| January 10, 2003 #283 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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) CANADA: JUDGE STRIKES DOWN RULES ON ACCESS TO MEDICAL POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Forcing users to break law for supply ruled unconstitutional Possession
may be legal if Ottawa doesn't find source, experts say | ||||||||||||||||||
Ottawa has been given six months to come up with a way of ensuring sick
Canadians have access to medical marijuana - including the possibility
of setting up regulated distribution centres - or simple possession of
the drug will become legal in Ontario, if not all of Canada, legal
experts say. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a long-awaited decision released yesterday, an Ontario Superior Court judge struck down federal rules governing access to medical marijuana, finding them unconstitutional because they force seriously ill people who use pot as medicine to break the law to obtain the drug. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) PEYOTE ON THE BRAIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Is the Secret to Alcoholism and Other Addictions Locked Up in the
Hallucinogenic Drugs? | ||||||||||||||||||
Even with several tablespoons of peyote in me, by 3 in the morning I'm
fading. For almost six hours I have been sitting in a tepee in the
Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reservation in the United States, with
20 Navajo men, women, and children. They belong to the Native American
Church, which has 250,000 members nationwide. Everyone except the four
children has eaten the ground-up tops, or buttons, of peyote, Lophophora
williamsii. U.S. law classifies the squat cactus and its primary active
ingredient, mescaline, as Schedule 1 substances, illegal to sell,
possess, or ingest. The law exempts members of the Native American
Church, who revere peyote as a sacred medicine. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
My guide to the etiquette of peyote ceremonies is John Halpern, a 34-year-old psychiatrist from Harvard Medical School. For five years he has been coming here to the Navajo Nation -- 27,000 square miles of sage-speckled desert stretching from northern Arizona into New Mexico and Utah -- to carry out a study of peyote. Funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the study probes members of the Native American Church for deficits in memory and other cognitive functions. Halpern has brought me here to help me understand him and his mission, which is to provoke a reconsideration of the pros and cons of hallucinogenic drugs, commonly referred to as psychedelics. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) CN ON: POT-SMOKING MOTORIST NOT GUILTY OF IMPAIRED DRIVING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
PEMBROKE, ONT. - An Ottawa Valley man who was pulled over while
smoking a marijuana joint has been found not guilty of driving while
impaired. | ||||||||||||||||||
Rick Reimer, a retired lawyer from Killaloe, Ont., has been granted an
exemption by Health Canada to smoke marijuana to help him with his
multiple sclerosis. In February 2002, he was pulled over for crossing
the centre line. The officer noticed that he was smoking a joint and
charged him with impaired driving. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Reimer, who defended himself in the case, insists that marijuana
does not impair his ability to drive. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I know that I'm not guilty, I'm innocent and I hoped that the court would see it that way and I'm glad the court did," said Reimer. | ||||||||||||||||||
Justice Bruce McPhee acquitted Reimer on Wednesday, but said his
decision doesn't dismiss the idea that marijuana may impede some
people's ability to drive. | ||||||||||||||||||
He said he was not convinced that it was the marijuana and not
Reimer's multiple sclerosis that caused him to swerve. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) CANADA'S POT VIEWS WORRYING NEIGHBOR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Rising Leniency Could Defeat U.S. Drug War | ||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The door-kicking has stopped, as have
the asset forfeitures and harassment. Chris Bennett hasn't been
arrested in weeks, nor have any of his friends. | ||||||||||||||||||
Still, Bennett, 40, isn't inclined to say the battle is won. | ||||||||||||||||||
He's seen the police relax before. He's seen marijuana achieve a tenuous level of respectability when a more liberal-minded mayor or police chief takes over. And, he's seen the subsequent backlash. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Every time we talk to the press, something happens," he said, sitting in
the store he manages, the Marijuana Party Headquarters. | ||||||||||||||||||
The store is three blocks from one of Vancouver's toniest shopping
