| November 15, 2002 #276 | ||||||||||||||||
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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) COLOMBIA: EVERYDAY AMERICANS PUT ON DRUG WAR'S FRONT LINE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Pilots, Others Stand In For Troops In Colombia | ||||||||||||||||
LARANDIA, Colombia -- They are private U.S. citizens but work on the
front lines of America's war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
Under a little-known program, more than 100 pilots, mechanics and others work for the U.S. State Department in Colombia as part of a program to eradicate Colombia's coca and opium poppy fields. | ||||||||||||||||
Some of the Americans fly planes that spray herbicides on the illicit
crops. Others fly gunships that accompany the spraying missions. Still
others fly hulking transport aircraft or work as aviation mechanics,
logistical experts and medics. | ||||||||||||||||
Some U.S. critics said the private contractors are proxies for the U.S.
military in a place where the public would not allow a more direct U.S.
military involvement. | ||||||||||||||||
But others said private contractors are needed because the U.S.
military is stretched thin and attention is focused on Iraq and other
hot spots. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(2) COLUMN: MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND THE FEDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
If the federal government were right that medical marijuana has no
medicinal value, why have so many doctors risked their practices by
recommending its use for patients with cancer or AIDS? | ||||||||||||||||
Marcus Conant, the doctor who identified the first cases of Kaposi's
sarcoma among San Francisco AIDS patients, can answer that. Imagine
you're the doctor for a 40-year-old lady with breast cancer. They put
her on chemotherapy, and every time she takes her therapy, she throws
up. She can't sleep; she's up sick all night. She has trouble caring
for her children. Medical marijuana can alleviate her nausea and give
her an appetite. | ||||||||||||||||
Conant wouldn't write her a prescription for medical marijuana. He
can't. But he would write a note for her file recommending marijuana.
Since his patients have access to their files, they can present a copy
of said note to a marijuana club authorized by California's Proposition
215. If they use the note, well, that's their business. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(3) OPED: BOLIVIANS PAY DEARLY FOR U.S. WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada meets today with President Bush in Washington, D.C. The perennial U.S. determination to fight drugs by ripping up coca plants will certainly drive the meeting. As representatives of NGOs who monitor drug policy in Bolivia, we hope that the presidents face up to some uncomfortable facts. | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. international drug-control policy is ineffective. Over the last
decade, despite spending more than $25 billion on drug-control programs
overseas, more illicit drugs are available in the United States, and at
cheaper prices, than ever before. Plan Colombia was so profoundly
unsuccessful that coca cultivation in the Andean region increased 21
percent during the plan's first year. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(4) CANNABIS TRADE GETS DUTCH ECONOMY HIGH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Bloomberg | ||||||||||||||||
In a bright yellow room dotted with multicolored suns, Barney's
Breakfast Bar serves eggs, pancakes, and the house special -- Sweet
Tooth, the best marijuana on sale in Amsterdam. | ||||||||||||||||
At least that's what the judges at the Cannabis Cup decided last year.
Now, Barney's and its coffee-shop rivals are gearing up for this year's
edition of the contest. Beginning Nov. 24, close to 3,000 marijuana
fans will spend five days in Amsterdam rating the very best in
cannabis. That means a boom in business for the shop owners and for the
Dutch economy. | ||||||||||||||||
"There's great demand for the winning product," said Derry Brett, a
former engineer and the owner of Barney's. His shop has no corners; the
fluid shapes create the feeling of floating when high, Brett said.
