| Oct. 4, 2002 #270 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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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) UK: DRUG DEALER [DAVIES] SENTENCED TODAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Cannabis Conman Colin Davies Is To Return To Court For Sentencing Today
(Thursday). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Colin Davies - the brains behind an international marijuana trafficking
organisation - was found guilty of several drugs-related charges at
court yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Davies, 44, of Romney Towers, Brinnington - and the boss of Reddish's
Amsterdam-style Dutch Experience cafe - will now learn his fate at
Minshull Street Crown Court. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
His arrest 13 months ago came during a media frenzy as he openly smoked
the drug in front of arresting officers. The matter has remained high
profile ever since. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But in reality, he was also a drug dealer who used his cafe and public
beliefs as a front for dealing cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said dealers, like Davies,
are not above the law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The spokesman said: "GMP will continue to enforce drug laws in the same
way that all forces are required to do so, until changes are made
through our democratic institutions." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) FEDS CONTINUE CALIFORNIA PATIENT CRACKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The federal government continued its crackdown on sick and dying
Californians last week when regional task force officials acting on a
federal warrant raided the home of Steve McWilliams and Barbara
MacKenzie - co-directors of San Diego's Shelter From The Storm, a small
medical marijuana collective that served six patients. Federal agents
seized approximately 20 plants in the raid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"I've never seen a case with such a small amount [of marijuana,]" said NORML Legal Committee member Patrick Dudley, who is representing McWilliams and MacKenzie. "It's getting ludicrous. They're being targeted [by the government] because they're speaking out." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For more information, please contact NORML Foundation Legal Director
Donna Shea at (202) 483-8751. A summary of federal medical marijuana
cases in California since September 11 is available online at:
http://www.canorml.org/news/fedmmjcases | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
An Informant Says The DEA Is Breaking Its Promise To Protect His Family | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As the crusading editor of the nation's largest Spanish-language
newspaper, Manuel de Dios Unanue had vowed to expose the inner workings
of the Cali cartel, the world's most notorious drug ring. Cartel
members lost no time in silencing him. On March 11, 1992, a teenager in
a hooded sweatshirt walked into a Queens restaurant where de Dios was
drinking a beer, calmly put a 9mm pistol to the back of the
journalist's head and fired twice. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
De Dios died in a pool of his own blood. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
De Dios wasn't the only one who paid dearly for unmasking the Cali
cartel. Among those convicted in the journalist's murder was Colombian
drug dealer John Harold Mena, who admitted to helping recruit the
triggerman, then cut his prison sentence by fingering the boss who
hired him. Called a "premier prosecution witness," Mena revealed
valuable details of the cartel's operation, leading to the conviction
of nearly a dozen members. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In exchange for Mena's help, the Drug Enforcement Administration
promised to protect his family back in Colombia from harm. Today,
however, Mena and current and former law enforcement officials say the
DEA has reneged on that pledge-even as the cartel is apparently making
good on a cruel promise of its own. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) OPED: IT'S TIME TO RETHINK DRUG WAR STRATEGY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
With each passing year, evidence mounts that America is sadly losing
the war on drugs -- not to drug cartels or drug traffickers over there,
but to the dependably relentless appetite for illegal drugs created by
our neighbors right here at home. Eighty-six years after Congress
passed the 1914 Harrison Act that criminalized drugs, America's drug
consumption thrives. According to recent surveys and news reports,
illegal drugs are cheaper, purer and more available than ever before,
and the results are devastating. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Still, our national drug war strategy calls for an even greater police
presence in our nation's streets and public spaces. Drug-law
enforcement, however, is at best a very difficult proposition at all
levels. Drug law violations are generally consensual. In almost every
case, willing buyers and motivated sellers participate secretly in this
highly profitable criminalized industry. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I am concerned that for good, hard-working police officers -- federal or otherwise -- to do their jobs, they must snoop, spy, sniff, sneak and covertly surveil to snag drugs, drug traffickers or drug users. Most of the snooping, sneaking and snagging is done primarily by using informants -- people who use their own criminal status or position to gain some benefit from the police by trading information. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It is a dangerous, dirty business, chock full of espionage, deceit,
