| Feb. 21, 2003 #289 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(1) DEA SLAYING OF GIRL UNDER INVESTIGATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Federal and state law-enforcement authorities are investigating the
death of a 14-year-old Texas girl shot by a Drug Enforcement
Administration agent who was part of a team seeking to arrest her
father, who was suspected of dealing cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ashley Villarreal died Feb. 11 at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio after being taken off life support at the request of family members. She was shot two days earlier by an unidentified DEA agent seeking to arrest her father, Joey Angel Villarreal, 36, who turned himself in Feb. 12 and was charged with drug trafficking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
DEA Agent Javier Pena, who heads the agency's San Antonio field
office, immediately called for an investigation after the shooting,
telling reporters in San Antonio last week that Ashley's death was a
painful incident for everyone involved. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(2) US NM: NATIONAL DRUG CZAR PAYS VISIT TO GOVERNOR'S OFFICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The last time a top-level federal drug official came to New Mexico, it was to debate then-Gov. Gary Johnson about legalizing marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But when John Walters, the director of National Drug Control Policy
came to the governor's office Wednesday, it was "a symbolic meeting
to show we support the director's mission," the new governor, Bill
Richardson, said Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite his general support of Walters' policies, Richardson said, he remains open to a "medical marijuana" bill that would legalize marijuana to treat symptoms of certain serious medical conditions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, when asked about details of what he would look for in such
a bill, Richardson said medical marijuana "is not a major concern of
mine." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Unlike Johnson - who frequently called the War on Drugs a failure -
Richardson said, "I believe there has been progress. It's an
intractable problem. It's very hard to lick it. We need strong law
enforcement and more treatment." | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(3) CANADA: RELAXED POT LAWS FAVOURED BY MOST (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
OTTAWA -- Sixty-nine per cent of Canadians favour the | ||||||||||||||||||||
The survey found Canadians who were teenagers during the "flower power" 1960s were the group most likely to support easing pot laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Among age groups, it showed 76 per cent of Canadians between the
ages of 50 and 59 support decriminalization while 72 per cent of the
40 to 49 age group agree the laws against smoking dope should be
relaxed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The poll surveyed 1,000 people between Feb. 2 and 11. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There was strong support for decriminalization in every region. Only
25 per cent of those who responded to the survey opposed our
marijuana possession laws going up in smoke. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Liberal, Tory and Alliance MPs say pot shouldn't be considered a harmless recreational drug even though a Senate committee last fall recommended legalizing the smoking of pot for anyone older than 16. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Toronto-area Liberal MP Dan McTeague says there needs to be a
national debate on the issue. "As if we have not had the lesson of
the destruction that alcohol has reeked on families," he said. "Do
we need another form of mind-bending products that are going to ruin
people's lives?" | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(4) POT ACTIVISTS WANT DEA OUT OF OAKLAND BUILDING (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
OAKLAND -- The fight for access to medical marijuana continued
Tuesday across the nation and in downtown Oakland, as demonstrators
demanded the eviction of the Drug Enforcement Administration from
the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Members of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and medical marijuana
supporters protested government actions preventing patients from
using marijuana to treat illnesses. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Protesters gathered from noon to 1 p.m. outside the building waiting
for the DEA to respond. Fake eviction notices from the protesters
were posted on the building's front doors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Guards would not allow protesters or reporters inside the building and the DEA did not issue any statement about the protest. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Protesters, dressed up as furniture movers and using a makeshift
desk and boxed supplies, pretended to evict Assistant U.S. Attorney
George Bevan. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bevan, who recently prosecuted medical marijuana supplier Ed
Rosenthal of Oakland, has prosecuted medical marijuana cases
"without showing remorse," Konechy said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-8) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
This week's biggest stories can be found in DrugSense Weekly's
International section. It has details details on Thailand's
continuing drug war pogrom, news of the Bolivian governments retreat
from the coca war, and the fallout from a plane crash during an
anti-drug misssion involving Americans in Colombia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Back in the U.S., the drug war rolls on thanks to support from the
