drugs," said George
Phillips, a police spokesman. "You have people who for the most part
are undereducated, they're from low-income backgrounds, they have
low job skills, and they have no hope, unfortunately. And the drug
business is a very lucrative business." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) RELATIVES CONCLUDE CIA HAD A HAND IN '53 FATAL FALL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
FREDERICK, MD. - Relatives of Frank Olson laid out for reporters
Thursday their evidence that the research scientist was the victim
of something far more sinister than a CIA experiment with LSD gone
awry in 1953 when he fell to his death from a hotel. | ||||||||||||||||||
Speaking to reporters in the back yard of their family home, not far
from the Fort Detrick research facility where Frank Olson worked,
his sons and grandchildren took turns reading a lengthy statement
that contends his fall through a New York hotel window was no
accident. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We have satisfied ourselves that Frank Olson was murdered because
of security concerns regarding his work," said one son, Eric Olson,
citing his father's work both on biological weapons and on
interrogation techniques. It was not, he said, a conclusion that the
family came to easily. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Olson family has spent years trying to piece together what happened to Frank Olson, ever since learning through newspaper accounts in 1975 that an unnamed scientist who jumped to his death out a New York hotel window in 1953 had been given LSD days earlier. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The negative effects of rigid drug war ideology within the criminal justice system were plain to see this week. A new study showed "three strikes" laws, which impose long mandatory sentences on repeat offenders, have no impact on drug-related crime rates. The family of an innocent man who was killed in a botched drug raid learned that the police who shot him will not be indicted. | ||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps there will be a little bit of common sense in Oklahoma, as a
state parole board recommends that a life sentence for an ounce of
cocaine be commuted to a 20-year sentence. The recommendation was
not unanimous, and governor Frank Keating, no softy on drugs, has
the final say. Finally, the ground-breaking endorsement by a police
organization of a marijuana initiative in Nevada was withdrawn
roughly three days after it was issued. But, it is better to be
logical for 72 hours, than to never be logical at all. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) '3 STRIKES' NO DETERRENT TO DRUG CRIMES, STUDY SHOWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Narcotics Demand Draws New Replacements Quickly | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - California's landmark "three strikes and you're out"
law contributed to the state's sharp decrease in property crimes and
violent crimes but has done nothing to reduce drug offenses,
according to a new report to be released next month. | ||||||||||||||||||
The study by a consortium of the Claremont colleges was led by a
self-described skeptic of the get-tough sentencing law and is the
first to closely examine its impact on drug crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Experts said the law, now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court,
has not reduced drug sales and possession because the demand for
narcotics is so high that new traffickers simply replace those who
are imprisoned. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Apparently, when one drug offender is jailed, there is another, and
perhaps more than just one other, ready to take his or her place,"
said William Crano, who led the study for the Claremont Graduate
University. "Even imprisoning the most high-rate drug offenders for
long periods of time does not appear to have affected the commission
of such crimes." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) NO INDICTMENT IN SHOOTING OF YOUNG MAN IN SUFFOLK RAID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Suffolk County grand jury has declined to indict a police officer
who fatally shot a man during a botched drug raid in April. But a
lawyer for the dead man's family said yesterday that they would seek
damages in a wrongful-death lawsuit. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jose Colon, 20, a graphic arts student, was shot in the head on
April 19 as he emerged from a house in Bellport, just as several
officers were advancing in a drug raid. According to the police,
Officer Tony Gonzalez's drawn 9-millimeter submachine gun
accidentally fired when he was bumped from behind by another officer
who had tripped on a tree root. | ||||||||||||||||||
A Suffolk County grand jury ended its investigation on Wednesday
without an indictment. Officer Gonzalez, who was temporarily placed
on administrative duty as a firearms instructor, has expressed
remorse. Police officials said they conveyed apologies and sympathy
to the relatives, and District Attorney Thomas Spota plans to meet
with the family. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Although the police said they seized several ounces of marijuana at
the house and arrested four other men on drug possession charges,
there was no indication that Mr. Colon had bought, sold or used
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) KEATING URGED TO CUT SENTENCE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LEXINGTON -- In an historic vote Tuesday, the state Pardon and
Parole Board unanimously recommended the governor commute the
sentence of a Kingfisher man serving life without parole for drug
trafficking. Three of five board members voted to recommend that
Larry E. Yarbrough's sentence be commuted to 20 years in prison.