lies and double-crosses. I am concerned about what this side of the
police business is doing to other sides of our profession ethically and
morally. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Methamphetamine seems to be changing the way drug law enforcement
works. The demonized drug is offering shortcuts to prosecution
without hard evidence. In Tennessee, a new law allows police to
charge alleged operators meth labs with child abuse if a child is
present at scene of the alleged lab. In Oklahoma, a judge is
questioning a policy whereby police are destroying actual evidence
from alleged methamphetamine labs before trial, and using mere
photographs as hard evidence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In Florida, drug treatment providers don't need to be compelled to cooperate with law enforcement when a client is caught with drugs - at least if the client is the daughter of a sitting state governor and niece of a president. And, in national news, U.S. officials supposedly want a drug-free America, but some feds have reportedly been looking at the mass spraying of drugs as crowd control. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) CHILD ABUSE CAN NOW BE CHARGED IN METH LAB CASES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drug users and sellers who deal in methamphetamine can now be
charged with child abuse if children are found in a place where that
deadly substance is found. And unfortunately, many children in this
area have been endangered by meth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
So the latest law allowing for charging meth users or handlers with
abuse of children is a good thing, District Attorney Bill Gibson
says. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
So many children have been removed from homes due to meth being
found there that the Dept. of Children's Services is facing "a
foster care crisis now," Gibson said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"We've had so many cases of meth in this district and they've had to remove so many children from homes that those children are currently taking up almost all the foster care homes we have," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) METH LAB PROCEDURE CHALLENGED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MIAMI, Okla. - The handling of methamphetamine laboratory materials
by the Ottawa County sheriff's office has become an issue after a
local defense attorney cited what he says is a discrepancy in state
law. A prosecutor says the problem is in the interpretation of the
statutes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The dispute focuses on the storage or destruction of hazardous and
toxic materials and contaminated equipment used in making the
illegal drug. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
During two recent preliminary hearings in meth lab cases, Ottawa
County Deputy Scott Graham, who is on the district attorney's drug
task force, testified that evidence had been photographed, then
destroyed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Defense attorney Kenneth Wright says the photos do not have the same
legal weight as the evidence itself, and that the law requires that
the evidence be kept until after trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sheriff Dennis King and his deputies say the evidence is toxic and
hazardous, and that they could face legal action by the | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) JUDGE UPHOLDS PRIVACY FOR JEB BUSH'S DAUGHTER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MIAMI, Sept. 30 - A judge ruled today that staff members at a drug
rehabilitation center in Orlando, where Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter,
Noelle, is receiving treatment, cannot be forced to cooperate with
an investigation into an accusation that she had possessed crack
cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. of Circuit Court of Orange County in
Orlando wrote in his ruling that patient privacy outweighed law
enforcement interests in cases in which addicts relapse in
treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Forcing the institution, the Center for Drug-Free Living, to aid in
the investigation would mean that "all patients who suffer relapses
could be hauled out of treatment programs and into criminal courts
on the whim of a state prosecutor or police officer responding to
calls from fellow patients whose motives for reporting the `crimes'
might be questionable," Judge Perry wrote. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
His ruling cited federal and state laws that protect patients'
privacy rights. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) U.S. DEBATES DRUGGING RIOTERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON The U.S. military is exploring ways to use drugs such as Valium to calm people without killing them during riots or other crowd control situations where lethal weapons are inappropriate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Some critics say the effort violates international treaties and
federal laws against chemical weapons, an allegation the military
denies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"It's a rotten idea to drug rioters," said Edward Hammond of the
Sunshine Project, a chemical and biological weapons watchdog group
that is the program's chief critic. "Beyond being a horrible idea,
it's illegal." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pentagon has long tried to develop nonlethal weapons that would
incapacitate or repel people with little risk of killing them. The
effort intensified in the 1990s after hostile mobs confronted U.S.