usual suspects. In Utah, citizens have so far blocked attempts by
law enforcement to repeal laws that limit police use of drug seizure
money. However, the state attorney general apparently wants the law
changed as well. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The abuse of pain patients by law enforcement is being criticized by
doctors in a good piece printed in Texas. The abuse of young teen
girls recruited by older men to sell drugs was reported in San
Francisco. Sensational as the story was, it highlighted another way
children can be hurt by the drug war. | ||||||||||||||||||||
On the positive side, given the chance, young people can take an honest look at so-called drug education. A state youth advisory committee in Maine has recommended the abandonment of DARE. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(5) UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL PROPOSES REWRITE OF FORFEITURE LAW THAT (Top)COSTS SCHOOLS, VICTIMS | ||||||||||||||||||||
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has determined district
attorneys and courts in Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties violated
state law by allowing law enforcement agencies to pocket more than a
quarter of a million dollars in seized money and property that
rightfully belongs to public schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But he doesn't yet know how to fix the mess and is still bent on
rewriting the very forfeiture law that counties appear to have
skirted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"These were court ordered," Shurtleff said Tuesday, adding that retrieving the misplaced $237,999 could mean going to court. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Shurtleff delivered his legal opinion Monday to Senate President Al Mansell, who requested it in the wake of an audit that found proceeds from 28 forfeiture cases in 2001 never reached the state treasurer as set out in the Utah Uniform Forfeiture Procedures Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The law, a ballot measure known as Initiative B, was approved by 69
percent of Utah voters in the November 2000 election. It was
intended to remove the profit incentive from forfeitures and prevent
police from zealously impounding the cars or seizing the property of
innocent third parties in criminal cases. Forfeiture proceeds are
supposed to be used to compensate crime victims, pay legal fees of
innocent forfeiture victims and help schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||
But according to a recent state audit, those groups haven't seen a
penny since the law went into effect in March 2001. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(6) A CALL FOR COMPASSION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A Group Of Doctors Rallies To Fight Legal And Societal Barriers Keeping Patients From Getting The Pain Management They Need | ||||||||||||||||||||
Shannon O'Brien, 35, was at the drive-up window of her neighborhood
Walgreens pharmacy in Tacoma, Wash., waiting to pick up her
prescription for Percocet when two police officers dragged her out
of her car, handcuffed her and took her to jail. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I kept asking, what's going on? What did I do? I had no idea why
they were arresting me," O'Brien says. | ||||||||||||||||||||
When asked about the prescription, O'Brien told the officers that
she has brain cancer and that her medical information card was in
her wallet. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"They were going through my purse, but they wouldn't even look at my
medical card," O'Brien said in a telephone interview. "I was in
hysterics, crying, very upset and very embarrassed, shocked and
humiliated," | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(7) SHE'S 13 AND PUSHING DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
With Fubu on her back and Jordans on her feet, Marie owned her
stretch of Mission Street near 24th, bringing in about $1,000 a day
in drug sales. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It was the 13-year-old's turf, and, of the five dealers working the
area, the dope fiends usually chose her. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marie is just one of the growing number of underage female drug
dealers in The City. Like other dealers, Marie was put on the street
by an older man. For her it was a 20-year-old boyfriend who
convinced her she had to sell drugs because the street was "too hot"
and rife with undercover narcotics officers for him to risk his own
back by dealing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And while Marie, who has since turned her life around, remembers the
"rush" she got -- and the money that let her afford "bling bling"
clothes and goods -- experts say the girls are being exploited as
much as if they were turning tricks. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(8) ANTI-DRUG EDUCATION ANALYZED BY YOUTHS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Maine Legislative Youth Advisory Council, the first group of its
kind in the nation, will recommend today that the state take several
steps to improve substance abuse education. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The proposals, part of the group's first annual report to the
Legislature, include revamping the state's annual survey of teen
drug use and replacing DARE, the widely used Drug Abuse Resistance
Education program. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The report will also urge lawmakers to routinely seek the advice of
young people when addressing issues related to teens, drugs and
