| April 11, 2003 #296 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Listen On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ | ||||||||||||||||||
NOTE TO READERS: The DrugSense Weekly staff will be attending the
NORML conference in San Francisco next week, so DrugSense Weekly will
not be distributed on April 18. We will resume our regular publication
schedule April 25. We look forward to seeing some of our readers and
supporters at the conference. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Table of Contents
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THIS JUST IN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) TUTWILER WARDEN COPES WITH `TICKING TIME BOMB' (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WETUMPKA - A copy of the U.S. Constitution hangs in one of the inmate
dorms in Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. | ||||||||||||||||||
The dorm's walls are painted a medicinal pink, thought to be soothing
for the recovering addicts assigned to this particular dorm, which is
funded by federal crime prevention money. Inmates are taught to be
patriotic in the "crime bill" dorm. | ||||||||||||||||||
Yet four months after a federal judge declared conditions in the
prison violated the promises in the Constitution, little has changed
behind the razor wire and clanging doors of Alabama's only lockup for
women. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I would love for every legislator to come visit this prison," said
Gladys Deese, Tutwiler's warden since 2001. Over the last two years
about five lawmakers have stopped in, as the strains of crowding get
worse. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Nobody's come this session," Deese said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Meantime, it falls on Deese to keep prisoners and staff safe in this "ticking time bomb," as it was described in the court's Dec. 2 order. | ||||||||||||||||||
Last week, there were 992 women in a prison built for 342. | ||||||||||||||||||
Women line hallways between the dorms. Others curl up in beds, asleep
amid the midday clamor of prison life. The sick clog the narrow
hallway of the medical unit, lying on cots while the traffic of nurses
and patients shuffles by. The inmates in the nearby HIV-positive
section shout through the bars of their isolation unit. | ||||||||||||||||||
Prisoners cram knee-to-knee into GED classrooms, elbow-to-elbow in
court-ordered drug-rehab sessions. There is a waiting list for just
about anything that would help a criminal do better on the outside,
but no space to add more classes. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
So far, the Legislature has approved $2.7 million in emergency funding
because the state has been sued over Tutwiler's unsafe conditions. It
would pay for temporarily housing about 290 Tutwiler women in a
Louisiana private prison. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, who
found the prison unconstitutionally unsafe, has not yet approved the
transfer plan. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(2) HIGH COURT JUSTICE SAYS TOO MANY IN US PRISONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON - Too many people are behind bars in America, and prison
terms are often too long, Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
told Congress yesterday. | ||||||||||||||||||
As of June 30, 2002, there were 2.1 million inmates in prisons or
jails, an increase of 2.8 percent from the year before. | ||||||||||||||||||
''Two million people in prison is just unacceptable,'' Kennedy said
during a hearing on the Supreme Court's budget. | ||||||||||||||||||
Justice Clarence Thomas nodded in apparent agreement as Kennedy
criticized the proliferation of ''mandatory minimum'' sentences, which
can mean long prison terms for relatively minor or nonviolent crimes.
Thomas did not speak at the hearing. | ||||||||||||||||||
''In many cases, our sentences are too long,'' Kennedy said. | ||||||||||||||||||
The comments were made after Kennedy and Thomas had asked the House
Appropriations Committee for $73.4 million for salaries, upkeep, and
court expenses for the 12 months that begin in October. | ||||||||||||||||||
Kennedy is a moderate conservative named to the high court by President Reagan in 1988. He voted last month to uphold sentences of up to life in prison for three-time convicts in California. | ||||||||||||||||||
None of the congressmen yesterday asked about that ruling, in which
Thomas also upheld long prison terms. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(3) POT-SMOKING CANCER VICTIM WOULD BE PROSECUTED IN U.S. - JUDGE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
VANCOUVER - A man seeking asylum in Canada because he smokes pot to
fight a rare form of cancer would do well to stay out of the United
States, where the "corrupt system" would prosecute him, a California
judge testified Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
"His chances would be overwhelming, I regret to say, of being tried and convicted," Judge James Gray of the Orange Country Superior Court said by phone at a refugee hearing for Steve Kubby. Kubby, a former California resident who now lives in Sechelt, B.C., said between puffs on a joint outside the hearing that he suffers from adrenal cancer and would die within four days if he didn't smoke marijuana. | ||||||||||||||||||
Health Canada granted him permission last August to grow and smoke pot
for medicinal purposes. Although California's Proposition 215 allows
for the medical use of marijuana, patients are still prosecuted by the
federal court, whose laws trump state laws, Gray said. | ||||||||||||||||||
And those who face a judge in federal court can't provide any evidence
of medicinal use so the jury doesn't get to hear they aren't drug
dealers, Gray said from Santa Ana, Calif. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Mr. Kubby, I believe is in real serious legal trouble if he were to
find himself back in California," Gray said under questioning by
Kubby's wife Michele, who is not a lawyer but is representing him at
the hearing. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Federal law enforcement officials are getting more "extremist" with
medicinal pot users and have gone so far as to arrest dying patients
in a hospice, Gray said. In one case, an ill woman who couldn't stand
up was handcuffed to her bed, he claimed. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(4) TOP UN ANTI-DRUG OFFICIAL SEES 'SIGNS OF PROGRESS' IN GLOBAL FIGHT (Top)AGAINST ILLICIT DRUGS | ||||||||||||||||||
IRNA -- World governments and local communities have achieved
promising results in the fight against illicit drugs by introducing
innovative crop development strategies that give farmers an
alternative to cultivating poppy and cocoa plants, the United Nations
top anti-drug official said. | ||||||||||||||||||
As the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs opened its forty-sixth session in Vienna Tuesday, Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), introduced a mid-term progress report which examines whether the international community is on track to reduce illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse, said a press release by the United Nations Information Center here on Wednesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Commission is the central UN policy-making body dealing with
drug-related issues. This year's session, set to run through April 17,
