| December 20, 2002 #281 | ||||||||||||||||||
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NOTE TO READERS: DrugSense Weekly will mark the festive season by taking next week off, but we will return with a new edition Jan. 3. The DrugSense staff wishes happy holidays to all our readers and the generous volunteers and contributors who make this work possible. | ||||||||||||||||||
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) INMATES GO FREE TO HELP STATES REDUCE DEFICITS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LEXINGTON, Ky., - They began walking out of the Fayette County Jail
here this afternoon, the first of 567 Kentucky state prison inmates
that Gov. Paul E. Patton abruptly ordered released this week in a
step to reduce a $500 million budget deficit. | ||||||||||||||||||
Governor Patton said only nonviolent offenders were being given the
early mass commutation. But those let out today included men
convicted of burglary, theft, arson and drug possession, some of them
chronic criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||
"A percentage of them are going to recommit a crime, and some of them are going to be worse than the crimes they are in for," Mr. Patton acknowledged in announcing the emergency releases. But, he added, "I have to do what I have to do to live within the revenue that we have." | ||||||||||||||||||
It is a quandary that confronts an increasing number of politicians
across the nation in this time of deficits. After three decades of
building ever more prisons and passing tougher sentencing laws,
politicians now see themselves as being forced to choose between
keeping a lid on spending or being tough on crime. | ||||||||||||||||||
As a result, states are laying off prison guards, or giving prisoners
emergency early releases like those in Kentucky. Some states have gone
so far as to repeal mandatory minimum sentences or to send drug
offenders to treatment rather than to prison in an effort to slow down
the inflow of new inmates. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) COUNCIL SETS ASIDE D.C. DRUG INITIATIVE CALLING FOR TREATMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Measure Approved by Voters Lacks Funds; Lawmakers Look to Congress
advertisement | ||||||||||||||||||
Mayor Williams opposes eliminating the threat of jail for drug users. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last month's voter initiative giving nonviolent drug criminals the
right to treatment instead of jail was shelved by the D.C. Council
yesterday on its busy final meeting of the year. | ||||||||||||||||||
On a day of wide-ranging legislative action affecting everything from
trees to homeless shelters to labor laws, the council voted 12 to 1
to not implement the new drug rules unless Congress approves millions
of dollars in funding to pay for them -- a turn of events city
officials called unlikely. | ||||||||||||||||||
The action marked the fifth time in recent years that the council
has moved to block or invalidate voter initiatives, including
measures to limit campaign contributions to council members and the
number of terms they can serve. | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug initiative passed with 78 percent of the vote Nov. 5. But it belatedly ran into stiff opposition from city leaders, including Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), who is waging a court fight to stop it. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) COURT RULING PROMPTS POT-DELIVERY SERVICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Medical Marijuana Club Activists Launch Order-By-Web Site After Judge
In Quebec Stays Possession And Trafficking Charges | ||||||||||||||||||
MONTREAL -- Pot in Canada may soon be a click away with the launch of a home-delivery service for medical marijuana over the Internet. | ||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana activists in Montreal announced the start-up of
http://www.marijuanahomedelivery.ca/ shortly after a Quebec judge threw
out possession and trafficking charges yesterday against two volunteers
at a medical marijuana club. | ||||||||||||||||||
Quebec Court Judge Gilles Cadieux said authorizing those who are ill to
use marijuana in Canada while depriving them of a legal source violates
the right to life and liberty under the Charter. | ||||||||||||||||||
Judge Cadieux stopped short of invalidating Canada's pot laws, saying such a decision is up to higher courts. But he ordered a stay of proceedings against Alexandre Neron and Marc-Boris St-Maurice, who faced charges of possession and trafficking after Montreal police raided their Compassion Club in 2000 and seized marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. St-Maurice immediately declared a moral victory and convened a news
conference to announce the launch of a new marijuana-by-mail service
for the ill in Canada, opening a new frontier in the challenge to the
country's pot laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) MOST PARTY-GOERS REJECT RACINE PLEA DEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Young People Ticketed at Rave Have Stuck to Not-Guilty Pleas | ||||||||||||||||||