alcohol. The suggestions come as state officials are stepping up
efforts to combat underage drinking and reduce fatalities involving
young drivers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (9-12) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
There are some drug rings that ardent drug law enforcers don't want
exposed. A pair of narcotics agents who said they were harassed
after exposing the connection between a drug ring and a Dominican
political party with links to the CIA have won a $1.5 million
lawsuit against the Attorney General of Pennsylvania. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In the wake of the killing of a 14-year-old girl by DEA agents, a Texas columnist reminded readers that denials of responsibility by law enforcement officers in such drug war deaths is common, but those denials often undercut through successful lawsuits. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And the harsh injustice of conspiracy laws and mandatory minimum
sentences were grimly demonstrated in a good series from the
Billings Gazette in Montana. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(9) NARCOTICS AGENTS WIN LAWSUIT AGAINST PA ATTORNEY GENERAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
PHILADELPHIA - A federal jury awarded $1.5 million to two narcotics
agents who claimed the Pennsylvania attorney general retaliated
against them because they uncovered a drug-trafficking ring they
said diverted profits to a CIA (news - web sites)-backed Dominican
presidential candidate. | ||||||||||||||||||||
John McLaughlin and Charles Micewski sued over their transfer from
the Philadelphia office of the state Bureau of Narcotics
Investigation in 1996. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"They won their lives and their reputations back," said their
attorney, Don Bailey. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attorney General Mike Fisher said he will appeal. It was his
predecessor, Tom Corbett, who transferred the agents. | ||||||||||||||||||||
McLaughlin and Micewski said they uncovered a drug-trafficking ring
operating in Philadelphia, New York and other Eastern cities that
funneled drug profits to the left-wing Dominican Revolutionary
Party, which they claimed was supported by the CIA and State
Department. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(10) JURIES OFTEN DISAGREE WITH OFFICIAL FINDINGS IN DRUG WAR DEATHS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Given that Drug Enforcement Administration officials already have
said 14-year-old Ashley Villarreal caused her own death, we
shouldn't hold our breath for that agency's investigation into the
tragedy. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Can't police agencies learn to at least pretend they are conducting
a thorough investigation before declaring their agents free of
blame? | ||||||||||||||||||||
The problem is, when juries get to examine all the facts, they often
disagree. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(11) PAYING THE PRICE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Never in his worst nightmares did Dan Feist believe that his
partying days would cost 6 1/2 years of his life. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I was just like a hundred others in that group -- partying on
weekends, living on the wild side. And it all came tumbling down,"
he said, snapping his fingers, "that fast." | ||||||||||||||||||||
In 1994, Feist was sentenced to 90 months in federal custody -- 30
months for distribution of drugs and a 60-month mandatory minimum
sentence for possession of a firearm in relation to drug
trafficking. With credit for "good time," he ended up serving 78
months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Despite his guilty plea on the drug charges, Feist said he never
sold drugs and denied that he had anywhere near the amount of drugs
the government charged -- between 30 and 50 grams. Feist said in a
recent Gazette interview that he wasn't selling drugs, but sharing
with friends. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Under federal law, sharing is distribution. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n250.a11.html It's The Law http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n258.a02.html Prison Means Marking Time for Family, Too http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n263.a05.html
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(12) PARTNERS IN CRIME (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Korrie Schauer's attorney swore she'd never sold methamphetamine -
not even as little as a gram. | ||||||||||||||||||||
She used the powerfully addictive drug and drove a car for a
drug-dealing boyfriend who didn't have a drivers license, Tim Cavan
told U.S. District Judge Jack Shanstrom at Schauer's 2000 sentencing
hearing. But she didn't deal. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It didn't matter. She was behind the wheel trying to elude police
when her boyfriend, James Gunderson, now 40, tossed a gun and more
than a pound of meth out of the car. A search of the house they
shared on Cook Avenue turned up another 316.7 grams in Gunderson's
room. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gunderson took responsibility for all the drugs. That didn't matter
either. Schauer, 31, knew what was going on and she helped. The
result - a minimum mandatory five-year sentence for possession of
methamphetamine with intent to distribute. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (13-16) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some say that no news is good news, but for your faithful
canna-editor, the void of marijuana-related stories this week
practically had me breaking laws and calling up the press on myself.