will feature a ministerial segment, marking the first five-year
milestone for Member States to review their achievements and the
commitments made in 1998 at the twentieth special session of the
General Assembly on the international drug problem. | ||||||||||||||||||
During that summit in New York, more than 150 countries promised to
achieve significant and measurable results to reduce the illicit
supply and demand for drugs by 2008. | ||||||||||||||||||
[The slogan of the summit was: "A Drug Free World - We Can Do It,"
and it established as its objective the eradication of all illicit
opium and coca production worldwide by 2008. -DSW] | ||||||||||||||||||
Citing 'encouraging progress towards still distant goals," Costa
emphasized the positive experiences in four major elements of the
international drug policy -- overall drug control policies, demand
reduction, supply reduction and international cooperation. Here, he
urged governments to work together in the fight against drugs,
warning, "Otherwise, problems are only pushed around, from one country
to another, in a zero-sum game." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Domestic News- Policy | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (5-10) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The loss of a local initiative to reduce marijuana penalties in Columbia, Missouri this week was sadly unsurprising. The exercise did, however, clearly illustrate the heavy-handed, anti-democratic efforts of prohibitionists. Before the vote, a local prohibitionist group was caught failing to file disclosures about expenditures on the campaign and skirting other election laws. The city's police chief broke the law by urging voters to reject the marijuana initiative in a city-financed publication. The chief claimed ignorance of the law. A surprising admission from a professional, but considering his position on the initiative, who could doubt him? | ||||||||||||||||||
An assistant to the federal drug czar flew out to Columbia for some
reason, though not, he solemnly swore, in any effort to influence
the voters. Such an action would be improper. Regardless of his
motivation for being there, his tone and tactics alienated at least
one fellow prohibitionist, a newspaper columnist who should have
been a natural ally. | ||||||||||||||||||
The drug war may be rolling along in Missouri, the U.S. Coast
Guard's drug war seems to be lurching to a halt. With domestic
security issues being stressed, the Coast Guard has cut hours spent
on drug interdiction by 60 percent compared to 1997, according to a
new report. | ||||||||||||||||||
And finally, The Economist published an interesting analysis of United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs. As the Commission prepares to assess failed drug reduction efforts around the world, how will commission members reconcile reality with their unbending prohibitionist ideology? Very unconvincingly, DSW suspects. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(5) COLUMBIA VOTERS REJECT MARIJUANA PROPOSITION (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A proposition to soften penalties for
marijuana possession and allow pot by prescription in this college
town was rejected by voters Tuesday. | ||||||||||||||||||
With all votes counted, Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren said nearly
58 percent opposed Proposition 1. Vote counting was slowed by a
problem requiring late-night inspection by hand of ballots in an
unrelated county race, she said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 1, placed on the ballot by petition, would have made
Columbia the only place in Missouri where medical marijuana was
declared legal for the seriously ill. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nine states and several local governments have approved the practice
of prescribing marijuana, amid legal challenges from the federal
government. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(6) ANTI-POT GROUP FILES LATE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The executive director of ACT Missouri filed a campaign disclosure
report this morning indicating the Jefferson City group has spent
$1,675 in ads in the Tribune about Proposition 1. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report comes two days after Dan Viets, a local attorney who
helped write the marijuana initiative, filed a complaint with the
Missouri Ethics Commission about ACT Missouri. | ||||||||||||||||||
Viets' complaint says the organization violated election laws by not
reporting the money it had spent within 14 days of a campaign
expenditure. He also alleges that the group, which has | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(7) CHIEF SAYS HE'S SORRY FOR ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm apologized Tuesday for using a
city-financed newsletter to campaign against the marijuana
initiative on the April 8 ballot. | ||||||||||||||||||
Boehm wrote an article in the March 24 issue of the "Neighborhood
Watch - Crime Blockers" newsletter, which is published and mailed by
the Columbia Police Department in which he urged voters to "go to
the polls and vote NO on the proposed ordinance." | ||||||||||||||||||
Under Section 115.646 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, no
contribution or expenditure of public funds can be made to advocate,
support or oppose any ballot measure. | ||||||||||||||||||
"It was improper," Boehm said on Tuesday. "I was not as familiar as I should be about that rule. I put an article in every newsletter. I didn't take into account that it could be against the law." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(8) PROSECUTOR BOY LACKS CREDIBILITY IN LOCAL DEBATE OVER (Top)PROPOSITION | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Assistant drug czar Scott Burns wasn't sent to Mid-Missouri on the
White House tab to campaign against Proposition 1. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I'm not here to tell anybody how to vote," Prosecutor Boy told me
Thursday. | ||||||||||||||||||
He repeated the same mantra all day while he was making it clear
that Proposition 1, the proposal that would lower penalties for
local pot possession, was bad - very bad. | ||||||||||||||||||
But Prosecutor Boy - his phrase by the way, not mine - doesn't tell people how to vote. No sir. He's just the Minister of Information. | ||||||||||||||||||
Me? I'm Reporter Boy. And apparently I don't know much. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
You see, most of us out here in the Show Me State can do a pretty good job of thinking for ourselves. We can be for or against the war and still talk nicely to each other. We can disagree with the legalization of drugs but not assume everybody who is for the concept inhales for breakfast. And we can understand that no matter how much outside money and influence are exerted on Tuesday's Proposition 1 vote, it's still up to Columbians to decide. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(9) IS COAST GUARD SINKING? (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Some members of Congress warn that the Coast Guard, whose main assignment these days is keeping America's 95,000 miles of coastline and waterways safe from terrorists, is in over its head. | ||||||||||||||||||
The agency is so underfunded and underequipped that the nation's
ports are vulnerable to a "catastrophic attack," said Sen. Ernest F.
