| Nov. 22, 2002 #277 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(1) EDITORIAL: FREE REGINA MCKNIGHT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Regina McKnight is the only woman in America serving time for murder
for having a stillborn child while she was a cocaine user. South
Carolina is the only state in the union that will allow such a severe
charge to be pressed against so-called "crack moms," but that might be
changing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Arguments were heard by the S.C. Supreme Court earlier this month that
would overturn the law. We hope the justices will decide that South
Carolina's law isn't ahead of its time, but a bad piece of legislation
that needs to be struck down. | ||||||||||||||||||||
McKnight, who was convicted last year and sentenced to 12 years in
prison, gave birth to a dead baby girl who tested positive for a
cocaine by-product. No other cause of death was entertained. Assuming
that cocaine killed Baby McKnight, however, there is a question whether
her mother knew there was a correlation between drug abuse and fetal
viability. As Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal said, "You've got
to show some proof this uneducated homeless person knew taking cocaine
while she was pregnant would harm her baby." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Further, it's important to recognize that McKnight did not use drugs
out of choice, but because she was addicted. That fact seems to have
escaped Greg Hembree, the assistant state attorney who prosecuted
McKnight last year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) LOSING INITIATIVE GROUPS PONDER THE FUTURE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Two weeks removed from a crushing Election Day, Billy Rogers sounds surprisingly upbeat as he talks about the failure of Question 9. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think we got ahead of a tidal wave," says the leader of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the group behind the question that would have legalized adult possession of up to three ounces of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He says he's been studying the election statistics, and he's stunned at
what was an amazing Republican turnout. He says some Republican-leaning
precincts in Jon Porter's congressional district saw 80 percent
turnout, while many of Shelley Berkley's Democratic-leaning precincts
saw only 45 percent turnout. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
In other words: 39 percent of the vote, considering the conservative
tidal wave that hit Nevada (and much of the rest of the country) this
year, isn't too bad. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And that begs the question: Is this the end of NRLE, or will the folks
behind Question 9 stick around for a while? | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) POT RAIDS SPUR CALLS TO QUIT WORKING WITH DEA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
SACRAMENTO -- Reacting to raids of California medical marijuana
cooperatives by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, several
cities around the state are pushing local police to stop cooperating
with federal agents. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The City Council of Sebastopol became the latest to approve a resolution supporting California's medical marijuana law and asking that the municipal police force avoid working with the DEA. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sebastopol's vote Tuesday night is expected to be followed in a few
weeks by similar action in neighboring Santa Rosa. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Earlier this year, city leaders in Berkeley and San Francisco approved
anti-DEA resolutions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In San Jose, Police Chief William Lansdowne in October pulled his
officers from a DEA task force, citing a "clear conflict between
federal and state law" and saying methamphetamine was a far greater
problem than marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) U.S. DRUG CHIEF WARNS AGAINST INJECTION SITES FOR ADDICTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER -- U.S. drug czar John Walters warned yesterday that
supervised centres for addicts to inject heroin may save some lives but
also may lead to more drug users and casualties. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stepping gingerly into one of the most contentious issues in the city
of Vancouver, the director of the White House office of national drug
control policy said during a visit to the city he was not telling
Canada what the country should do. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"But the issue is, why not save people from the fatal disease of
addiction and not just from the fatal opportunity for overdose," Mr.
