| March 7, 2003 #291 | ||||||||||||||||||
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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) THAI DRUG WAR CRITIC THREATENED (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Thai human rights commissioner has received death threats after
criticising Thailand's controversial drugs crackdown at a United
Nations conference last month. | ||||||||||||||||||
Pradit Charoenthaitawee said on Friday that he was "desperate" over the
threats, which also targeted his family. | ||||||||||||||||||
"They said they had put a bomb under my car, send amphetamines to my
house, or burn my house down," Mr Pradit said. | ||||||||||||||||||
The human rights group Amnesty International has called on the Thai Government to protect Mr Pradit, and launch an immediate investigation. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a UN speech in Pakistan last month, Mr Pradit highlighted his
concerns over the drugs crackdown, which has left more than 1,000
people dead in its first month. | ||||||||||||||||||
The government blames the high number of deaths on inter-gang violence,
but human rights activists say that there is a "shoot to kill" policy
in operation. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Thai Government has also threatened Mr Pradit with impeachment if he
continued to criticise government policy openly. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) THE ANDEAN DRUG INDUSTRY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The Balloon Goes Up | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, LA PAZ AND LIMA - The "success" of Plan Colombia in cutting coca production has started to undermine governments farther south | ||||||||||||||||||
"A TURNING point" is how John Walters, the director of the United States' office for drug control, jubilantly described figures released by his government last week, which claimed a 15% fall in 2002 in Colombia's crop of coca, the plant used to make cocaine. This follows eight years of steady increases in the amount of land under coca in Colombia, the source of three-quarters of the world's cocaine. | ||||||||||||||||||
For American officials, last year's fall is evidence that "Plan
Colombia", a programme of mainly military aid begun by Bill Clinton and
continued by George Bush, is starting to pay off. Under this plan, the
United States has provided Colombia with extra helicopters and
crop-dusting planes to spray coca with herbicides. Most of these have
finally arrived, and Alvaro Uribe, who became Colombia's president last
August, has been happy to use them: he has unleashed a massive spraying
campaign which officials say is at last outpacing the ability of coca
farmers to replant. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet there is a hollow quality to this victory. Over the past three
decades, rich-country demand for cocaine has created a monster in the
Andean countries. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) DRUG LAWS AFFECT FINANCIAL AID (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Bush Cracks Down, Students Fight Back | ||||||||||||||||||
Approximately 43,000 otherwise qualified students this year will be denied for federal financial aid because they have a history of drug use. 100,000 students have already been turned down for loans and aid since the Higher Education Reform Act Drug Provision passed in 1998. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) reintroduced a bill Feb. 13, dubbed
HR 685, that would repeal the Drug Provision of the Higher Education
Act, and it is gaining support. | ||||||||||||||||||
Critics of the Drug Provision argue that being convicted of a drug
offense should not bar students from earning an education and bettering
themselves. Groups such as the SSDP claim the provision is harmful and
counterproductive. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) MARIJUANA BACKERS TO WEED OUT TRASH ON HIGHWAY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
ROSEVILLE -- Michigan's Adopt-A-Highway program has a new partner: the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. | ||||||||||||||||||
Signs went up last month on the median of Gratiot Avenue at 12 Mile and
14 Mile roads announcing that the pro-pot organization's Macomb County
chapter will work for free to pick up litter on that two-mile stretch
of road. | ||||||||||||||||||
Donna Paridee, a New Baltimore homemaker and mother of three, said her
chapter's cleanup campaign is, in part, an effort to counter the
stereotype that NORML is made up solely of pot-smoking burnouts who
live to get high. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We are your neighbors," she said. "We have jobs and families like
everyone else." | ||||||||||||||||||
The Michigan Department of Transportation, which runs the cleanup
program, doesn't make judgments on groups, spokeswoman Brenda Peek
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We don't get involved in that. The main thing is that they're working
to help beautify Michigan," she said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Allen Johnson, president of the Crime Prevention Association of
Michigan, which opposes marijuana law reform, said, "We can be sure all
the marijuana butts will be cleaned up on that road." | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-9) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Disseminating information to advocate for justice outside a
courthouse does not merit imprisonment. That's according to a judge
who reversed an earlier decision to send California medical
marijuana activist Jeff Jones to prison for three months as
punishment for handing out information during a medical marijuana
trial. | ||||||||||||||||||
Elected officials in Kingsville, Texas may be required to take drug
tests after police alleged that some officials had ties to drug
dealers. While that seems like collecting too much information, law
enforcement officials in Georgia aren't collecting much information
at all. An analysis of the state's drug arrest statistics suggests
the numbers are useless. | ||||||||||||||||||
Baltimore is set to start teaching heroin addicts how to administer
Narcan and other life-saving techniques to prevent fatal overdoses.