That recommendation will be forwarded to Gov. Frank Keating, who
will make the final decision. | ||||||||||||||||||
The two other board members -- Currie Ballard and Marc Dreyer --
voted to commute Yarbrough's sentence to time served. Board members
said Yarbrough's sentence seemed harsh compared with other drug
cases. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's just so out of line with everything else we see in here," said board member Patrick Morgan, a former Oklahoma County prosecutor. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of the 470 inmates in Oklahoma serving life without parole, only a
dozen were sentenced for drug trafficking, said Jerry Massie, state
Department of Corrections spokesman. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dreyer also questioned the severity of punishment for a defendant
convicted of having just one ounce of powder cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) POLICE GROUP REVERSES OK ON MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Nevada's largest police organization has ousted its president and reversed his endorsement of a statewide initiative that would let adults legally possess small amounts of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs issued a statement
blaming former President Andy Anderson for a "misunderstanding" and
declared that the executive board had not endorsed decriminalizing
marijuana when Anderson polled them Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The organization said Friday that it does not endorse the measure, which will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot, "nor will it support any measure for the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-17) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The batch of depenalization initiatives to appear on ballots this
fall continues to grow and draw press attention. Billy Rogers,
campaign manager for Nevadans for Responsible law enforcement, has
accused Metro police of using government funds to campaign against
the Nevada decriminalization initiative, which is a violation of
state law. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, Arizona has quietly gathered enough signatures to put Proposition 203 - which would make possession of up to 2 ounces a civil violation punishable by a fine of no more than $250 - on the fall ballot. Prop. 203 would also allow doctors to write recommendations for medicinal cannabis, as well as putting the state Department of Public Safety in charge of the free re-distribution of confiscated cannabis to those with a doctor's permission to use it. | ||||||||||||||||||
And in the best news of the week, a South Dakota man named Alex
White Plume was finally able to harvest his hemp crop this year. The
White Plume family have planted a field of hemp for the last three
years, but the DEA has seized the last two harvests, since the
federal government makes no legal distinction between cannabis and
hemp. The hemp was grown at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which
is part of the Oglala Sioux tribe, whose council voted to legalize
hemp cultivation in 1998. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada's Justice Minister continued his dirty dance with
decriminalization this week. At a meeting of the Canadian Bar
Association, Minister Cauchon reiterated his call for Canada to have
a debate on decriminalization, while still holding the | ||||||||||||||||||
And right on the heels of Justice Minister Cauchon's speech, police
have raided the Toronto Compassion Club, one of Canada's largest
suppliers of medicinal cannabis (1000+ members), holding four of its
workers in jail overnight. The hazy daze of summer must have clouded
the common sense and compassion of Toronto Police, who by their own
indefensible actions have now forced hundreds of sick and dying
Canadians to buy their medicine from often dangerous and unreliable
street dealers. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) POLICE ACCUSED OF ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The leader of a group pushing for a ballot question that would ease
marijuana possession laws sent a letter this morning to Clark County
Sheriff Jerry Keller accusing Metro Police of using government time
and resources to campaign against the initiative -- a violation of
state law. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The bottom line is you shouldn't be able to use tax dollars and
resources to campaign," said Billy Rogers, campaign manager for
Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement. | ||||||||||||||||||
Undersheriff Richard Winget said Metro broke no law when he directed
narcotics Detective Todd Raybuck to appear on television news
programs - -- including CNN's "Crossfire" -- displaying marijuana
and discussing Question 9. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MARIJUANA INITIATIVE MAKES ARIZ. BALLOT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An initiative that would decriminalize possession of small amounts
of marijuana will appear on Arizona's general-election ballot this
fall, state officials said Monday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 203, also known as the "Drug Medicalization, Prevention,
and Control Act of 2002," would make possession of 2 ounces or less
of marijuana a civil violation punishable by a fine of no more than
$250. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Besides reducing penalties for marijuana possession from a low-level
felony, the law would allow doctors to recommend, rather than
prescribe marijuana for qualifying patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The proposition would also require the state Department of Public
Safety to distribute confiscated marijuana for free to those who
receive doctors' recommendations. However, patients who qualify for
medical use will not be able to sell or otherwise distribute the
marijuana provided to them by the state. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) MANDERSON AREA FAMILY HARVESTS HEMP CROP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The third time was a charm for Alex White Plume and his family as
they quietly harvested their first crop of industrial hemp this
week. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It really felt good," White Plume said Friday. "Just like a sense