Walters said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Limited resources should be used to make people well, he told reporters
after speaking at a luncheon to a group of municipal politicians,
police from the city's drug-infested Downtown Eastside neighbourhood,
business people and marijuana activists. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The federal government made big efforts to defeat drug policy reform
initiatives earlier this month. Now it looks like reformers may
challenge the legitimacy of those efforts in court. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Drug testing companies are clearly ready to take advantage of a
Supreme Court ruling allowing wider drug testing in schools. Sales
reps have been approaching schools and attempting to sell products,
whether its in the best interest of the school or not. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The rhetoric about "drugged driving" heated up last week in the wake
of a new report on the phenomena, which recommends that states
create harsh legislation. If more of that legislation comes, it's
hard to be optimistic that courts would challenge it | ||||||||||||||||||||
While the government is getting ever more Draconian about drug use, it does not appear to be ashamed of its own efforts to force drugs on people. After the Russian hostage situation where fentanyl was used on the hostages and hostage takers, resulting in several deaths, U.S. reaction may have been muted because government officials have their own plans to use drugs as weapons. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And, while it seems unlikely that Ecstasy will be used as a weapon,
a report shows that it has the potential to help sufferers of
Parkinson's Disease. But prohibitionists remain adament that no one
should benefit from drugs they don't like. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) MARIJUANA RIGHTS GROUP WANTS TO SUE DRUG CZAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -- Backers of drug reform policy say White House
officials overstepped their bounds by using taxpayer funds to
actively campaign against statewide ballot initiatives in the last
election. | ||||||||||||||||||||
One group says the federal government might have broken the law and
is considering a lawsuit to bring to light what they say are
unethical activities by the White House. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bruce Merkin, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, said any
formal suit would target the Office of National Drug Control Policy
and Drug Czar John Walters, who made trips to Ohio, Nevada and
Arizona in the last year to lobby against state ballot initiatives
there. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There are legal, and frankly, moral questions here, particularly
when you consider that he went through some effort in his campaign
to demonize those who were running these initiatives while he runs
his own campaign with an open checkbook of taxpayer money," Merkin
charged. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) SCHOOLS TARGETED BY DRUG TESTERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Decisions about how school districts deal with drugs on campus soon
could be influenced more by marketing and less by need. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A wave of promotions by drug-testing companies has begun in response
to a Supreme Court decision in June that expanded the rights of
schools to test students for drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The companies hope to gain the business of school districts, which,
according to the 5-4 decision, now have the right to perform urine
tests on students in sports, competitive after-school activities
-like band or choir -and those who drive to school. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I've been calling district superintendents ever since the ruling
came out," said Jeffrey Ellins, president of Datco Services Corp., a
drug-testing company in Grass Valley. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) MANY, UNDETECTED, USE DRUGS AND THEN DRIVE, REPORT SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
An estimated nine million Americans a year drive while under the
influence of illegal drugs, but efforts to identify, arrest and
treat them have been hampered by the weakness of state laws and,
until recently, a lack of quick and reliable drug tests, a new
report says. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The report, issued yesterday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, calls on
states to adopt criminal laws setting strict standards on the
presence of drugs in a driver's body, just as they use blood alcohol
content to determine that a driver is intoxicated. | ||||||||||||||||||||
At present, eight states have laws, almost all passed in the last few
years, that make it illegal to drive with any measurable amount of
forbidden drugs in the system. In the other states, prosecutors must
usually prove that the reckless conduct for which a driver was stopped
was caused by drugs - a difficult standard, the report said, because a
variety of factors may come into play, including the type of drug, the
dose, the way it was taken and the user's metabolism. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) SUPREME COURT REJECTS FORMER VEGAS STRIPPER'S APPEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON -(AP)- The Supreme Court has turned aside a former Las
Vegas topless dancer's challenge to Nevada's ban on driving while
under the influence of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jessica Williams was convicted and sentenced to prison after she
crashed her van into a freeway median in March 2000 and killed six
teenagers who were picking up roadside litter | ||||||||||||||||||||
In her appeal, Williams and her lawyer claimed that the state's
driving under the influence law was unconstitutional and that
prosecutors let crucial blood samples spoil before the defense could
test them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The nation's highest court, without comment, declined to take up the
case. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) IT'S A GAS, GAS, GAS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
It first it looked like a cause for international outrage - "Nerve
Gas Mystery" was the New York Post's headline on October 28. What
had started as a crisis, with about 750 people held hostage in a
Moscow theater by Chechen rebels, turned into a scandal when Russian
authorities revealed they had used an aerosol form of the drug
fentanyl to rescue the hostages, about 120 of whom died from
overdose. Why did the controversy subside into a muted debate?