troops during peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in places like
Somalia, Bosnia and Haiti. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police in a small Ohio town shot and killed a young man during a
raid last week. Police found only a small amount of drugs in the
raid, and roommates of the deceased said he held only a plastic cup
when he was shot, not a gun as police claim. The family of a
California man killed in a drug raid where no drugs were found got a
large settlement and an apology from police this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
And while the narcs are out shooting the unarmed, some can't seem to
keep tabs on their own drug evidence. In two separate incidents
reported last week, substantial amounts of drugs were stolen from
police evidence rooms. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
And parolees in Illinois should be ready for surprise drug tests at
their door step. Local police are helping parole officers to arrive
unannounced at the residences of parolees for urine samples. Some
test failures mean a return to lockup. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) DOZENS PROTEST PREBLE COUNTY POLICE SHOOTING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
EATON - Preble County law-enforcement officials declined to talk
publicly Monday as they turned information about Friday's fatal
shooting by a police officer of a 23-year-old man over to detectives
from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Montgomery County investigators, called in by Preble County Sheriff
Tom Hayes, also said they would not talk about their review of the
shooting by a member of a Preble County's emergency services group
-- officers from a number of police departments who are trained to
handle drownings and hostage and other situations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
However, it was anything but quiet outside the Preble County
Courthouse, where dozens of friends and relatives picketed and said
that police were covering up what happened to Clayton Jacob
Helriggle, 23, of 1282 Ohio 503 South.. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The protesters disputed police claims that Helriggle had a gun when
he descended a stairwell and was shot by a Lewisburg police officer,
whose identity has not been released. Friends and relatives on
Monday carried blue plastic cups similar to the one they said
Helriggle had in his hand Friday night. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police said they confiscated a small amount of marijuana, pills,
drug paraphernalia and quantities of packaging items used in the
distribution of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The four roommates said they smoke marijuana from time to time and
that they had marijuana pipes in the house. Bradley said he had a
prescription for Fiorocet, a codeinelike painkiller, for a bad knee.
They said the packaging police referred to was a box of plastic
sandwich bags. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) SUIT IN SLAYING LEADS TO APOLOGY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The city of El Monte agreed Wednesday to pay $3 million to the family of a 65-year-old man who was fatally shot in the back after officers stormed his bedroom during a narcotics investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The city also agreed to comply with 15 conditions--including
apologizing to the man's wife and a series of reforms for its Police
Department. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The wrongful-death settlement at Compton Superior Court appears to climax a case that began three years ago when the El Monte Police Department's SWAT team went to the Compton house of Mario Paz looking for evidence in a wide-ranging narcotics investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The investigators came to the Paz house armed with a search warrant because one of their suspects was known to have received mail there. In the chaos of the drug operation that night, Paz was shot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) THIEVES STEAL DRUGS, MONEY FROM DRUG TASK FORCE OFFICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Someone broke into the offices of the Lauderdale County Drug Task
Force and stole marijuana, Oxycontin and money from evidence
lockers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A variety of street drugs and an undisclosed amount of money were taken, according to police records. Police Chief Rick Singleton said he's asked the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to investigate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Task force members worked Sunday night and early Monday morning. Upon returning to the office at about 3 a.m., officers found that someone apparently kicked in the office door, said Singleton. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) MARIJUANA DISAPPEARANCE SPURS FEDERAL PROBE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal authorities are investigating the disappearance of an
unspecified amount of marijuana from the Plum police department,
police said Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Plum police Sgt. Matthew Feldmeier, the department's acting
supervisor in charge, said the marijuana was seized in an "old case"
but would not say how much of the drug is missing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The federal (authorities) are looking into it," Feldmeier said.