With the upcoming war on Iraq stealing most of the headlines, we
have the Press Democrat to thank for the first two stories this
week. In an examination of California's current and continuing
battle with the feds over medicinal cannabis, our first story looks
at the efforts by the state's politicians and Attorney General to
put an end to medical marijuana prosecutions. Our second story
outlines some of the high profile prosecutions that have stemmed
from federal interference in California's medicinal cannabis
program. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In an attempt to fill this hollow news week, I have examined and
included two very different LTE's (Letter to the Editor) in this
edition of the DSW. The first is an exercise in precision, control,
and delivery by none other than Robert Sharpe, one of the masters of
this medium. In 6 short paragraphs examining the fiscal/social costs
of the war on drugs, Sharpe manages to attack the racist origins of
marijuana prohibition, the uneven justice of the Rosenthal trial,
and the wrongful prosecution of California's sick and dying
medicinal cannabis community. We can all learn much about the LTE
medium from this concise piece of critical prose. | ||||||||||||||||||||
And our second LTE.well, let's just say that sometimes | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(13) FEDERAL, STATE LAWS DUEL OVER POT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
A string of DEA raids across California triggered an exchange of
letters between state Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Asa
Hutchinson, the agency's director at the time, highlighting the
conflict between state and federal marijuana laws. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lockyer called on Hutchinson to stop what Lockyer described as
"punitive expeditions whether or not a crime can be successfully
prosecuted." He charged the agency was going after small
cooperatives that met local guidelines. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hutchinson replied that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled marijuana had
no accepted medical use under federal law and would remain a target
under federal drug enforcement efforts until Congress changes the
law. "The landscape's not real friendly right now. That seems to be
the price we're paying for being open and honest," said Chris
Andrian, a Santa Rosa attorney who has defended medical marijuana
cases and commended local law enforcement authorities for approving
Sonoma County's guidelines. "We're at one of those places where we
don't know how things are going to shake out. We're caught in this
kind of power play that is leaving patients in the lurch," he said.
"Now they're taking more of a chance." California and Arizona voters
sparked the conflict by approving initiatives to permit marijuana
use for medical purposes in 1996. Seven other states have followed
with similar laws: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon
and Washington. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(14) MEDICAL POT GROWERS FIND NO REFUGE FROM FEDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Marijuana growers who believed they were protected by the movement
in Sonoma County and across California to sanction medicinal
marijuana have been targeted by federal agents in a stepped up
battle against pot. The crackdown in the wake of a key U.S. Supreme
Court ruling almost two years ago has swept up seven Sonoma County
medical marijuana growers. A Windsor man has been sent to federal
prison. Santa Rosa and Jenner men face sentencing in San Francisco
federal court. Two Santa Rosa men await federal charges. And one
Petaluma man is preparing for trial while another has fled to
Canada. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medical marijuana advocates say they are casualties of the federal government's campaign against people who grow and use marijuana for cancer, chronic pain, AIDS and other illnesses allowed under the ballot measure California voters approved seven years ago. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Federal authorities counter they are enforcing federal laws to
protect communities from illegal drugs and traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(15) LTE: COSTS OF ENFORCING MARIJUANA LAWS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Few Americans realize that the United States may soon be one of the
few Western countries that uses its criminal justice system to
punish otherwise law-abiding citizens who prefer marijuana to
martinis. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Evidence of the federal government's reefer madness is best
exemplified by the kangaroo court trial of Ed Rosenthal, highlighted
in Clarence Page's column, "Marijuana jury hoodwinked" (Commentary,
Tuesday). By denying an Oakland, Calif., police officer the ability
to use California's voter-approved medical marijuana law and the
Constitution's 10th Amendment protection of states' rights as a
defense, the judge foisted a predetermined guilty verdict onto a
grossly misinformed jury. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(16) LTE: IT CAN'T BE STOPPED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