Perhaps it's because the Pentagon wants to keep fentanyl in its
medicine cabinet, in a drawer labeled "nonlethal weapons." If the
U.S. denounces Russia for spraying drugs at a crowd, where does that
leave us? | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
How did a carefully controlled hospital narcotic become a military
experiment in mass anesthesia? And why is everyone nodding their
heads in consent? On October 29, The New York Times and Los Angeles
Times published some clues. According to documents obtained by the
Austin-based Sunshine Project, the Pentagon is currently studying
the use of fentanyl, Valium, and other psychoactive drugs as
"incapacitating," "nonlethal" weapons. (The feds deny conducting
such research, but documents show the work is being contracted out
by the Pentagon's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate. A recent
report outlines proposed plans for Valium-laced pepper spray,
carfentanyl dart guns, psychoactive chewing gum, and drug granules
encased in a shell that can be fired from a mortar at thousands of
granules per round.) | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) ECSTASY HAS DRAMATIC EFFECT ON PARKINSON'S SYMPTOMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ecstasy is being hailed as the key to better treatments for the
Parkinson's disease, marking a complete turnaround from a few weeks
ago when ecstasy was condemned for causing the disease. | ||||||||||||||||||||
New animal studies have confirmed anecdotal reports that ecstasy can
dramatically curb the uncontrollable arm and leg movements that
plague so many people with Parkinson's. But the finding may be of
little immediate help to sufferers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The researchers are not calling for patients to be given legal
supplies of ecstasy (MDMA). Instead, they want to look for related
drugs with the same beneficial effects. And patients are being
warned against trying MDMA for themselves. "It's impure, illegal and
dangerous," says Robert Meadowcroft, policy director of Britain's
Parkinson's Disease Society. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Others are calling for further animal studies to establish the
effective dose, followed by human trials. "People who are suffering
should have the right to decide carefully for themselves whether or
not to take MDMA," says American drugs policy campaigner Rick
Doblin. His organisation, MAPS, recently won approval from the Food
and Drug Administration for a human trial of ecstasy for treating
post-traumatic stress disorder. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bucking trends elsewhere, a U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts is
pushing longer sentences for drug convicts. The drug war also seems
to be heating up in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, where drug arrests
are way up, but nobody knows why. | ||||||||||||||||||||
While officials in these places seem to assume they can use their resources to push more drug cases through the court system, experiences elsewhere in the country show the system simply can't handle much more. In Oklahoma, the state legislature has appropriated emergency funds to keep prison guards on the job, but it's still not enough. And in Philadelphia, cops have time to make drug arrests, but not to show up in court during prosecutions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) TOUGHER FEDERAL SENTENCES PUSHED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
US Attorney Michael Sullivan, in a significant shift, is ordering
federal prosecutors to increase the recommended sentences of
defendants convicted of drug and gun charges, adding between two to
30 years to their prison terms. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The move to stiffen drug sentences in particular runs counter to a
national backlash against the length of federal drug sentences,
which have dropped by more than 20 percent over the last decade,
according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is a kind of sea change in the practice of this office,"
Sullivan said recently. "I think it's important that we use the
tools that allow for the most significant punishment." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sullivan's new policy has raised questions about the fairness of
decades-long sentences for crimes that in state court would carry
sentences half as long, and the wisdom of sending addicts to prison
rather than to treatment programs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(12) PROSECUTIONS RISING SHARPLY IN MILWAUKEE COUNTY'S WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The local war on drugs has never been hotter. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Investigators, prosecutors and judges assigned to the battle have never been busier, and they can't completely explain it. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In his spiffy downtown office where local law enforcement gets the
latest intelligence and technology for the war on drugs, Erick
Slamka said there's no clear-cut explanation for why narcotics
investigators are putting cases together against drug traffickers at
a record rate. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"You won't get a definitive answer," said Slamka, who became
director of the Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
program in 1998, after 35 years with the South Milwaukee Police
Department. "You'll get opinions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think we're getting better at what we're doing." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) FUNDING BOOST MAY NOT FIX PRISON SYSTEM'S PROBLEMS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Oklahoma legislators are expected to give state Corrections
Department employees a reprieve from furloughs when Monday's special
session begins. But the funding proposal they'll consider may just
be a temporary fix to a much larger problem. Legislators are
expected to give the department $9.8 million to delay furloughs
until April. Even with that money, the agency still faces a $27
million deficit because of state budget cuts and costs associated
with a growing inmate population. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Officials are hoping something happens between now and April that
will stave off what could be a disastrous situation for the
department, compressing its planned furlough days into a three-month
span. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We can't rule that out at this point," department spokesman Jerry Massie said. "We can't rule it in either. But we can't rule it out." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Financial crisis In September, agency Director Ron Ward announced 23
furlough days for all 4,850 corrections employees between Nov. 1 and