"They are handling it." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) PAROLEES ARE BROUGHT IN FOR SURPRISE DRUG TESTS IN BELLEVILLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois prison officials and Belleville police showed up at the
homes of 25 parolees starting at 5 a.m. Thursday to pick them up for
surprise drug tests and interviews. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Police Chief Terry Delaney said three of the 25 apparently no longer
lived at the addresses they had given. Warrants were issued for
their arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Delaney said 11 of the 22 picked up tested positive for illegal drug
use. Five were sent to the Menard Correctional Center to await a
hearing on whether their parole will be revoked. Others were freed
but with new restrictions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Two of those picked up were wanted on warrants issued by other
municipalities and were sent to the St. Clair County Jail to wait
for action on those charges, Delaney said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The sweep was conducted under a state program aimed at closer checks
on parolees. Delaney said that so far, it has begun only in
Belleville and parts of Chicago. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"We plan on doing this randomly on a regular basis now," Delaney
said. "The next go 'round could be anytime." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In a speech on behalf of the Canadian Prime Minister, Governor
General Adrienne Clarkson announced that the ruling Liberal
government may table a bill in the new year that would decriminalize
the personal possession of cannabis. The federal government has
suggested that it is waiting for the results of a parliamentary
committee looking into Canada's approach to all illegal drugs before
making a decision on the legal status of cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In the U.S., the upcoming Nevada initiative to legalize the personal
use of up to 3 ounces of cannabis by adults has become the center of
the marijuana policy debate. Billy Rogers, spokesperson for Nevadans
for Responsible Law Enforcement, has organized a steering committee
of prominent local politicians, lawyers, patients and former police
officers to counter accusations that Question 9 (as the initiative
is known) is being foisted upon Nevada residents by East Coast
legalizers. Question 9 and other U.S. initiatives are drawing
international interest in the U.S. drug policy debate; a very
comprehensive article by the U.K.-based Economist gives a broad
overview of many of the upcoming state initiatives. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As it appears that the U.S. federal government has missed (or dismissed) the last 30 years of research into the therapeutic potential of cannabis, it is encouraging to hear that last weekend a symposium held in Reno, Nevada in conjunction with the American Academy of Pain Management's annual meeting examined the most recent medicinal cannabis studies being conducted around the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, California Governor Gray Davis surprised and frustrated
many when he vetoed a bill that would have requested that the
University of California to examine the viability of industrial hemp
cultivation in the state. As Gov. Davis has come out as a vocal
supporter of medicinal cannabis, this conservative stance took many
hemp activists by surprise. Stating that since the DEA considers
hemp to be in the same class as marijuana, Gray felt that any such
research was moot due to the plants illegal nature. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) OTTAWA WILL CONSIDER DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In what may prove to be the most contentious part of the activist agenda unveiled Monday, the governing Liberals announced that they will consider decriminalizing the possession of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Adrienne
Clarkson told a packed Senate Chamber that a new national drug
strategy will try to balance helping addicts with protecting the
public. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The government will . . . expand the number of drug treatment
courts. It will act on the results of parliamentary consultations
with Canadians on options for change in our drug laws, including the
possibility of the decriminalization of marijuana possession," she
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) MARIJUANA CAMPAIGN TO USE NEVADA RESIDENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Lawmakers, Doctors Among Those Backing Ballot Initiative | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Holly Brady began smoking marijuana 12 years ago after finding
conventional medications did little to quell the intense pain and
nausea caused by her multiple sclerosis. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The disabled Las Vegan rejoiced last year after the passage of a
state medical marijuana law that allowed her to legally grow her
own. But her happiness faded after several attempts at home
production left her with unsmokable dried weeds. She returned to
breaking the law by going through a dealer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the group advocating
passage of Question 9, on Thursday unveiled a steering committee
including Brady and about 30 other Southern Nevadans who are lending
their names, stories and opinions to the campaign to pass the ballot
measure. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) ONE PUFF AT A TIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
PROHIBITION supposedly divided America, like Gaul, into three parts:
wets, drys and hypocrites. Cannabis is now doing the same. One in
three adult Americans admits to having tried the herb; most have
survived, and some have even gone on to become president. Yet the
government still spends billions of dollars trying to save them from
it. In 2000, the last year for which figures are available, 734,497
people were arrested on marijuana charges, more than twice the
number in 1991. Nine in ten of these icriminalsi were guilty of
possession alone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Several European countries have tired of this crusade. Will America
follow? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) NEVADA CONFERENCE EXAMINES MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESEARCH, POLITICS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana holds promising therapeutic value for a broad range of
health patients, but further study is needed to determine what types
of sufferers it can benefit, a conference of pain management experts
was told Saturday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
At a symposium held in conjunction with the American Academy of Pain
Management's annual meeting, scientists discussed their latest
research and the obstacles they face trying to develop marijuana for
medicinal uses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) DAVIS VETO OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP STUDY DRAWS CRITICISM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Industrial hemp supporters on Tuesday criticized Gov. Gray Davis'
veto of a bill to study the profitability of growing the fibrous
crop for use in textiles, food and fuel. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin, the bill's author, said the
veto came as a surprise considering the governor's support for
medical marijuana. She said her legislation could have led to a
major economic boost for agriculture. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In his message accompanying the Sept. 16 veto, Davis said because
hemp has been put in a class with marijuana by the federal Drug
Enforcement Agency, and is illegal, there is no reason to proceed
with research. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin last week denounced the war on
drugs as "immoral." Noting that Canada spends $1.5 billion annually
to stop drug users, he asked, "How much further do we want to go?"