districts. While talking, Bennett selects a handful of sticky green
cannabis buds from a dense cluster the size of a hoagie. Pungent
bluish haze hangs in the air, and customers casually put flame to pipe
as they flip through books about hydroponics. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I've had friends arrested the next day after talking to reporters
about pot. So you can see why I'm nervous," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The invasive nature of the drug war is intensifying in Tennessee, where a massive database will track every prescription written for certain drugs, particularly painkillers, in the state. The drug war is also being pushed into the financial sector, with mutual fund operators bearing closer scrutiny for money laundering. | ||||||||||||||||||
The idea of drug testing athletes was supposedly justified by a study
that showed that athletes at a high school that tested for drugs
reported using less drugs than their counterparts at a high school
that did drug test. But, zero tolerance for drugs in schools got a
sound thrashing in an article on Slate that suggested ways such
policies can intensify drug problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
And, speaking of counterproductive, a report out of Massachusetts showed DEA agents discouraging a drug suspect from seeking treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) STATE DATABASE TO KEEP TABS ON PRESCRIPTIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A database to allow the state to keep track of all controlled substance prescriptions filled in Tennessee goes into effect Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
Doctors and pharmacists have known for some time that people abuse
prescriptions, either to feed their own drug habit or to get drugs to
sell on the street. However, there never has been any way to keep track
of it. | ||||||||||||||||||
But on Wednesday the Controlled Substances Monitoring Act kicks in,
and that could change. | ||||||||||||||||||
The act sets up a database to compile every prescription for a
specific list of drugs, many of them painkillers, filled in the
state by pharmacists, doctors and even veterinarians. | ||||||||||||||||||
It establishes a committee to check the data for trends - to
identify one person filling numerous prescriptions for the same or
similar drugs, for instance - and empowers it to relay that
information to the proper medical authorities and, if necessary, to
the proper law enforcement agency. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) FEDS MAY TAP INTO MUTUAL FUND FIRMS' INFO (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Mutual fund companies would have to file reports on
suspicious financial transactions as part of an effort to catch drug
dealers, terrorists and others who launder money, federal regulators
recommended Tuesday.If implemented, the recommendation by the
Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
Federal Reserve would bring mutual fund companies more in line with
banks, securities firms, money-service businesses and other
companies that are required to file similar reports with the
government. | ||||||||||||||||||
A draft of the recommendation is being written and could be offered
soon, according to a Treasury Department official who said the
proposal would be similar to rules that now apply to banks and other
financial companies. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) TRICK OR TREATMENT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
America loves its quick fixes. Think your child might be on drugs?
Test him. Think your child's school is full of addicts? Test them
all. Institute a policy of zero tolerance: One strike and it's off
to a drug treatment program. Get those rotten apples out and clean
them up before they can poison the whole batch. Last year's Supreme
Court decision in Board of Education v. Earls allowed for a massive
expansion of drug testing in schools. And increases in drug testing
increase the numbers of offenders. As a result, schools and juvenile
courts are increasingly turning to both "zero tolerance" and
"treatment, not punishment" as a remedy. | ||||||||||||||||||
The number of teenagers in drug treatment as a result of court
coercion and school diversion increased by nearly 50 percent between
1993 and 1998 according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
and the number of teen admissions to treatment programs in general
rose from 95,000 in 1993 to 135,000 in 1999. But what if drug
"treatment" doesn't work for teens? What if, rather than decreasing
drug use, teen treatment actually encourages it by labeling
experimenting kids as lifelong addicts? What if it creates the worst
sorts of peer groups by mixing kids with mild problems with serious
drug users who are ready and willing to teach them to be junkies?