And a new study suggests that the painkiller OxyContin may not be
the sole cause of many deaths attributed to the drug. A number of
the deaths were attributable to other drugs in combination with
OxyContin according to the study, which was funded by Purdue Pharma,
the maker of OxyContin. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) POT ACTIVIST'S PRISON TERM IS THROWN OUT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
In a remarkable reversal Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter A.
Nowinski threw out the three-month prison term he imposed last week
on medical marijuana activist Jeff Jones and placed him on probation
for three years. The participants in the proceedings, as well as
about 20 others seated in the courtroom, sat stunned as Nowinski
announced his change of mind. | ||||||||||||||||||
In a scene as dramatic as any in the history of Sacramento's federal
court, the judge took the bench and said, "I've given the matter a
great deal of thought over the weekend. | ||||||||||||||||||
"My purpose is not to make life miserable for you," he told Jones. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Nowinski had initially leaned toward probation for Jones, 38, who
was found guilty by Nowinski in a non-jury trial of trying to
influence prospective jurors. They were called for a major drug
prosecution of a fellow medical marijuana advocate. Jones handed out
written information about the case to some of the potential jurors
as they entered the courthouse. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Nowinski was angered over defense attorney Michael Bigelow's
argument at Thursday's sentencing that Jones should not have to pay
restitution for the loss of a prospective panel because a jury could
have been salvaged from the group. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) DRUG TESTING FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Random drug testing could become a requirement for elected officials
in Kingsville. | ||||||||||||||||||
A number of city leaders in Kingsville recently denied any
involvement with an alleged South Texas drug family, and they could
soon have to prove it. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kingsville city employees are already subject to random drug testing, and the idea is if those who help to maintain the city have such a policy, then maybe those who govern should have one also. | ||||||||||||||||||
Just weeks after an ugly standoff between Kingsville city officials
and elected leaders, a fiasco that included allegations of
corruption and organized crime, this new drug-testing policy aims to
restore at least some of the trust that voters and even city
employees may have lost. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) STATE DRUG DATA INADEQUATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
How well has the state performed in reducing one of its biggest
public health threats -- the trafficking of cocaine? | ||||||||||||||||||
It's difficult to tell because Georgia does such a poor job
collecting and analyzing the data that policy-makers rely on to
prioritize goals and concentrate resources. | ||||||||||||||||||
Want to know how many illegal drugs were seized in Georgia last year
and where? Forget it. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation doesn't
collect that information. | ||||||||||||||||||
What about drug arrests? | ||||||||||||||||||
The GBI has those figures -- but they're incomplete, and useless for
examining drug trafficking patterns and trends. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Doug McVay, research coordinator for Washington-based Common Sense for Drug Policy, said reporting gaps like those in Georgia make it harder to evaluate how well police are using their resources. | ||||||||||||||||||
"No one likes to have their performance measured, especially if
they're doing a failing job," he said. "The way they get away with
this stuff is that no one ever looks at the numbers." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) CITY PROGRAM TO LET ADDICTS GIVE OVERDOSE MEDICATION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Pressed by a staggering number of fatal heroin overdoses, Baltimore
health officials will launch a program this spring that will allow
addicts to administer Narcan, a drug that can revive a person near
death from a heroin overdose. | ||||||||||||||||||
The plan calls for distribution of vials of Narcan - used by
paramedics and hospital personnel to treat opium-based narcotics
overdoses - to begin May 1 after a training period for a group of 50
addicts. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last week, training started for emergency services and health
officials who will, in turn, fan out across Baltimore and teach
addict-rescuers basic medical protocol with the drug, syringes,
resuscitation techniques and other lifesaving methods. | ||||||||||||||||||
"There is a chronic problem here," said Dr. Peter L. Beilenson,
Baltimore health commissioner. "A significant number of people are
dying each year from heroin overdoses - in one year, more than the
homicide rate - and while this may be viewed as enabling, this is a
worthwhile attempt to keep people alive." | ||||||||||||||||||
In the past four years, more than 1,000 people have died from heroin
overdoses in Baltimore, officials said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) DRUG MIX PROVES DEADLY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The prescription painkiller OxyContin may not be the sole culprit behind the hundreds of drug overdoses for which it's been blamed. | ||||||||||||||||||
Researchers have found that most of the drug-abuse deaths associated
with oxycodone -- a morphine-like painkiller that is the active
ingredient in OxyContin, Percocet and other medications -- are the
result of mixing several drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The overdoses have prompted increased regulatory scrutiny of
prescriptions nationwide, making some doctors reluctant to prescribe
the drug, even for patients in severe pain. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We found that the oxycodone deaths were primarily related to mixing
many different kinds of drugs with these opiates," says Edward J.