Racine - Rave Wars, which began when police issued $968 citations to
each of 441 party-goers in November, may continue here for quite some
time. | ||||||||||||||||||
The city has backed off since socking the ravers with the big-dollar
tickets, offering to reduce the fine to $100, change the violation to
disorderly conduct and offering to expunge the record of any reference
to the original citation: "inmate of a disorderly house/controlled
substances." | ||||||||||||||||||
But even with the new offer, a heavy majority of young adults at the
first round of pretrial hearings Wednesday stuck to their not-guilty
pleas for attending the rave, a type of party known for distinctive
dance music and, oftentimes, illegal drug use. And Assistant City
Attorney Scott Lewis changed gears, saying he likely wouldn't hire a
special prosecutor for what could turn out to be hundreds of Municipal
Court trials. | ||||||||||||||||||
That means some who got their citations Nov. 2 might not get a trial
date for a year, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
No matter, said 26-year-old Kansasville raver Daniel Thomas, whose pretrial hearing is next month. Neither the reduced fine nor the threat of a drawn-out court fight will make him give in, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I wouldn't change my not-guilty plea even if they paid me," Thomas
said. "I didn't do anything wrong, and I'm not going to pay them a
dime." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The clash between federal and state marijuana laws made it to a
federal courtroom in California last week. Lawyers supporting state
medical marijuana laws argued that federal law enforcement officials
should not be targeting state-sanctioned users of marijuana. In
another courtroom, another casualty of the battle between federal
and state law. Jeff Jones, director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers
Co-operative, was found guilty of jury tampering for distributing
information about medical marijuana during the federal trial of
medical marijuana provider Bryan Epis. | ||||||||||||||||||
A judge in New Jersey recognized the injustice of drug-related
property forfeitures. The judge ruled that forfeiture practices in
the state were unconstitutional, which will prevent police from
using about $32 million in seized assets. | ||||||||||||||||||
As the Asa Hutchinson-era comes to a predictably unsuccessful close
at the DEA, how will the administrator be remembered? Reform
advocates certainly aren't impressed, but many agents apparently
won't share fond thoughts of Hutchinson either. Hispanic agents
allege they were mistreated by Hutchinson and his "good old boy
network." | ||||||||||||||||||
And, the DEA suffered another embarrassment this week as an agency
employee was sentenced for stealing data about private citizens from
government databases. Something to think about as the feds continue
their push for "total information awareness," and claim the system
won't be abused. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) FEDERAL COURT CONSIDERS POT ARGUMENTS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Lawyers argued Tuesday over whether a federal judge can and should
bar U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Drug Enforcement
Administration chief Asa Hutchinson from treating medical marijuana
patients as criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||
U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins didn't rule Tuesday, but
indicated he'll do so no later than mid-January. | ||||||||||||||||||
Patients sued the government officials in October, claiming their
civil rights are being violated by federal crackdowns on medical
marijuana. The federal government still deems all marijuana growth,
possession or use illegal, even though California voters OK'd
medical marijuana in 1996. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,
Oregon and Washington have similar laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) JEFF JONES GUILTY OF LEAFLETING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In Jeff Jones, the 28-year-old director of the Oakland Cannabis
Buyers Co-op, we have a rarity: a movement leader capable of
expressing self-criticism. This week Jones was convicted by a
federal magistrate in Sacramento of attempting to 'influence
juror[s] by writing,' a class-B misdemeanor that exposes him to a
six-month sentence and a $1,000 fine. Jones had been arrested on the
morning of Monday, June 24 while leafleting outside the courthouse
where the trial of Bryan Epis was getting underway. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jones isn't complaining that the feds violated his right to free
speech. Nor is he badmouthing the activists who downloaded Bryan
Epis's account of the case and made copies for distribution at the
courthouse. (Less specific material might have been more
defensible.) Jeff is down on himself for not reading the leaflet and