What if suggestible kids respond poorly to the philosophies that
have made Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous successful
for many adults? Then we'd be using "treatment" to turn ordinary
adolescents into problem drug abusers. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) DRUG WAR DILEMMA (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Carol Bradley always talked about her desire to quit drugs, even
when she was dealing crack to an undercover federal agent and her
other customers would break into her Plymouth apartment to smoke on
her couch. | ||||||||||||||||||
Ultimately, Bradley says, she did kick her drug habit at a halfway
house in Western Massachusetts while federal prosecutors prepared a
drug trafficking indictment against her. But wiretap transcripts
showed that the Drug Enforcement Administration task force agent who
made six undercover buys from Bradley actively discouraged her from
going to treatment programs, saying they "never work." | ||||||||||||||||||
Her unusual case highlights the debate over when treatment should
enter law enforcement's war on drugs. The federal agents and
prosecutors who sought a four-to five-year prison term for Bradley
say they pursue serious dealers who destroy the communities in which
they peddle narcotics; in prison, they argue, dealers have all the
time they need to seek treatment. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, defense lawyers and drug law critics believe Bradley's case
points to a system that is sometimes too rigid and harsh. They
believe that agents and prosecutors should encourage addicts to seek
treatment, rather than simply build the strongest possible case
against them. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-14) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Absurd minimum mandatory sentences based on drug weight have finally been officially abandoned in Michigan, and now many other states facing budget and prison crises may be ready to follow suit. Budget problems are bad nationwide that even in prison-friendly California the is talk of reducing the amount of money spent on incarceration. | ||||||||||||||||||
Despite universal money woes, police in Delaware still have the
resources to watch for cars that merely enter drug-plagued
neighborhoods, so letters can be sent to car owners letting them
know they are being watched. And asset forfeiture practices hit a
new low last week, as police in Massachusetts confiscated $50,000 in
cash from a couple that was attempting to bail their daughter out of
jail. Police said the money carried a "slight odor" or marijuana to
justify the seizure. | ||||||||||||||||||
The behavior of a local DEA head in Massachusetts is raising
questions. Not only did he eat lunch at the office wearing a
military helmet, he accepted new agents who had been implicated in
corruption scandals. And, in a big surprise, a prosecutor accepted
that a man who shot four officers during a drug raid was acting in
self-defense. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) MICHIGAN TO DROP MINIMUM SENTENCE RULES FOR DRUG CRIMES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
LANSING, Mich., Dec. 25 ( AP ) - Karen Shook was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1993 for arranging a drug deal for a man who turned out to be an undercover police officer. But Ms. Shook, a former bank teller, could be paroled 10 years early under legislation expected to be signed by the governor in the next week to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Michigan is one of several states revising mandatory minimum
sentences. Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri,
New Jersey and North Carolina are also considering eliminating such
rules, said Laura Sager, executive director of Families Against
Mandatory Minimums, a Washington group. | ||||||||||||||||||
Michigan Department of Corrections officials do not know how many of
the state's 49,296 inmates could be eligible for parole under the
legislation, which would take effect March 1. But supporters of the
legislation said the state's skyrocketing prison population made the
law necessary. | ||||||||||||||||||
Critics of Michigan's mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines have
pushed for changes for years, but economic difficulties may
ultimately have led to their elimination. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) CALIFORNIA CONSIDERS RELEASING PRISONERS TO CUT BUDGETS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SACRAMENTO ( AP ) -- Proposals to release some nonviolent and
elderly prisoners early have emerged in California and other states
confronting massive budget shortfalls. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton enraged prosecutors by recently allowing
hundreds of low-level felons to leave jails and prisons early as
part of a plan to fill a corrections shortfall. And proposals to
release some inmates early, pare down parole periods or reject the
return of criminals nabbed in other states have emerged in
Washington, Connecticut, Oregon, Nevada and Oklahoma. | ||||||||||||||||||
California is facing a nearly $35 billion budget deficit, and
leading Democratic lawmakers are suggesting chopping some sentences
to shave state costs. | ||||||||||||||||||
Gov. Gray Davis announced last week that the state is facing a $34.8