Hollings, D-S.C. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Meanwhile, there was a 60 percent drop in the number of hours spent
on drug interdiction in the final three months of last year compared
with the same period in 1997, according to the GAO, Congress'
investigative arm. | ||||||||||||||||||
"Today, a majority of our tasking is on search and rescue and
homeland security. We may not be focusing our efforts as much on
those [other] missions," said Petty Officer Scott Carr, a Coast
Guard spokesman at the Miami-based 7th District headquarters, which
covers the Southeast coast and the Caribbean. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(10) ILLEGAL DRUGS: JUST SAY MAYBE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
HOW should the world control the trade in and use of illicit drugs?
As an issue of science and health policy, few questions matter more.
In 1998 the United Nations General Assembly held a special session
in New York which pledged the "elimination or significant reduction"
of drug production and use within ten years. An evaluation of the
targets set at that meeting takes place in Vienna this month, at a
special ministerial session of the United Nations Commission on
Narcotic Drugs. This gathering will hear that the world is no closer
to meeting its goals than it was five years ago. But instead of
asking such questions as whether the whole project may be misguided,
the meeting will almost certainly decide to redouble international
efforts to achieve the unachievable. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The arguments for a different approach have grown stronger, not weaker, since 1998. The failure of the current policy has become much clearer. There is no sign that government intervention has cut supply, although it may sometimes divert it. For instance, the opium crop fell sharply in Afghanistan in 2001, under the Taliban government, but it rebounded last year after the American invasion. Meanwhile, according to Francisco Thoumi, a member of Colombia's Academy of Economic Sciences, Colombia's aggressive policies, aimed at wiping out the coca crop, have merely led to an increase in planting in Bolivia, where a coca grower almost won the recent presidential election, and in Peru. There is, says Dr Thoumi, no evidence of a decline in the availability of cocaine in the United States. Instead, the drug's purity seems to have increased. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Law Enforcement & Prisons | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (11-15) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. prison population continues to grow, as does the percentage of young African-American caught up in it. The overall prison population has passed 2 million, while an estimated 12 percent of African-American males between the ages of 20-34 are in jail or prison, many on drug-related charges. A different report showed that southern states lead the nation with high rates of incarceration. | ||||||||||||||||||
The jail binge is costing those states dearly. Officials from
Henderson County, Kentucky are worried that continued operations of
the local jail could lead to bankruptcy for the entire county
government. Another cost of the drug war is police corruption, and a
Philadelphia trial is expected to highlight the individual acts of
two cops as well as the entire department for apparently looking the
other way. But in New Jersey, drug war corruption doesn't seem to be
a concern, and apparently there's room and money galore for more
drug prisoners serving longer sentences, as the governor signed a
harsh new "club drug" bill. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(11) PRISON RATES AMONG BLACKS REACH A PEAK, REPORT FINDS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
An estimated 12 percent of African-American men ages 20 to 34 are in
jail or prison, according to a report released yesterday by the
Justice Department. | ||||||||||||||||||
The proportion of young black men who are incarcerated has been rising in recent years, and this is the highest rate ever measured, said Allen J. Beck, the chief prison demographer for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the statistical arm of the Justice Department. | ||||||||||||||||||
By comparison, 1.6 percent of white men in the same age group are
incarcerated. | ||||||||||||||||||
The report found that the number of people in United States jails
and prisons exceeded 2 million for the first time last year, rising
to 2,019,234. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(12) SOUTH LEADS U.S. IN INCARCERATIONS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Principal Sheila Young says the family portrait drawn by one of her
brightest New Orleans third-graders was disturbing: There, next to
the smiling faces of the girl and her eight siblings was a frowning
woman, their mother, with vertical bars over her face. | ||||||||||||||||||
"I ran to get the social worker, because it's such an exaggerated
frown," says Young, whose Craig Elementary School is in one of the
city's poorest neighborhoods. "It was frightening." | ||||||||||||||||||
That's when Young learned that the girl's crack-addicted mother was
serving a year for a parole violation. When Young asked the girl's
classmates how many of them had a family member or neighbor in
prison, more than half the hands shot up. | ||||||||||||||||||
When it comes to locking people up, Louisiana leads the South. And
the South leads the nation. | ||||||||||||||||||
Since 1980, the country's prison population has quadrupled to 2.1
million, with the South accounting for 45 percent of that increase,
according to a report released Friday by the grassroots group
Critical Resistance South. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(13) OFFICIAL OFFERS DIRE JAIL OUTLOOK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Jail officials told Henderson Fiscal Court on Tuesday that
decreasing revenues and increasing costs threaten to bankrupt the
county if current trends continue. | ||||||||||||||||||
"This facility could break this county" in the next five to 10 years
if no action is taken, said Col. Ron Herrington, who is second in
command at the Henderson County Detention Center. "We're headed for
some tough times." | ||||||||||||||||||
The jail was built nearly a decade ago on the premise that housing
state prisoners would make it self-supporting. But Herrington told
the court that a number of factors are converging to decrease the
number of state prisoners. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(14) TRIAL PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON POLICE POLICIES (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