Cone, lead author of the study and a forensic toxicologist. "These
drugs often have a synergistic effect on each other, and in
combination can be a deadly brew." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
This finding is in stark contrast to the figures compiled last year
by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which lists OxyContin
as the cause of 146 deaths, and the "likely" cause of an additional
318 fatalities. | ||||||||||||||||||
Purdue Pharma, the Stamford, Conn., maker of OxyContin, funded the
study, which was in the March issue of the Journal of Analytical
Toxicology. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (10-13) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Lawmakers in Nevada have introduced legislation that would test all
state prison inmates for drugs before parole. Those who fail the
tests would not be released. As if there isn't enough prison
crowding already. Actually there is one place where jails aren't
crowed - Santa Clara County, California. County officials there are
giddy about open space in the prison that can be rented out at
profitable rates to other crowded systems. The officials don't know
why the prison population is dropping, though treatment for drug
offenders mandated through Prop. 36 is mentioned as a possible
factor. | ||||||||||||||||||
Treatment for drug offenders seems to be acceptable to many Illinois
residents, according to a new poll. And the California Highway
Patrol has settled a racial profiling lawsuit. The settlement calls
for a number of provisions including restricting officers for using
minor traffic violations as an excuse to stop cars and search them
for drugs without legitimate probable cause. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) BILL LOOKS TO TEST NEVADA INMATES FOR DRUGS BEFORE PAROLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
A Nevada lawmaker wants to make clean drug tests a parole
requirement. | ||||||||||||||||||
Assemblyman Josh Griffin, R-Henderson, is pushing a measure he says
would reduce prison drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
The bill, AB209, would mandate drug tests for prison inmates before
their parole hearings -- with a positive test making them ineligible
for release. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The intent is to try to root this out," Griffin said. "It could have a dramatic impact on reducing the amount of drugs in prisons." | ||||||||||||||||||
The Department of Corrections randomly tests 5 percent of its
population each month. Glen Whorton, assistant director for
operations, said 222 of the 13,000 tests last year were positive, or
just 1.7 percent. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) SURPLUS JAIL CELLS MAY BECOME SOURCE OF MONEY (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With a surplus of cells and a shortage of money, Santa Clara County
jail officials may soon post a vacancy sign in hope of renting out
spare beds to other local, state and federal prisoners. | ||||||||||||||||||
By taking advantage of its lowest inmate population in a decade, the
Santa Clara County Department of Correction could raise as much as
$11 million a year, easing a potential $17 million budget cut and
avoiding layoffs, said jail Chief Jim Babcock. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Santa Clara County's jails have enough beds for 5,378 inmates. While
the population changes daily, it has lately been between 3,800 and
3,900 inmates, the lowest level since about 1993. The population has
steadily declined from a peak of 4,600 in 1998. | ||||||||||||||||||
Why is anybody's guess. It could be better policing, a dip in the numbers of young people who are the most likely to commit crimes, or laws such as Proposition 36, the 2000 initiative that allows treatment instead of incarceration for non-violent drug offenders. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) STUDY LOOKS AT NONVIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SPRINGFIELD An advocate group for addiction recovery centers
released a study Monday that, they say, indicates Illinois voters
want the state to send nonviolent drug offenders to treatment,
rather than prison. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The findings show that voters believe that this is a public health
issue and is better addressed by prevention and treatment and not
criminal justice," said Sara Moscato, associate director for the
Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association, the group that
commissioned the study. "Illinois voters have said this is what they
want." | ||||||||||||||||||
Changing how the state deals with drug and alcohol addicts entering
the criminal justice system also could help save Illinois money and
remedy a looming budget deficit, the group said during a news
conference at the Illinois Capitol. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) CHP SETTLES RACIAL PROFILING LAWSUIT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Highway Patrol announced a series of
measures Thursday aimed at ending the use of racial profiling by its
officers, part of a settlement hailed as a major agreement by the
American Civil Liberties Union. The CHP agreement settles a 1999