understanding its implications before passing it out. He had not
planned to get arrested that day. | ||||||||||||||||||
The man Jones intended to help, Bryan Epis, was one of the first Californians growing cannabis for medical use to be prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice after the passage of Prop 215. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) NEW JERSEY JUDGE RULES FORFEITURE LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A judge has ruled that New Jersey's
practice of letting police and prosecutors keep the money and assets
they seize is unconstitutional, putting a halt -- for now -- to a
system criticized as bounty hunting. | ||||||||||||||||||
The practice gives law enforcement a stake in the cash, cars, computers and other property seized from criminals and suspects. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The decision will ensure that police and prosecutors make decisions
on the basis of justice, not on the potential for profit," said
lawyer Scott Bullock, who represented a former sheriff's deputy
whose son was caught selling marijuana out of her car. | ||||||||||||||||||
The state plans to appeal Wednesday's ruling and ask the judge to
allow the continued distribution of seized assets, which amounted to
nearly $32 million in a two-year period ending in 2000. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) HOMELAND SECURITY NOMINEE'S RECORD WITH HISPANICS IS DRAWING FIRE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Asa Hutchinson, a former Republican congressman from Arkansas, has
been tapped by President George W. Bush to serve as the | ||||||||||||||||||
However, a major Hispanic law-enforcement group - the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association (HAPCOA), is raising some serious concerns about Hutchinson's track record at DEA, particularly as it relates to his treatment of minorities. | ||||||||||||||||||
HAPCOA, which has about 1,100 members in the United States and
Puerto Rico, represents command-level Hispanic law enforcement
officers working on the local, state and federal level. | ||||||||||||||||||
Among the charges made in a recent resolution adopted by HAPCOA are
that Hutchinson has "been a party to continuing an insidious 'good
old boy' network (in DEA) thus perpetuating an atmosphere of
distrust, reprisal and retaliation against minority employees for
exercising their rights. ..." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) DEA DATA THIEF SENTENCED TO 27 MONTHS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A 14-year veteran of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
who fled to Mexico to avoid federal computer crime charges was
sentenced in a federal court in Los Angeles on Monday to 27 months
in prison for selling information on private citizens he plundered
from sensitive law enforcement databases. | ||||||||||||||||||
Emilio Calatayud, 36, admitted in a plea agreement last August to
raiding a variety of systems to investigate claimants in over 100
workers compensation cases being handled by Triple Check
Investigative Services for unnamed insurance carriers. Triple Check
paid the former agent at least $22,500 for the data over a six year
period ending in 1999, according to court records. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
More reports this week explain the significant role drug prohibition
plays in a nation-wide prison crisis. Contrary to assertions from
prohibitionists, it's not the kingpins that are filling the cells.
Of the 58,000 drug convictions won by officials in Harris County,
Texas, 77 percent involved the possession of less than a single gram
of drugs. Over five years, 35,000 of those sub-gram convicts went to
jail or prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
Up to the north, in Oklahoma, the story is just as scandalous. The
overcrowded system is hosting more and more drug offenders. Right
now, drug offenders represent 40 percent of incoming prisoners. Yet,
the state continues to push longer sentences, as a new | ||||||||||||||||||
And speaking of wasted taxpayer dollars, as states attempt to slash
costs across the board, the prison industry seems immune in
California. And in another grim reminder that the drug war can have
consequences beyond financial disaster, police in Kentucky
acknowledged they found no drugs during a bust that ended in the
shooting death of a handcuffed suspect. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) WAR ON DRUGS NETS SMALL-TIME OFFENDERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Texas' war on drugs punishes few major importers and dealers but
imprisons thousands caught with less than a sugar packet full of
cocaine or other illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The battle rages most fiercely in Harris County. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of the 58,000 drug convictions won by local prosecutors over the
past five years, 77 percent involved less than a gram of a drug,
according to district court data analyzed by the Houston Chronicle.