June 30. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The furloughs were designed to help the department cut $18.6 million
from its budget. Every state agency has had to cut more than 9
percent of their budgets because of tax revenue shortfalls totaling
$291.7 million. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) TASK FORCE TO TAKE ON NO-SHOW OFFICERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Reacting to a controversial report on drug enforcement, the city's
top criminal justice officials are pulling together a task force to
attack a problem plaguing the drug war: police officers who are
"no-shows" in court. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Officials say fixing the problem requires confronting an array of
conflicting interests. While drug arrests have tripled in recent
years, the department is also under pressure to limit court
overtime. Plus, judges feel pressed not to add defendants to an
already overcrowded prison system. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Due in part to the volume of drug arrests - up last year to 24,845
from 8,682 in 1997 - officers are often asked to show up to testify
in multiple cases at the same time. If officers don't show up, cases
are sometimes dismissed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
This week Health Canada announced that a recent article stating that
its initial "unsatisfactory" crop of cannabis was burned was
erroneous. The Health Minister's assistant, Farah Mohamed, reported
that the cannabis was actually being used for testing and to
germinate a new crop. Also from Canada, news that an Ottawa company
called GH Protection is renting out the services of a drug-sniffing
dog to parents suspecting their kids of drug use. The truly amazing
thing is that an American company didn't come up with this nefarious
idea first. | ||||||||||||||||||||
From the U.S., an enlightening column about a Tribune-Review
interview with Drug Czar John Walters explaining why the man has
never lost an argument. Also this week, news that the re-release of
"Pumping Iron", the weight-lifting documentary that introduced
Arnold Schwarzenegger to the world, will include a previously cut
scene of Arnold taking a drag off of a joint. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And finally, a story about Amsterdam readying itself for another High Times Cannabis Cup. This annual boost to the Dutch economy might be a good lesson for Health Canada; if it's going to be burning its crop, it may as well be for fun and profit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) FLIN FLON POT TO ESCAPE FIERY FATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Flin Flon's underground marijuana farm has generated more than its
share of headlines, but when it was reported this weekend that the
operation's entire harvest was to be burned by Health Canada, Flin
Flon Mayor Dennis Ballard had just one request: that he be allowed
to stand close. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"As far as I'm concerned, it's a political story, not a dope story,"
said Mr. Ballard, who has found himself alternately amused and
appalled by the machinations that have surrounded the curious
industry that came to his town two years ago: the first crop of
marijuana to be grown by a private company under licence for the
federal government. | ||||||||||||||||||||
On Saturday, a Quebec newspaper reported that the entire crop was to
be burned by Health Canada because its quality was too uneven. Last
night, Anne McLellan's assistant, Farah Mohamed, said the report was
completely wrong, and that the Flin Flon plants were to be used for
lab testing and to germinate a further crop. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) THIS NOSE FOR HIRE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Parents Who suspect their teenager is dabbling in drugs now have an
alternative to snooping through drawers and closets looking for a
hidden stash of dope. | ||||||||||||||||||||
They can hire a drug-sniffing dog to do it for them. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hiring a drug-sniffing dog is a sign of desperate parenting, said
Helen Jones, a spokeswoman for The Association of Parent Support
Groups in Ontario. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"In the long term it does nothing for the parent/child relationship and that's really the only thing we have going for us," she said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) CZAR WARS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
You can't win an argument with the drug czar. | ||||||||||||||||||||
I found that out fast this month when John Walters, the federal
government's tireless, full-time propagandist in the War on Drugs,
met for an edgy but civil hour of debate with Trib editors and
reporters. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(18) 'IRON' WILL PAYING OFF FOR SCHWARZENEGGER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Arnold Schwarzenegger encouraged the director of Pumping Iron, the documentary that launched him in Hollywood 25 years ago, to re-release it unedited - including a marijuana-smoking scene. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I would refuse to wipe out that record or change it or alter it
because of image's sake," Schwarzenegger, 55, said this week. "That
would not be true to the filmmaker." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I did smoke a joint and I did inhale," he said, taking a jab at President Clinton's statement. "The bottom line is that's what it was in the '70s, that's what I did. I have never touched it since. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(19) CANNABIS TRADE GETS DUTCH ECONOMY HIGH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Imitating U.S. drug prohibition successes, a Canadian parliamentary
committee on the non-medical use of drugs will recommend creating a
Canadian Drug "Czar" to coordinate the fight against illegal drugs.
"There's no 'Big Brother,' " explained one politician, arguing for
creation of the new cabinet position. According to reports, the
parliamentary committee will also recommend dropping criminal
penalties for the use of cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian safe injection facilities could be in operation early as next year. The Health Ministry, now creating guidelines for injection centers, will accept local proposals by the end of the year. The centers would be open only as a last resort to addicts who were not able to recover using standard methadone therapy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Mexico, Victor Soto Conde --a former major in the Mexican army --
was sentenced to the maximum punishment of 60 years in jail for
tipping off an alleged "drug lord" of an impending army raid.