"Cannabis is a huge business for Amsterdam," Winning the cup can
increase a shop's sales by as much as 50 percent, the event's organizer
said. The 1976 decriminalization of smoking marijuana contributed to
the Dutch economy. Drugs were a 1.4 billion euro (US$1.36 billion)
business worth 0.5 percent of gross domestic product in 1995, the last
time the government collected such figures. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The U.S. Justice Department made another startling connection
between drugs and terror this week - or did it? While major
newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post reported that
the U.S. stopped a drugs-for-weapons deal, other papers looked a
little harder to see that the U.S. stopped nothing but its own
calculated sting operation. For an excellent analysis of the
coverage on the story, see the Slate article by Jack Shafer at
http://slate.msn.com/?id73654 For a short excerpt of Shafer's
piece, see DrugSense Weekly's Hot Off the Net Section below. Adding
another wrinkle to the story are claims by one of the targets of the
sting that he has ties to the CIA, and that he was told by an FBI
informant that the deal was safe. | ||||||||||||||||
The terror/drug war is hitting the border between Michigan and Canada, where any cars on the U.S. side within 25 miles of the border will be subject to search at random checkpoints. The U.S. Supreme Court will also hear a drug case that could limit the way the terror war is conducted. Hmmm, do you think the Court will side with the government? On a more upbeat note, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that media consumers should be aware that government propagnda does indeed come from the government. Anti-drug ads sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy will now be required to state their relationship to the ONDCP. Propaganda supporters were outraged, keenly aware that the ONDCP label diminishes the credibility of anything it touches. | ||||||||||||||||
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(5) U.S. FOILS SWAPS OF DRUGS FOR WEAPONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. officials announced yesterday that they had foiled two separate
plots to use drug money to buy weapons for terrorists, including an
alleged attempt by a U.S. citizen and two Pakistanis to swap tons of
heroin and hashish for Stinger missiles that they planned to sell to
al Qaeda. | ||||||||||||||||
In the second case, Justice Department officials said they had
broken up a plot by right-wing Colombian paramilitaries to buy $25
million worth of high-powered East European weaponry with cocaine
and cash. | ||||||||||||||||
The cases illustrate the increasingly aggressive efforts by U.S. authorities to stanch the flow of drug money and other funds that terrorists use to buy weapons and finance their activities. From Islamic militants to Colombian paramilitaries, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft said, there is a "deadly nexus between terrorism and drug trafficking" that poses a serious threat to American security. | ||||||||||||||||
"We have learned, and we have demonstrated, that drug traffickers
and terrorists work out of the same jungle; they plan in the same
cave and they train in the same desert," Asa Hutchinson, head of the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), said at a Washington news
conference with Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and
other officials yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(6) DRUGS-FOR-WEAPONS SUSPECT CLAIMS CIA TIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A Danish-born Houston-area resident accused in a drugs-for-weapons
deal involving Colombian terrorists is a former informant who
believed the U.S. government backed the operation, his attorney said
Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||
The attorney, Erik Sunde, insists that client Uwe Jensen had limited
participation with his boss, Carlos Ali Romero Varela, to broker a
deal last year between an FBI informant and Colombian terrorists.
The deal involved trading cocaine for $25 million worth of
anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons. | ||||||||||||||||
Jensen, 66, a naturalized American, insists that the FBI informant
told him the U.S. government had given the deal its tacit approval,
Sunde said. The claim, he added, indicates Jensen had no criminal
intent. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(7) RANDOM STOPS BEGIN TODAY IN MICHIGAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Federal agents will begin randomly stopping traffic today, looking for illegal immigrants, terrorists and drug or weapon smugglers. | ||||||||||||||||
Cars will be stopped at unannounced, rotating checkpoints within
Michigan, including metro Detroit. U.S. Border Patrol agents at the
checkpoints will ask passengers their citizenship and will have
leeway to ask a host of follow-up questions. | ||||||||||||||||
The effort is part of President George W. Bush's attempt to increase
security along the northern border, said Immigration and
Naturalization spokeswoman Karen Kraushaar. | ||||||||||||||||
According to an obscure but long-standing federal law, the
government can conduct searches and surveillance within 25 miles of
any international border. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(8) BROAD POLICE POWERS IN CONSPIRACY CASES CONTESTED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court Hears A Narcotics Case That May Hinder The War On
Terrorism. | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - An Idaho drug-conspiracy case may greatly complicate
the war on terrorism if the US Supreme Court affirms a federal
appeals court ruling. | ||||||||||||||||
At issue in a case to be heard Tuesday is whether conspiracy law
applies when federal authorities intercept a drug shipment but then
let it go forward in a sting operation. | ||||||||||||||||
Federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials say the same
undercover tactics are necessary to arrest and prosecute
international terrorists before they are able to actually carry out
their plans. They say that the decision in the drug-trafficking case
will have an impact on terror cases as well. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(9) ANTI-DRUG PSA'S MUST BE IDENTIFIED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Public service announcements broadcast under the auspices of the
White House drug office advertising program must identify themselves
as being part of that program, the Federal Communications Commission
ruled today. | ||||||||||||||||
As a result of ruling, broadcasters will be forced to insert taglines proclaiming "sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy" in many spots now appearing on TV and radio. | ||||||||||||||||