When former Philadelphia Police Officers Marcellus Robinson and John
Thompson go on trial Wednesday, the testimony will focus on how they
allegedly framed one drug suspect. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Police Department will also be under a spotlight, as evidence
shows that the two ex-officers and their supervisors repeatedly
ignored key anticorruption measures enacted after the city's last
major police scandal. | ||||||||||||||||||
Courts have dumped more than 60 drug arrests by Robinson and
Thompson - the largest dismissal of cases since the 39th District
cops-as-robbers scandal of the late 1990s. | ||||||||||||||||||
And people arrested by Robinson and Thompson for alleged drug deals are now suing the city in federal court, alleging their civil rights were violated. The city recently paid out $100,000 to settle one of those suits. The 39th District scandal cost the city $4 million. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(15) GOV. MCGREEVEY SIGNS LAW TARGETING CLUB DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
TRENTON -- Gov. James E. McGreevey has signed a law doubling
penalties lodged against those selling or possessing so-called club
drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
The law would apply to drugs such as ecstasy, gamma hydroxybutyrate
or GHB, "Special K" and methamphetamine, which proponents of the law
maintain are increasingly common, particularly at underground dance
parties and clubs catering to those under age. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
According to one official, under the law fines would grow from 3 to 5 years in prison and a possible $15,000 fine for possession of ecstasy to up to 10 years. For distribution of the drug, the penalties lodged would expand to as much as 20 years in prison, according to John Hagerty of the Division of Criminal Justice. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cannabis & Hemp- | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (16-20) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Neither sleet, nor rain, nor snow, nor outdated and ineffective
prohibitionist laws could keep people from attending this year's
annual Ann Arbor Hash Bash, which reported a crowd of 3,000 to 4,000
people and only one cannabis-related arrest. | ||||||||||||||||||
Much hemp news this week: a bill before Oregon's Senate Agricultural
Committee would legalize the cultivation of hemp, although it's fate
is still unclear. Meanwhile in Canada, the highly-restricted hemp
industry remains optimistic of future profits despite seeing
financial returns fall short of expectations since cultivation was
legalized in 1998. | ||||||||||||||||||
In other Canadian news, New Brunswick's Justice Minister Brad Green has stated that he will wait to see how the federal government will deal with the issue of decriminalization of cannabis before acting to close the newly opened Hemp NB Cannabis Cafe, which doesn't sell cannabis, but allows adult patrons to smoke it on the premises. | ||||||||||||||||||
And lastly, the story of the small Russian town of Novozybkovo's new
flag. The small town of 43,000 people has caused much controversy by
placing a small cannabis leaf in the upper left hand corner of its
new yellow, green and white striped town flag. The city council has
stated that the leaf is a symbol of the city's bygone glory days,
when its hemp production was an invaluable part of the country's
navy infrastructure. DSW would like to warn town officials that
international demand for the flag might far exceed current
expectations! | ||||||||||||||||||
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(16) THOUSANDS DRAWN TO MICHIGAN HASH BASH (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
One Arrested For Marijuana Possession, Three Cited For Youth Tobacco
Misdemeanors At Frigid Festival | ||||||||||||||||||
Hash Bash, the annual Ann Arbor rally to support the legalization of marijuana, was in full force Saturday afternoon, drawing a crowd that event organizers estimated reached 3,000 to 4,000 people. | ||||||||||||||||||
Carrying signs declaring "Hemp for Peace" and "Smoke pot not Iraq,"
community members, University students and out-of-town participants
protested both the war on drugs and the war on Iraq at the 32nd
annual event. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
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(17) LAWMAKERS CONSIDER FUTURE OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP IN OREGON (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Industrial hemp could be Oregon's next cash crop if lawmakers sign
off on a bill that got a hearing before the Senate Agricultural
Committee Friday. | ||||||||||||||||||
But opponents say hemp plants are difficult to distinguish from
illegal marijuana plants, and that cultivating hemp could inhibit
police investigations of pot growers. | ||||||||||||||||||
On Friday, the Senate Agricultural Committee heard from businesses marketing hemp-based products such as clothing and lip balm. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Supporters of the bill say they aren't sure yet whether they have
the votes to pass the bill out of committee. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(18) CANADIAN ADVOCATES STILL HIGH ON HEMP (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
When it was reintroduced as a crop in Canada in 1998, commercial
hemp was expected to spur an industrial bonanza. | ||||||||||||||||||
Investors were quick to jump into various hemp-related industries
with visions of fat profits dancing in their heads. | ||||||||||||||||||
As it turns out, reality has fallen far short of expectations. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
But as president of the Ontario Hemp Alliance, she sees positive
developments on the international horizon. | ||||||||||||||||||
A serious fibre shortage is developing in a world hungry for the raw
materials to spin or weave into an almost limitless range of
products. | ||||||||||||||||||
"That's going to make a big difference to the hemp industry in
Canada," she says. | ||||||||||||||||||
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(19) NB JUSTICE MINISTER WAITING TO NIP CAFES IN THE BUD (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
New Brunswick is waiting for Ottawa to act in order to stem the
growth of cannabis cafes in the province, says Justice Minister Brad
Green. | ||||||||||||||||||
Lynn Wood opened Hemp NB's Cannabis Cafe this week in Saint John,
providing customers with a public place to smoke marijuana. The cafe