federal class-action lawsuit stemming from a CHP drug interdiction
operation near San Jose that stopped a car driven by a lawyer of
Latino descent. | ||||||||||||||||||
The CHP's settlement with the ACLU of Northern California, which
brought the suit, extends for three years an existing CHP moratorium
on the use of consent searches -- those where officers who have no
evidence of criminal activity ask drivers for permission to search
their cars. | ||||||||||||||||||
The agency also will clarify its policy that officers not use minor
traffic violations as a pretext to stop vehicles for | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (14-18) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
It is now seriously looking as if Maryland will become the ninth state to put in place laws allowing for the medical use of marijuana. The bill, which would allow those using cannabis for medical reasons to obtain a card protecting their right to do so, has been passed by the House and is now before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Our second article is a column criticizing the DEA's foolish and wasteful attack on America's cannabis paraphernalia makers and distributors. Surely there are greater threats to American freedom and safety than hand-blown water pipes. | ||||||||||||||||||
And from Canada, Reform MP Randy White has waded in on the Steve
Kubby immigration hearings, scheduled to begin Wednesday. White
fears that if Kubby - a former libertarian gubernatorial candidate
from California who uses cannabis to control a rare form of adrenal
cancer - wins refugee status because of possible drug prosecution in
the U.S., the floodgates would open and a stream of American medical
marijuana refugees would pour into Canada. Amid rumors that Justice
Minister Martin Cauchon will introduce some decriminalization
legislation before the end of March, our fourth article examines
Canada's shifting attitudes towards cannabis use. And lastly,
another article from Canada urging the federal government to go one
step further and fully legalize marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) BILL WOULD DECRIMINALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN MARYLAND (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
To help get through eight months of chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma, Lawrence Silberman turned to pot. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Silberman, whose cancer is in remission, was among those speaking in
support of a bill that would remove the threat of imprisonment for
medical marijuana patients. | ||||||||||||||||||
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Paula Hollinger, D-Baltimore County,
would set up a mechanism whereby patients, with approval of their
doctors, could obtain cards from the state Board of Physician
Quality Assurance certifying that they are using marijuana for
health reasons. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) SAVING AMERICANS FROM THE BONG THREAT (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
With America tensely poised in recent days against the possibility
of new terrorist attacks, vigilant, machine-gun-toting National
Guardsmen are becoming common in New York's subway stations. Thus,
Attorney General John Ashcroft recently targeted a fearsome threat:
marijuana pipes. | ||||||||||||||||||
Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter encompassed raids on
drug paraphernalia manufacturers, distributors and their homes. At
least 60 people have been arrested for supplying pipes, bongs and
roach clips. | ||||||||||||||||||
They face up to three years in prison and/or $250,000 fines. "This
illegal billion-dollar industry will no longer be ignored by law
enforcement," Ashcroft roared on Feb. 24. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) WHITE WADES INTO IMMIGRATION WATERS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Abbotsford MP Randy White vows he'll stop a U.S. medical marijuana
user from gaining refugee status here in Canada, a precedent he says
could open the floodgates to thousands of drug users from south of
the border. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Opposition MP also criticized Canadian immigration officials for
agreeing to hear the refugee request by Steve Kubby, a California
man who recently obtained a licence from Health Canada to grow
marijuana here for medical reasons. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. White says the eight-day hearing that starts next week in Vancouver is an abuse of the system and will cause delays for legitimate refugee claimants facing genuine risk in their homelands. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
He says Mr. Kubby is "a lobbyist for the legalization of drugs" and
his claim isn't about obtaining refugee status "it's about fighting
the battle over drugs in the U.S. here in Canada." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) CANADA'S REEFER REVOLUTION REVIVAL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
For the young owner of a hip new specialty shop, it's a special
feeling when someone's mom or dad comes in to do a little
last-minute Christmas shopping for the kids. | ||||||||||||||||||
But when the shop in question is the Friendly Stranger, a boutique