Harris County sent 35,000 of these small-time offenders to jail or
prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
The numbers suggest that these men and women are collateral damage
in the war on drugs, arrested because they were easy targets rather
than objects of a grand strategy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) DRUG SENTENCES FILL PRISONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Drug convictions are continuing to drive up the
state's bulging inmate population at a time when funding for additional
bed space appears scarce. | ||||||||||||||||||
K.C. Moon, director of the Criminal Justice Resource Center, said the state has space for 21,500 offenders but houses 23,000. It depends on private prison contracts for some of that space. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"Drug offenses are the No. 1 offense that people go to prison for,"
Moon said. "It is about 40 percent of all receptions." | ||||||||||||||||||
Ten years ago, drug crimes represented 23 percent of all prison
receptions. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Drug crimes are consistently going up every year," Moon said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Drug arrests have increased to 14.2 percent of all arrests in 2001 from 8 percent in 1989, according to the Sentencing Commission report. The increase is a 78 percent hike, according to the report. Drug arrests include sale, manufacturing and possession of drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, arrests for crimes such as murder, rape, robbery,
aggravated assault, burglary and larceny have decreased 26 percent,
from 14.5 percent of total arrests to 10.7 percent during the same
time, according to the report. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) MAN CONVICTED UNDER TOUGHER METH LAW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An Oklahoma County jury has convicted the first person under a tougher
methamphetamine manufacturing law. Steven Edward Noble, 40, will have
to serve 85 percent or 421/2 years of a 50-year sentence for his
conviction of aggravated manufacturing of methamphetamine before he
will be eligible for parole. | ||||||||||||||||||
Noble also must pay a $50,000 fine because of the law that took effect
July 1, 2001. | ||||||||||||||||||
District Judge Susan Caswell also handed Noble a 35-year sentence for
his conviction on a charge of possession of a firearm while committing
a felony, plus 10 years for his conviction of possession of a precursor
substance without obtaining a permit. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) SO FAR, PRISONS MANAGE TO DUCK BUDGET AX (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
When Gov. Gray Davis proposed midyear budget cuts last week, few
programs were spared. Adult Medi-Cal recipients would have to do
without dental care. Disabled people were asked to forgo a
cost-of-living increase in monthly grants. People who recently
escaped welfare would lose their guarantee of subsidized child care.
Scores of road projects could be delayed. | ||||||||||||||||||
But one part of the budget -- prisons -- escaped largely unscathed.
The Department of Corrections, which runs the prisons, spends more
than 6 percent of the state's general fund. Yet it accounted for
only 0.1 percent of the $10.2 billion in cuts and other money-saving
measures proposed by Davis. | ||||||||||||||||||
Davis said he would not balance the budget by jeopardizing public
safety. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) NO DRUGS FOUND IN HOME OF MAN KILLED IN CUFFS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LOUISVILLE - No illegal drugs were found in a search of the apartment
of a man who was handcuffed and shot to death by a police detective
last week, according to court records. | ||||||||||||||||||
Crack pipes were found at the apartment of James Edward Taylor, 50,
according to the documents. Police spokeswoman Helene Kramer said the
paraphernalia was being tested for residue and that the results of a
drug screen conducted as part of Mr. Taylor's autopsy may not be
available for several weeks. | ||||||||||||||||||
Louisville Police Chief Greg Smith has said that witnesses who were
in Mr. Taylor's apartment when he was shot Dec. 5 told investigators
that they and Mr. Taylor had been smoking crack cocaine and drinking
vodka. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In the story of every nation, there are key historical moments that
are certain to influence not only that country's future, but also
that of its neighbors in global politics. Over the next four months,
the Canadian Justice Minister has announced that Canada will
decriminalize the personal possession of cannabis for adults (under
30 grams), levying fines rather than subjecting users to a criminal
trial (and the resulting criminal record). As the U.S.'s biggest
trade partner and closest neighbor (over 3000 miles of "open"
border), this is without a doubt the most important step towards
rational drug policy reform that North America has seen in the last
thirty years. This week's hemp and cannabis section is devoted to
this Canadian policy shift; for, as the vociferousness of U.S.
opposition to Canadian decriminalization shows, this move towards
harm reduction policies has clearly sent ripples far beyond the
Northern borders of the continent. This view is echoed in our first
article, a smart and timely Globe and Mail editorial by former U.S.
Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders. As predicted in her piece, our
second article addresses U.S. fears over proposed changes in
Canada's marijuana laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
This week's third story addresses the more nefarious side of Justice
Minister Cauchon's stated intention to decriminalize cannabis. As a
result of last week's announcement, a long-standing Supreme Court
challenge on the constitutionality of Canada's cannabis prohibition
was postponed until Spring. It has been suggested by some that
Cauchon's move may have actually saved the government from losing
its entire policy of cannabis prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our fourth story deals with one Canadian Senator's attempt to
destroy some of the myths still being circulated by the provincial
and federal governing bodies regarding the potential harms of
cannabis, starting with the "gateway drug" theory. And our fifth
story shows us what alternative drug policies other Western nations
have adopted. It is clear from the short list of prohibitionist
nations (Sweden, Canada, U.S.) that the Canadian drug policy shift
will actually align it with the harm reduction approach currently
used by most of the Western world, and not the radical, irrational
step that the U.S. claims. The real question that arises from all of
these stories is how long will the American people continue to
tolerate this failed, immoral, unscientific war on responsible adult
cannabis users? | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) CANADA HAS IT RIGHT ON MARIJUANA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
On Dec. 12, the House of Commons special committee on the
non-medical use of drugs released a report calling for the
decriminalization of marijuana, and Justice Minister Martin Cauchon
has said he plans to put forth a decriminalization bill early in
2003. | ||||||||||||||||||
It is a safe bet that the U.S. government reaction will be hostile,
just as it always seems to be when people talk about reconsidering
marijuana laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
Canadians should understand that on drug policy, the U.S. government
is increasingly out of step with Americans. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) U.S. FEARS CHANGE IN MARIJUANA LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The man known as President George W. Bush's "Drug Czar" in the U.S. war against drugs said Canada will pose a "dangerous threat" south of the border if it brings in laws to decriminalize marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
John Walters, Director of the National Drug Control Policy in
Washington, D.C., made the comments at a news conference in Buffalo
hours after a special parliamentary committee in Ottawa recommended
decriminalizing possession and cultivation of small amounts of
marijuana for personal use. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Walters said any moves to liberalize marijuana laws in Canada
could result in longer waits and tougher scrutiny at the border,
already heightened in the wake of the U.S. terrorist attacks last
year. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) SUPREME COURT DELAYS POT APPEAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada's highest court said it had no choice but to postpone a landmark case yesterday in light of the federal government's decision to introduce legislation to decriminalize marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a rare move, the Supreme Court of Canada sought to adjourn a
hearing on claims by convicted pot smokers that the federal
marijuana laws are unconstitutional because the drug is harmless.
The lawyers for the defendants and the Crown wanted to go ahead with
the hearing, but Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said that wouldn't
make sense. | ||||||||||||||||||
"A central question is the Minister of Justice has announced his intention to introduce legislation in the Parliament that will decriminalize, in some ways, possession of marijuana," she said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) POT NOT A GATEWAY DRUG, SENATOR SAYS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
If provincial justice ministers closely read a Senate report on
marijuana, they will no longer argue pot is a gateway drug, says the
report's committee chairman. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Definitely," Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, chairman of the Special
Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs, said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report, released in September, cites studies contradicting
theories linking marijuana use to drugs like cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's not a gateway drug," said Nolin. "There's nothing in the
substance that leads to other drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) MANY OTHER COUNTRIES TRY DECRIMINALIZATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Easing marijuana laws would remove Canada from the "lonely corner"
it now shares with the few remaining Western countries that use
criminal convictions to punish users, experts say. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Sweden and the United States are among the last countries to enforce
strict laws against possession. Small-scale possession can mean six
months of jail time in Sweden and up to four years of jail in the
United States. About half of all drug convictions in those countries
are for cannabis possession. | ||||||||||||||||||
Most others are moving to more liberal policies, despite
international treaties such the 1988 Vienna Convention that outlawed
possession, purchase and cultivation of drugs for personal
consumption. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-23) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Philippine drug prohibition agents ran amok again last week, this
time in Mandaue City. Described by witnesses as a "massacre," drug
agents opened fire on a van of "suspected" drug offenders,
critically injuring five men. Police continued to fire on the
unarmed victims, even as they surrendered. The mistaken police
shooting of the unarmed men comes in the wake of increasingly harsh
measures and vigilantism against drug users from the ruling regime
in Manilla. | ||||||||||||||||||
In the aftermath of a fire-gutted amphetamine factory in Valenzuela City, Philippines, drug authorities are investigating Valenzuela City mayor Emmanuel Carlos and Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco. The Philippine government has already leveled drug charges at the alleged operators of the burnt amphetamine factory, which yielded some 2.2 billion pesos worth of amphetamine pills and equipment. | ||||||||||||||||||
And in Mandaluyong City Philippines, police last week demonstrated
they have various standards for drug users: one standard for police
who use drugs; another standard for suspected drug offenders who are
not police. The Mandaluyong police force tested members for drugs.