Prosecutors argued Soto used knowledge of army arrest plans to leak
news of a government raid on a wedding the drug lord had been
scheduled to attend. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Also in Mexico last week, a federal court cleared another so-called "drug lord" of nine-year-old murder charges. Accused of the 1993 murder of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, murder charges against Benjamin Arellano Felix were tossed because of lack of evidence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And finally this week from Germany, a researcher uncovered evidence
that Nazis used concentration camp inmates to test a powerful
cocaine-based stimulant named D-IX, forcing test subjects to march
up to 55 miles without rest before collapsing. Nazis reportedly had
plans to give the stimulant to front-line troops. Paralleling
official U.S. military use of amphetamines (while at the same time
jailing non-military users), Nazis, too, condemned use of cocaine,
which they demonized as "devil's stuff." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(20) MPS DEMAND A DRUG CZAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
'We Have Nobody' To Measure Success Of War On Drugs | ||||||||||||||||||||
A special parliamentary committee will recommend that Canada hire a
national drug czar -- similar to that in the U.S. -- to tackle the
country's multibillion-dollar problem of illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The committee on non-medical use of drugs will also recommend that Canada relax its laws against marijuana possession and that the government sanction sites in which addicts can safely inject drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"There's no 'Big Brother,' " said MP Derek Lee, a Liberal committee
member. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"We have no leader, we have nobody. We have no institution in the
country that's been given the job of setting goals and trying to
find out if we get there or not." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(21) SAFE DRUG SITES BACKED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Safe injection sites for hard-core drug users could be a fixture in
some Canadian cities as early as next year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The latest move towards having long-addicted heroin and cocaine
users inject under supervised conditions came last week when Health
Canada said it was reviewing criteria for the sites and would be
ready to accept proposals from interested cities by the end of this
year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A spokesperson for Health Minister Anne McLellan said the ministry
was shaping guidelines under which cities could make proposals to
open a safe-injection centre. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Under the safe-injection pilot proposal, only addicts who have been
unable to get better through methadone treatment and counselling
would be eligible, he said. The program would not be for all addicts
and certainly not for anyone walking in off the street and asking
for heroin. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(22) EX-OFFICER GETS 60-YEAR TERM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MEXICO CITY -- A judge has sentenced a former Mexican | ||||||||||||||||||||
Victor Soto Conde was discharged from the army and fined $38,000 as
part of the same sentence for organized crime drug trafficking and
money laundering. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Soto used his inside knowledge of army operations to tip off
Carrillo about a raid to capture him at the wedding of his sister in
the northern state of Sinaloa. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The drug trafficker's alleged lieutenant, Ismael Zambada, paid Soto
for providing the information. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(23) DRUG FIGURE CLEARED IN 1993 SLAYING OF CARDINAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mexican drug lord has been cleared in the 1993 slaying of a Roman
Catholic cardinal, a federal judge said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Judge Humberto Venancio Pineda upheld the ruling of a previous
court, which threw out charges that Benjamin Arellano Felix ordered
the killing of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo due to lack of
evidence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(24) NAZIS TESTED COCAINE ON CAMP INMATES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nazi researchers used concentration camp inmates to test a
cocaine-based "wonder drug" they hoped would enhance the performance
of German troops, it was reported yesterday. Prisoners at
Sachsenhausen who were given the drug, code-named D-IX, were forced
to march in circles carrying 20kg packs. They were able to march 55
miles without resting. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The researcher Wolf Kemper, who uncovered the project, said: "The aim was to use D-IX to redefine the limits of human endurance." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nazi doctors were enthusiastic about the results, and planned to
supply all German troops with the pills, but the war ended before
D-IX could be put into mass production. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hitler was against drug use, particularly condemning the use of
cocaine, a popular society drug in the 1920s that the Nazis called
"devil's stuff". | ||||||||||||||||||||
But the Third Reich did not have the same scruples when it came to
military use of drugs. Amphetamines were mass-produced for use at
the front, the same article reported. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Walters On CSPAN Video | ||||||||||||||||||||
Check out Monday morning's Washington Journal interview on CSPAN.