The FCC action was a defeat for the Ad Council, which previously
petitioned the agency to allow anti-drug ads to run without the
identifying information. The council's earlier petitions alleged
that such an identification requirement would interfere with the
anti-drug message and prompt some participating media companies to
pull their support. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
When does a party become a drug-fueled rave? In Wisconsin, it's when the local police say so. Cops raided a party last week, arrested three people for drug possession, but then passed out citations that will cost 445 other party-goers roughly $1,000 each. Those other party-goers didn't possess drugs. Press coverage of the event varied, with some reports taking the word of the police without question, while other media outlets at least bothered to contact party organizers, who denied that the party was a rave. | ||||||||||||||||
The evidence of a methamphetamine lab is also in the eye of the
beholder, as Washington police mistakenly raided an innocent
homeowner because they thought a variety of common household
products indicated meth production. | ||||||||||||||||
In Utah, state officials agonize over losing out on forfeiture money
from drug cases since state voters approved an initiative limiting
the practice. Not deterred by the will of the people, the government
is trying to create loopholes to restart the cash flow. And, in the
nation's capital, editorialists at the Washington Post are shocked
and disgusted that drug problems persist in local jails. They don't
explain what is going to change the situation. | ||||||||||||||||
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(10) POLICE ARREST 3, TICKET 445 AT RAVE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. Customs Tip Leads Racine Officers to Hall | ||||||||||||||||
Racine - Acting on a tip from U.S. Customs agents, Racine police
infiltrated and then busted a rave party early Sunday, arresting
three people, ticketing 445 others and confiscating various drugs,
including more than 100 Ecstasy pills. | ||||||||||||||||
"To my knowledge, this is the biggest rave ever in Racine," Detective Lt. Robert Purdy said Sunday night. "There have been a few previous raves, but nothing nearly to the extent of this one." | ||||||||||||||||
Police said they received the U.S. Customs tip before the start of the rave, which was held Saturday night in the basement of Tradewinds, a tavern and banquet hall at 1518 Washington Ave. | ||||||||||||||||
Because of the tip authorities were able to plan the raid, Purdy said, with a "very strong, proactive law enforcement action" against drug activity typically associated with rave parties, which are underground gatherings of youths that feature techno music. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(11) THEATER GROUP DEFENDS FUND-RAISER AGAINST RAVE CHARGES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
RACINE -- The group that organized a party that was busted by Racine police on Saturday is encouraging the hundreds of partygoers who were ticketed to contact the American Civil Liberties Union. | ||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, Racine police plan to meet with the City Attorney's
Office on Friday to lay out their evidence against the accused,
which is the first step in the prosecution process. | ||||||||||||||||
The Uptown Theatre Group's Web site, www.hauntedtheater.com, includes a link to an incident form of the ACLU. The Web site said the police bust of the fund-raising event was "indescribable, unlawful, chaotic, and a major violation of people's civil rights." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(12) 'EVIDENCE' ADDS UP TO MISTAKE FOR DRUG COPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Kennewick drug cops thought they had just another meth lab. | ||||||||||||||||
It appeared to have all the right stuff: | ||||||||||||||||
-- A plastic bag containing a white powder that tested positive for
a probable controlled substance. | ||||||||||||||||
-- A sweet, solvent-like smell emanating from the property and empty
solvent cans scattered about the back yard. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But it was all a mistake, Detective Rick Runge admits now. | ||||||||||||||||
The plastic bag contained residue from a paint solvent, the medicine
packaging was for chemicals that are of no use to a meth-maker and
the propane burner and cookware were left over from a steak cookout
a couple of nights earlier. | ||||||||||||||||
The homeowner who was the suspected drug chef turned out to be 37-
year-old Leticia Lopez. Her claim to fame as a cook is for tomatillo
sauce, not meth. This was her first brush with the law. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(13) STATE TARGETS FORFEITURE LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
State-initiated property seizures are at a standstill, and Utah law
enforcement has given up more than $2.5 million in federal money
since the current drug forfeiture law was approved by voters two
years ago. | ||||||||||||||||
Legislators hope to fix some of what they say are the unintended
consequences of a law that makes seizing property associated with
drug crimes nearly impossible for police. | ||||||||||||||||
Proposed amendments to the law are under review by state and local
prosecutors and are scheduled for presentation to the Legislature's
Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice interim committee later this
month. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(14) EDITORIAL: WHEN DRUGS GO TO JAIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
AND YOU THOUGHT that once someone was convicted and sent to jail it
meant saying goodbye to drugs, pagers and means of doing business
with the outside world. Now that may be true of some prison systems
-- though, in truth, no correctional institution is drug-free. But
the District's system is in a class by itself. It's an open question
whether more drugs can be found inside the city's correctional
facilities than at some of the city's more infamous open-air drug
markets. The latest indictments of corrections officers bring that
unpleasant thought to mind. | ||||||||||||||||
This week, prosecutors indicted four guards at the privately run
Correctional Treatment Facility, a D.C. jail annex, on charges of
smuggling drugs, pagers and cash to prisoners in exchange for bribes
offered by undercover FBI agents. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
No shortage of reefer scare stories this week. The British media
recited reports claiming that cannabis not only messes up your lungs
but it can also increase the chances of developing mental illness.