that specializes in pipes, papers and other pot-smoking | ||||||||||||||||||
"They come in, and they're like, 'He wanted this, this, and this; I
have no idea what this is, but I know it's only for cannabis, so
it's OK,'" Robin Ellins, founder of the Friendly Stranger, said with
a chuckle. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It's been a big change for us to see that happening over the
years." | ||||||||||||||||||
Canada, it seems, is in the grips of a 21st-century bout of reefer
madness. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) JUST SAY 'YES' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Legalizing marijuana would actually be safer for kids than
decriminalization, writes BRIAN BERGMAN | ||||||||||||||||||
FIRST, the obligatory full disclosure. Like most boomers, I did, in my youth, inhale (repeatedly). In the intervening years -- I'm 47 now, thanks for asking -- I have, on rare occasions, taken a toke or two, though today's far more potent pot holds no appeal for me. In fact, there is little doubt that some current strains of marijuana are a far cry from the mellow stimulant of yesteryear which, if memory serves, induced little more than the giggles, the munchies and a heightened appreciation of (often very bad) music. | ||||||||||||||||||
That said, I think a strong case can be made that it's time for Canada to legalize the possession of cannabis and license its production and distribution in a manner similar to alcohol. | ||||||||||||||||||
I'm also convinced that federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon's
preferred approach -- a fine and no criminal record for possession
of small amounts of cannabis, while keeping sale and production
illegal -- is perhaps the worst, and certainly the most | ||||||||||||||||||
I say "perhaps" the worst because surely nothing could outdo the
status quo. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (19-22) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As the stack of corpses grows in the Thai government-sponsored
massacre of drug users, gung ho Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
expressed irritation with the press and international community.
Brushing off concerns over appearances, Thaksin declared the "UN is
not my father," but later retracted the statement. Gleeful over 1,100
death-squad killings in Thailand in about a month, Thaksin announced
that he would no longer take questions from the press as before. Press
questions about death squads killing drug users (and others) in cold
blood are now deemed too "political" and thus an insult to the Thai
Prime Minister's dignity. | ||||||||||||||||||
Reveling in the murders of so many "enemies" (suspected addicts), Mr
Thaksin urged police to kill more people: "Don't be moved by the high
death figures ... you cannot become soft-hearted." Drug policy experts
predict the government-sponsored reign of terror will have little
effect on the supply of amphetamine pills, which are made in nearby
Burma. | ||||||||||||||||||
Switzerland's National Council voted 110-42 last week to extend a program of prescribing heroin to addicts, dismissing attempts by rightist parties to stop it. About 1,300 heroin addicts currently receive heroin by prescription in Switzerland, a program started in 1994. Prohibitionists worldwide have attempted to paint the present successful Swiss heroin prescription program as having failed, confusing it with the Zurich "Needle Park" scene of the 1980s. | ||||||||||||||||||
Australian politicians sparred over drug policy last week, as the
Australian Greens proposed abandoning total prohibition in favor of
government regulation of some drugs. Shrewdly avoiding the issue of
jailing adults, NSW Premier Bob Carr sermonized, "I don't want us to
be a pill-popping society with youngsters boiling their brains on
amphetamines and marijuana." At the same time, Carr's political rivals
last week attempted to make hay of Carr's support for heroin injecting
room trials, running ads juxtaposing Carr's picture with a large
syringe. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) 'NOT-MY-FATHER': THAKSIN RETRACTS U.N. JIBE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra admitted yesterday that he had
over-reacted when he said the United Nations, which is keeping an
eye on the government's controversial anti-drug crusade, was not his
father. | ||||||||||||||||||
The prime minister said provocative media questions were partly to
blame for the comment and as a result he would be making himself
less accessible to reporters from now on. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The prime minister told the Cabinet that he could have been
over-reacting a little bit when he said: 'The UN is not my father',"
said government spokesman Sita Divari. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Sita said Thaksin would in future avoid answering reporters'
questions that might trigger a war of words. | ||||||||||||||||||
"The prime minister doesn't want to give interviews | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
He said that from now on Government House reporters would be asked
to submit their questions for the prime minister to the Government