Reformers may want to watch the entire 45 minute segment. Walters
made it very clear where he wants the government to go, to include
talking about the initiatives, and at the end stating that they
intend to roll back past initiatives. The webpage with the link to
the video is: http://www.c-span.org/journal/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE MYTH OF POTENT POT | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Daniel Forbes | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Czar's Latest Reefer Madness: He Claims That Marijuana Is
30 Times More Powerful Than It Used To Be. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The John Walters Project | ||||||||||||||||||||
The American drug czar goes to Vancouver and gets confronted by
activists. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Cultural Baggage - The Unvarnished Truth | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tonight, Friday, Nov. 22d at 12 Midnite to 1 AM Sat., (Central
Standard Time - That's 1 a.m. Eastern, 10 p.m. Pacific), Nora
Callahan, Executive Director of The November Coalition | ||||||||||||||||||||
Listen to the live broadcast over the internet at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Journey for Justice Reports on these visits are at | ||||||||||||||||||||
Journey for Justice is being coordinated by: The November Coalition
and Common Sense for Drug Policy http://www.csdp.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
SAMHSA has released a new National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
report on Drugged Driving, available online at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
A PDF is available at: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
MEDICAL POT DEFENDED | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Dale Gieringer | ||||||||||||||||||||
Editor -- In his column about the recent defeat of state drug reform
initiatives (Nov. 11), Joseph Perkins wrongly asserts that the
National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws and the Marijuana
Policy Project have a hidden agenda on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There is nothing secret about NORML's position: We favor the right
of adults to use marijuana legally, just like alcohol and tobacco, a
policy we believe to be best for users and nonusers alike. We
emphatically do not advocate legalization of other drugs (which many
of our members oppose) nor do we necessarily insist that marijuana
be "legalized" in the sense of being commercially advertised and
mass marketed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Our support for medical marijuana is based on the testimony of thousands of patients, physicians and researchers, who have found it both safe and effective in relieving pain and suffering. It is not ourselves, but drug warriors like drug czar John Walters and Perkins who have displayed a callous disregard for truth and compassion by denying seriously ill patients access to medical marijuana on the spurious grounds that the issue is "drug legalization. " | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dale Gieringer, | ||||||||||||||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
POLICE SHOULD TACKLE MORE IMPORTANT CRIMES THAN DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Rachel Sewell Nesteruk | ||||||||||||||||||||
Editor's Note: We depart from tradition this week and print a
published letter to the editor as our feature article. MAP has had
incredible success encouraging activists to comment on the news, but
in this case, a letter writer went beyond commenting and did her own
reporting. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In 1999, I was robbed at gunpoint while delivering a pizza. The
person who threatened to kill me was never arrested. The
investigation consisted of the officer who took my report driving
around the neighborhood where it occurred. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sadly, most victims of violent crime have a similar experience to
mine. In Knoxville, only 16 percent of murders, rapes, robberies,
aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies and auto thefts are
solved. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Things are much better in Oak Ridge, where fully 24.4 percent of
murders, rapes, robberies, kidnappings, aggravated assaults,
burglaries and auto thefts end in arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Why is there such a low rate of arrest for these crimes when
forensic science is so advanced? | ||||||||||||||||||||
What can be done to bring justice to the thugs who stalk Oak Ridge
with impunity? I believe the answer lies in shifting police
resources towards solving these crimes and away from enforcing the
unwinnable "War on Drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||||
After all, during the same time that 325 serious and violent crimes went unsolved in Oak Ridge, 200 people were arrested for drug offenses, which is 97.5 percent of crimes reported in this category. | ||||||||||||||||||||
According to The Sentencing Project (using Department of Justice
statistics) 75 percent of drug prisoners have been convicted of a
non-violent offense. Also, 80 percent of drug prisoners are
African-American or Hispanic, despite usage rates of 13 percent and
9 percent respectively. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Why are we wasting our valuable police resources in pursuing people
who are, for the most part, only hurting themselves? | ||||||||||||||||||||
Until the statistics for solving violent crimes improve drastically,
I don't think any officers in the Oak Ridge Police Department should
be assigned to programs that focus on the War on Drugs. There are
simply more important crimes out there that our dedicated officers
should be tackling. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"In 1914, the federal government changed the social and medical problems of drugs into a massive crime problem by establishing criminal prohibition of certain drugs. Eighty-eight years later, the government's continuing claims of progress in controlling drugs cannot be validated. The magnitude of this massive interference with liberty cannot be justified by the mere claim that the drug problem would be worse if the government had not attempted prohibition." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph D. McNamara, from an oped titled "Costly, Counterproductive,
Crazy" in the Orange County Register. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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