of relief." | ||||||||||||||||||
This was the third straight year the White Plume family planted hemp
on their land near Manderson. Two years in a row, federal agents
confiscated the plants before they could be harvested, although the
U.S. government did not file any charges against any of the White
Plumes, who planned to produce and sell hemp oil and other products
from the plants. | ||||||||||||||||||
This time, family members beat government agents to the punch. They
harvested most of the 3.5-acre crop Monday night. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) MINISTER CONSIDERS NEW LOOK AT LEGAL SYSTEM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada's justice minister says it may be time to rethink the
country's approach to crime and punishment, with a view to reducing
prosecutions of minor crimes, like marijuana possession, and easing
pressures on legal aid. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"Canadian society has experienced profound change during the past few decades, and I believe it is appropriate to ask ourselves whether we are satisfied with the overall functioning of our criminal justice system," he said in a speech at the Hilton London. | ||||||||||||||||||
"For example, as a society we must question our motivation when we
devote so many of our precious legal resources to the prosecution of
cannabis offences. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Do these prosecutions improve the safety of our communities? | ||||||||||||||||||
"Please don't misunderstand me -- Canada has no plans to legalize
marijuana," he said. "I believe endorsing marijuana use might
inflict harm on society and lead to greater problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
"But I believe it's time for an open discussion about modernizing
the criminal justice system in this regard." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) `MEDICINE' SEIZED IN BUST OF POT CLUB (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Four charged were helping sick people, their lawyer says | ||||||||||||||||||
Four people were taken into custody last night after police raided a Toronto "compassion club" set up to distribute "medical" marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
"They are not criminals," their lawyer, Alan Young, said after
leaving Toronto police 13 Division, where his clients were being
held pending a bail hearing today at old city hall. "They were
providing medicine to sick people." | ||||||||||||||||||
The four were charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and
possession for the purpose of trafficking over a three-month period,
Young said. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said if they are released on bail today, one of the conditions
will probably be that the Toronto Compassion Centre, which is
located on Bathurst St. near St. Clair Ave. W., be shut down, and
that will leave more than 1,000 members without the marijuana they
say they need to cope with serious illnesses. Young called the
arrests "vindictive" and "stupid." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"They (Toronto police) are going to have to live with the
repercussions of cutting off the supply of medicine to sick people,"
Young said, predicting the phones at 13 Division will be ringing off
the hook with calls from club members. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (18-25) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Figures released by the Scottish government last week indicate
"drug-related" deaths rose by 14 percent last year to a new high of
332 deaths in 2001. Heroin, methadone, cocaine and ecstasy were most
often involved. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Colombia, the new government led by right-wing Alvaro Uribe lost no time in declaring a state of emergency giving his government more power, authorizing "preventive detention without a warrant, the suppression of protests, restrictions on the movements of civilians and curbs on the media." Meanwhile, some congressional Republicans expressed reservations over Uribe's national security chief, Pedro Juan Moreno. Moreno headed a company that the DEA said attempted several times to import chemicals needed to process cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
Former Peruvian security chief Vladimiro Montesinos -- once a "valued ally in the drug war" according to the U.S. Embassy -- is now in jail, himself accused of trafficking cocaine. Also in Peru last week, after a three-day protest of 7,700 coca farmers in Ayacucho, the Peruvian government relented, agreeing "to ease up on anti-drug operations." | ||||||||||||||||||
Following a spate of killings, vigilantes in the Philippine province
of Negros Oriental denounced "12,000 drug addicts" in the area.
Calling on citizens for tips as to the identities of drug users, the
group asserted that most of the 12,000 users were young people. The
Philippine government also decreed last week that drug users would no
longer be entitled to plea bargaining or probation. | ||||||||||||||||||
And from Russia this week: authorities prohibited trepanation/lobotomy
operations intended to cure to drug addiction, the Guardian newspaper
reported. The operations, which often failed to stop the addictions,
caused "damaging side-effects" according to patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) DRUG-RELATED DEATHS AT A RECORD LEVEL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
THE number of people killed by drugs in Scotland has risen to an
all-time high, according to new statistics. | ||||||||||||||||||
Scottish Executive figures show that drug-related deaths rose by 14
per cent to 332 last year, compared with 292 in 2000. Since 1996,
there has been a 36 per cent increase in drug deaths. | ||||||||||||||||||
Heroin is still by far the biggest killer, with the drug being
present in 216 deaths - some 65 per cent. However, while still
relatively small in number, deaths involving cocaine and ecstasy
have both increased. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of those who died in 2001, 20 had used cocaine, while 19 had taken
ecstasy. The previous year, cocaine was only present in four deaths,
with ecstasy present in eleven. Police believe the rise is partly
due to a growing trend of injecting a mixture of heroin and cocaine.