Spokesman's Office. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(20) THAI LEADER JUSTIFIES 1,100 DRUG WAR DEATHS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Thailand's populist prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has admitted
for the first time that mistakes have been made in his month-long
"eye-for-an-eye" war on drugs that has claimed more than 1,140
lives. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Mr Thaksin remains unrepentant about the bloody campaign,
dismissing widespread allegations that many of the deaths are
extra-judicial killings by the police. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"Don't be moved by the high death figures," Mr Thaksin said in his
address. | ||||||||||||||||||
"We must be adamant and finish this war. Don't you | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Many analysts say the seizures will make little difference as the supply - mainly from neighbouring Burma - has barely been contained. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(21) SWISS LAWMAKERS VOTE TO CONTINUE PRESCRIPTION HEROIN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Lawmakers have voted to extend Switzerland's pioneering programme to
provide heroin to severely addicted people. | ||||||||||||||||||
The National Council voted 110-42 to extend the programme until the end of 2009, rejecting an attempt by right-of-centre parties to end | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
The Swiss Government maintains the heroin programme brings health gains and reduces crime and death associated with the drug scene. | ||||||||||||||||||
Some 1300 drug addicts, averaging about 33 years in age, benefit from the legal prescription of heroin under medical control. | ||||||||||||||||||
Switzerland's experiment with drug distribution began | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) MAJOR PARTIES CAN'T RESIST LURE OF DRUGS ISSUE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In the regional seat of Port Macquarie, the National Party has paid
for a full-page advertisement accusing the | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Yesterday, the Greens candidate for Port Jackson, Jamie Parker, was
personally linked with a long-standing Greens policy supporting a
harm minimisation approach to drug treatment, in a bid to fuel
community fears about drugs and discredit him in his attempt to
wrest the seat from Labor's Sandra Nori. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Port Macquarie advertisement, which states it is authorised by
the National Party, shows a large syringe and asks: "Do You Support
Heroin Injecting Room trials?" | ||||||||||||||||||
A photograph of the local candidate, Charlie Fenton, flanked by federal National minister Mark Vaile, says "We Don't", while a picture of Mr Oakeshott and the Premier, Bob Carr, says "They Do". | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Carr would not be drawn on questions about preferences but said
he believed the Greens were taking the "wrong approach" to the
problem." I am deeply opposed to the greater ongoing use by
Australians of amphetamines and ecstasy," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I don't want us to be a pill-popping society with youngsters
boiling their brains on amphetamines and marijuana." | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Brogden described the Greens policy as "dangerously | ||||||||||||||||||
"We say no to free heroin to heroin addicts and we say no to a ludicrous, crazy and dangerously irresponsible plan from the Greens to sell ecstasy over the counter in drug shops in NSW," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
OUT FROM THE SHADOWS AUDIO/VIDEO ONLINE | ||||||||||||||||||
Video and audio footage from the Merida conference, as well as
photographs, interviews, reports and other information, are now
online at http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/ -- visit now to get
a glimpse of this historic event and to subscribe to the Out from the
Shadows announcements e-mail list. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
TEACHERS AGAINST PROHIBITION (TAP) | ||||||||||||||||||
http://www.TeachersAgainstProhibition.org/ is having a membership
drive. | ||||||||||||||||||
We are current and former members of the education community who
support drug regulation rather than prohibition. We have modeled our
organization after Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.leap.org, as
we also seek to target a mainstream group of society that witnesses
daily the detrimental effects of the war on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
SSDP NORTHEAST CONFERENCE | ||||||||||||||||||
University of Rhode Island, March 1-2 | ||||||||||||||||||
The University of Rhode Island held the first regional conference of
the New Year on the weekend of March 1-2. A wide variety of speakers,
skills workshops, breakout discussion sessions provided an effective
way for everyone to build and strengthen our North East working
relationships. | ||||||||||||||||||
See pictures online at: | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
KUBBY IMMIGRATION HEARING | ||||||||||||||||||
Adrenal Cancer Patient and Pot-TV News Anchor, Steve Kubby, is facing a