The Quebec Statistics Institute and the provincial Health Department
warned of the probable need for substance abuse treatment of up to
6% of high school graduates. From the left side of Canada, reporters
are speculating that the omnipotent BC Bud caused a fatal car
accident last spring. Headlines from Pennsylvania screamed their
youth are in "peril" due to substance abuse. | ||||||||||||||||
It appears that having an X in front of your title can encourage
logical thinking. We reported last week that an ex-football player now
leads the Texas NORML chapter | ||||||||||||||||
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(15) CANNABIS IS REALLY HEAVY AFTER ALL, SAY DOCTORS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
THEY are old before their time, wheezing and suffering from some
conditions not usually seen under the age of 60. | ||||||||||||||||
The image of cannabis smokers receives the full treatment from the
medical establishment today in a report intended as a "wake-up call"
to those who have been persuaded that the habit is without risk.
Three to four joints a day are as damaging as 20 cigarettes, says
the British Lung Foundation. The smoke contains the same carcinogens
as tobacco smoke, a joint deposits four times as much tar in the
lungs as an unfiltered cigarette and the tar from joints contains 50
per cent more carcinogens. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(16) CANNABIS LINK TO SCHIZOPHRENIA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Psychiatrists are calling for caution in the move towards licensing
cannabis-based medicines. | ||||||||||||||||
It follows research into a possible link between cannabis use and
schizophrenia. | ||||||||||||||||
Two recent studies have shown that heavy use of cannabis is
associated with a fourfold increased risk of developing the mental
illness. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(17) DRUG USE ON RISE IN QUEBEC YOUTH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
A study that shows drug and alcohol consumption among Quebec youth
is on the rise only confirms what the director of an Outaouais
addiction centre already knew. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The new report, published by the Quebec statistics institute and the
provincial Health Department, found 6% of high school students will
likely graduate with a substance-abuse problem serious enough to
warrant treatment. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(18) 'B.C. BUD' MAY HAVE BEEN TO BLAME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Is the world-renowned "B.C. Bud" -- a highly potent marijuana --
implicated in the tragic road deaths of two teenaged boys last
spring? | ||||||||||||||||
Police aren't disclosing exactly which substance is involved in the
charges of "impaired driving causing death" laid last week against
the 17-year-old driver of a car which slammed into the ditch in the
6200-block of 264 Street, late in the night of April 4. | ||||||||||||||||
However, Cpl. Dale Carr said Tuesday that it was "a substance other
than alcohol. I can't tell you which substance, but we feel we have
a good case." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(19) STUDY FINDS CAMBRIA YOUTH IN PERIL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
JOHNSTOWN -- There are some findings that jump out from the 121 pages of a new survey on adolescent behavior in Cambria County. | ||||||||||||||||
By sixth grade, 8.6 percent of pupils said they drank alcohol in the preceding month, and more than one-fifth of 10th-graders said they'd been binge drinking during that time -- on average, 2.6 times. | ||||||||||||||||
As a group, a greater share of Cambria County youngsters reported recent alcohol, tobacco or drug use than did their peers statewide, but they were less likely to use marijuana or peddle drugs. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(20) RETIRED COP PLUGS POT LEGALIZATION IN JOURNEY ON HORSE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Howard Wooldridge looks like the Marlboro man: rangy and a little
tired. Actually, he claims to be more of a Paul Revere. | ||||||||||||||||
He and his pinto horse, Misty, rode into Cape Girardeau Friday,
1,000 miles along on a journey to deliver a message across America.