The heroin substitute methadone was present in 69 deaths, prompting
calls for the drug to be more closely managed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) STATE OF EMERGENCY AS COLOMBIA STEPS UP WAR ON TERRORISM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia imposed a limited state of emergency
yesterday after more than 100 people were killed by Marxist rebels in
the five days since he took office. | ||||||||||||||||||
The "state of internal commotion" gives him power to sideline Congress
on security issues. It also authorises preventive detention without a
warrant, the suppression of protests, restrictions on the movements of
civilians and curbs on the media. | ||||||||||||||||||
The first measure imposed after an all-night cabinet session was a
wealth tax on individuals and businesses with liquid assets of more
than UKP40,000. It is intended to raise UKP510 million for the security
forces. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
He is also being watched carefully by Washington, which has just lifted
restrictions on a UKP1 billion package of military aid granted by Bill
Clinton when he was president specifically for the war on drugs so that
it can be used against the rebels. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) URIBE ADVISOR WORRIES SOME IN U.S. (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Several Republican legislators are expressing concern over
the possibility that President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia will name Pedro
Juan Moreno, a longtime advisor and friend who once had run-ins with
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, as his national security
chief. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
PUSH FOR DETAILS | ||||||||||||||||||
But three Republican legislators have peppered the Bush administration
for details about Moreno's past, seeking information about four
separate U.S. seizures of a substance bound for Moreno's chemical
company in Medellin in 1997, 1998 and 2000. | ||||||||||||||||||
The seizures involved potassium permanganate, which has a variety of
legitimate uses as a bleach, oxidizer and purifying agent but is also
vital in the processing of cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
Moreno, who was chief of staff to Uribe when he was governor of
Antioquia state in the 1990s, has stated that the chemicals were for
legitimate industrial purposes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Moreno's company contested the seizures, but the DEA denied the appeal
and asked for details about how the chemicals would be used, the letter
says. | ||||||||||||||||||
When the company did not respond, ''the chemicals were deemed abandoned and then forfeited to the United States,'' Hutchinson wrote. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(21) OUSTED PERUVIAN SPY CHIEF LINKED TO DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LIMA, Peru - A State Department cable from the U.S. Embassy once
described former Peruvian security chief Vladimiro Montesinos as a
"valued ally in the drug war, but no choir boy." Peruvian investigators
now believe Montesinos was a traitor in that war. | ||||||||||||||||||
As Montesinos languishes in jail, at least nine accused or convicted
drug traffickers in Colombia, Panama and Peru have come forward to
allege that he collected money for assisting selected criminal drug
enterprises, according to reports compiled by prosecutors and
congressional investigators who are trying to uncover the extent of his
criminal involvement. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Miami Herald obtained transcripts of several hearings, including
Tijero's. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is hard to overestimate the power that Montesinos wielded under
the Fujimori government from 1990 to late 2000, when Fujimori fled
to Japan. A declassified 1999 U.S. cable called Montesinos the de
facto head of the powerful National Intelligence Service, the "go-to
guy ... on any key issue, particularly any major counter-narcotics
issue." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) PERU GOVERNMENT AGREES TO SLOW ANTI-COCAINE OPERATIONS TO (Top)END FARMER PROTEST | ||||||||||||||||||
LIMA, Peru ( AP ) - Peru has agreed to ease up on anti-drug
operations in response to protests by coca farmers, the second move
in a month that jeopardize U.S.-backed efforts to fight the cocaine
trade. | ||||||||||||||||||
The government agreed Monday to gradually reduce the cultivation of
coca - the raw material in cocaine - and help find markets for
alternative crops grown in Peru's second-largest coca producing
valley, the Ene-Apurimac river basin. | ||||||||||||||||||
The agreement follows one in late June in which the government
suspended a coca eradication program in the Huallaga River valley in
the eastern Amazon jungle region. | ||||||||||||||||||
It ended a three-day sit-in by about 7,700 coca farms in the Andean
city of Ayacucho. They had marched more than 90 miles from their
farms in the eastern Amazon jungle, and threatened to march all the
way to the capital, Lima, some 200 miles away. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(23) 12,000 ADDICTS RESIDE IN NEGOR: VIGILANTES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Negros Oriental is inhabited by about 12,000 drug addicts excluding
drug dealers, drug lords and distributors, the vigilante group calling
themselves the 6425 Brigade, said in a two-page statement sent to DAILY
STAR. | ||||||||||||||||||
The group, led by a certain Kumander Boy Blanco, said most of the
12,000 addicts are young persons. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The 6425 Brigade has called on the public to be vigilant and help them
identify individuals who are into the drug trade. But they did not give
details on how to do so. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||