battle for his life. Kubby's refugee is being heard by Canadian
immigration authorities in an unprecedented eight day trial, and forces
such as right-wing Alliance MP Randy White, are set to defend American
Drug Policy over a Man's right to the Natural Medicine that keep him
alive. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
50 YEARS FOR STEALING VIDEOTAPES? | ||||||||||||||||||
No Problem, Say Justices -- Supreme Court Upholds California
Three-Strikes Law | ||||||||||||||||||
A closely divided Supreme Court Wednesday upheld California's draconian three-strikes law, letting stand a 25-year sentence without parole for a man who stole golf clubs and a 50-year sentence without parole for a man convicting of stealing videotapes from a Kmart. In a 5-4 vote, the high court held that the sentences did not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" or run afoul of its notion of "disproportionality." | ||||||||||||||||||
The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #277, 3/7/03 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Stop The Drug War And Boost Revenues | ||||||||||||||||||
By Paul H. Duggan | ||||||||||||||||||
Mary O'Grady's Feb. 14 Americas column on America's failure to
confront Colombian terrorists properly portrays the carnage wrought
by FARC in its civil war. The contributions caused by our
prohibition on coca and other "controlled substances" is, however,
given short shrift. Indeed, it is FARC itself that benefits most by
this prohibition. | ||||||||||||||||||
The war on drugs and its extreme manifestation, mandatory minimum sentences, have incarcerated many nonviolent drug users at great expense and done little to stem the demand. Our corrections departments themselves seem incapable of keeping drugs out of prisons. So long as the war on drugs targets minorities and the poor (and stays "off campus"), support among policy makers remains high. Indeed, after Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter was caught with cocaine at her drug treatment facility, prison was still not an option. | ||||||||||||||||||
Our government went from prosecuting gambling to promoting it
(lotteries) in little more than a generation. Perhaps when the
revenue potential of "controlled substances" is recognized, there
will be a similar change of heart. | ||||||||||||||||||
For Frederic Bastiat, the 19th-century French economist,
governmental coercion was legitimate only if it served "to guarantee
security of person, liberty, and property rights, to cause justice
to reign over all." Who defines what constitutes our "pursuit of
happiness"? | ||||||||||||||||||
Paul H. Duggan, | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Please Write A Letter To MAP | ||||||||||||||||||
By Richard Lake | ||||||||||||||||||
Sometime towards the end of March the Media Awareness Project of DrugSense will archive it's 100,000th news clipping. As we have for past milestones, we wish to recognize this accomplishment. | ||||||||||||||||||
The accomplishment belongs to the reform community - all of us and
you! All the volunteer newshawks, editors @ MAP, folks who read the
news, pass news stories to others, use them for research, write
Letters to the Editor, etc. And those who donate to support the
effort. | ||||||||||||||||||
For this milestone we would like you to write a letter to MAP.
Please tell everybody how you, or your organization if you wish,
benefits from our efforts. | ||||||||||||||||||
You may address more than the news clipping service if you wish -
what MAP has grown to be through DrugSense by hosting email lists,
discussion forums, websites and so on in support of the reform
community. | ||||||||||||||||||
The letters you send will be MAP posted like special news items on
the day we reach the 100,000th mark. A standard headline in the form
of "Letter from (your name) to MAP" will be used. You may use a pen
name if you wish. If you provide your country - and province or
state for Canada or the U.S. - we will be able to archive it using
our location code system. If you wish to provide a URL in your
signature block, that is fine, also. | ||||||||||||||||||
The letter need not be long, a paragraph or two, or as much as about
300 words. | ||||||||||||||||||
Please send your letter directly to with Letter to MAP in the subject line. Be sure to include your signature block. | ||||||||||||||||||
To insure that all the letters are ready for the special day, our
deadline is midnight Saturday, March 15th. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thank you very much for your support. You make it happen! | ||||||||||||||||||
Richard Lake is the Senior Editor of DrugNews | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"There's no place for politics in a refugee hearing that is about
American drug laws." -- Canadian Alliance MP Randy White on the Kubby
Immigration Hearing. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense
offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you. | ||||||||||||||||||
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: | ||||||||||||||||||
Please utilize the following URLs | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||||
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
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