The message is printed on Wooldridge's T-shirt. "Cops Say Legalize
Pot. Ask Me Why," it says. | ||||||||||||||||
If it's shocking to see a retired police officer promoting the
legalization of marijuana, that's partly the point. | ||||||||||||||||
"The public knows the war on drugs is a failure," the 51-year-old
from Fort Worth, Texas, says. "But everyone is scared to stand up
and say, 'The emperor has no clothes on.'" | ||||||||||||||||
He is one of the founders of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a
new national organization composed of present and former law
enforcement officers who support regulation and control of drugs
instead of prohibition. They model themselves after the Vietnam
Veterans Against the War, but they oppose the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(21) JUDGE ADMITS SMOKING POT AT STONES CONCERT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - A judge went on indefinite voluntary leave after admitting smoking marijuana at a Rolling Stones concert. | ||||||||||||||||
A woman told court officials she saw District Judge Thomas Gilbert smoke a joint passed along a row of people at an Oct. 12 concert in Detroit, 250 miles from Traverse City, where Gilbert works. | ||||||||||||||||
The woman was from Elk Rapids, a town near Traverse City that lies
within Gilbert's district. | ||||||||||||||||
Gilbert, 45, admitted to the allegations during a meeting this week
with Chief District Judge Michael Haley and District Judge Thomas J.
Phillips. He left the bench on Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||
"He's full of shame and regret, and it's just a very sad day for the
district court," Haley said. | ||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (22-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Afghan poppy cultivation shot up some 1,800 percent from 2001 to
2002, a new US government report revealed last week. The study by
the US ONDCP, said poppies grew on over 30,000 hectares in
Afghanistan in 2002. With no hint of irony, the State Department had
earlier noted the Taliban's poppy reduction "was achieved through
draconian enforcement actions with no concern for poor farmers'
welfare." | ||||||||||||||||
From Peru this week, reports of increased coca cultivation have
officials worried. Some estimates say up to 150,000 acres are
producing coca in Peru, which would be almost twice the acreage
planted only last year. Coca farmers are also using new methods that
double the density of coca plants grown. | ||||||||||||||||
Much to the consternation of US and Colombian drug warriors,
Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, one of two former leaders of the Cali
cartel, was freed from prison last week. The US and Colombian
governments were able to find a pretext to keep his brother, also
said to have been a leader in the cartel, jailed. Colombian
president Uribe, grasping for excuses to keep the men in prison,
seemed to worry less about the rule of law, "than damage the
national honor by simply being a softie." As the Uribe | ||||||||||||||||
In Edmonton, Canada, police and community leaders say they welcome
the possibility of a federal safe injection center in their city. As
Health Canada finalizes guidelines for cities to request such
centers, Edmonton Police Association president Sgt. Peter Ratcliff
admitted last week that arrests do not affect the causes of
addiction, and that injection sites "are more of a health issue than
a policing issue." | ||||||||||||||||
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(22) AFGHAN HEROIN CROP MULTIPLYING, SAYS U.S. (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Poppy cultivation increased nearly 19-fold between
2001 and 2002 in Afghanistan, the world's leading exporter of
heroin, says a new US government study of poppy cultivation in the
post- Taliban state. | ||||||||||||||||
According to the new survey released by the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, local farmers cultivated approximately 30,759 hectares in 2002, during the peak season for poppy in Afghanistan, the first since the December 2001 Bonn Agreement which established the first interim authority after the Taliban were ousted. | ||||||||||||||||
During the same period in 2001, only 1,685 hectares of poppy were cultivated in the last year of the Taliban's rein in the Central Asian state. The 2001 decline was due largely to a ban on poppy cultivation imposed by Taliban leader Mullah Omar in July 2001. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
While the Taliban had significant success in eradicating most poppy
cultivation in these provinces in 2001, their methods are not likely
to be repeated by the Karzai government. The State Department's 2001
report on international drug trafficking released in March says,
"The success of the Taliban poppy ban was a significant | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
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(23) PERU'S RISING COCA CULTIVATION WORRISOME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
LIMA, Peru -- Barely three years after the United States declared
victory in the war on drugs in Peru, the illegal crops are making a
comeback. | ||||||||||||||||
While some U.S. officials say it's too early to sound the alarm bells, Peruvian and international experts are concerned by signs of increased cultivation of coca, the raw material of cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||
Colombian drug traffickers also have introduced poppy plants, used to make heroin, which have rarely been seen before in Peru. | ||||||||||||||||
"Production is definitely up," said Peru's Interior Minister Gino
Costa. "We don't know exactly how much at this stage, but it's
enough to worry us." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
But Peruvian officials and United Nations counterdrug experts are
less optimistic. Using satellite maps and ground assessment, they
put coca production last year at about 114,000 acres. "We don't have
figures for this year yet, but it's evident there's more coca," said