(24) DRUG OFFENDERS NO LONGER ENTITLED TO PLEA BARGAINING, PROBATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Persons accused of drug crimes are now banned from availing themselves
of the provision on plea bargaining, and once convicted in court they
will lose the privilege granted by the probation law, Sen. Renato
Cayetano said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under the new Dangerous Drugs Law or Republic Act 9165, all drug convicts are now prohibited from availing of the benefits of probation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Section 23 of RA 9165 provides that: "Any person accused of any drug
offense regardless of the impossible penalty shall not be allowed to
avail of the provision on plea bargaining." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(25) RUSSIA BANS BRAIN SURGERY ON DRUG ADDICTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A series of controversial brain operations pioneered by St
Petersburg scientists as a cure to drug addiction has been halted by
Russian authorities after a patient complained of damaging
side-effects. | ||||||||||||||||||
The operations, which began at the institute of the human brain in St
Petersburg in 1999, removed a part of the brain associated with
addiction. The programme has so far treated 335 patients, but the
prosecutor's office in St Petersburg ordered an end to the operations
on Monday after a former patient won a court case against the
institute. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The operation is one of several controversial anti-addiction
treatments used in Russia. In the technique, a small hole is cut in
the scalp, and a hole drilled in the skull. The doctors prefer not
to put their patient under a general anaesthetic so they can monitor
their responses as they probe the brain. About one cubic millimetre
of tissue is taken from each hemisphere of the brain. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Federal Court Rules in Favor of Ayahuasca-using Church | ||||||||||||||||||
A report by Richard Glenn Boire | ||||||||||||||||||
"Members of the ayahuasca-using religious group known as the Uniao
Do Vegetal (UDV), won a major legal victory on Monday (August 12,
2002), when a federal court ruled that the group's use of ayahuasca
was likely protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
(RFRA). Ayahuasca (also known as hoasca) is a visionary tea that
serves as the sacrament of the UDV religion." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
THE MOUSE THAT ROARED | ||||||||||||||||||
A report by Dan Forbes | ||||||||||||||||||
"The small, influential Unitarian Universalist church has issued the
rather remarkable call to: "Make all drugs legally available with a
prescription by a licensed physician, subject to professional
oversight." That's one element - certainly the most controversial -
of the denomination's recent Statement of Conscience, all of it
meant to be taken at face value." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Support Nevada Police Who Endorse Initiative | ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Cultural Baggage Radio Show | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
WHO: Dr. Alan G. Robison, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology at UT
Health Science Center & Exec. Dir. of Drug Policy Forum of Texas
http://www.dpft.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||
David F. Duncan, Dr.P.H., C.A.S., F.A.A.H.B, President Duncan &
Associates & Clinical Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Brown
University, http://www.duncan-associates.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||
George McMahon, one of six surviving, federally supplied Medical
Marijuana Patients http://www.trvnet.net/~mmcmahon/ | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Dean Becker | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Florida Prison Petition | ||||||||||||||||||
Help clean up the overcrowding in Florida's prisons by signing this
petition to make the Parole Commission release these people. It takes
30 seconds and your signature could make the difference. Please follow
this link to sign: | ||||||||||||||||||
The system centralizes signature collection to provide consolidated, useful reports for petition authors and targets. Please forward this email to others you believe share your concern. To view additional petitions, please click here: http://www.thePetitionSite.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Kaylee | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
NPR Talk of the Nation | ||||||||||||||||||
Mitchell Earleywine, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of
Southern California, Author, Understanding Marijuana (Oxford University
Press, 2002) | ||||||||||||||||||
John L. Smith, Columnist, Las Vegas Review Journal | ||||||||||||||||||
Martin O'Hanlon, Ottawa, News Editor, The Canadian Press | ||||||||||||||||||
John Walters, Director, National Drug Control Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Seattle Hempfest | ||||||||||||||||||
This year our speaker line-up was almost a who's who of movement
luminaries. Keith Stroup, Founder and Executive Director of
National NORML (norml.org) came and he brought almost | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
CONGRESSIONAL PRIVILEGE | ||||||||||||||||||
By Patricia E. Allard | ||||||||||||||||||
To the Editor: | ||||||||||||||||||
People like former Representative James A. Traficant Jr., sentenced
to eight years in prison for bribery and kickbacks (news article,
July 31), can continue to receive their Congressional pensions. But
an ordinary citizen convicted of a felony drug offense for
possession of $5 worth of drugs becomes permanently ineligible for
cash assistance and food stamps regardless of any of his or her
rehabilitative efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under the 1996 welfare reform law, people convicted of a felony drug
offense are subject to a lifetime ban on receiving welfare benefits.