RE: "High times in Calgary," Feb. 9.) Ha Ha Ha Ha Woooo! Ha Ha Ha Whaaa Ha Ha Ha Ha, it can't be stopp... Ha Ha Ha .... stop ... Haaa wooo aaa Ha Ha Ha it, it, it can't be stopped ... Woooo! Ha Ha. Maybe we should give the cops more money, then they could stop the weed growers ... Ha Ha Ha, ahhhhh, I can't help it! Wooooo! Ha Ha Ha | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Trevor Houlahan | ||||||||||||||||||||
(Maybe it's time to cut back a little, Trevor.) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (17-21) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thailand continues to unleash a river of blood, as the Thai government encourages police to kill as many people suspected of using drugs as possible. Police death-squads roam the country, working off death-lists consisting of previously arrested drug offenders. In only the first two weeks of the government-sponsored massacre, over 350 drug "dealers" have been killed by death-squads. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is supposed to be a democracy under the rule of | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thai Prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose commands to officials
began the bloodbath, remained sanguine: "These officers do not deal
in drugs. I think it's quite unusual the drug dealers are getting
sympathy." | ||||||||||||||||||||
While the pile of bodies grows (estimated at 40 death-squad murders
of drug users a day), the UN has heaped praise on the Thai
government for killing so many suspected drug users. "Thailand has
always been a leader in the fight against drugs during the past 30
years, and the current effort is another good example," gushes UNDCP
official Sandro Calvani. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Colombia, the UK Times citing "military sources," reported three
Americans captured by FARC guerillas recently were Pentagon
contractors on a "secret intelligence" and anti-drug mission. The US
intelligence operatives were using "jungle-busting" radar to find
rebels, according to Newsweek. The combined U.S. and Colombian
militaries have so far failed to find the three captive U.S.
intelligence assets. | ||||||||||||||||||||
In Bolivia last week, the embattled government made another
concession to traditional peasant coca farmers by easing coca
growing restrictions and halting some eradication efforts. (Earlier
the Bolivian government was forced by widespread rioting to abandon
plans to raise taxes.) The reversal of policies which prohibit coca
farmers from growing their crop may come as early as next week,
according to reports. The U.S. angrily denounced plans to disobey
Washington's anti-drug dictates, threatening Bolivia with a cut-off
in aid. "A pause in eradication is a pause in development," huffed
US Ambassador David Greenlee. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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(17) COUNTING THE COST OF GOING DRUG-FREE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
40 Thais a day are being killed in a drug eradication drive. To critics it is a step backwards, but authorities are unmoved. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A two-year-old girl is found sleeping in her mother's arms; the
woman has been shot dead and their home ransacked. | ||||||||||||||||||||
An eight-year-old boy wears a permanent frown; his parents were bringing him back from a temple fair when his father was shot in the head. His mother was shot in the back and took a bit longer to die. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Welcome to the brave new world of Drug-Free Thailand. | ||||||||||||||||||||
This campaign, launched by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to wipe out drug trafficking within three months, is not yet three weeks old. Already 596 people have been killed - just eight of them by police - according to Interior Ministry figures released on Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
It may not only be a travesty of justice, it could usher in a new
era of rule by gun and goon - a practice the country has so
painfully tried to bury - said a member of the human rights
commission, Pradit Charoenthaithawee. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"This is supposed to be a democracy under the rule of law. There is
no law that covers the gunning down of people on the whim of the
local authorities. This is a step back into the dark ages," said Mr
Pradit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There will be no early let-up in the killing: provincial governors
and police chiefs have been told firmly this week that their jobs
depend on their "success" in joining the drug war. And in this war,
success is measured principally by body the count. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The police blame all but a handful of the deaths on shootouts
between traffickers trying to "cover up evidence and silence
witnesses". | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Most concerned observers think that "off duty" death squads have
been unleashed. Many say this is the only explanation for the high
number of deaths. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some army officers in a position to observe police activity say that
since rogue policemen have been heavily involved in the drug trade,
elements in the police force have a keen interest in silencing