Those who came up positive for amphetamine use were allowed to
remain on the force. Policemen caught using drugs "have made
themselves useful" by denouncing civilians involved with drugs,
reasoned other police. | ||||||||||||||||||
In Canada, the Mayor Larry Campbell of Vancouver announced the nation's first safe-injection facility will open in his city in February or March of 2003. The announcement came on the heels of a meeting with Health Canada authorities held to put together guidelines for the injection sites. Police continue to oppose the idea of safe-injection sites. Campbell, who strongly espoused harm-reduction principles during his run for mayor, declared that it is the citizens' wishes that matter, not those of police. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) BLOODY MISTAKE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
THE sports manager of Plantation Bay Resort and four other employees
were seriously injured when 12 NBI agents fired at the L-300 van
they were riding in Mandaue City early dawn yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were hot on
the heels of a drug suspect whom they suspected to be aboard the
van. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the suspect was not among the victims. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"It was like a massacre," a witness told police investigators, saying the agents fired upon the employees of Plantation Bay Resort even after they stopped their van and were getting off to surrender. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of the five injured workers, resort sports manager Michael Monsod, a
nephew of former Comelec chair Christian Monsod, remained in
critical condition as of press time because was hit on the head,
left arm, back and right leg. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
After learning they were surrendering, the agents approached the van and opened its door. The agents then opened fire at the passengers "even if they already saw that we were wounded," Fernandez said. | ||||||||||||||||||
His account was collaborated by bystanders who told police that it
was like a "massacre" because the agents shot the victims even after
seeing that they were armless and already wounded. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) WHY PROBE US, MAYORS ASK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NAVOTAS Mayor Toby Tiangco Monday cried foul when he learned that he
and Valenzuela City Mayor Emmanuel Carlos might be held culpable for
the operation of a shabu warehouse and laboratory in their
respective jurisdictions. "Does it mean that if there are criminals
caught in my turf, it follows that I am the protector?" an upset
Tiangco asked. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of
Interior and Local Government are investigating the mayors to
determine if they are culpable. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Formal charges have already been filed against the two Chinese who
allegedly leased and operated the shabu laboratory and warehouse in
Valenzuela City and Navotas. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
On Dec. 9, police accidentally uncovered the Valenzuela laboratory
when a fire broke out in the premises. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Valenzuela laboratory alone yielded about 2.2 billion pesos in
shabu, materials, and equipment, making it the biggest drug haul in
the country, Franco said. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(22) REDEMPTION FOR DRUG-USING COPS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
These users have made themselves useful. | ||||||||||||||||||
Four members of the Mandaluyong City police force who earlier tested
positive for shabu use are now at the forefront of a rejuvenated
battle being waged by Mayor Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr. against
illegal drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Abalos said turning against their former "dealers" had been one of
the preconditions set by Senior Superintendent Sukarno Ikbala,
Mandaluyong police chief, for them to remain in the local police
roster. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(23) FIRST SAFE INJECTION SITE BY MARCH: MAYOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OTTAWA -- Mayor Larry Campbell says the country's first | ||||||||||||||||||
Campbell made the comment after a two-day meeting with | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Campbell said all indications are that no major barriers will
prevent a Vancouver team of health and science agencies from putting
in a proposal in the first week of January and getting approval
within the 60 days required by Health Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Campbell, who said during the recent civic election campaign that he
wanted safe-injection sites in place by Jan. 1, told them the
citizens of Vancouver have strongly indicated they want this
harm-reduction measure. And it's the citizens' opinion that matters,
not those of the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs or individual
police officers, he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MONITORING THE FUTURE 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
Survey of students regarding drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/02data.html#2002data-drugs | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
PLEASE HELP CANADIANS UNDERSTAND WHAT WE REALLY BELIEVE | ||||||||||||||||||
A DrugSense Focus Alert. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MORE SSDP/MPP NATIONAL CONFERENCE PHOTOS ONLINE | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
MPP ON THE O'REILLY FACTOR | ||||||||||||||||||
Tonight, December 20, Rob Kampia of MPP is scheduled to appear on "The
O'Reilly Factor" on the national FOX News Channel at approximately 8:20
p.m. Eastern time. (The program starts at 8:00 p.m. and is repeated at
11:00 p.m. Eastern; please check your local cable listings for channel
and non-Eastern airtimes.) | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Kampia will be discussing the Marijuana Policy Project's "war on
drug czar," which they launched on December 4 at a news conference at
the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. For details, please see
http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
TOO FAR OFF TASK | ||||||||||||||||||
Henson, Scott. Austin: ACLU Texas. December 2002: pp. 16. This report
cites 24 recent major Texas narcotics scandals -- 15 involving regional
task forces -- in which undercover drug officers were found to have
engaged in stealing, dealing or transporting drugs, lying under oath,
falsifying government documents and even framing innocent people.