It was also in 1996 that lawmakers rejected a proposal to end
tax-subsidized Congressional pensions for members of Congress
convicted of a felony. This two-tier system of punishment gives new
meaning to our notion of injustice. | ||||||||||||||||||
Patricia E. Allard, Washington The writer is a policy analyst with
the Sentencing Project | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Primary Medical Condition For Medical Cannabis Use | ||||||||||||||||||
PRIMARY MEDICAL CONDITION FOR MEDICAL CANNABIS USE | ||||||||||||||||||
By Jay R. Cavanaugh, PhD | ||||||||||||||||||
Using our albeit limited polling resources, the American Alliance
for Medical Cannabis ran a front page website poll asking patients
to identify the major reason they utilized medical cannabis. Of
course, such a poll is not scientific but it does provide results
from 500 patients who responded. | ||||||||||||||||||
This large number of patients was asked to choose between six categories to identify their major diagnosis. Here are the results: | ||||||||||||||||||
Please tell us your experience | ||||||||||||||||||
What is the major condition you treat with Cannabis? | ||||||||||||||||||
votes percent | ||||||||||||||||||
1.) Chronic pain 156 31% | ||||||||||||||||||
Total Votes: 500 | ||||||||||||||||||
While chronic pain is cited more often than any other single
condition (31%), self reported depression (actually a broad category
of illnesses) came in a close second (26%). It would have been nice
to be able to ask respondents to choose both a primary and secondary
condition. In that event we might have seen some linkage between
chronic pain and the depression that so frequently accompanies it.
Regardless, we can see that psychiatric medication with cannabis is
common. In view of the fact that repeated double blind studies of
the new SSRI drugs like Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac have shown
virtually no benefit beyond placebo, perhaps these patients know
more than their psychiatrists what works for them. | ||||||||||||||||||
Another fascinating result is the large number of patients (57 or
11%) who report migraine as their primary medical condition. This
number is larger than HIV and Cancer combined (4% and 5%
respectively). It is noted that migraine has a higher incidence and
prevalence than either cancer or HIV. Prior to the prohibition of
cannabis in the 1930's, cannabis was the primary drug prescribed for
headache. Obviously, it still works. | ||||||||||||||||||
We're interested to know just what the "other" category is comprised
of. More than one in five patients (112 or 22%) reports "other" which
may include such diseases and disorders as MS, diabetes, HCV,
Tourette's disease, Parkinson's disease, and others. Future polls may
seek to elucidate other conditions in more detail. | ||||||||||||||||||
One major result from this poll is that decision makers must be more
careful when writing medical cannabis laws that delineate what
conditions "qualify" for cannabis. Cannabis is most certainly not just
for terminal illness but more likely for a large number of chronic
conditions. Patients in States that have a "list" of appropriate
conditions are blocking many legitimate patients from appropriate
adjunctive therapy with cannabis. These States (i.e., Colorado) insist
that the patient produce findings to justify their use of cannabis for
an "off list" application yet research is virtually banned in the
United States making documentation nearly impossible. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jay R. Cavanaugh is the National Director of American Alliance for
Medical Cannabis http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"They knew everything." | ||||||||||||||||||
- DEA informant Oscar Benitez Linares, when asked if the DEA knew of
charges that former Peruvian spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos personally
authorized illegal cocaine shipments in the early 1990s. Montesinos was
the U.S. government's "point-man" on drug control in Peru before being
arrested for corruption charges. See | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analyses 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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