certain traffickers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The prime minister and his colleagues brush off as so much "crying
for the devil" the fears that private scores may be being settled,
that only small-time traffickers tend to be killed and that the law
says everyone deserves a fair trial. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(18) THAILAND'S DRUG WAR GETS MESSY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BANGKOK -- On the face of it, Thailand's drug traffickers appear to have gone on a killing spree - if you believe the police, that is. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
What is clearly different, though, is the tone and tenor of the
current war on drugs, he explained. "The language is new. The
government is taking the campaign very seriously, and [has conveyed
that it] will use violence to pursue it." | ||||||||||||||||||||
That has been implied in the comments this week by Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, who mounted this anti-drug crusade with precise
objectives - the police and local authorities have three months,
from February to April, to rid the country of drugs. He appealed to
the public to appreciate the police's efforts, and to show some
understanding when suspected drug dealers were killed by police
officers in acts of self-defense. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"These officers do not deal in drugs. I think it's quite unusual the
drug dealers [killed by the police] are getting sympathy," Thaksin
was quoted in Wednesday's Post. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
This drive has been praised by the United Nations' drug control
agency. "Thailand has always been a leader in the fight against
drugs during the past 30 years, and the current effort is another
good example," said Sandro Calvani, who heads the East Asia and
Pacific office of the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime
Prevention ( UNDCP ). | ||||||||||||||||||||
"The Thai campaign makes sense," he argued, since it is pursuing the
problem in a broad measure, "mobilizing many government resources
and civil society's help." There is also "a sense of urgency", he
said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
These efforts, Calvani said, will ensure that the | ||||||||||||||||||||
Asked about an anti-drug crusade that has resulted in so many
killings, Calvani explained that the United Nations is committed to
human rights and it is concerned about rights violations, but the UN
is also committed to "the rights of the children and youth to live
in a drug-free environment". | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(19) DEATHS MOUNT IN THAI DRUG CRACKDOWN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
BANGKOK, Feb. 16 - Two weeks: 350 dead. But this is only the
beginning of a crackdown in which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
has vowed to eliminate Thailand's drug problems, once and for all,
within three months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The police assert that they are responsible for only a dozen of the
deaths, and that all of those were in self-defense. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I think human rights activists shouldn't worry too much about these
traffickers' lives," said the interior minister, Wan Noor Muhammad
Noor Matha. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He has put police chiefs and provincial governors on notice that he
is watching their progress with the campaign, and counting, and that
their jobs are on the line if they fall short. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The report of 350 dead came directly from Mr. Thaksin on Saturday -
25 killings a day since the campaign began on Feb. 1. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Most villagers are convinced that the police are behind the
killings, said Somchai Homlaor, who heads a local human rights group
called Forum Asia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
He noted that despite the government's assertion that hundreds of
drug runners were killing one another, not one arrest had been made
on murder charges. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Srirak Plipat, the director of the Thai branch of the human rights group Amnesty International, said the Thai phrase "ying ting" was echoing around the country these days - "kill and throw away." | ||||||||||||||||||||
"People are afraid of being ying ting," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
A senator, Sak Korsaengrueng, voiced emerging public doubts. "The way things are going now, many people are getting uncomfortable with the rising death toll of suspected drug dealers," he said. "It is wrong for the police to take matters into their own hands and kill drug suspects, who must be guaranteed due process of the law." | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Thaksin seems to have little time for such | ||||||||||||||||||||
"Put things into perspective," he said. "How many police officers
have been killed by drug dealers? Do our critics consider the
wretched lives of drug dealers more precious than those of our
police officers?" | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(20) U.S. TRIO ABDUCTED DURING SECRET ANTI-DRUG MISSION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