Hans Jochen Wiese, a United Nations expert in Peru. Some estimates
say production might have hit almost 150,000 acres. | ||||||||||||||||
Officials also say that while the increase in acreage might appear
small, farmers have been able to double their yields through
agricultural innovation, mainly by packing more plants into smaller
plots. Experts say new technology allows farmers to plant 300,000
plants per acre, compared to 150,000 plants before. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(24) DRUG BARON GOES FREE EARLY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Colombian Court Cites Good Behavior in Prison | ||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA - A onetime leader of the notorious Cali drug cartel,
Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, walked out of prison Thursday night,
hours after a court ordered his early release further fueling a
national debate over the role of politics in the courts and the
powers of presidency. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The government of President Alvaro Uribe, who came into office
vowing to crack down on drug trafficking, had tried to block the
release by every means possible. In the process, some critics say,
he exceeded his authority and undermined the independence of the
judiciary. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The president, elected in May with a mandate to end rampant
lawlessness, publicly vowed to stop the release. Miguel Rodriguez
Orejuela was suddenly convicted of a bribery charge for which he had
earlier been acquitted, and sentenced to another four years in
prison. | ||||||||||||||||
And while authorities scrambled to find pending cases to keep his
brother Gilberto behind bars, a second judge upheld the decision to
release him. | ||||||||||||||||
Justice Minister Fernando Londono publicly announced he suspected
bribery, and said if the Colombian courts cannot be trusted, then
the men should be extradited to the United States. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The president said he'd rather be called arbitrary "than damage the
national honor by simply being a softie." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The first judge, Pedro Suarez, was placed under investigation,and the prison warden who provided good behavior certificates suspended. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court here issued a statement this week accusing Uribe
of not respecting the separation of powers. | ||||||||||||||||
The case has caused a flurry of activity both here and among U.S.
officials, who would like the men extradited. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"The judge's decision to release Orejuela was unfortunate," a U.S. State Department spokesman said. "The illegal activities of the Orejuela brothers are of concern to us and to the Colombian government, which has made every effort to prevent their release." | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
(25) COPS BACK NEEDLE SITE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
Trafficking is Major Concern At Safe-Injection Area | ||||||||||||||||
City cops say they welcome the prospect of a federally-sponsored
intravenous drug 'shooting gallery' in Edmonton - but only if it
doesn't turn into a trafficking den. | ||||||||||||||||
Health Canada is working on guidelines under which cities could make
proposals to open safe drug-injection sites for needle drug addicts,
Farah Mohamed, a spokesman for Health Minister Anne McLellan, said
Saturday. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
"As far as injection sites, those things are more of a health issue
than a policing issue," said Edmonton Police Association president
Sgt. Peter Ratcliff. | ||||||||||||||||
Arrests don't address the underlying causes of addiction, said
Ratcliff, adding cops have better things to do than bust junkies at
shooting galleries. | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
ONAIR EVENTS CALENDAR | ||||||||||||||||
MAP/DrugSense is pleased to announce enhancements to our OnAir Events
Calendar that allows the public to add or view television and radio
events taking place right up to the last minute. Details of the event
are automatically published with links to archived audio/video files
(where applicable) which will broaden the audience-base and promote
call-in participation. | ||||||||||||||||
We strongly encourage the reform community to utilize the OnAir Events
Calendar as a main source of information for media events along with
news, links, media information and all the other resources MAP has to
offer. | ||||||||||||||||
Thanks to DrugSense webmaster Debra Harper. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
MPP/SSDP NATIONAL CONFERENCE PHOTOS ONLINE | ||||||||||||||||
Special thanks to photo-journalist Doug McVay of Common Sense
for Drug Policy. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE - THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH | ||||||||||||||||
This Friday night, Nov. 15th at 12 Midnite to 1 AM Sat, (Central
Standard Time - That's 1 a.m. Eastern, 10 p.m. Pacific), Al Giordano,
noted journalist and publisher of NarcoNews.com will guest on Cultural
Baggage. | ||||||||||||||||
Listen to the live broadcast over the internet. | ||||||||||||||||
We will discuss the recent US elections and the elections and events in
Central and South America, the CIA-Drug connections, the recent NY
Times story on money laundering and much more. Al responds to a recent
example of bad journalism on his website: http://www.narconews.com We
will also discuss his upcoming start of his school of Authentic
Journalism. | ||||||||||||||||
Call in your questions to Al Giordano at 713-526-5738 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Youth Today, November 2002, Vol. 11, No. 9 / By Mike Males | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
JOHNNY HEADLINE | ||||||||||||||||
By Jack Shafer, published at Slate | ||||||||||||||||
"Now, if the Colombian organization was negotiating with a U.S.