doesn't sell drugs. Rather it provides a venue for adult customers
to smoke in a social setting. | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Green said Friday the province is anxious to hear the federal
government state its intentions to deal with the decriminalization
issue. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
The Cannabis Cafe opened April 2 as the province's first
self-described pot-smoking optional cafe. Patrons said they weren't
worried about facing charges when possession charges are being
thrown out of provincial courts across the country. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| ||||||||||||||||||
(20) NOSTALGIC RUSSIAN SMALL TOWN PUTS CANNABIS ON ITS FLAG (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
All leaders wanted to do was celebrate the history of their small
town by creating a flag everyone would be proud to see flying above
the rooftops. | ||||||||||||||||||
Instead, they have been mocked on national television for making a local plant their emblem. The local plant in question is cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
In the 18th and 19th century, Novozybkovo was a major supplier of
hemp, the tough coarse fiber of the cannabis plant. A factory in the
town supplied the Russian Navy with the hemp used for ropes, and the
plant was honored when it was placed on the town's coat of arms in
the first quarter of the 19th century. Russia's defeat in the
Crimean War in 1856 had a crippling effect on the industry, and the
decimated Russian Navy's need for hemp died out, said Oleg Dunayev,
who works at a local museum and helped the town pick the flag's
design. | ||||||||||||||||||
Hemp was cultivated until the start of the 20th century but died out completely with Stalin's campaign to set up collective farms. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
International News | ||||||||||||||||||
COMMENT: (21-24) (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
As disgust in Thailand and abroad mounts, the Thai government is no
longer releasing body counts of killed "dealers" as before. Few accept
the official explanations of the killings, most believe police death
squads are at work. | ||||||||||||||||||
Concern grows the U.S. government is aiding Thai police death
squads. "I think the United States should suspend all assistance to
the Thai police until there can be a credible, independent
investigation into the killings and the United States takes steps to
ensure it is not directly or indirectly complicit in them," said
Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director for Asia for Human Rights
Watch. | ||||||||||||||||||
Another aircraft crashed in Colombia last week as it was spraying
coca plants. An American pilot was killed, the fourth American
killed this year in U.S. government plane crashes there. The U.S.
Embassy would not confirm the plane was shot down, though rebels
have fired on crop-dusting planes there in the past. | ||||||||||||||||||
As the state of Western Australia proposes to slightly reduce
penalties for cannabis possession and some types of home-growing,
the opposition stokes fears of faltering parental "moral authority"
to raise kids "drug free." It says "to young people that it will be
OK to grow a couple of plants." | ||||||||||||||||||
And while not exactly the same as the screaming headlines from
Hearst newspapers in 1932 ("Marihuana Makes Fiends Of Boys In 30
Days"), papers in Australia last week shouted, "Two Joints A Week
Can Make Teens Addicts." Based on a survey at the Murdoch Children's
Research Institute in Melbourne, a poll claimed two weekly joints
would addict youth. Reports stressed the wrongness of "the notion
that cannabis was a benign, non-addictive drug." Institute director
George Patton emphasized the goal of the survey: the eradication of
"a dominant attitude that this is a soft drug." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(21) THAIS BLAME POLICE FOR DEADLY WAR ON DRUGS (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BANGKOK An extraordinary campaign of government-approved killings is
under way in Thailand - a crackdown on drug dealers that has taken
as many as 2,000 lives over the past two months, an average of 30 a
day. | ||||||||||||||||||
The death toll - equal to that of the carnage in East Timor in 1999
- has drawn outrage from local and foreign human rights groups. It
seems particularly shocking in a country where democracy has
replaced the coups and strongman rule of past decades. | ||||||||||||||||||
From the start, the police have disavowed most of the killings, saying they are the work of drug dealers trying to silence informers. Few people here accept that explanation. A variety of other government statements and independent monitoring make it clear that the police are carrying out widespread summary executions. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"The scale of these killings is absolutely appalling," said Mike
Jendrzejczyk, the Washington director for Asia for Human Rights
Watch. "Thailand's image as a place where the rule of law is
respected is clearly under assault." | ||||||||||||||||||
He added: "I think the United States should suspend all assistance to the Thai police until there can be a credible, independent investigation into the killings and the United States takes steps to ensure it is not directly or indirectly complicit in them." | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
As public opinion began to turn, officials stopped issuing regular
reports of the death toll, and the government appointed a commission
to investigate complaints of summary killings. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(22) COLOMBIA PLANE CRASH KILLS ONE AMERICAN (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A U.S. State Department plane used to
fumigate drug crops crashed Monday and its American pilot was
killed, the U.S. Embassy said. | ||||||||||||||||||
It was not immediately clear if the crash was caused by an accident
or if it had been shot down, the embassy said. | ||||||||||||||||||
The American, whose name was not released pending notification of
relatives, was the fourth to die in three crashes of U.S. government
planes in Colombia this year. | ||||||||||||||||||
Three other Americans were killed when their single-engine Cessna
plane crashed and burned in southern Colombia on March 25 while
searching for three other Americans who were captured by leftist
rebels after their plane went down on Feb. 4. | ||||||||||||||||||
Monday's crash occurred in southwest Colombia's Narino state, where
there are large plantations of coca, the main ingredient of cocaine.