THREE Americans thought to have been captured by left-wing
guerrillas in Colombia were on a secret intelligence mission inside
rebel-held territory, according to military sources. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The men were travelling on Thursday morning from Bogota, the
capital, to the Larandia military base, an anti-drug and
counter-insurgency operations centre in thick jungle about 235 miles
to the south. U.S. special forces have trained Colombian anti-drug
battalions at Larandia and U.S. military intelligence experts also
operate radar facilities that track drug-smuggling flights, as well
as co-ordinating aerial eradication of drug crops. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The men were described as Pentagon contractors who were | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
(21) BOLIVIA MAY EASE COCA-GROWING LIMITS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Leader Is Pressured By His Political Rivals | ||||||||||||||||||||
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia -- Bolivia's government is preparing to ease its
unpopular effort to eradicate coca and allow farmers to grow the raw
material from which cocaine is made. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The move, which could come within a week, would be a sharp reversal
of the United States' only success in curbing drug production in
South America's Andean region. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Government negotiators and coca growers came to a tentative
agreement on coca growing last week in Cochabamba, even as violent
demonstrations nationwide killed more than two dozen people and
destroyed several government buildings. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Many Bolivians chew coca legally as a stimulant, appetite
suppressant or to cope with exertion at high altitudes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The United States insists that no more coca growing can be
justified. | ||||||||||||||||||||
"A pause in eradication is a pause in development," U.S. Ambassador
David Greenlee has warned repeatedly in the Bolivian news media,
reminding Bolivians that U.S. aid remains tied to "zero coca" in the
Chapare region east of Cochabamba, where most coca is grown and
clandestine cocaine laboratories are found. | ||||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
CHAT WITH RICHARD COWAN | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday, February 22, 2003 at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific, Cannabis News will Host a Special Chat with Richard Cowan, editor of http://MarijuanaNews.com/, a former National Director of NORML, and a member of the board of directors of the NORML Foundation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Join us at http://www.cannabisnews.com/chat | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
OUT FROM THE SHADOWS | ||||||||||||||||||||
First Latin American Anti-Prohibition Summit Convenes in Merida,
Yucatan, Mexico | ||||||||||||||||||||
The first hemispheric conference organized to call for an end to
prohibition and the drug war took place in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico,
Wednesday, February 12 through Saturday, February 15. Some 300
academics, activists, government officials, journalists and
legislators from the United States, Latin America and Europe
gathered at the Out from the Shadows: Ending Drug Prohibition in the
21st Century conference to seek new approaches to drug policy
centered on regulation and legalization of drug consumption and the
drug trade. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LORETTA NALL AND FAMILY IN HIDING | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Marijuana Party president, Loretta Nall had to flee home after
a rogue cop obtained a search warrant -- based on a letter to the
editor -- and tried to grab her kids. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
THE OSBURN DEFENSE FUND | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lynn and Judy Osburn are members of the largest patient-run medical
cannabis cooperative in California, Los Angeles Cannabis Resource
Cooperative. LACRC had over 960 active members when the Bush
administration assailed its resource center headquarters in October
2001. Ten months after that federal assault Lynn and Judy were | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
DR. ETHAN RUSSO ON POT-TV | ||||||||||||||||||||
Chris Bennett asks Cannibinoid expert Dr. Ethan Russo about the possibility that NIDA "standardized" cannabis is a spray on THC product and the importance of a full range of canabinoids in effective medical marijuana. As well Dr. Russo gives his opinion on the potential medical activity of the kaneh-bosem annointing oils used by early Hebrews and Christians and Chris asks him about the use of cannabis medicines for survivors of a Nuclear Holocaust. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
JURORS HAVE A DUTY | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Brett Cashman | ||||||||||||||||||||
JUROR Marney Craig laments voting to convict Ed Rosenthal of drug
charges (Opinion, Feb. 7), for which Rosenthal will now endure
prison time. Craig relates that Judge Charles Breyer instructed the