government sting operation from the get-go, as the Times and Post
report, in what way can the drug and terrorism cops be said to have
foiled a plot to sell arms (the Times' headline wording) or to have
foiled the swap of drugs for weapons (the Post's)? The | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
THE PHARM SYSTEM | ||||||||||||||||
By Charles Shaw, published at Newtopia Magazine. | ||||||||||||||||
"How the drug war is destroying democracy." | ||||||||||||||||
http://www.newtopiamagazine.net/features/issue5/pharmsystem.htm | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
REVIEW OF TWO DRUG WAR BOOKS | ||||||||||||||||
By Michael Gutierrez, published at Friction Magazine | ||||||||||||||||
"A Scatterbrained Diatribe on the Incoherent Drug Policies of our
Nation, Disguised as a Book Review" | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
WEB SITE DESIGNED FOR TEEN ADDICTS | ||||||||||||||||
When San Jose high school principal Jacklyn Guevara was offered a
chance to enroll some of her students as guinea pigs for a novel online
drug and alcohol treatment program, she jumped at it. Guevara has only
three drug counselors on her staff. And drug programs for youths are
notoriously ineffective. | ||||||||||||||||
An Internet service that employs techno music, chat rooms, interactive
features, videos and real-time counseling to help teens beat their
habit? That sounded terrific. Where do I sign Foothill High School up,
she asked? | ||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
HEED THE SCIENCE | ||||||||||||||||
By Robert Melamede | ||||||||||||||||
It's too bad that The Denver Post doesn't do its homework before it
publishes opinions. With a little education, it would not support
federal marijuana policies that are based on ignorance and fear and
promote the suffering of those who could be helped. | ||||||||||||||||
Like The Post, most doctors and scientists and certainly all politicians and members of law enforcement have not read the current professional scientific literature. Had they, most would likely have a different opinion on the topic. Marijuana-like compounds, known as endogenous cannabinoids, control most of our body functions. | ||||||||||||||||
They help to maintain the healthful homeostasis of our immune,
nervous, endocrine, reproductive, digestive, excretory and
cardiovascular systems via specific cannabis receptors. Our bodies
all make psychoactive, cannabis-like compounds to fit into these
receptors. In addition, the cannabinoids have anti-glioma, breast
cancer and prostate cancer activities. Evolution has selected the
cannabinoids as natural inhibitors of peripheral pain and regulators
of appetite and body temperature. | ||||||||||||||||
It's time to believe the science and the people who are suffering. | ||||||||||||||||
Robert J. Melamede, | ||||||||||||||||
Colorado Springs | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
MPP/SSDP CONFERENCE A SUPERB SUCCESS | ||||||||||||||||
By Tom Angell | ||||||||||||||||
On Wednesday night we still had no idea who was leaving for
California to represent us the very next day. Five of us from
University of Rhode Island were planning to attend the Marijuana
Policy Project/Students for Sensible Drug Policy national
conference. Unfortunately, we'd just found out that the student
senate's credit card was rejected and that our airline ticket
purchase was never processed. When we found this out, tickets had
almost doubled in price and we were informed that only three of us
could now go. | ||||||||||||||||
Faced with this dilemma on the eve of our departure, we devised a plan. Starting at 9:00 p.m., with an appeal to goodwill, we called everyone involved with URI SSDP. Within three hours, we had raised enough money to purchase one more ticket. The next day, when we informed the student senate's finance chair, he responded to our last-minute endeavor by pledging to pay for the fifth ticket. | ||||||||||||||||
Our perseverance to attend the conference was paralleled by the
optimistic opening remarks of Shawn Heller, National Director of
SSDP, and Rob Kampia, Executive Director of MPP. Just days before,
the drug policy reform movement suffered a large blow with the
defeat of several ballot initiatives. | ||||||||||||||||
Heller opened the conference by quoting Gandhi. According to Gandhi,
any movement goes through a progression of stages: first it is
ignored, then laughed at, and then beaten down, and finally
perseveres until success is achieved. Heller said that November 5's