billion budget deficit over the next 18 months. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) CARS A WEAPON IN DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In an effort to counter a spike in heroin use in Wilmington, the city police have begun sending warning letters to the registered owners of cars spotted prowling the city's worst drug-infested neighborhoods. Chief Michael Szczerba of the police signs the letters, which are meant to alert unsuspecting parents and spouses that their loved ones may be buying drugs in Wilmington. Heroin is becoming an increasing problem in the city as more young people experiment with the drug and addicts and dealers, many from other states, descend on the city, the police say. Heroin seizures have increased more than tenfold over 2000, when 40 grams were seized. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) THE SCENT OF BAIL MONEY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The police confiscated $50,000 in bail money from a Wallingford couple who were trying to free their daughter from jail on a marijuana possession charge, saying that the cash smelled like marijuana and probably came from sales of the substance. The couple, Arlene and Martin Edward Santor, who brought the money on Sunday to the Hampshire County Jail in Northampton, Mass., in $20 bills, said they got it from friends of their daughter, Nikita Santor, who was arrested after marijuana and $12,000 were found in a car she was driving. An affidavit said an officer detected a "slight odor of marijuana" on the bail money and a police dog confirmed it. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) DEA AGENTS CRY FOUL OVER TRANSFER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
NEW BEDFORD -- Three New Bedford Drug Enforcement Administration
agents claim they are being transferred to the Mexican border as
punishment for exposing mismanagement and other problems in the
city's DEA office. | ||||||||||||||||||
A federal judge yesterday halted the transfer of the agents pending
a full public hearing, while noting conditions in the New Bedford
office were "miserable." | ||||||||||||||||||
The agents claim, among other things, that the head of the DEA New
Bedford office allowed city detectives to be assigned to the federal
office despite having been implicated in a police corruption
investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) PROSECUTOR TO DROP CHARGES IN SHOOTING OF FOUR OFFICERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Baltimore prosecutors say they will drop attempted murder charges
today against a man who shot four police detectives during a
November drug raid, saying they believe Lewis S. Cauthorne acted in
self-defense when he wounded the officers as they barged into his
home. | ||||||||||||||||||
Investigators concluded detectives did not announce that they were
police just before smashing down Cauthorne's door with a battering
ram and rushing in to look for drugs, according to law enforcement
documents obtained by The Sun. | ||||||||||||||||||
Cauthorne was interviewed by police the night of the incident and
told them, "I didn't know you guys were police. I thought I was
getting robbed," according to the documents. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (15-19) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Well, this year has begun the same way that last year ended: with some encouraging news from up North. Last week Justice Douglas Phillips of Windsor Ontario threw out the personal possession of marijuana charges against a 16 year old, agreeing with the defendant that Canada's personal possession laws (under 30 grams) were unconstitutional. The judge stated that since the federal government had failed to enact new legislation as a result of an Ontario Court of Appeals decision from 2000 that Canada's drug laws had failed to properly address and legislate the issue of medicinal use, the laws governing the personal use of cannabis were in no effect. In our second story, the Canadian government announces its plans to appeal the landmark decision. The appeal should be heard in the next month. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our next two stories highlight actions by American cannabis policy
reform groups to challenge the federal government's harsh
persecution and prosecution of cannabis users. The Marijuana Policy
Project (MPP) has filed a complaint with the Federal Office of
Special Counsel charging U.S. Drug Czar John Walter's of using
taxpayer money to illegally campaigning against Nevada's Question 9
decriminalization initiative. Meanwhile, NORML has announced a new
internet offensive to combat the U.S. federal government's war of
misinformation in regards to marijuana's potential harms and
potential for addiction. | ||||||||||||||||||
And lastly, the UK has taken notice of an article by cannabis
scholar Chris Bennett appearing in the recent issue of High Times
which suggests that Jesus may have been exposed to marijuana through
the Christian "anointing oil", and may have performed medical
"miracles" by alleviating the suffering of the sick through its use.
Bennett proposes that in light of this evidence, cannabis
prohibition may indeed be considered anti-Christian. | ||||||||||||||||||
So that would probably make George Bush the anti-Christ, then. That
would explain how the U.S. could defend the use of "speed" by Air
Force pilots armed with bombs and missiles, while continuing to
arrest the sick and to criminalize our youth for using this benign
herb. "And Jesus wept." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) POT POSSESSION NOT ILLEGAL, JUDGE RULES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Possessing marijuana is no longer illegal for anyone in Canada, an
Ontario judge ruled yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
In April, police arrested a 16-year-old truant in a park carrying five grams of it. He was charged with possession of marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday, he was cleared of that charge when Judge Douglas Phillips of the Ontario Court in Windsor agreed with the young man's defence: Federal laws against marijuana possession are no longer valid. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) OTTAWA TO APPEAL RULING AGAINST POT LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Ottawa is appealing a ruling that found Canada's | ||||||||||||||||||
In a notice filed yesterday, the Crown says it will try to show that
an Ontario judge erred when he concluded that a 16-year-old broke no
laws when he was caught carrying five grams of marijuana last