It's "immoral," said the Senator, "to encourage organized crime by
making those substances illegal." Senator Nolin was addressing an
international conference on drugs in Quebec. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Ever hungry for Yankee dollars (and favored status as a willing
collaborator in the great "war on drugs"), Thailand announced last
week the Thai military government has been lobbying US | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In the UK, the first heroin shooting gallery may open as early as next year. Police officials in Kent believe that by prescribing pure pharmaceutical-grade heroin to addicts, they will be able to dramatically cut the number of crimes. Possible locations for the first clinic are said to include Rochester, Chatham, and Gillingham. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
US Army General Galen Jackman announced last week that U.S. forces
will now be overtly oriented towards protecting Occidental
Petroleum's oil pipelines in Colombia, as opposed to an earlier
exclusive counter-narcotics tasking. This month, Special Forces
trainers and advisors begin "training" the Colombian army and
police. The U.S. government will also give more combat helicopters
to the Colombian military, as part of this latest $95 million
boondoggle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) SENATOR SAYS WAR ON DRUGS SHOULD END (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana prohibition is a costly failure and the federal government
shouldn't throw good money after bad by increasing law enforcement
budgets, says the chairman of a Senate committee that is
recommending the drug be legalized. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sen. Pierre-Claude Nolin said the only way to stem drug use in
Canada is to approach substance abuse as a public health problem,
not a legal one. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"We spend $1.5 billion a year in the war on drugs. If it's said
resources are insufficient for policing, how much further do we want
to go ... some might say it's immoral to give children psychoactive
substances. It's also immoral to encourage organized crime by making
those substances illegal," said Nolin, who yesterday addressed a
plenary session of World Forum 2002, a conference on drugs and
dependencies taking place at the Palais des Congres. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) BID TO SET UP INTERNATIONAL HQ (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The House drug suppression follow-up committee is pushing for the
establishment of an international drug control police head office in
Thailand with support from the United States. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Col Winai Sompong, chairman of the panel, said the commitee's
proposal on forming the International Drug Control Police
headquarters in Thailand won support from Washington after it was
presented to U.S. authorities during the panel's study trip to the
U.S. in June. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"After this they agreed with our idea to form an international drug
police office in Thailand because we are located near drug sources.
This will help us much with tackling drug problems," the chairman
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Col Winai said the House panel also proposed organising an
international seminar in Thailand on laws as a major tool in the war
on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
On Oct 4, a Thai-US academic seminar on drug laws will be held at
the U.S. embassy in Bangkok under the digital video conference
system. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) BRITAIN'S FIRST HEROIN 'SHOOTING GALLERY' SET TO OPEN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Britain's first heroin "shooting gallery", where addicts can get free injections 24 hours a day, could be opened next year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Addicts who are unable to kick their habit would be counselled and
given three injections every day of pure "pharmaceutical" heroin
under plans being considered by one of Britain's biggest police
forces and drugs agencies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The controversial scheme, which is similar to projects in Australia
and Switzerland, is being examined in Kent, where the Chief
Constable has given his backing for the project. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If the scheme is successful, it is likely to lead to heroin
injection rooms throughout the country. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A team that includes representatives of Kent police, health workers
and probation staff is examining the scale of the heroin problem in
the county and drawing up plans for a clinic. A final decision is
expected next spring. The first 24-hour clinic is likely to be
situated in either Rochester, Chatham or Gillingham. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The gallery will be aimed at addicts who have failed to respond to
detoxification treatment or prescription of the heroin substitute
methadone. Kent police believe that by offering heroin addicts
prescribed diamorphine - or pure, pharmaceutically produced heroin -
they will be able to cut dramatically the number of crimes committed
by serial offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) U.S. WILL TRAIN COLOMBIANS TO FIGHT REBELS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In the past, U.S. military aid focused on stemming the flow of
cocaine and heroin from Colombia and depriving rebels and their
paramilitary foes of drug profits. But the United States now plans
to directly help Colombia attack the outlawed groups. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jackman laid out details of the new U.S. plan Friday in a rare
encounter with journalists at the headquarters of the U.S. Southern
Command. Congress is preparing to provide about $95 million more to
train and equip two Colombian army brigades. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
As part of the move, U.S. officials are scrapping a presidential