Leftist rebels, who along with their paramilitary rivals oversee
cocaine production in Colombia, have fired at the spray planes in
the past. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(23) DRUG REFORM UNDER FIRE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
MORE violent home invasions, police corruption and organised crime rackets infiltrating the suburbs would flow from the State Government's planned cannabis law changes, says the Opposition. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Opposition yesterday outlined in State Parliament its case
against the Government's reform proposals. | ||||||||||||||||||
Under proposed laws people who grow or possess small amounts of cannabis for personal use would not be treated as criminals. | ||||||||||||||||||
But the new laws would stop short of full decriminalisation, with
police retaining the discretion to charge people they believed were
flouting the law. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Opposition Leader Colin Barnett said the reforms would take away the moral authority of parents to bring up their children drug free. | ||||||||||||||||||
"They (Labor) say to young people that it will be OK to grow a
couple of plants, it will no longer be a criminal act," Mr Barnett
said. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Mr Barnett claimed studies showed a plant could yield up to 2.7kg
annually, well above the 150g to 300g a year yield on which
organised crime police base their calculations. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
Health Minister Bob Kucera, who introduced the Cannabis Control Bill
last month, rejected Opposition allegations that the Government was
soft on drugs. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
(24) TWO JOINTS A WEEK CAN MAKE TEENS ADDICTS, CLAIMS POLL (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
(AAP) - Teenagers who smoke cannabis more than once a | ||||||||||||||||||
A survey of 2,000 teenagers by the Centre for Adolescent Health at
the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne found people
who smoked cannabis more than once a week between the ages of 14-17
were 20 times more likely to form a habit as young adults than those
who smoked less often. | ||||||||||||||||||
The centre's director, Professor George Patton, said it was time for
the notion that cannabis was a benign, non-addictive drug to be laid
to rest. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
He also said teenagers who drank heavily appeared to be less likely
to develop a problem with cannabis. | ||||||||||||||||||
[snip] | ||||||||||||||||||
"We've seen a dominant attitude that this is a soft drug, it doesn't have harms, and I think we need to get the message out that it ain't that simple and that cannabis use, particularly at the more frequent end of things, is associated with very substantial harms," he said. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
FDA CRACKS DOWN ON "STREET DRUG ALTERNATIVES" | ||||||||||||||||||
The Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics | ||||||||||||||||||
"The Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to eight
companies that sell herbal products, threatening to seize the
products because the companies are marketing them as legal
alternatives to illegal street drugs." | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
REFUGEE HEARINGS RESUME | ||||||||||||||||||
The refugee hearings for America's first cannabis refugees resumed
today after a one-month hiatus for Steve Kubby to recover from
pneumonia. | ||||||||||||||||||
Analysis by Richard Cowan | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
ALAN YOUNG INTERVIEW | ||||||||||||||||||
One of Canada's top law professors discusses the road to
legalizing cannabis cultivation. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE WEBSITE ADDITIONS | ||||||||||||||||||
The Drug Policy Alliance website, http://www.drugpolicy.org/, features one of the largest online collections of journal articles, reports, books, testimonies and fact sheets that focus on drugs and drug policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
Besides daily news, continual fax campaigns and event listings
we often feature new content on the website. The up-coming UNGASS
meeting including overviews of the event and an extensive collection of
online resources http://www.drugpolicy.org/global/ungass/ is currently
highlighted. As Drug Policy Alliance works to stop the RAVE Act and
related bills we have compiled new pages | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
"HIPPIE PROFILING" DECLARED ILLEGAL GROUNDS FOR CAR SEARCH | ||||||||||||||||||
I just posted a page on my website on this important California ruling
that looking like a hippy is not grounds for a police search. Please
forward this info to other lists of interested parties. | ||||||||||||||||||
Chris Conrad ( ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
CULTURAL BAGGAGE RADIO SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||
Who: Roger Goodman, Director of the King County Bar Association will
guest this Friday on Cultural Baggage, the Unvarnished Truth about the
Drug War. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Why: Because we love you. | ||||||||||||||||||
With any luck, I should also have an opening interview with Nora
Callahan about the ongoing Journey for Justice. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
This link will be good to hear the show after 4/11/03 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Government Medical Marijuana Laws Draconian | ||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen Heath | ||||||||||||||||||
Letter writer Terrence Farley's recitation of the Office of National
Drug Control Policy propaganda points about medical marijuana
greatly misleads your readers. | ||||||||||||||||||
No credible promoter of marijuana-law reform claims that marijuana
'cures' anything. What it clearly does, according to the
testimonies of more than 30,000 registered patients and more than
1,000 physicians in California and Oregon, is provide varying levels
of relief for symptoms related to a number of medical conditions,
most notably cancer and AIDS. These patients have learned that, for
them, marijuana can be more useful than those often addictive,
heavy-duty FDA-approved narcotics. | ||||||||||||||||||
Additionally, he wrongly calls Marinol 'synthetic marijuana.' In fact, it is only synthetic THC, the primary ingredient of a plant with more than 400 active components. Chemotherapy and AIDS-wasting patients have great difficulty using oral medications and, because of Marinol's concentration, many patients tell us that they risk becoming too 'stoned' to successfully function in their regular home and work duties. Patients without insurance also must be able to afford the cost of Marinol, which can easily top $500 monthly. | ||||||||||||||||||