spring. | ||||||||||||||||||
Jim Leising, director of the Justice Department's prosecution
service in Ontario, announced the decision to appeal yesterday, one
day after Judge Douglas Phillips in Windsor dismissed possession
charges against the teenager. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) MPP ACCUSES DRUG CZAR OF ABUSE OF AUTHORITY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Earlier this month, the DC-based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)
filed a complaint with the Federal Office of Special Counsel
accusing the Office of National Drug Control Policy Director John
Walters of using his authority to negatively campaign against
Question 9, Nevada's marijuana ballot initiative. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Walters has committed numerous crimes against the taxpayers," said
Robert Kampia, MPP's executive director. "He used his official
authority to affect the outcome of Question 9 election, as well as
other state drug policy initiatives, in plain violation of the Hatch
Act [which prevents federal employees from implementing certain
campaign-related activities]. Because none of this activity was
properly reported as campaign contributions, he is in equally plain
violation of Nevada campaign finance laws. Walters conducted a
campaign of lies against Question 9, using the taxpayers' money to
spread misinformation." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) PRO-MARIJUANA GROUP MOUNTS NEW OFFENSIVE AGAINST U.S. DRUG POLICY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A group supporting the legalization of marijuana is planning a new
Internet offensive against the Bush administration after an
administration official alleged that marijuana-related hospital
emergency room visits are way up. | ||||||||||||||||||
Scott Burns, deputy director for state and local affairs for the
White House Office of National Drug Control, said in a letter to the
National District Attorneys' Association that "marijuana is not
harmless but has risen as a factor in emergency room visits 176
percent since 1964, surpassing heroin." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), called the administration's
stand an "incredibly disgusting example of government propaganda"
and announced that his group is initiating a new offensive next week
against the administration's anti-drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) CANNABIS LINKED TO BIBLICAL HEALING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Jesus Christ and his apostles may have used a cannabis-based
anointing oil to help cure people with crippling diseases, it has
been claimed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Researchers in the United States say the oil used in the early days
of the Christian church contained a cannabis extract called
kaneh-bosem. | ||||||||||||||||||
They suggest the extract, which is absorbed into the body when
placed on the skin, could have helped cure people with a variety of
physical and mental problems. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (20-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In Canada last week, reports that Canadians killed by US pilots
hepped up on "go-pills," continue to reverberate through the
Canadian media. The irony of a rabid U.S. "anti-drug" | ||||||||||||||||||
In the ground on Afghanistan, opium farmers are in open revolt
against government anti-drug forces. Using loudspeakers in Nangarhar
province, men organized and resisted government eradication teams.
"Government troops have been forced to leave the area," witnesses
reported. | ||||||||||||||||||
Australian Prime Minister John Howard last week reaffirmed his
support for "zero tolerance" drug policies, while at the same time
doubling funds for drug treatment programs which divert users from
jail. Howard declared that funding $215 million would be used to
treat drug users over the next four years, up from an earlier $111
million promise. | ||||||||||||||||||
And back in Canada, authorities in Ottawa were taking stock of a
huge MDMA factory raided last week. Police busted the lab after
long-standing complaints over chemical smells tipped investigators.
Experts estimated enough chemicals were on hand to make "$20 million
worth of ecstasy." | ||||||||||||||||||
In Vancouver, the Coastal Health Authority isn't sure where the
money will come from, but they have hopes a new supervised injection
facility will be in place around March. With the skyrocketing costs
of treating infections, noted Dr. Michael O'Shaughnessy, director of
a local HIV/AIDS center, "we cannot afford to delay any longer in
establishing these facilities. The status quo is not an option
anymore." | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) JUST SAY 'YES' TO DRUGS? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With the U.S. and its determined president poised for war with Iraq,
it is more than a little discomforting to learn that the pilots
involved in the friendly-fire accident that killed four Canadians in
Afghanistan were taking amphetamines. | ||||||||||||||||||
Maj. Harry Schmidt's lawyer said in an interview that his client was
coerced into taking the pills by the U.S. Air Force on the night the
Canadians were killed outside Kandahar. They had been conducting a
live-fire exercise and the U.S. pilots believed they were being
fired on. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But isn't it ironic that the U.S., which has long pushed a "zero tolerance on drugs" policy, may be pushing pills on citizens who-subject to military discipline-have little say in the matter? | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
As for the final verdict on who is to blame for that fateful evening
in the desert, only time will tell? The military is the master of
deception, duplicity and subterfuge and how the truth could
possibility come out is anyone's guess. | ||||||||||||||||||
Regardless of the verdict, nothing brings back those brave Canadian