http://www.aclutx.org/news/NarcoticsTaskForceReport.pdf | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HIGH SOCIETY - SUPREME COURT MEDIA SCRUM | ||||||||||||||||||
High Society with David Malmo-Levine | ||||||||||||||||||
Running Time: 29 min | ||||||||||||||||||
Get a "behind the scenes" look at the Canadian Supreme Court challenge
"decrim delay" along with a review of the related media surrounding
the challengers and the government's shenanigans. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Scare Tactics Don't Deter Teen Drug Use | ||||||||||||||||||
By Spike Bradford | ||||||||||||||||||
Ray Gagner's criticisms of the Drug Policy Alliance and its safety
first, reality-based drug education policies are all wrong (Letters,
Dec. 6). It is not the DPA that is promoting dangerous policies, but
the current drug prevention regime of scare tactics and | ||||||||||||||||||
Gagner is wrong on another account, too. Marsha Rosenbaum's approach
does not suggest that using ice or crack is ever "safe," but gives
youths the tools they need to minimize harmful consequences if they
try intoxicating substances. Studies show that more than 50 percent
of high school seniors have tried some illicit drug, despite the
efforts of the prevention industry. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our school systems should welcome new ideas and critiques of old
ones where drug education is concerned. "Drug free" schools are a
pipe dream. We need to give our kids the information they need to
get back on track when they make dangerous missteps. | ||||||||||||||||||
Spike Bradford | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Comments On The Drug War | ||||||||||||||||||
By Dan Burton | ||||||||||||||||||
(These comments by U.S. Rep Dan Burton (R.-IN) were made at the House
Government Reform Committee, which was discussing heroin at a hearing on
Dec. 12, 2002. More of the hearing can be viewed at | ||||||||||||||||||
I want to tell you something. I have been in probably a hundred or a
hundred and fifty hearings like this at various times in my
political career. And the story is always the same. | ||||||||||||||||||
This goes back to the sixties. You know, thirty or thirty five years ago. And every time I have a hearing, I hear that people who get hooked on heroin and cocaine become addicted and they very rarely get off of it. And the scourge expands and expands and expands. | ||||||||||||||||||
And we have very fine law enforcement officers like you go out and
fight the fight. And you see it growing and growing, and you see
these horrible tragedies occur. | ||||||||||||||||||
But there is no end to it. | ||||||||||||||||||
And I see young guys driving around in tough areas of Indianapolis
in cars that I know they can't afford and I know where they are
getting their money. | ||||||||||||||||||
I mean that there is no question. A kid can't be driving a brand-new
Corvette when he lives in the inner city of Indianapolis in a
ghetto. | ||||||||||||||||||
You know that he has gotta be making that money in someway that is
probably not legal and probably involves drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Over seventy percent of all crime is drug-related. And you alluded
to that today. | ||||||||||||||||||
We saw on television recently Pablo Escobar gunned down and everybody applauded and said "that's the end of the Medellien cartel. But it wasn't the end. There is still a cartel down there. They are still all over the place. When you kill one, there's ten or twenty or fifty waiting to take his place. You know why? Its because of what you just said a minute ago, Mr. Carr, Mr. Marcocci (sp). | ||||||||||||||||||
And that is that there is so much money to be made in it - there is always going to be another person in line to make that money. | ||||||||||||||||||
And we go into drug eradication and we go into rehabilitation and we
go into education, and we do all of these things... And the drug
problem continues to increase. And it continues to cost us not
billions, but trillions of dollars. Trillions! | ||||||||||||||||||
And we continue to build more and more prisons, and we put more and
more people in jail, and we know that the crimes - most of the time
- are related to drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
So I have one question I would like to ask all of you, and I think
this is a question that needs to be asked. I hate drugs. I hate
people who succumb to drug addiction, and I hate what it does to our
society. It has hit every one of us in our families or friends of
ours. But I have one question that nobody ever asks, and that is
this question: | ||||||||||||||||||
What would happen if there was no profit in drugs? | ||||||||||||||||||
If there was no profit in drugs, what would happen? | ||||||||||||||||||
If they couldn't make any money out of selling drugs, what would
happen? | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"One who is allowed to sin, sins less." | ||||||||||||||||||
Ovid, Roman poet, 46 B.C. -- 19 A.D. | ||||||||||||||||||
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