directive, imposed by President Clinton, that permits the United
States to share intelligence with Colombia only when it deals with
drug trafficking, Jackman said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Starting in October, Special Forces troops are expected to begin
training the Colombian army's 18th and 5th brigades in specialized
warfare to protect a pipeline that carries oil owned by Los
Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum and hunt down rebels who have
attacked it, Jackman said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
They will also get U.S. combat helicopters. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"I think these brigades that we're talking about will be very
offensively oriented --- that is focused on the enemy as opposed to
static defense around the pipeline," Jackman said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. troops will also train Colombian national police, Jackman said. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
NOELLE BUSH'S CASE HIGHLIGHTS DRUG WAR FLAWS | ||||||||||||||||||||||
DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 256 Oct 4, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The continuing sad odyssey of Noelle Bush, the daughter of Florida
Governor Jeb Bush, took another turn earlier this week as a court in
Orlando ruled that the employees of the treatment center she is living
at cannot be forced to testify against her in pending criminal charges
of crack cocaine possession. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
AUDIO OF DISPATCHERS CALL IN NOELLE BUSH CASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
From the Orlando Sentinel | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
THE NAIL ENAMEL REMOVER OF THE GODS | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Christopher Cadden - published at DrugWar.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||||
September 27, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Kevin Zeese, President of Common Sense for Drug Policy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Prof. David Duncan, Professor, School of Medicine, Brown University | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
DIRECT ACTION: SACRAMENTO SEPTEMBER 23, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Running Time: 7 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
NOT ONE TEAR FORGOTTEN | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Please find a new and important feature on our AAMC website that honors
the victims of the war on medical cannabis which is, indeed, a war on
our own sick, disabled and dying. I encourage you all to submit
corrections and additions to this living memorial to those who have
been incarcerated, exiled, or have perished. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/articles/not_one_tear_forgotten.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Dr. Jay Cavanaugh, AAMC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
ACLU ALERTS | ||||||||||||||||||||||
1) Urge Texas to Right the Wrongs of the Tulia Drug Bust! | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Three years ago in Tulia, law enforcement officers arrested 10 percent
of the tiny town's African-American population. Even though no drugs,
money or guns were found, many of the defendants were sentenced to
lengthy prison terms based solely on the testimony of a single
undercover officer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Take Action! You can learn more and send a FREE FAX to District
Attorney Terry McEachern urging him to turn over the Tulia cases to the
Texas Attorney General at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
2) Homeland Security Department Must Respect Civil Rights! | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Over the past few months, Congress has been diligently working to come
to an agreement and make President Bush's proposal for the new Homeland
Security Department a reality. Both the House and Senate have made
substantial improvements to the President's original plan, which lacked
some of the most essential checks and balances necessary to ensure that
this vast new department respects civil liberties. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Take Action! You can learn more about the Gramm/Mill alternative and send a FREE FAX to your Senators from our action alert at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
EMCDDA Report 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), the EU's drug monitoring agency, released its annual report on the state of the drug problem in the EU and in central and eastern European countries which are candidates for possible membership in the EU. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted by Doug McVay | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Baltimore's Record Distorted | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Kurt Schmoke | ||||||||||||||||||||||
This is in response to the Sept. 13 interview with drug czar John
Walters ("Drug czar Walters: Marijuana most abused drug"). Walters
makes reference to Baltimore during my tenure as mayor. Besides
mischaracterizing my views on drug policy reform, he notes that,
during my tenure, "Baltimore had no new of office buildings built"
and was "more damaged by the drug problem than any city in American
history." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Not only did we have new office buildings built, but we built two
professional sports stadiums in the city, one for football and one
for baseball. We tripled the size of our convention center with a
new addition. We opened two new museums and built the first
thousand-room hotel complex on the water's edge of the Baltimore
Inner Harbor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It is true that we had intravenous drug users who caused severe
problems for our community. However, our approach to this problem
had successes, which Walters fails to mention. Our needle exchange
program helped to reduce the spread of AIDS in this community. A
Johns Hopkins study of the program convinced the Maryland
Legislature to recognize the effectiveness of syringe exchange as