Most importantly, Farley totally ignores the most relevant question
relating to medical marijuana. If patients and their doctors review
Farley's long list of alleged effects relating to marijuana use and
elect to use it anyway, should they be subject to criminal arrest,
prosecution and confinement to a prison cage? | ||||||||||||||||||
Obviously, President Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Farley
believe the answer is yes. Thankfully, more than 80 percent of
Americans disagree with such a harsh, Draconian policy. | ||||||||||||||||||
Readers who think likewise should contact their federal | ||||||||||||||||||
Stephen Heath, Public Relations Director, Drug Policy Forum of
Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - March (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
We recognize activist, newshawk and prolific Letter to the Editor
writer Kirk Muse of Mesa, Arizona. During March we archived 7
published letters by Kirk, bringing his total in our published letter
archives to 217. You can review his fine letters at: | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
Thailand's Failed Drug Crackdown Reveals Extent of Official Corruption | ||||||||||||||||||
By Philippe Lucas | ||||||||||||||||||
About 5 years ago I had the chance to spend almost three months traveling through one of this world's earthly Nirvana's, the beautiful country of Thailand. Not only was Thailand blessed with incredible geography - endless white sand beaches, beautiful jungles, deep and impenetrable mountains - the pervasive Buddhist philosophy and the indescribable friendliness of the local Thais made life and travel there safe, friendly, and peaceful. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thailand has long had a reputation of taking a lenient approach
towards many social problems, from child-prostitution to drug use;
after all, these were two of the main reasons that many foreign
visitors came to the country in the first place. During my previous
travels, I had seen magic mushroom omelettes openly advertised on Ko
Pha Ngan menus, I had drank "special" shake lassies made with
marijuana at beach-side pubs, and had bought and smoked cannabis
with relative impunity throughout a country apparently more
concerned with regaining the title of "Asian economic tiger" than
chasing drug-consuming tourists. It wasn't all peace and harmony -
no traveler to the country could escape stories of heroin users
stuck in filthy Northern Thai prisons for a lifetime for their
indiscretion and addiction - but it was hardly the level of
enforcement and incarceration which we experienced in most Western
nations. | ||||||||||||||||||
Recently, this has all changed. The growing resurgence of
methamphetamine use and production worldwide has caused a major
policy shift in this once tolerant country. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thailand has never been immune to drug abuse. It's northern tip
borders Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), and Laos, and is known as the
Golden Triangle because of the lucrative drug trade that has long
dominated the financial dealings in the area. In the sixties and
seventies, traditional opium use and trade soon blossomed into the
more lucrative and destructive heroin market. Thai cannabis (often
reportedly dipped in opium) also became the stuff of hippie legends.
Authorities claimed to have the drug-trade under control, but savvy
travelers have long known that the poorly paid Thai police were
often more interested in taking bribes than making arrests when it
came to drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
However, after years of foreign intervention in the form of
anti-opium initiatives, local drug-barons apparently stopped
counting on easily detectable and eradicated village crops of
poppies and cannabis for their livelihood, and instead turned to
amphetamine production. Amphetamines were cheap, highly-addictive
and easy to produce, and the labs were far harder to detect than a
mountainside full of blossoming poppies. As a result, the production
and trade blossomed in the nearly lawless northern border of
Thailand. | ||||||||||||||||||
With the pressures of modernization and longer working hours, the
younger Thai population appears to have mirrored the worldwide rise
in the use of methamphetamines. During my 1998 travels in Thailand,
a newspaper report indicated that a popular brand of the rather
infamous Thai whiskey had been tested and that it had been found to
contain amphetamines. The company denied any knowledge of how the
drug had found its way into its product. Recent reports suggest that
Thailand had the most rampant amphetamine use in the World, with up
to 10% of the population using speed on a regular basis. Another
report found that nearly 80% of volunteers joining the Thai army had
detectable traces of methamphetamine in their systems. In 2001, the
Thai government began a crackdown on its Northern border, but the
corruption and financial incentives brought by the drug trade made
enforcement next to impossible. | ||||||||||||||||||
On February 1st of this year, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
decided that enough was enough. He declared that Thailand would be
"drug-free" in three months time. Local prosecutors wondered how
this could be accomplished, given the notoriously slow pace of Thai
courts. That's when the killings began, and it soon became clear
that bringing offenders to justice was not the main goal of this
offensive. | ||||||||||||||||||
What followed is an example of what happens when corruption,
consumption and addiction meet head-on in a misguided effort to find
a quick-fix to drug use. | ||||||||||||||||||
The government began by announcing the opening of drug "mail-boxes", where informers could tell authorities about suspected users and dealers. They soon composed a "blacklist" of nearly 45,000 suspects; of these, 28,000 have either been arrested or killed by police, supposedly in self-defence. Police and army commanders have been given clear arrest targets, with generous financial incentives for those who met their quotas, and severe punishments for those who failed. Police were soon complaining that the arrest quotas were too high, and, having pressed their informers to the limit, soon began arresting and prosecuting them as well, seriously compromising the ability of police to continue monitoring the drug trade. Addicts were also given the chance to turn themselves in with a guarantee of immunity and treatment before the crackdown started. Those who responded were then forced to give up their sources and the names of fellow users. Treatment, when available varied from police-run prison camps to monasteries where users were often chained to their beds by their hands and ankles as they detoxed. | ||||||||||||||||||
More alarmingly, over the last two months more than 2000
extra-judicial killings have occurred in this once peaceful land.