soldiers. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) TRIBESMEN TAKE UP ARMS TO RESIST AFGHAN DRUG WAR (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
JALALABAD, Afghanistan - Authorities were forced to stop destruction of opium poppy fields in parts of an eastern Afghan province after tribesmen took up arms to resist the move, residents said Sunday. | ||||||||||||||||||
They said tribesmen in Shinwar, Khogyani and Achin districts of
Nangarhar province opened fire when anti-drug enforcers from the
provincial government showed up Saturday and an unidentified person
was wounded in Achin. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Noor Rahman, a native of Khogyani, said tribesmen had vowed to
resist future eradication efforts with force. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The tribesmen used loudspeakers to call on people to come out of
their houses to resist the plan," he told Reuters. "Government
troops have been forced to leave the area." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"People can't stop this effort," Jalalabad governor Haji Deen
Mohammad said in reaction to the events. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, it appeared a setback for President Hamid Karzai's
government, which is under pressure from its Western backers to halt
opium cultivation. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) ZERO TOLERANCE DRUGS POLICY TO STAY: PM (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SYDNEY - THE doubling of funds for drug rehabilitation programs did not
represent a softening on the government's zero tolerance stance, Prime
Minister John Howard said today. | ||||||||||||||||||
As figures showed a significant drop in heroin deaths, Mr Howard
announced funding to divert drug offenders from jail and into treatment
would jump to $215 million over four years, up from $111 million in
1999. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We have always said there are three ways of tackling the program: you
educate people against starting drugs, you crack down very hard on
people who peddle them and you try and rehabilitate people who want to
break the habit," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"What I'm announcing today is an extension and a renewal of the
rehabilitation element but in no way does it retreat from our "tough on
drugs' philosophy, our zero tolerance approach. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Our attitude of zero tolerance has not changed," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(23) TEAMS CLEAR CHEMICALS FROM MASSIVE DRUG LAB (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An East-End drug factory shut down by police earlier this week had
enough chemicals to produce up to $20 million worth of ecstasy, a
Health Canada chemist said yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"This is one of the biggest ones I've seen," said Health Canada
chemist John Hugel, a specialist in clandestine labs who estimated
the operation could easily produce at least $20 million worth of the
designer drug, otherwise known as MDMA. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
However, police believe pills had been made prior to the lab's discovery after employees in neighbouring businesses reported the telltale licorice smell associated with ecstasy production. | ||||||||||||||||||
Police launched their investigation in October after an RCMP officer
in Toronto was advised by a drug company about a large purchase of
sassafras oil, used in the production of ecstasy. The RCMP then
contacted Ottawa police with the name of the buyer | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(24) LOTS TO DO BEFORE INJECTION SITE UP AND RUNNING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority still doesn't know where
funding will come from for a supervised injection site, despite
Mayor Larry Campbell's prediction that one will be in place by early
March. | ||||||||||||||||||
In fact, the health authority has yet to establish a working group to put a proposal together for Health Canada, which has said the turnaround time for review and implementation is 60 days. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nonetheless, Heather Hay, the health authority's director for
community health services, thinks a site could be up and running in
the next few months. But unlike the mayor, she wasn't making any
predictions. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"At a cost of $150,000 to the taxpayer per case of HIV, we cannot
afford to delay any longer in establishing these facilities," said
Dr. Michael O'Shaughnessy, one of the authors and director of the
B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The status quo is not an option anymore." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Drug War Carol | ||||||||||||||||||
A Dickensian view of the drug war, comic book-style. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CHAT WITH DR. ETHAN RUSSO, MD | ||||||||||||||||||
Friday, Jan. 10th, at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific Ethan Russo, MD
will be the special guest in the CannabisNews chat room at
http://cannabisnews.com/chat/ | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Russo is the medical advisor for Cannabis Health magazine
http://www.cannabishealth.com/ , editor of The Journal of Cannabis
Therapeutics | ||||||||||||||||||
For more details see | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Arianna Huffington's parody of the drugs fund terrorism ads have just
been released. | ||||||||||||||||||
You can view them at http://www.detroitproject.com/index.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL-BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
Friday, Jan 10th at Midnight to 1 AM Central, Marc Boris St-Maurice will guest on the Cultural Baggage Radio Show on KPFT Houston, 90.1 FM. | ||||||||||||||||||
That's live and over the 'net from http://www.kpft.org/ at 1 a.m.