jurors that they could not substitute their sense of justice for
their duty to follow the law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It is a juror's right and duty to reach a verdict according to his
or her conscience, regardless of the instructions of some
black-robed political appointee. In the words of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia, juries have an "unreviewable
and irreversible power . . . to acquit in disregard of the
instructions on the law given by the trial judge." This principle,
known as jury nullification, has its historical precedent in the
acquittal of John Peter Zenger on libel charges against the English
crown in 1734. | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's tragic that Rosenthal will be punished not only for violating
an absurd and arbitrary legislative edict against certain kinds of
gardening, but also because his fellow citizens, like Craig, do not
understand the rights and responsibilities of jurors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Brett Cashman, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medical Marijuana on Dateline NBC Friday And Other Developments | ||||||||||||||||||||
By Alexis Baden-Mayer | ||||||||||||||||||||
Just last week the Marijuana Policy Project informed you that the
momentum for medical marijuana in this country is building. Well, we
have even stronger evidence this week. On Friday night, Feb. 21,
Dateline NBC will be airing a lengthy segment on the trial of Ed
Rosenthal, a California man who was deputized by the city of Oakland
to grow marijuana for compassion centers that served sick people in
accordance with California's medical marijuana law. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Dateline segment will include interviews with many of the jurors
who convicted Mr. Rosenthal on three federal counts of marijuana
cultivation and conspiracy, and it will focus on the conflict
between state and federal laws. Please check your local listings to
find out when this program airs in your area. | ||||||||||||||||||||
There has also been an important medical marijuana development in Congress. U.S. Representatives Sam Farr (D-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) have agreed to sponsor a medical marijuana affirmative defense bill drafted by MPP. The purpose of this bill is to correct the injustice of having jurors convict individuals without knowing that their "crimes" were aiding the sick and dying. If the bill passes, medical marijuana providers will be allowed to defend themselves by proving that their actions were legal under their states' laws. We expect that this bill will be introduced in the near future with a large number of co-sponsors. | ||||||||||||||||||||
The credit for this momentum in Congress must be shared with MPP's
e-mail subscribers. Since our first alert on this subject two weeks
ago, nearly 11,000 faxes have been delivered to Capitol Hill!
(Please scroll down to see which states are generating the most and
the fewest faxes.) Let's keep this pressure building. If you have
not yet sent faxes to your three members of Congress asking them to
protect states' rights to medical marijuana and to remove the "gag"
that the federal government is placing on medical marijuana
defendants in court, please visit http://www.mpp.org/USA/action.html
to do so now. | ||||||||||||||||||||
(Reminder: If you receive a response from your member of Congress,
please fax this letter to us at 202-232-0442. These letters are a
valuable source of information for us.) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Even in parts of the country previously assumed to be inhospitable, support for medical marijuana is growing. On February 4, the politically conservative city of San Diego helped fortify California law by passing a set of local guidelines for the medical use of marijuana. The guidelines allow patients to possess one pound of marijuana and grow up to 24 plants -- and caregivers to possess two pounds and grow 48 plants. The passage of the guidelines was a major coup, as the city's own medical marijuana task force faced opposition from the mayor, the police chief, and a slew of anti-drug groups flush with federal funding earmarked for the fight. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alexis Baden-Mayer is National Field Director for Marijuana Policy
Project - http://www.mpp.org/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||||
"I want Attorney General Aschroft to wipe the vomit off this woman's
chest, help lift her belly so she doesn't hurt as much when she
rolls onto her back, and explain straight to her grimacing face why
she can't try marijuana. I want him to tell me why it does not
matter to him that almost every sick and dying patient I've ever
known who's tried medical marijuana experienced a kinder death. Face
to face, I want him to explain all these things to her and to me and
to the heartbroken family who is standing by." | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Kate Scannell, a doctor in Oakland who is co-director of the
Northern California Ethics Department of Kaiser-Permanente. For more
information see "Mr. Attorney General, Listen to the Doctors and
Patients" from the San Francisco Chronicle | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
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