The police have yet to do a single autopsy on any of these suspected
drug users and distributors. Under pressure from human rights
organizations, the Thai government has now requested police reports
regarding all of these killings by March 28th. So far, the police
have failed to submit a single report, so the deadline has been
extended to April 2nd. Thonthong Jantharangsu, deputy Permanent
Secretary of the Justice Ministry has stated that if the police fail
to comply, he would inform the prime minister. | ||||||||||||||||||
"If police still refuse to submit the reports after the issue has
been raised at the meeting of government agencies, we will inform
the prime minister that we cannot work because of the lack of police
cooperation," Thongthong said. | ||||||||||||||||||
Attorney general Wichian Wiriyaprasit said he was frustrated at the
lack of assistance as the order came from the prime minister, and
could only come to one conclusion: | ||||||||||||||||||
"As such, I suspect the silencings were carried out to prevent the
dead from implicating police," he stated. | ||||||||||||||||||
This appears to be just the tip of the iceberg. The "blacklist" has led to the arrest of 40 village chiefs (of 232 on the list) and to the sacking of 135 Thai police officers (of 477 on the list). However, as it became clear that many people appearing on the "blacklist" were named as a result of personal conflicts rather than drug offenses, the government has recently opened up a new mailbox for those who do not believe they belong on the "blacklist". | ||||||||||||||||||
Sadly, the killing continues. Last week a report from Hua Mark
police station that a drug suspect named Hong Khampu had committed
suicide by drowning himself in the toilet inside a police detention
room was denounced by Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, the acting deputy
director of the Justice Ministry's Forensic Science Institute, who
stated that it was impossible for someone to commit suicide by
immersing his head in a bucket of water. | ||||||||||||||||||
Of course, as a legal medicinal cannabis user (in Canada) and drug
policy reformer, I followed these developments and the changes they
brought about with some interest. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sadly, it is the hill-tribes of northern Thailand that seem to have
been most seriously affected. Many have had a long tradition of
poppy and hemp cultivation completely destroyed over the last few
years. In Soppong, trekking operations used to offer guided tours to
see the local poppy fields and to witness the traditional methods of
hemp processing for oil, fiber and medicine. The poppies and pot
plants no longer grow openly on these mountainsides, and although I
never came across even a mention of a cannabis related arrest during
my 20 days in Thailand, hemp/cannabis production has virtually
disappeared. Although bars with names like "The Hash Bar", or "The
THC Club" in the Northern Thai city of Chang Mai still reflect the
foreign draw of drug tourism, the herb itself is hard to find. The
fear is both palpable and understandable, with the authorities
operating under the philosophy of "shoot first, ask questions
later", there is much reason for concern and discretion. On a
2-hour bus ride from Soppong to Mae Hon Song (both within a
half-hour from the Burmese border), we were stopped at 3 separate
army inspection points. | ||||||||||||||||||
As what began as a drug crackdown now spreads to a crackdown on
police and army corruption, the worse may be yet to come. Almost
overnight, army and police officers who were involved in taking
bribes and protection money have graduated into torturers and
murderers. As untreated addicts fill the Thai prisons, HIV/AIDS and
Hep-C rates will sky-rocket and spread further into the general
population. The long-established and lucrative drug trade has
tainted many government officials, and as the arrests continue, the
extent of official compliance, corruption and profiteering in the
drug trade comes further into view. | ||||||||||||||||||
There should be no doubt that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
meant well when he began this drug campaign a few short months ago.
However, with the world community watching fearfully from the
sidelines as Thailand becomes a drug-corrupted, extra-judicial
killing field, we can all hope that the Thai government will soon
put an end to this naive and obviously failed policy towards
addiction, and chose to take a more effective harm reduction
approach to tackle this very serious problem. As I left Bangkok last
week, the government began imposing harsh fines on corner stores
who sold glue to minors; as we have seen for decades failed drug
interdiction in the U.S., poor prohibitionist policies often worsen
the problems that they are created to solve. | ||||||||||||||||||
Philippe Lucas is editor of the Hemp/Cannabis section of DrugSense
Weekly. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||||||||||||
"The infamous Rave Act has returned, this time by the hand of Senator
Joseph Biden, the Party Butcher Of Delaware. I guess with a war raging
and the economy collapsing, high-ranking Democrats don't have any actual
work to do." - Neal Pollack. For more details see | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
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offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what
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Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by Stephen Young (), Cannabis/Hemp content selection and analysis by Philippe Lucas (), International content selection and analysis by Doug Snead (), Layout by Matt Elrod () | ||||||||||||||||||
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. | ||||||||||||||||||
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