"beat-down" is a sign of the drug warriors' fear and that the reform
movement is almost on the verge of winning. | ||||||||||||||||
According to SSDP, almost half of the 600 conference attendees were
students. In a message to the large number of students in the crowd,
Heller proclaimed, "we must not let the drug war continue in our
names." | ||||||||||||||||
Kampia echoed Heller's resolve. "We can't win if we don't try. All
we can do is learn for next time," he said. Kampia also said that he
is looking into pursuing civil or criminal charges against John
Walters, the U.S. Drug Czar, for illegally using taxpayers' money to
campaign against Question 9 in Nevada. | ||||||||||||||||
Billy Rogers of MPP and other members of the Question 9 team offered
insight into the trials and tribulations of the campaign. Rogers
described the phenomenal effort that the entire team put forth. "We
fell short, but certainly not in terms of effort and belief," he
said of the campaign. | ||||||||||||||||
On Saturday evening, SSDP held its National Congress meeting to set
the upcoming year's agenda and elect new Board of Directors members.
The 45 chapters that were represented voted to keep Higher Education
Act reform, student drug testing, and harm reduction education as
national agenda items, while electing to remove Plan Colombia from
the agenda. Higher education vs. prison spending was chosen as a new
agenda item. | ||||||||||||||||
Matt Elrod of the DrugSense/Drug Policy Central webmastering team
was given an award by SSDP for the incredible work he has done on
their new website. | ||||||||||||||||
On Sunday, during what was perhaps the most uplifting part of the
weekend, Kevin Zeese and Ethan Nadelmann delivered invigorating
lunchtime addresses. Zeese, in a message to medical marijuana
providers and patients said, "Your neighbors don't want you in jail,
the cowards in the Justice Department do." When he said that we
should thank all those that have engaged in civil disobedience for
the medical marijuana issue, an overwhelming standing ovation
immediately erupted. | ||||||||||||||||
Zeese called the present time "a key moment for us to double our
efforts." Like previous speakers, he noted that "our opponents are
taking notice of us." | ||||||||||||||||
Nadelmann began his address with a warning to drug policy reformers.
"This is only the beginning. We have a long road ahead of us and
it's going to be tough. A movement is being built and every time we
are knocked down, we are going to keep getting up until we win.," he
said. | ||||||||||||||||
Before concluding, Nadelmann said that he wanted to try an
experiment. In what was truly a touching moment, he raised an
American flag and led an audience of hundreds of drug policy
reformers to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Just as he thought,
the crowd recited the line "and justice for all" with increased
emphasis. | ||||||||||||||||
Other sessions throughout the weekend focused on medical marijuana,
children in the war on drugs, cognitive liberties, high school drug
testing, media training, law enforcement against the drug war, and
running local ballot initiatives. | ||||||||||||||||
What started off as a sad week for drug policy reform in the U.S.
concluded on an optimistic note in Anaheim last weekend. Reform
organizations like SSDP are growing at exponential rates. When so
many young people are now working for positive social change, we can
only look to the future with optimism. In spite of our recent
losses, it is clear to everyone who was in Anaheim that the drug
policy reform movement will not only continue strong, but is now
stronger than it has ever been before. | ||||||||||||||||
Photos of the conference are at: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||
"If we didn't have drugs as a problem, then we wouldn't have the
spinoffs of thefts, violent crimes and other cases involved in drug
purchases and getting money for drugs. We'd have practically no
cases to worry about. That's true of most everywhere in the
country." | ||||||||||||||||
- Gary Alverson, District Attorney of Colbert County, Alabama. See http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n2087/a10.html for more details. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
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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 special guest editor Jo-D Harrison
(), 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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