Saturday Eastern time, or 10 p.m. Friday, Pacific | ||||||||||||||||||
Boris was recently acquitted of trafficking charges in Canada stemming
from his buyer's club providing cannabis for medical patients. He is
also the head of the Canadian Marijuana Party. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
NATIONAL DRUG REFORM MEETUP DAY | ||||||||||||||||||
Meetup with other local activists to discuss Drug Reform issues | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
'To Your Health' In Moderation! | ||||||||||||||||||
By Thomas J. O'Connell | ||||||||||||||||||
To the Editor: | ||||||||||||||||||
The theme of "The Case for Drinking (All Together Now: In
Moderation!)" (Dec. 31) is that with alcohol, as with any drug, dose
determines result. | ||||||||||||||||||
Because alcohol is also used compulsively by many, the article
invites an examination of our drug policy, which insists that since
any use of arbitrarily designated "drugs of abuse" inevitably leads
to addiction, all use must remain illegal. | ||||||||||||||||||
The dirty little secret is that most people who have tried illegal
drugs didn't become addicts or even heavy users. Those who did
usually solved the problem on their own or with a modicum of
professional help. The hopeless junkie, like the skid row bum,
represents the extreme end of a very broad spectrum. | ||||||||||||||||||
Perhaps there would be fewer of each if our policies were more in
tune with reality. It's not drugs that are so dangerous; it's how
society insists they be used. | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Tom O'Connell, M.D. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - DECEMBER (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
John Chase, Volunteer Coordinator and Advisor for The November
Coalition http://www.november.org/ is recognized for his three
published letters archived during December, and a career total that
we know of 48. All can be reviewed at | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
The published letter writers recognized during the past year are:
Jan - Dave Michon, Feb - Alan Randell, March - Kirk Muse, Apr -
Stephen Heath, May - Gary Stork, June - Wayne Phillips, July - Adam
Wiggins, Aug - Stan White, Sept - Chuck Beyer, Oct - Jason Marrs,
Nov - Carey Ker. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WHAT AN AMAZING SCIENTIFIC STUDY | ||||||||||||||||||
An Editorial From The Oregonian | ||||||||||||||||||
The people forcing Oregon teenagers to participate in drug research published their early data this week, and the results were hardly shocking: A school that randomly demands urine samples from students appears to have a lower rate of drug use than a school that doesn't. | ||||||||||||||||||
Head researcher Dr. Linn Goldberg is already using the results as proof that drug testing likely "works." We question that logic, as well as the judgment of school leaders who require students to be laboratory rats in order to participate in school activities. | ||||||||||||||||||
The research should be permanently suspended. | ||||||||||||||||||
Oregon Health & Science University received a three-year, $3.6
million federal grant in 2000 to study whether random urine testing
of student athletes reduces drug use in high schools. Researchers
from OHSU signed up 13 Oregon school districts to participate, some
as experimental schools and some as control schools. Punishment for
resistance was steep: Getting thrown off the team. | ||||||||||||||||||
Students and parents in some communities protested, saying the
forced testing was humiliating and invasive. But the OHSU
researchers marched onward, using a U.S. Supreme Court ruling about
student drug testing as the only consent they needed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Then the federal Office of Human Research Protection intervened.
This fall, the watchdog agency said the study violated federal laws
on human research by being involuntary and potentially coercive. The
agency also noted that financial incentives could cloud school
leaders' judgment. | ||||||||||||||||||
The research was suspended. It should stay that way. | ||||||||||||||||||
Furthermore, Oregon school districts that drug-test their students
-- or are considering drug testing -- should consider the other
early finding from the study. Over time, surveys showed that
students at schools with drug testing developed a more positive view
about drugs, and they were more likely to expect higher rates of
drug use among their classmates. | ||||||||||||||||||
In other words, drug testing may be a short-term deterrent -- but it
also may help create a long-term perception that drug use is
"normal." | ||||||||||||||||||
OHSU is trying to alter the drug-testing protocols to comply with
federal standards about research on human subjects. We doubt that is
possible without invalidating the data. More importantly, however,
we think school districts should find more honorable ways to reduce
drug use among teenagers. | ||||||||||||||||||
Forced drug testing may be expedient, and it's easy for paid
researchers or worried school leaders to think the ends justify the
means. Many private employers require pre-employment drug screening,
including The Oregonian, so it's easy for adults to shrug off the
implications of forcing children in school to pee on demand for
strangers. | ||||||||||||||||||
But let's not forget what this is. The government is forcing kids to
participate in invasive research in order to participate in an
educational activity -- which is what sports are. Even if it works,
it isn't educational. | ||||||||||||||||||
And it sure ain't science. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's the light at the end of the tunnel . . .I can't really see
the law maintaining any operation after this year. It's sitting on a
really precarious foundation." | ||||||||||||||||||
- Canadian Attorney Alan Young after Ontario judge agreed that the federal government's Medical Marijuana Access Regulations are unconstitutional. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n039/a13.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||
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