one tool in combating AIDS. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
It also contributed to the change of attitude by the Department of
Health and Human Services, which now concludes that syringe exchange
programs do not increase drug usage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I strongly believe that because of the narrow perspective of John
Walters and others like him, the war on drugs has become our
domestic Vietnam. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Kurt L. Schmoke, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Success Of New Anti-Drug Ads Depend On Definition Of Success | ||||||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Back in June, John Walters, the Bush administration's drug czar, made a startling admission: the ad campaign that used millions in taxpayer dollars to allegedly keep kids of drugs was a miserable failure. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But instead of canning the whole concept, Walters said the ad campaign
would be redesigned. Media consumers in the U.S. may have barely
noticed, but there is a new anti-drug campaign in town, and it's
focused on marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Where I live, in the suburbs of Chicago, newspaper readers have had a
chance to see the new ads since mid-September. And again, few may have
noticed. The first ad, a full page of plain text with no images
certainly wasn't an attention-grabber. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Following the headline, "An Open Letter to Parents About Marijuana,"
the text of the ad resuscitates the greatest hits of reefer madness (if
haven't had the pleasure already, you can read the text of the ad here
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1753/a06.html ). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
With the ad's bland presentation and laughably biased message, it's a
wonder if anybody other than drug policy junkies finished reading the
whole thing. Why should this work any better than what we've seen for
the past three years? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
But someone was paying attention, and it would seem that some of those
parties are in the newsroom and the advertising sales department of the
Chicago Sun-Times. Traditionally in newspapers there has been a "wall"
between advertising departments and newsrooms - editors and reporters
are expected to gather news regardless of its impact on advertising,
and ad reps are supposed to sell ads, regardless of what's news in the
paper. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
For a variety of reasons, the wall has become thinner in recent years,
virtually disappearing at some publications. While the brain trust at
the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) doesn't understand
much about the drugs they seek to control, they appear to understand
the significance of the crumbling wall. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
That's probably why the professional drug warriors worked out deals to
get anti-drug messages placed in media content when the massive
anti-drug ad campaign was launched in the late 90s. As exposed by
journalist Daniel Forbes in Salon.com a few years ago, those deals
meant inserting anti-drug messages into television programs and
magazine articles as credit for advertising purchases (see
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n043/a09.html?126 for the first of
Forbes' exposes). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Is the same thing going on at newspapers now? It would seem so at the
Chicago Sun-Times. About a week after the "An Open Letter to Parents
About Marijuana," appeared, Sun-Times health reporter Jim Ritter penned
an article with the headline "New Push Tells Parents Perils of Kids
Smoking Pot." (You can read the article here | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The article regurgitates most of the "Open Letter," except the
information is attributed to a local drug counselor. There is no
rebuttal from anyone involved with NORML, the Marijuana Policy Project,
or any other group who actually knows something about marijuana, but
there is a web address for the ONDCP. So, if the public missed the ad
(as they likely did), they did get to see the propaganda of the ONDCP
presented as news. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
To me, that appears to be the actual goal of the new ad campaign - which is actually not a change from the old ad campaign. The Sun-Times hasn't found the space to report many recent medical break-throughs related to marijuana (positive trials for pain in the U.K., the link between cannabis and treatments for Alzheimer's disease, etc.), but week-old, second-hand bias masquerading as research is perfectly fit for the news page. Could the ad dollars have impacted such decisions? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
If so, maybe those researchers working on medical marijuana simply need to purchase some ad space in order to get their news out. Too bad they don't have hundreds of millions from taxpayers to do it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly and the author of
"Maximizing Harm," a book about the drug war - see | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
"The dogmatic heartlessness of the war on drugs was on flaming
display Monday in Flagler and Volusia counties as national drug
'czar' John Walters brought a message high on zero tolerance and
dubious facts to a high school and a drug treatment center. Walters'
sophomoric claims and punishing solutions illustrate exactly why a
record 74 percent of Americans believe the war on drugs is a failure
and why claims like Walters' cannot be trusted: They are
irresponsibly blind to reality." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
- From "Behind Czarist 'Truths' - Deception No Way To Wage Drug
War," an editorial published by Daytona Beach News-Journal. See
http://www.n-jcenter.com/2002/Sep/26/OPN2.htm for the complete
editorial. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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